As I was watching the speech of Patricia Ryan, various minds preoccupied my mind. One of them was the economics paper that I am currently working on. I am writing a thesis in ENGLISH..... though I am Korean, and though the paper deals with Korean corporations. Why is this ridiculous pheonomenon taking place?- it's because English is the "global language".
'All the modernized prestigious universities are in United States and United Kingdom, and every person thus has to learn English to pass exams and ace the admission to such schools......'
How sad, and How dare can we say this?
Last week, I engaged in a voluntary service that I am quite sure that I will remember for the rest of my life. I went to the church, which offered after school education service to kids under 12. There I met these small kids who were very bright and playful; but bore huge pain. One of the kids, whose parents were divorced and thus was living only with his father, was very hyperactive. I asked him why, and he said that his mother was visiting him the next day- for the weekend. I asked him how often he sees his mother, and he told me that it was a very rare incident. I was extremely and harrowingly sad and I pitied him very much; a 12 year old boy was being so happy because he finally can see his mother for 2 days..... How blessed I am!!.....??
Another child was even living alone. Her parents were divorced, and were gone. Her only brother was in U.S. The 12 year old girl looked careworn; AT THAT YOUNG AGE... How blessed I am!!.....??
The other child was even more pitiful. He did not have any family, friends, and he even had some mental disease. Looking at him smiling as if the world had blessed him and looking at him smiling at me for trying to help him, I was very very pitiful. How blessed I am!!.....??
I was assigned to teach English to the three kids. They were eager to learn, but the environment was not favorable. We only had one text book, which was not even a new one. For the whole time I was with them, I was concerned with one very serious question; "Is this really a necessary thing?"
In KMLA, all students including me struggle to learn and improve our English. Obviously there are many reasons, but the primary one is to get high scores from tests. We have to take SATs, APs, and IBTs~!! After teaching the kids as hard as I could, I suddenly noticed: "Maybe I am not the blessed one..." If English works as a barrier for such poor kids in succeeding in today's society, if English helps killing a languate every 14days, and if English does not change the world, WHY DO I HAVE TO LEARN ENGLISH??!!
Korean language is an extremely scientific and well-organized language; we Koreans have to protect it from disappearing. Personally I value the purpose of learning English very very much. It is just that...... the modern trend of repudiating and ignoring all non-English using students and of enforcing people to learn English is no good. I see greater value in watching and guiding the kids in unfortunate conditions.
"The children can lead Africa from a dark continent to a good continent", an African student said.
Perhaps, it's not the English that builds up true potential and develops true ability. Always remember how blessed you are and I am, and try somehow to protect own languages and stop putting too much pressure on learning English, for there are way more valuable concepts and qualities.
