2013. Dec. 14th

ESSAY 1

Second Language Acquisition Assignment

Name : 홍수린 (Surin)

Class : 95th WK TESOL

Instructor : Jayme

I want to say about my personal experience of failures in language learning and the type of teachers I had ever met through this essay. In additionally, I want to give my opinion that what I think is a  successful way to learn language more effectively, and the meaning of 'teacher' what I want to be like.

First of all, I have learned English as my second language. I have been taught English from an early age. In terms of English, I am facing a number of years is more than 10 years, but actually I started to study English just a few years before.

Representatively, I remember 2 failures in my learning languages. The first was when I was an elementary school student. As I said, I have been taught English from young age. At that time, I went to an English academy, but I didn't know why I had to attend to the academy and I had no idea about what teacher tried to teach me. I just thought it was a place where I should go after school. Therefore I could not keep the process up. I did not do my homework well and I often late. Finally, the teacher gave me a bad grade and the comment, "this student is poor and awful". However, I did not know even what is poor and awful. The teacher hated me because of my poor attitude and I also didn't like to go to the academy. I gave the report card to my mother and she was really upset. She called to the academy and she was fired because of me. I feel really sorry for that until now. Actually, I don't know whose fault it was. After that, I attended many academies but I remember that I was always depressed and stressful with my level in class. Now I realized that I was not interested in English during the days.

The time when I got to establish the concept about English was when I was 15 years old. At that time, my family should live in Malaysia for a year because of my parents' research. I went to an international school at that time and to survive, I was always with my electronic dictionary. I searched words everyday as much as I can to understand what the native teachers were explaining. Since then, I feel no burden to understand what foreigner were talking to in English. During the time, I studied not only English, but Japanese and Italian also, by myself.

However, after I came back to Korea, my interest in English was dropped because I adapted to Korean styled studying. This was my second failure. Since South Korea is famous for one-way teaching method, Formal class in Korean school is often a boring thing and in the class, nothing can get the attention if the topic will not be on the test. I dislike these way of education. I expected the university education would be different. Plenty of opportunities, many discussions , group projects , but the fact is that, we follow the time table without considering what I interested in the subject and course registration, but only to secure my own time to hang around or get rest. even though it was not more schedules compared to high school. I was so disappointed in the education of university too. I'm still failing in learning.

To sum up, it is good side to be exposed to languages since childhood, cause it makes children be friendly to the languages. Catching the feel of a foreign language was a good experience . So far, It made a good influence to me too. Was a complete failure , however, to start leaning second language in too young ages, before the child get the concept about the language. A later study , even if you have interest and concentration in a short time can be more likely to be able to get good performance . I think the success stories of my foreign language study is seems to be a year I had in Malaysia only. The first time when I learned on my own, with my will.

Personally, I have met many teachers but I remember only some of them who was careful and have deep concern with students. They have  passion for education and a deep concern for the individual student , rather than the value of 'knowledge Communicator'. I believe the most important thing in effective teaching, is the trust relationship between students and teachers. It makes the teacher teach students in more enthusiastic way. Not just the way of just 'injection of knowledge'. We have reason to go to school and to meet the teacher in face to face. Students have to make some stories with their teachers, as well as to be given some knowledges. As a senior of life, teacher should be a guide. I also want to be that kind of teacher.