Most Koreans spend a lot of time and money to learn English; however, they say it is too difficult to learn English. What makes them feel learning English is so hard? There are many reasons: different language family, pronunciation, alphabet system, grammar and so on. These can be one of the main reasons why Koreans take more time to learn English than Europeans for example. Korean English learners have more difficulty when they speak in English even though they can read and write. Pronunciation difficulty is a big problem when Koreans speak in English. Thus I would like to compare the pronunciation differences between the two languages.
First of all, I would like to compare phonology of the two languages. Korean is a syllable-timed-language in which individual word stress is insignificant. This is radically different from English which is a stress-timed language. This is why Koreans produce the 'flat' quality of much of the English whey they speak. Differences in syllable structure between the two languages may lead to the addition of a short vowel sound to the end of English words that terminate with a consonant or within words containing consonant clusters.
The next significant problem in pronunciation is consonants. Several English consonant sounds do not exist in Korean. They are the /θ/ and /ð/ sounds in words such as then, thirteen and clothes, the /v/ sound, which is produced as a /b/, and the /f/ sound which leads, for example, to phone being pronounced pone.
There are a lot of differences between English and Korean which make it harder most Korean learners to master English. The pronunciation difference can cause miscommunication between speakers and listeners. Thus English teachers should teach the differences for their better pronunciation. It may result for Korean English learners to feel more confident when they speak.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Barak Obama, the New President of America
I am neither an American nor a big fan of Barak Obama. Luckily I observed the presidential election bash during my stay in the USA. November 4th, 2008, Barak Obama was elected for the 44th president of the United States of America. It was more sensational than ever throughout the USA but also all around the world.
People who cast their votes have been thinking Barack Obama was the right choice to be the new president and people believed that he will begin to write the new chapter in history. He showed us new possibilities, and this presidential election result proved that America was a place where all things were possible as in his speech. His messages about change, hope, and harmony made people to dream new adventures and dynamic experiments on our world.
It won’t be fully optimistic about all of his aspects and future. Barak Obama can make a lot of trials and errors during his presidency. It has been a long race for American to invite a Black man into a White House. Now it’s time for him, Barak Obama, to listen to the people and practice the hope of audacity. Yes, he can! Yes, we can!
People who cast their votes have been thinking Barack Obama was the right choice to be the new president and people believed that he will begin to write the new chapter in history. He showed us new possibilities, and this presidential election result proved that America was a place where all things were possible as in his speech. His messages about change, hope, and harmony made people to dream new adventures and dynamic experiments on our world.
It won’t be fully optimistic about all of his aspects and future. Barak Obama can make a lot of trials and errors during his presidency. It has been a long race for American to invite a Black man into a White House. Now it’s time for him, Barak Obama, to listen to the people and practice the hope of audacity. Yes, he can! Yes, we can!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
HAIKU -- CENTRAL PARK
Newark City Rail
NJ Transit to New York
Go uptown to park
A beautiful park
Bikes, horses, skates and people
Enjoy their city life
Spring, Summer and fall
Don't forget the winter snow
Always in my heart
NJ Transit to New York
Go uptown to park
A beautiful park
Bikes, horses, skates and people
Enjoy their city life
Spring, Summer and fall
Don't forget the winter snow
Always in my heart
Friday, October 17, 2008
If my school gave me one day per week
What would you do to develop professionally if your school gave you one day per week to pursue your goals?
If my school gave me one day per week I would like to see movies because watching movies is my favorite thing to spend my free time. And my goal is to be a good English teacher. I believe movies, English speaking movies, are good tool to learn English. The first thing I have to do is to choose a movie which is educational and easy to adapt to my lessons.
So here is my scenario. Probably I get up late and start my day with a cup of coffee. With only one day off, I wouldn’t drive so far to see a movie. If there is a nice movie showing in town I would go, but probably I’d rather rent a video or search a movie from the internet.
If I found a nice movie from the internet I might stay at home instead of going out to see a movie. In that case I can sit back and relax with my pajamas on. And then I would search the sound track music and movie script as well. While enjoying the movie I will write a note for my lesson since I can’t use the whole movie during my lesson.
After watch the movie I would decide which part I will use for my lesson. And then I read the script and watch the movie again. If the movie is too long I might not able to finish the work in one day. So I have to make a to do plan with one movie. See below.
Week 1: Choose a movie and watch the movie for two times. And choose the parts of the film which I can use in my lesson. Week 2: Make a script of the clip and some worksheets for the students. Week 3: Choose a song from the movie and listen to it many times. And think about some ideas or activities to use the song in the class.
If my school gave me one day per week I would like to see movies because watching movies is my favorite thing to spend my free time. And my goal is to be a good English teacher. I believe movies, English speaking movies, are good tool to learn English. The first thing I have to do is to choose a movie which is educational and easy to adapt to my lessons.
So here is my scenario. Probably I get up late and start my day with a cup of coffee. With only one day off, I wouldn’t drive so far to see a movie. If there is a nice movie showing in town I would go, but probably I’d rather rent a video or search a movie from the internet.
If I found a nice movie from the internet I might stay at home instead of going out to see a movie. In that case I can sit back and relax with my pajamas on. And then I would search the sound track music and movie script as well. While enjoying the movie I will write a note for my lesson since I can’t use the whole movie during my lesson.
After watch the movie I would decide which part I will use for my lesson. And then I read the script and watch the movie again. If the movie is too long I might not able to finish the work in one day. So I have to make a to do plan with one movie. See below.
Week 1: Choose a movie and watch the movie for two times. And choose the parts of the film which I can use in my lesson. Week 2: Make a script of the clip and some worksheets for the students. Week 3: Choose a song from the movie and listen to it many times. And think about some ideas or activities to use the song in the class.
Website Review (4)
Instructor: Maryann Siebert
Presenter: Seunghee Son (Paula)
October 17, 2008
Website Review (4)
Website: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/index.shtml
These days young students are more familiar with using technology than teachers are. Some education surveys indicate that most teachers use technology in their classroom instruction. That use, however, varies greatly from teacher to teacher. In some teachers technology use nears 100 percent; in others, it is virtually 0 percent. This website is for encouraging teachers to use technology and provides free and easy to use resources for teachers and tips for encouraging staff technology use as well.
On the left of the webpage, Tech Integration, we can see featured resources and Top 5 Technology Features. In the middle, there are Tech in the Classroom, Template Library and, Featured Articles. Those are very useful for the teachers who want to learn how to create teaching materials using different computer programs. This website also provides various kinds of printable worksheets which are easy to use for busy teachers.
Presenter: Seunghee Son (Paula)
October 17, 2008
Website Review (4)
Website: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/index.shtml
These days young students are more familiar with using technology than teachers are. Some education surveys indicate that most teachers use technology in their classroom instruction. That use, however, varies greatly from teacher to teacher. In some teachers technology use nears 100 percent; in others, it is virtually 0 percent. This website is for encouraging teachers to use technology and provides free and easy to use resources for teachers and tips for encouraging staff technology use as well.
On the left of the webpage, Tech Integration, we can see featured resources and Top 5 Technology Features. In the middle, there are Tech in the Classroom, Template Library and, Featured Articles. Those are very useful for the teachers who want to learn how to create teaching materials using different computer programs. This website also provides various kinds of printable worksheets which are easy to use for busy teachers.
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