different views

South Korea’s World Ranking on TOEFL Test

Posted on April 2, 2009 by admin

The Korea Times carried a summary of South Korean students’ performance on the TOEFL test, compared with test takers from other countries.  Not surprisingly, their speaking proficiency remains nearly at the bottom. Korean TOEFL test takers ranked 136th out of 161 nations in speaking skills.  However, Koreans overall TOEFL score stood at 78 out of 120, placing the country 89th, also lower than the world average of 79. In 2007, they scored 77.  Listening and writing scores were 19 and 20 each, compared with the world’s average of 19.5 and 20.5, respectively. Koreans beat the world average only in reading, at 20, compared with the global average of 19.4.

Korea has the world’s largest number of  TOEFL test takers. More than 90 percent of elementary school students receive private English education, and last year the amount of money spent on English education reportedly reached 15 trillion won.

medical signs

The public library

Good evening, everyone.

Do you have a library card? I have two library cards. This one is for Seoul’s and this is for Calgary’s. Tonight, I want to tell you about these both public libraries.

First of all, I have a confession. I am a kind of lazy person. I cannot study at home because there are so interesting things like watching television or napping on the couch. So I usually go to the public library to study since when I was a student.
As you see, my English skill is so terrible that I used to go to the library to study English for about three months in Korea before I came to Canada. In other words, the last thing I did in Korea was commuting to the library to study English. And one of the first things I did as soon as I arrived in Canada, was finding out about the public library in this city to make my own library card.

I discovered that there are 18 branches of the public library in Calgary and you can use all of them, if you make a library card at any branch. Also I knew that the nearest library from my home was the Nose Hill library, so I went there to make the card.

It is very small library. Usually, public libraries in Korea are very big to support its condensed population. They include a parking lot, a cafeteria, a resting room and even small movie theater. But Nose Hill library is consisted of just a one story single building. I realized that Canada is a big country by its size of landmass but also is a small country by its population density.

I asked for making my library card to a certain librarian. And she demanded me to show one photo ID and utility bill to confirm actually I live in Calgary. I showed her my passport but I didn’t have any utility bill because I was so new in this country. Happily, at that time, I had a rent contract, which was written in my name and address, so I showed it and I could make her believe that I was a new Calgarian. And then she told me to pay $12 as the annual registration fee.

It is weird for me to pay money every year to hold a library card. Because it is free in Korea even though Korea is not richer country than Canada.

After I issued the card, I looked around the inside of the library and I found the biggest difference between Korea’s library and Calgary’s. It was the books. In Korean library, the every book is written by Korean but here everything is written by English only. I was frustrated because I could be relaxed and refresh by reading books in Korea, but reading English books is just a hard work and mostly impossible to understand for me.

Anyway, these days I go to the library to study English like I was in Korea. And I can see many differences between Korea and Canada almost every day.

For example, the public library is treated seriously in Korea. Many scholars and students are using the library for their study. Literally, they come to the library to study.

The other hands, most Canadians seem to come to the library to rest and relax. Whenever I go to the library, I could always see variety kind of people from babies to seniors. Also there are wide range of facilities and books for teens and children such as small desks, small chairs and even small computers. Therefore, many parents come to the library with their children. The library is not only for adults but also for children as their playground. So it is common to hear noise from children like crying, laughing or shouting at the library.

The atmosphere of the Canadian library is relaxed like its slow and informal society. In contrast, the Korean library’s ambience is serious like its life style, which is fast and hectic.

When I was in the library in Korea, I was forced to study hard. But I am in the library here, I can take it easy rather than study hard. In Canada, I need more serious place to study as a lazy man.

To sum up, you need one photo ID, one document that shows you actually live in Calgary like utility bill and $12 each year to keep the library card.

This library card has many functions.
You can borrow the library materials like books and DVDs up to 99 items at once. You can borrow books for 3 weeks and you can keep DVDs or music CDs for a week. Also you can use computers and wi-fi connections by using this card at the library.

So I strongly recommend you to get your own library card.

My wallet is getting thick Version 2

A Person living in the modern society tends to have tons of plastic cards. Common The average person's wallets are usually filled with a lot of these cards.

Some of them are identification of for the card holder, like driver's license. Part Some of them are very important to do economical for monetary activities. These are the credit cards or debit cards from the banks. Some cards are also important to live well and to do some cultural pastimes recreational activities. Library cards or gym cards could represent are examples of these kind of things and these that help us live quality of life.

The rest of them are, generally speaking, optional cards. These are some membership or reward cards from the shops, service providers and so on. People can live well without these cards. The only disadvantage of being without these cards is that someone could buy something in a little bit for a slightly more expensive price.

One of the first things I did as soon as I arrived in Canada was cutting the cards that I brought from Korea. I cut tons of my optional cards and some cards for the library, gym, and even some debit and credit cards as well. Because The physical distance between Canada and Korea  made the most of these cards useless any longer now.

At last, my purse became very thin. I was a little bit sad, as I felt that my credit reputation accumulated for a long period in Korea had just vanished without any trace. My good economical history and credit grade are just nothing in Canada.

But there was no time being to be sad because there were many other things to do as a new permanent resident. I had to apply for my SIN, healthcare insurance and driver's license. Also I opened my bank account and applied for a debit card and a credit card at the same time. One of the most useful cards is my new public library card. Almost everyday, I go to the public library to study English.

As time goes went on, the Canadian federal government and Alberta provincial government began to send me the important cards such as driver's license, SIN card, health care card and PR card. Also the bank allowed me to get a debit and a credit card after depositing some money for my poor credit history in Canada. Furthermore, I even made a membership card to get some rewards from a supermarket where I usually buy groceries. My wallet is beginning to get thick again.

Although my purse is still very much thinner than in the past, it seems that the wallet would be thick soon.

Like my wallet is rapidly getting thick, I hope my English skill quickly improves too.

South Korea is a strange country

My origin country is South Korea. I think Korea is very strange country. When I was born, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. At that time, a politician of USA said that there was no any hope in the future of Korea. But now, Korea is officially treated as one of the developed countries in the world.

In Canada, I see many Korean brands like SAMSUNG, LG, KIA so on in TV commercials and on the street. In the past, Korean goods meant the cheapest and low quality. But now, even Koreans themselves tend to select Korean products without any concern about the quality although these are expensive.

It took a long period for many western countries to become developed countries. Most citizens in the rich countries do not have any experiences in poverty because they were born in developed countries. Therefore, entire citizens in a certain wealthy country have comparatively the same economic background.

But in Korea, it is a different story. Many middle aged Koreans remember vividly when they were poor. However, young Koreans never have any images that Korea was the poorest country in the world. It is weird that some people who struggled only for food through their youth and the rest of them who are living in rich since they were infants are being together in a small country. So there are big generation gaps in Korea.

Like many poor countries, South Korea was not a democratic country. A dictator ruled South Korea with his corrupted power and many Koreans were killed or tortured for their demanding for the democracy. At that time, a politician in Britain even said that anticipating South Korea a democratic country was impossible like waiting a rose to bloom in the waste bin. In 1980s, many Koreans did not obey against the tyranny and many people were killed.

Eventually, South Koreans gained their political power to be a modern democratic country. Even though South Korea is a democratic country now without any doubt, there are some problems. Many senior Koreans have misunderstood that the old tyranny made Korea rich in the past. There is another big difference between young Koreans and seniors. That is why the dictator's daughter was elected as the president of Korea by the old Koreans' support while most young Koreans did not want her.

I think Korea is very strange country because young Koreans have to live with people like living fossil and senior Koreans have to live with young Koreans like communists. Other countries do not have these problems because their seniors usually were passed away during their slow changes. Too rapid development and changes made South Korea strange and unique. South Korea is the country where people from the rich and people from the poor are living together. Also Korea is the country where the authoritarian and the democrat are living together.

Soon, new Korean government made by the fossil people will start. I wonder how Korea opens its future with their government made by the old thoughts.

My wallet is getting thick

Person living in the modern society tends to have tons of plastic cards. Common person's wallets are usually filled with a lot of these cards.

Some of them are identification of the card holder like driver's license. Part of them are very important to do economical activities. These are credit cards or debit cards from the banks. Some cards are also important to live well and to do some cultural pastimes. Library cards or gym cards could represent these kind of things and these help us live quality of life.

Rest of them are, generally speaking, optional cards. These are some membership or reward cards from the shops, service providers and so on. People can live well without these cards. Only disadvantage of being without these cards is that someone could buy something in a little bit expensive.

One of the first things I did as soon as I arrived in Canada was cutting the cards that I brought from Korea. I cut tons of my optional cards and some cards for the library, gym, and even some debit and credit cards as well. Because physical distance between Canada and Korea  made the most cards useless any longer.

At last, my purse became very thin. I was a little bit sad as I felt that my credit reputation accumulated for a long period in Korea just vanished without any trace. My good economical history and credit grade are just nothing in Canada.

But there was no time being sad because there were many things to do as a new permanent resident. I had to apply for my SIN, healthcare insurance and driver's license. Also I opened my bank account and applied for a debit card and a credit card at the same time. One of the most useful card is my new public library card. Almost everyday, I go to the public library to study English.

As time goes on, the Canadian federal government and Alberta provincial government began to send me the important cards such as driver's license, SIN card, health care card and PR card. Also the bank allowed me to get a debit and a credit card after depositing some money for my poor credit history in Canada. Furthermore, I even made a membership card to get some rewards from a supermarket where I usually buy groceries. My wallet is beginning to get thick again.

Although my purse is still very thinner than in the past, it seems that the wallet would be thick soon.

Like my wallet is rapidly getting thick, I hope my English skill quickly improves too.

Strange sounds system of the English lanuage

Korean has a very scientific notational system. It can describe most sounds in the world. Also it is very simple and it represents it's own pronunciation. In other words, Korean alphabet is exactly the symbol of it's sound. So Korean does not have to use any pronunciation symbols. Therefore, even foreigners who learned Korean alphabet a few hours can read and write Korean words although they do not understand the meanings.

Many Koreans are confused when they begin to learn English. As English words have irregular spelling rules with their sounds, and there are many unsystematic sounds methods, Koreans are usually shocked at the fact that they have to memorize the spelling of the words and the pronunciation separately.

I was wondering why English has only five vowel characters(A, E, I, O, U) even though it has more than 10 vowel sounds until my LINC instructor told us the reason yesterday.

In the past, Roman Emperor ruled England. Their language was Latin and they used Latin alphabet as the notational system. After ruling of the Rome, England was invaded from Anglo, Saxon and so on originally from the German area. Their language was similar with old German, but they did not have any alphabet.

As the ruling class of the England, they became to need some notational system to rule their new territory and they finally found the Latin alphabet. However, very sadly, their sounds did not perfectly match with the Latin characters. So many complex spelling rules were derived with the loose pronunciation methods.

In the end, the poor English learners, especially from the East Asia, are struggling to memorize the spellings and the pronunciations separately.

It was very interesting story to me.