A New Perspective by Nichole Kraus

I’m Nichole and I’ve been teaching middle school English Learners (ELs) in a newcomers program for 9 years now. This is my first time visiting South Korea and my first real experience with any language not based around the Roman alphabet system. Something that has really struck me is the feeling of near helplessness when I try to do anything here! If I were in a place where the people spoke Spanish, Italian, or French I could at least guess what they were saying and figure out what written signs meant. Here I don’t have that ability. Fortunately Korea is full of very nice people who are willing to help! Also we are able to access wifi almost everywhere, so I’m making good use of my translation app.

Right away, this experience has given me a much greater insight on what my new students must feel like when they first arrive not knowing English. There are so many different aspects to being a new place. First, I can’t just walk up to anyone and tell them what I need or ask for something and expect them to understand what I’m trying to communicate. Then, even if I know how to ask the right question, it’s fairly unlikely that I’ll understand their answer apart from a basic yes or no. I can really relate to those students who get a “deer in the headlights” expression when someone speaks to them in English. I find myself hoping the cashier at the convenience store won’t ask any questions or that the taxi driver speaks at least a little English.

Aside from spoken language, I realize I took for granted how much I rely on reading. For example, I got a samgak-kimbap (triangle shaped seaweed and rice roll) from the convenience store. I was so relieved that it said the flavors in English or I would have had no idea what I was getting! Then I had to figure out how to unwrap it. It had pictures along with the explanation in Korean, but they weren’t the most helpful. Normally I would read the explanation that goes along with the pictures, but this time I had to guess and hope for the best! I figured it out eventually, but it took a lot more analyzing than it would have done if I knew Korean or it was written in English.

When it comes to my students, I’m always proud of how much they accomplish in my classroom and beyond, but now I have a much stronger appreciation for how overwhelming their experience might be and how hard they have to work to achieve what they do.