Response to Ngugi

Nowadays learning language especially effects to the political, economical and social in English. In general life we communicate to others by using “Borrowed word” even we are not sure whether it is real English or Konglish including pronunciation. It is not easy to live without computers which show in English and Korean for new generations. I feel that the English language might carry two different perspectives such as inside Trojan House and inside Santa Clause’s bag. It is depended on which side I am looking at hexahedron.

At this moment, I just look through the one of viewpoints in education which I agree to Ngugi’s experiences. It influences Korean culture and real-life. When I taught elderly people students in English at Hanam welfare center, most of them they could speak in Japanese, and they were proud of speaking Japanese who educated in Korea even though they had bad experiences and memories. At that time rich people and nobility people could contact to the government and educate at one of public schools. Before Japanese tried to take over Korea, there was “National isolation policy” by DawonGoon in Chosun dynasty. It influenced to Korean economy and country situation.

 The Japanese came in 1875 to test the Koreans’ defenses, and engaged in minor military encounters on Kanghwa-do. Returning the next year in force, they compelled Korea to sign the unequal Kangwa Treaty, it first modern trade agreement with a foreign nation, opening the ports of Inch’on, Pusan, and Wonsan. (Early edition of Hendrik Hamel;s book, the first accout of a European in Korea)

 Home country nationalism is not everything good. There are always two sides of things, good and bad. Korea government recently emphases to push students to study in English hard and measures it by specific tests. There are also existed good and bad things. Good things are that university whom the students concern the score and companies who check the proficiency of English level, so on. Bad things are those kinds of English scores are not real proficiency of English for communication, etc.

 Immersion program is really good for students in Korea, but not for preschool kids. The reason is that English carries many things as English teachers know. Preschool students gradually build their own identity in Korea and they have to know many other things such as family relationships, science and social life, etc. If preschool students are in one of English countries, they have to study English first of course. Meantime, parents who want to send their children to immersion programs have to cost amount of money for long time. I guess that it is better to send their children whose parents only focus on in English to overseas. Then there are probably other problems happen, too. One of the problems is connection of Korean society. If that person wants to get high position of the companies or not English required positions, it is not easy to get it from the connection of Korean society. Therefore, we have to think about “How much English effects to our life?” and “How much English effects to our children?”.