New Perceptions on Learning ESL overseas

Koreans are very traditional and highly critical people. There is an exacting in the enforcement and adherence to the social norms therefore each individual is pressured to acquire the necessary qualifications to be deemed worthy of a certain position. Also, they have a very high regard on education. One cannot just teach without the proper technical competence to perform in the academe. Most highly-respected professors are those who have studied in the most prestigious universities in the world. Such high standard is imprinted on their way of thinking and thus affect the way they perceive things.

In the case of ELT, undeniably Koreans expect to be taught by the professionals who initially they think would be the Caucasian speaker. I mentioned Caucasian because though the Korean participants in the study (by Lucie Moussu) exhibited a rather negative notion on the ability of their nonnative teachers, due to the study’s limitation it did not mention the same negative perception toward the African-American teachers. Since these students are notably traditional with the way they think, they would initially think that the African-American’s English proficiency would be in a way a bit substandard to that of a Caucasian. Also, further personal observations proved that they could not actually distinguish the real native speaker of English if they do not have prior knowledge of the background of the foreign teachers since they have a generalized belief that all Caucasians is equal to a native speaker. It is only later when they learn about the racial ethnicity of that particular teacher that they come to see them as a nonnative speaker. This accounts for the more negative ratings given to the Japanese teacher since he’s the only one with an obvious ethnicity. This perception is perhaps greatly influenced by the limited knowledge they have about the outside world having been unwilling to accept changes in the past due to the stronghold of their homogenous culture.

Korean wave in the Philippines.

             Then why you might ask do Korean students flock to the Philippines to study English if Filipino ELTs are not considered as competent as their native speaker counterparts? The emerging popularity of the Philippines as the best alternative place in studying ESL is due to several notable factors. First is time and exposure, initially these students had doubts in the success of their English learning and the sole reason they chose the Philippines is its relatively cheaper rates compared with that of going to the States, Australia or Canada. However, with more exposure to the professionalism and skills of these NNEST, Koreans are slowly accepting their authority in teaching the English language. They see different strengths in the teaching of NNEST and NEST after spending considerable time in the Philippines. Second reason is “word-of-mouth.” More and more Koreans are recommending the country as a sort of a preparatory stage. Preparatory means they find it easy to strengthen their foundations in the basics of the English language, due mainly to the specific strengths of these NNEST.

             As mentioned in the study, NNEST can very well empathized with the students being a second language learner themselves and since Koreans are highly technical even in their way of studying, they find it easier to understand the methods and explanations of NNEST since they are well-equipped with the grammatical rules and structures. Having realized this, Koreans who want to further their understanding of the English language, therefore continue their studies in the States, Australia, Canada and other western countries where English is the native tongue. Experience has taught them that it is rather difficult to go directly to these countries without the proper foundation and basic skills.    This however, does not undermine the ability of the NEST to teach the English language. Undeniably, NNEST in the Philippines have  limited knowledge on the culture that comes with the study of the English language. And since culture intertwines with language, NEST I believe will have a more effective influence on the learner on that aspect.

           Conclusively, there should be no competition between NEST and NNEST because both have distinct strengths and weaknesses which when put together could give a higher level of learning of the English language. Further studies of these individual strengths could very well result in a very productive and utilitarian program for learners of English as a second language.