The Case of Hong Kong
Foreigners experience no inconvenience in living in Hong Kong, the first internationalized city in Asia following 156 years of British rule. Dial "1081," equivalent to Korea's "114" for telephone directory inquiries and a telephone operator responds in English. At banks Chinese people get account books written in Chinese, while foreigners get one written in English. Almost 99% of administrative meetings are conducted in English.
Female employees at Mc'Donald hamburger shops handle orders in English. Of course, no communication may be made in English at back-alley noodle and dumplings restaurants, but customers, with the aid of English menus, readily available, find little difficulty in ordering meals. Even after Hong Kong's sovereignty reverted to China in July 1997, Kwangtonese and English are still used as official languages in Hong Kong. Hence, even pamphlets and advertisements, let alone all official documents, are written in both Chinese and English.
In the use of English, however, Hong Kong is behind Singapore, because the mother tongue itself is English in Singapore. "In Singapore everyone ranging from children to old ladies and to vegetable shop owners and daily laborers use English," says Lee Jin-hui, head of the Housing and Commercial Bank, who used to work there. Being a multi-ethnic city state of Chinese, Malays and Indians, English used there is called Singlish with unique accents and usages combined.
When the former British colony Singapore became independent in 1965, the first prime minister Lee Kwan-yoo, in the face of objections from most Chinese, adopted English as the first national language. The principal reason behind it was an intent to attempt an organic integration of the multi-ethnic society through English. It was also aimed at strengthening Singapore's international competitiveness. For Singapore, a tiny island of 56 square kilometers, devoid of capital, land and technology, to become rich and strong, it needed to lure foreign capital, technology and people. Most essential to that end was to secure English manpower. Lee thus made concentrated efforts to enhance the entire people's English proficiency. "English played a major role in the growth of Singapore into an international financial city," comments Kim Soon-ung, 47, head of the locally incorporated firm of Hanvit Bank. "In this regard, Lee Kwan-yoo is a great statesman."
Malaysia, another former British colony, now led by the "rebellious" prime minister Mahathir, abolished English in the latter 1960s in the face of surging nationalistic sentiment which claimed that "the use of English is a legacy of colonial rule." But it was Mahathir who overuled the decision and significantly reinforced English education. While making an all-out effort on economic development under the target of becoming "an advanced country by 2020," Mahathir enhanced his people's proficiency in English greatly. Though he is anti-West, his perception of survival and pragmatism that "a country is weeded out if it cannot use English" has boosted English education in his country.
In the Philippines, colonized by the United States in the 19th century, English is used no less than the indigenous Tagalog. This Southeast Asian archipelago may perhaps suffer a conflict directly opposite to that of Korea. Because most intellectuals use English only, a "Let's use our indigenous language Tagalog" campaign is underway led by the government. "Problematic with the Philippines is that it has been excessively internationalized," opines Nam Jin-soo, former culture and information officer at the Korean Embassy in Manila.
In those Asian countries in which English is used universally, life patterns too tend to be Westernized. When children enter elementary school in Hong Kong, parents or teachers give them English names like Michael, Lisa and Olga. Written on the calling card of Hong Kong police organized crime investigation chief, who recently called on Korean Consulate General security officer Cho Min-o, is "Lee Kachiu, John." The investigator asked Cho to "Call me John instead of Mr. Lee." "Hong Kong police officers above the rank of sergeant command good English. And they are outstanding in the international arena like Interpol conventions," adds Cho.
Various exhibitions and events held at the Hong Kong Convention Center, to which traders from around the world gather, are conducted in English from beginning to end. Having lived in such an environment, Hong Kong bureaucrats and the leading elite command English good enough to hold impromptu briefings and press conferences. Korean consul general there Shin Doo-byung highly praised Hong Kong administration minister Anson Chan, who began his career as a civil servant upon graduating from school in Hong Kong and has climbed to the number two post in the Hong Kong hierarchy, saying, "His English proficiency is the best among Asian leaders I've met. That he, who has never studied abroad, commands such good English bespeaks Hong Kong bureaucrats' international competitiveness."
Four of the 12 Hong Kong TV channels are English stations. Switch on TV in the morning, ABC and CBS TV evening news from the United States is relayed live at 7:30am. Turn on the radio in your car, you can listen to world news from London based BBC as well as CNN. News from all corners of the world including America and Europe reaches the living room here in real time. To that extent, the eyes and ears of Hong Kong are open to the world.
Hong Kong has over 50 dailies, of which eight are English. All major world newspapers appear to be available at news stands at the Star Ferry wharf in downtown Central Street. Main streamers there are English-speaking country papers such as the New York Times and USA Today of the United States, the Times and Sun of England. Also displayed are Le Monde of France, Die Welt of Germany, Yomiuri of Japan and the Chosun Ilbo of Korea. Given such an environment, Korean businessmen operating in Hong Kong say, Hong Kong people command good English and harbor a sense of "internationalness," and foreigners and foreign capital tend to flow in there as a result.
English Education Boom at Kindergartens and Elementary Schools
Children learning science in class 4, grade 3 of Yunghoon Elementary School in Seoul open the textbook of "Nature 3-2." "You need two wires to light up the bulb, one negative and one positive," American teacher Catharine Feiffer tells the kids. The pupils, grouped in four or five, are bent on connecting wires. Feiffer addresses Kyong-sil. "Do you think it's going to work, Rina?" "No." "Why not?" "Because... oh, I see! I didn't put the positive wire." "Okay. Try again." "First I teach children the new words to be covered in a particular day. Through a simple test on paper, I find out if they have learned the new words," says the instructor. "If kids don't understand a word, I repeat it slowly several times more until they comprehend it."
That is a scene at the "Immersion Program," Yonghoon Elementary School has been implementing since 1997. The school, conducting an "open education," has consigned mathematics and science to native English-speaking teachers. Textbooks have been translated from the authentic national textbooks by principal Pak Sung-bang, 66, and copyread by foreign teachers. "During my study abroad, I carried with me an English dictionary day and night to memorize vocabulary. One day a professor told me, "One must be naturally familiarized with words in life rather than memorizing them unconditionally. Discard dictionaries and learn English with the whole body." The 1995 attachment of his school to the Internet also prompted him to conduct classes in English. "I was amazed at the great quantity of information available on the Internet," he continues. "Judging that education in English and the latest information accessible through the Internet have to be done in parallel, I made up my mind to employ native English speakers as teachers."
Children who no longer fear English are increasing in number around us. Though the private primary school Yonghoon is the only one that teaches some subjects in English, English conversation is compulsory at public and private elementary schools. Private institutions teaching preschool children English are booming. At S Institute in Ilwon-dong, Kangnam Ward, south of the Han River, 4-year-old Hye-yung was applauded when she said, "May I have wo...wowowowo..." Though she was unable to think of the word water, she didn't give up trying lest she be scolded for speaking Korean. A kid who cannot pronounce correctly even "How are you?" is undergoing bilingual training.
Since 1966 English conversation has been a required subject for all pupils at Sonil Elementary School in Kalhyon-dong, Unpyong Ward, northwestern Seoul. Two English literature-major full-time lecturers, beginning in the second semester of grade 1, teach two hours of English conversation to lower grades per week and four hours a week to higher grades. Nearer to graduation, pupils become bilingual to the extent of communicating with foreigners freely, boasts deputy principal Lee Bong-hak, 55. "The textbooks used are so compiled from local and foreign ones as to fit our reality," he says.
Another feature of the English conversation education in Sonil is that pupils use no notebooks. Children are led to get fond of English through videos, songs and paintings. "A teaching formula where a teacher writes words or phrases on the blackboard and pupils write them down in the notebooks and recite them represents a dead education," maintains Lee. "If middle school freshmen are suddenly exposed to English through textbooks of stiff contents, they are liable to develop a sense of resistance to the foreign language. Accordingly, it is effective to help younger children get familiarized with spoken English."
But such a high-level English education for children has a limitation in that the cost must be born by the beneficiaries. As public elementary schools teach English conversation beginning with the third grade, first and second graders have to rely on private institutes, guidance books or individual tutoring. Mostly, private schools conduct experimental educational programs. "My child learns spoken English through guide books, and I'm concerned whether he can catch up with his pals learning it from native-speaker instructors," worries a mother. This is not an instance of simple envy. It's a high time for us to pay keen attention to a call that English-specialized teachers on a par with native speakers must be assigned to public schools with a budget from the state coffer.
