Writing Master and PhD Theses in English
"The tutor's instruction to write PhD theses in English was so stunning that we were completely at a loss," recalls Kim Su-yong, 31, a female graduate student who has completed a PhD course. Kunkook University graduate students attending the environmental engineering department a few years ago took up a new challenge of preparing masters and doctorate theses in English, good enough to be presented in international seminars and publications.
"I hated the practice of graduate students studying academic papers published in foreign journals and underlining sections, taking them for something like sacred books. If learning is to be competitive as well, I think, globalization in academics is essential," says Professor Chang Duk, 45, who has introduced thesis writing in English. "Called for in our program is making notes and writing in English from the initial stage, away from the established way of preparing it in Korean first and translating it into English."
Time needed for thesis writing has doubled, but students themselves have confirmed the importance of writing papers in English. "In the absence of standardized theses, we used American PhD theses as references. A decisive merit of writing theses in English is that none can write one unless he or she knows the subject fully. No glossing over in ambiguous expressions is permitted, and hence students have to delve into subject matter until they fully understand it."
Kim Hye-tae, research and development officer at Korea Resources Recycling Corp., who first wrote a thesis in English under Professor Chang's tutorship, recalled, "I managed to overcome enormous difficulties with the perception that the readership of my thesis will increase by tens of times at the least." Huh Chun-mo, 32, who wrote his thesis in English along with Kim, explained his similar experience, saying, "When I had to wrestle with three or four English dictionaries, I harbored doubts and asked myself why I should do this. Attending seminars overseas, accompanying our professor, however, I realized I was being a frog in a well. I've keenly felt that whether one can make public in English the outcome of one's research in an international seminar and exchange academic views in English determines one's competitiveness."
Kim Su-yong added, "Having written a thesis in English, I vividly remember some of the sentences and expressions I cited in it. The experience was of great help to me in exchanging mutually relevant and other information with foreign researchers." Professor Chang also conducts graduate course seminars and readings in English, and encourages his students to submit articles to foreign journals.
The first thesis written in English was produced in 1994 at Kunkook University. Papers prepared by the institute's graduate students and made public at international academic meetings by themselves totaled 17 thus far. "The globalization of learning is an unavoidable trend. My preparation of a thesis in English has given me a conviction that the outcome of my research will reach the international community as well as giving me self-confidence," said Suh Sung-chol, 29, who is now taking a PhD course.
The English literature departments of prestigious institutions of higher education such as Seoul National, Yonsei and Korea Universities have no foreign native-speaking professors at all, who have specialized in English literature. Few subjects fostering proficiency in spoken and written English are offered in the regular curricula. Unless students attend private institutes or take self-teaching courses, it's difficult for them to be proficient in spoken and written English.
The English literature departments of prestigious institutions of higher education such as Seoul National, Yonsei and Korea Universities have no foreign native-speaker professors at all, who have specialized in English literature. Few subjects fostering proficiency in spoken and written English are offered in the regular curricula. Unless students attend private institutes or take self-teaching courses, it's difficult for them to be proficient in spoken and written English.
Employed at SNU English literature department as of this January are 29 Korean faculty members, consisting of 18 full, 4 associate and 1 assistant professors and 6 full-time lecturers, plus 2 native English-speaking foreign lecturers. The latter two are here on one-year contracts, teaching English conversation and composition, and do not take part in the opening and lecturing of major subjects.
Foreign professors on an exchange program administered by the Korea-United States Education Committee sometimes deliver lectures on English major subjects when they so volunteer. SNU has only two foreign exchange professors lecturing on major English literature subjects. "A," who graduated from SNU English literature department in 1997, undertook only one lecture "English conversation," conducted by a native speaker lecturer. Of 130 academic points required for graduation, 42 points must be filled up with major or required subjects. "A" met the remainder with optional traditional English literature subjects like "18th century English novels," "Shakespeare," and "Medieval English."
Of 30-odd English literature department subjects, specified in the curricula and reference regulations for the 1999 first semester, lectures aimed at fostering spoken and written English capability are only six - between one and three each English conversation and English composition. Many English literature professors even resort to a logic that "An English literature department is a place where the students learn about literature, not how to speak." "Demand for English education that can be used for jobs in daily life rose in the mid-90s. But it was all but impossible to meet the demand through school curricula," said "A."
"Unlike ordinary classes attended by 15 to 20 students, 60-70 students, including those from other departments, swarmed into "Current English Study" class, reading current English articles and listening to taped broadcasts in English. While students were changing, little change was effected in the distribution of English literature curricula in 3:7 ratio between English subjects like the history of English and English grammar and literature subjects like 18th century English literature. "As English literature itself was fascinating during our college years, we didn't have serious complaints then. Upon graduation, however, our perceptions changed," added "A."
Entering a textbook publishing firm, "A," thanks to his college major, was assigned to a job dealing with foreigners. "Unaccustomed to foreigners at first, I had an awful time meeting them," he recalled. "It took me several months to acquire basic skills needed to handle business with foreigners." He added, "Graduate students and professors often say the English literature department curricula are old-fashioned. They are reluctant to mention it openly, however, because they don't want to invite disapproval from the establishment."
"B," who has completed an English literature graduate course, reminisced on his experience at an English literature workshop held in Korea in 1999: "I could somehow manage lectures and presentations based on texts provided by the sponsor. But I was quite embarrassed during an open free discussion session over tea and cookies. I had many questions I would like to ask foreign scholars, but due to lack of confidence in expressing myself in English, however, I had to remain in a group of Korean colleagues."
Korea University English literature department, with an 11-member staff, has no foreign professor either. "Every time we advertise employment for professors, we invite both Koreans and foreigners to apply. But we in fact haven't taken any real initiative to employ foreign professors," confessed a school official. Yonsei University has one foreign professor teaching in the English literature department. An English literature professor at a provincial university telephoned this daily to tell on conditions of anonymity, "Some English literature professors, hearing a foreign guest is set to call on the university president, vacate their research rooms on purpose lest their poor English proficiency be made known."
The pressure of the times that "universities should produce people who can express themselves in English" is a source of agony for professors teaching English literature, who have stressed English as "learning" in the past half a century since the nation's liberation from Japanese rule. "Korean English literature scholars, having had relatively little opportunity to improve spoken English, often don't open their mouths at academic meetings overseas," said Professor Pak Hui-jin, head of SNU's English literature department. "We plan to open the door to foreign professors too in the near future."
Beginning in the first semester of 2000, SNU plans to require all freshmen to undergo practical English courses (three academic points), instructed by native speakers. "At an English literature seminar held in Tokyo, late in the 80s, I was stunned by seeing a researcher at Beijing University, having had no overseas studies, make a presentation in fluent English," recalled Professor Pak. "The researcher told me later, 'I've no fear in speaking in English because secondary school English lessons in Beijing are conducted in English.'"
"It's true that our universities have neglected fostering proficiency in spoken English." Professor Pak went on. "But the view is questionable that universities, the sanctuary of learning, should assume the role of practical English training institutes just as the private ones in the market. Needed are epoch-making steps invigorating English education including one conducting secondary English classes in English. At the same time, the universities themselves should come up with measures to resolve the problem."
Chasing China
The People's Congress hall in Beijing on March 19, 1998. Newly-appointed prime minster Zhu Rongji held his first press conference for journalists at home and from abroad, drawing world attention on account of his eloquence and profound knowledge. Numerous economic figures, technical terms, allusions to Chinese historical events and jokes he used and made in the conference were conveyed intact to Western journalists through the mouth of a pretty lady interpreter. The interpreter for the prime minister, who turned the conference site into a sea of admiration and laughter, was Zhu Tong 32, assigned to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Interpreter Office.
When the prime minister used a difficult allusion to a historial event meaning "I'll devote my body and heart to the nation until death" in a bid to emphasize his zeal for reform, his interpreter not only explained it in easy English, but also paid courtesy to her senior by paraphrasing "death" into "until the end of my life." More astonishing was the fact that she, ranked as a top interpreter in the Foreign Ministry, had never been abroad as a student. (Zhu Tong left for Britain last year on her first overseas study tour.)
What's more, the Chinese government relishes using "a pure local product" as an interpreter for the top leader of the state. Playing that role at a summit meeting President Jiang Zemin had with the Jordanian king early this year was a lady, named Tai Qingli "another pure local product." An official of the Interpreter Office disclosed, "Most of our pool of 20-odd interpreters have been educated entirely at such local institutions as the Diplomacy School, Beijing University of Foreign Languages and Beijing University." Despite their lack of overseas studies, they boast pronunciations very close to native speakers'.
High English proficiency applies to ordinary Chinese diplomats as well as specialized interpreters. Foreign Ministry spokesmen, or "the mouth of China," must be capable of quickly catching the essence of questions Western journalists raise at news briefing sessions, held twice a week, and handling them skilfully. Ex-spokesmen Seng Quopang and Tang Juchang are climbing the quicker ladder of promotion in the Foreign Ministry thanks to their outstanding performances at news briefings, backed up by their fluent English.
Chinese college students too make their Korean counterparts crestfallen with fluence in English conversation. China's first foreign language was Russian until 1978 when it adopted the open and reform policy. Russian was replaced by English under Deng Xioping's pragmatism. Many Chinese college students find no difficulty in talking with foreigners in English.
When U.S. President Clinton visited Beijing University in the 1998 autumn, the students who packed the auditorium, mounted an offensive of questions at him in "fluent home English." "Though I feel a sort of pride looking at Chinese college students' shabby clothes, I get rather ashamed when I see them speak in fluent English," confided a Korean student studying in the Chinese capital.
More than half of Beijing University students score 620 TOEFL marks or above. Some attribute Chinese proficiency in English to "similar sentence structure and order of words of English and Chinese." But experts cite China's solid basic English education as the secret.
A case in point is English education done at a Beijing University-attached middle school located in Wudaokou, northwest of Beijing. "Teaching language" used in English classes here is not Chinese but English. Female teacher Ma Yan, 38, a graduate of a college in Tianjin, who teaches third grade English here. said, "Chinese English teachers, let alone foreign English teachers, conduct classes in English, and Chinese is used only when it is essential." Conversation, reading comprehension and composition are all incorporated into textbooks, but students naturally acquire skills in listening and speaking because English lectures are given in English, she added.
In addition, during vacations the students of this school conduct regular exchanges with their counterparts in the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia, with which it has concluded sistership agreements. On each vacation about 20 students stay at the homes of their friends in other countries and learn living English through daily life. Another secret to heightening China's "English competitiveness" is that college students are permitted to graduate only if and when they have passed a specified level in English proficiency. Required for their graduation is earning grade 5 or above in 8-grade English examinations. English majors have to earn grade 8.
Reflecting China's foreign language education, stressing competence in conversation, emphasis in the examinations is placed on listening and speaking for grades 1 through 4, and on reading and writing for grades 6 through 8. China's Education Ministry last year, furthermore, initiated elementary school English education beginning with third graders. As a result, "English competitiveness" on the part of the Chinese is likely to outstrip Koreans and Japanese in the near future.
A backbone of China's stress on English education can be found in the fact that "one's capacity in using English" virtually determines his or her social status. College graduates with an excellent command of English may well find jobs at foreign corporations, paying a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan, while their colleagues getting employed by Chinese firms have to be satisfied with a one-tenth monthly salary of about 1,000 yuen. English is also a major means of "escaping abroad." Studies at American universities on account of high TOEFL scores provide an excellent chance to advance in society.
The Chinese anticipate that the global Internet market in the 21st century would be dominated by English and Chinese. An information-telecommunication firm official asked, "It's easy for the Chinese to learn English, but won't it be difficult for Americans to learn Chinese?" Underlying China's English education is a far-reaching strategy to conquer the Internet market in the new century.
