Confucianism emphasizes that society is hierarchical and that all people are in a lower or higher position in the hierarchy. The only people who have equal status in Korean society are “friends”, that is people of same age who have a defined relationship, thus who belong to one same organization, that being a school, company, temple or church.
Koreans insist that conversation is reserved to people who have the status of “friends”. That is, someone of a higher position, say someone older and someone younger, should not converse. It is the older person “teaching” the younger person and the younger person “listening to” the older person.
This is in part why Americans have trouble having conversations with Koreans. This is also part of the reason why Koreans are reluctant to have non-scripted conversations during English conversation classes.
Confucian culture also emphasizes that one’s reputation – face or chaemyon – should be kept intact. Koreans thus want to take time to think about what they say before they say it in public.
Tips to teach conversation classes in Korea
1. Ask simple questions then pair up in groups
So that Koreans avoid losing face when talking in public without having taken prior notes, it is best to ask students a question and then pair them in groups or groups of three and ask them to discuss the topic between themselves.
For example, if you ask them “why do you learn English”, a group of two Korean students will discuss the topic between themselves. As the teacher, you can travel around the classroom to make sure they are trying the answer. A few minutes later, you can ask them to answer the question publicly.
2. Tell students to think about a topic before they come to class
Korean students like being prepared before they talk about a certain topic. They don’t like improvising on topics. One way to get them prepared is to ask them to think about a certain topic the previous day. One example could be “tomorrow we will talk about shopping. Prepare a list of where you like shopping”.
Students will then come with a paragraph with notes related to the topic they were asked to prepare. That way when they discuss the topic in class they will be prepared. Again, asking them to discuss questions with a classmate before they openly discuss it is best.
3. Give students an article with a few written questions before they discuss the article
Another way to get students prepared is to give them an article and four or five questions that they will have to answer at home. The article could be drawn from Korean newspapers such as the Korea Herald or the Korea Times.
Avoid articles that deal with politics or North Korea. Prefer articles that deal with Korean culture, food or education. Make sure there is something Korean about the article. Then ask students to write a short paragraph to answer each of the questions you asked them.
4. Don’t encourage students to argue or contradict each other
Korean culture is inspired from Confucian values and ideals and only people who consider themselves “friends”, that is who are the same age and who belong to the same institution, are allowed to contradict each other in private circles.
Make sure you avoid asking students whether they agree or disagree with the answer given by certain students. Students who give deliberately provocative answers are rare, and even then, avoid asking student to contradict them.
5. Don’t make comments or give your opinion during conversations – even sarcastic comments
One thing foreign professors often do is comment on student’s answers or give their opinion when students answer certain questions. Students are often bothered by such behavior as it could cause to lose face.
Also avoid sarcasm or confronting students on their answers as it could cause them to lose face. Body language usually does the trick, so if you find a student’s remark provocative or wrong, simply stare at them.
Finally, avoid getting technical or scientific when discussing topics. I remember a classroom that went silent when the teacher started explaining genetics and hormones, as most student found the teacher’s intervention too technical and irrelevant to the topic.
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