Mission accomplished?

Hey y'all,

It's been a long time since I've posted, so I'll try to make up for it by posting something a bit longer than usual.

I was going through some of my old files and documents and I came across my original application essay for my first job in Korea at YBM/ELS Sisa-yong-o-sa I thought I would share it with those of you who might be wondering why I came to Korea. I not too proud of the prose (I think it's a little bloated), but the sentiment stands! I think I've accomplised most if not all of the missions I set out for myself. Read on...

There is a question that has been asked of me a great deal as of late. My friends have asked me; my family has asked me; my employers, past, present, and prospective have asked me: "Why do you want to teach in Korea?" My answer to all of them is the same: opportunity. Teaching in Korea affords me the opportunity to do many things that I have always wanted to do in my lifetime.

At the forefront of my life's ambitions is a desire to see the world. Not just to travel, but to actually see the world as it exists. In doing so, I hope to be more than just a causal observer. I want to experience different cultures, learn new customs, and achieve a greater understanding of the differences and similarities that make us all human. Visiting various countries around the world as a tourist would allow me to achieve some of my objectives, but I believe that it is only by working in a different part of the world that I could truly become immersed in the cultures and customs of that land. Korea, and indeed all of what North Americans call East Asia, fascinates me. By working and living in Korea, I hope to expand my knowledge and awareness of that country and of the world around me.

A second opportunity that arises from teaching in Korea is the opportunity to explore myself and my language. As a student of English I have always been fascinated with the power of words. I have explored that fascination as a novice poet. I hope that by teaching my language to people who are not already fluent in English I can achieve a better understanding of my own language while at the same time receiving exposure to a new language. By living in such a different part of the world than what I am used to, I hope to learn more about who I am. I feel that a person can learn a wealth of information about him or herself simply by changing his or her environment. That is what I hope to achieve by moving to and working in Korea. A change of environment that will allow me to further appreciate my own language and to better understand my own self.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not include employment as one the reasons behind my decision to move to Korea. As a result of the Saskatchewan educational system being inundated with newly graduating teachers each year, the chance of finding employment grows slimmer and slimmer. What employment is available requires me to relocate. So if faced with relocation within my own province or relocation to a different part of the world where I could both teach and learn so much, I choose the latter.

I view employment in Korea as the single greatest opportunity I have yet encountered. I believe that I posses the talent, ambition, desire, and ability to do what is required of me. I feel that by gaining employment in Korea, both Korean students and I would benefit. I have a wealth of skills and abilities to offer and am looking forward to supplementing my life experiences through employment in Korea.

Varieties of English

Howdy y'all...

Today's lesson was about a subject that is near and dear to my heart: English. Specifically the different varieties of English around the world.

For those of you who would like to check out the links that I mentioned in class, here they are, just click on the name:

Accent Archive (has nearly 500 samples from different L1 and L2 speakers of English. Lots of L2 speakers of English)

International Dialects of English Archive (nearly 400 different English speakers, mostly L1, but still a lot of L2)

Do you speak American? (A PBS program aired in the US about the influence of American English on global English. Be sure to check out the "Test your vowel power" section! Scary!)

Do you want to speak American? If you do, then this is the sight for you! An excellent site with step by step instructions on how to make the American sounds of English. The site also includes detailed videos showing the mouth movements of L1 speakers of English. Even if you don't want to speak American, the site is worth checking out!

Finally, the book that I mentioned in class (Analyzing English in a Global Context) is available in Korea. I found it by searching Naver.com. It lists for 65,000 KRW but is on sale for 40,000 KRW. That's a pretty good price, as I paid about $60.00 AUD for it. CHECK IT OUT HERE

Lets have some feedback on this one! I'm interested to know what you, as language learners and teachers, think about all of this!

Cheers!

Walter

Snowy Day

Today was a snowy day in Cheong-ju. The news said that there was about 8 centimeters (3 inches), but it looks like more than that on the ground.

The last time I saw this much snow in Korea was in 2003 when I was working at Daegu University. I've updated my homepage with a few pictures from that time.

CLICK HERE to check 'em out!

Enjoy!

The Beard (sneak preview)

Many people have been asking me why I haven't shaved this week. Here's the answer, a day early for all you blog watchers.

I grow a beard every December. There are two reasons for this: 1) my birthday is in December (16th to be exact) and 2) December marks the end of one year and beginning of the next. So, as I get older every December, I grow a beard to look even older.

Then, after wearing the beard for a month I become accustomed to seeing my reflection in the mirror with a beard. So when I shave it off at the end of December (just before the new year), I look younger when I look in the mirror. A kind of new and fresh start for the new year.

The picture with this post was taken in December 2003 at Suseong mot (수성못) in Daegu. 2003 was actually the last time that I grew the December beard b/c in 2004 I was living in Australia and decided to grow long hair instead of a beard.

Why Walter Likes Rhetoric

With the speech evaluations coming up and our recent discussions about rhetoric I thought I'd tell you about my experience running for Mayor of Saskatoon.

It was in 1994 when a combination of my cynicism and big mouth propelled me into Saskatoon's mayoralty race.

Saskatoon was in the midst of a labour dispute. With the exception of essential services like law enforcement and fire suppression, Saskatoon was at a standstill.

One night -- after more than that number of beers -- I was voicing my opinion of how Saskatoon city council, especially the Mayor, had been handling the situation.

The crux of my argument involved the office of Mayor and how any two-bit shoe salesman could do a better job of it. (I bet you didn't know that I used to sell shoes?)

A week or so later, when it was announced that an election had been called to elect a new Mayor, a friend of mine casually asked if, based on my earlier comments, I intended to run. To both our surprise, I said, "Yes".

And so there you have it; the story of how my cynicism and big mouth propelled me into Saskatoon's mayoralty race.

How did I fare in the competition? Well suffice it to say, I did not win. I did, however, meet my objective; I did not finish last. Out of eight candidates I came in sixth, not too far behind the fifth place finisher who had been a councilman for nine years!

I had more votes than I had family and friends. Complete strangers were voting for me, a twenty-three-year-old full-time university student, to run their city.

During the process I received a lot of support from local media. I learned a great deal about democracy, politics, and the democratic process. Most importantly, I raised awareness of issues that were close to my heart. It was the best $100.00 I've ever spent.

The picture attached to this post is the cover of my 'official' election brochure. To see more from this brochure, CLICK HERE, or on the picture above.

Spin Doctoring...Wag the Dog

The other day in reading class we looked at ways to change the tone of something from negative to positive. For an EXCELLENT (I mean REALLY excellent) example of this, visit the site www.AmericanRhetoric.com (CLICK HERE for direct LINK). The site has two examples of a particular event; one written in a negative tone, the other in a positive tone. Amazing!

A few years ago there was an excellent movie about this (spin doctoring) called "Wag the Dog". The movie starred a couple of well-known American actors, Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. It's an entertaining movie that will give you great insight into the art of spin doctoring and the power of the media. Check it out some time, if you like language (and media) you'll like the movie

You can get more information (in English) about the movie by visiting the Internet Movie Database (link)

Information in Korean can be found HERE

The Man in Black (Updated Nov 17, 2005)

I hope that you enjoyed listening to and learning about Johnny Cash in listening class today .

I had wanted to play the video in class too, however, the computer in my classroom was not being cooperative.

If you would like to watch the video for Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt", please CLICK HERE. ** UPDATE (If that direct link does not work, CLICK HERE instead) UPDATE **

The video is especially poignant and hauting. Especially the scenes showing his wife.

Check it out and let me know what you think...

Talent in the Global Market (updated)

Today in Group Discussion, we talked what skills are required to be successful in the global market. I brought in a story from the Korea Herald entitled, "English Fluency not Enough to be Successful at Global Firms". The story featured an interview with Cho Se-mi, author of 세계는 지금 이런 인재를 원한다

If you would like to watch a televised interview (in English) with Cho Se-mi, visit www.Arirang.co.kr (CLICK HERE for direct access. Look for the Nov. 10 episode). You'll need to register with Arirang before you'll be able to use their VOD service. I've made an account that you can use if you don't want to sign up for your own accout.

ID: knuetrainee
PW: walter

If you'd like to read the Herald article, CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

wf

Authentic MS Word listening material

If anyone is interested, here is the full text from Part 4 of yesterday's activity. If you would like to hear the piece again, CLICK HERE.

If you would like to visit the original source of the material, it's from Microsoft Office Training (http://office.microsoft.com); click on "training".

Microsoft offers free online for most of their office products, not just Word. In addition, the training is offered in several different language; click on "Office Worldwide" to move to a different language.

You can add two types of watermarks to a document: a picture or text. You insert both from the Printed Watermark dialog box (on the Format menu, Background submenu).

For pictures, you can choose from any image on your hard disk or from clip art in the Microsoft Clip Organizer. Once you've selected the image, you can optionally scale it and wash it out so that it's not as visible behind text.

For text, you can select the text you want from the drop-down list or type your own text, and select font, size, and color the same way you do with regular document text. You can also set transparency and diagonal or horizontal layout.

Once it's inserted, you can see your watermark in print layout view (click Print Layout on the View menu), or in the printed document.

My brush with fame

Here's a shot of me with Korean model, and television and movie star, Lee Sun-jin (이선진).

She's much taller than I, but was nice enough to crouch down while we had our picture taken. I'm also standing a foot or two closer to the camera which helps me look taller.

Sun-jin's film credits include, "Invisible Light" (그집앞), "A Moment to Remember" (내 머리 속의 지우개), and "Love House" (러브하우스).

Currently, she can be seen on SBS's Friday night drama, "Diamonds' Tears" (다이아몬드의 눈물)

My obtainable dreamcar...

The image on the monitor today was an Acura (Honda) NSX.

It is a hand-made, all aluminum supercar with a top speed of about 280 km/h. The car costs about $100,000 USD.

Compared to the McLaren F1 (read more here) shown in class the other day which costs over $1,000,000 the NSX is a bargin.

Although I am certain that I'll never be able to afford a McLaren F1 in my lifetime, I am certain that someday I'll have an NSX.

Wide Mouth Mason

The music playing before today's listening class was from a Saskatoon band by the name of "Wide Mouth Mason"; sometimes shortened to WMM.

Some of WMM's career highlights include opening for "The Rolling Stones", touring Europe with rock legends, "AC/DC", and being one of the first Canadian rock and roll bands to tour China.

The band was also in the movie "The Recruit" staring Al Pacino and Collin Farrel. Their part was, what else, playing a band. Two of WMM's songs can be heard in the movie: "Change" and "Reconsider".

To learn more about WMM, visit their official hompage (www.widemouthmason.com). Click on WMM.RADIO to hear streaming audio. For a great example of the singer's range, listen to the songs "Change" or "Ease Your Mind".

Enjoy!

When it rains it pours...

There was an interesting discussion in listening class today about some expressions related to (or using) weather words. A trainee asked about an expression used to describe when several unfortunate incidents happen back to back... (actually this expression applies not only to bad things, but to good things also)

I mentioned the expression, "It never rains, it pours." Several trainees mentioned the expression, "It never rains without pouring". Still other trainees mentioned the expression, "It never rains, but it pours." So which expression is right?

Well, here's a quick and easy way that you can check which expression is most frequently used; this will, I hope, give you some idea of which expression is best to use.

Visit: www.google.com
Enter your search query between quotation marks. For example, "it never rains, it pours"
Notice the frequency of your search query in google's results.
The expression which has the highest frequency is probably the best one to use.

Try it here! Click on the expressions below to see how often Google finds each expression.

"It never rains, it pours." (about 1,400 results)

"It never rains without pouring". (about 330 results [and the first result is Korean])

"It never rains, but it pours." (about 49,000 results)

"When it rains it pours" (about 265,000 results)

{FYI Google checks about 8,000,000,000 (that's eight billion or 팔십억) pages}

So, based on frequency, "When it rains it pours" would seem to be the best choice; however, all of the expressions seem to carry the same semantic and pragmatic meaning.

So which one is best? That depends... are you a prescriptivist or a descriptivist?

How long does it take to master English?

Although I've been asked asked the question numerous times, today I had what I think to be my most lucid answer to the question, "How long does it take to master English?"

It takes as long to master English as is it takes to master your first language; a lifetime!

My answer is based on the idea that no one, not even an L1 speaker of a language, ever truly masters a language. Language is constantly evolving and a such, can never truly be mastered.

With study a person's language use can be polished and perfected, but, in my opinion, never mastered.

Inukshuk

As we talked about briefly in culture class today, here is a picture of an inukshuk (plural inuksuit). If you would like to read more about inuksuit, please CLICK HERE

Here is something that I had inscribed on a retirement gift for a friend and colleague of mine here in Korea:

Canada's aboriginal people (especially Inuit) have used Inukshuks since the beginning of time. An Inukshuk represents the human spirit and is used to guide weary travelers through the vastness of Canada's arctic. Inukshuks are enduring symbols of strength, truth, and vision.

We have chosen this gift for you professor Kim, because we believe that much like the Inukshuk, you represent the human spirit. You and what you have accomplished during your illustrious career epitomize the ideals of strength, truth, and vision. You have been a beacon for people with special needs in Korea, guiding them on their journey and helping them to find their way.

And also like the Inukshuk, what you have done for your country will leave a lasting impression on the landscape for centuries to come.

Please accept this gift as a reminder of not only your retirement, but also of our admiration and respect for you and your remarkable contributions to Special Education in Korea!

Plagiarism

If some of you would like to know more about plagiarism (what it is and how to prevent it) here are some good links:

1. definition from Answers.com
2. discussion and prevention tips from Purdue University
3. discussion and prevention tips from UC Davis

Sometimes plagiarism is deliberate while sometimes it is accidental. In both cases it is WRONG. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite (인용하다) your sources. For excellent and clear examples about how to cite sources, see www.answers.com It provides citations for each of its entries. Try it! Just look for the "Copyrights" information at the bottom of each answers.com page and click on CITE.

If also posted one of my academic papers from the University of Sydney so that you can see an example of citations at work. CLICK HERE to see the paper.

Plagiarism is not only an academic offense, but can, in some instances, lead to criminal charges!

Ask me about my insights into the "conservation of knowledge" versus the "expansion of knowledge" argument sometime... I'd be happy to share my thoughts on the issue with you.

Enjoy your weekend!

McLaren F1

Here's another shot of my (probably unobtainable) dream car.

Here's also some vital information about the car:

Manufacturer: McLaren
Engine: 6,000cc BMW V12
0-100km: 3.2 seconds
Top speed: 386km/h
Price: 1,000,000 USD
Production: 1994-1998 (107 units, 65 for street use, 42 racing units)

You can find lots more info about this stunning car HERE.

PEZ PEZ PEZ

As some of you have noticed, there are more and more small characters appearing infront of the television in our classroom everyday. They are called PEZ candy dispensers. If you'd like to learn more about them, visit their website at

www.pez.com

That company has been making PEZ machines since the late 1950s!!!

CLICK HERE to see a PEZ machine worth more than $450.00 USD!!

Korean Population

I am always amazed at how many people don't know how many people live in Korea.

As we talked about in culture class today, there are about 48 million people in South Korea. My source is the Korea National Statistical Office (http://www.nso.go.kr/eng/).

Click on the image to the left to see a larger and clearer image.

There is lots of other information on the site.

Check it out...

Happy Chu-seok

Hello everyone,

Have a safe and happy Chu-seok.

See you again on Tuesday.

Hello everyone,

This might be a little late, but you know what they say; better late than never.

Here is some more information about this week's movie:

• Tom Hanks's wife, Rita Wilson, saw the play and recommended that her husband produce a movie version. In an interview with the German magazine "Cinema", Nia Vardalos mentioned, that she hung up when Hanks called, because she didn't believe it was really him.
• Nia Vardalos's real-life husband, Ian Gomez, plays Ian's best friend, Mike.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments about the movie in the COMMENTS section.

World's Tallest Free-standing Structure

Hello everyone...

Lots of things to talk about from today's classes.

From culture class, here's my source for calling the CN Tower the world's tallest free-standing structure. Click on the thumbnail image to see the full-size picture.



The original source of the information was at http://www.skyscraperpage.com/

Check it out and let me know what you think...

PC Language

Hello everyone! I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Here is some more information about PC language:

Political correctness is a term generally used to disparage efforts to
raise awareness about and eliminate social and political biases in language and
other forms of representation. The term also appears in the adjectival form
politically correct (often abbreviated PC). While it frequently refers to a
linguistic phenomenon, it is also extended to cover political ideology and
behavior

I took this informaiton from Wikipedia. To read the complete article, CLICK HERE

If you've never heard of Wikipedia, you should check it out. It's a very interesting project. Read more about it HERE (in English) or HERE (in Korean)

Don't forget to leave your comments about PC language by clicking on the COMMENTS link near the end of this message.

Analyze that

What did everyone think of the movie today? Unfortunately, I didn't have time to watch it, but I've seen it before.

Here's some more information about the movie:

Directed by: Harold Ramis

Writing credits: Kenneth Lonergan & Peter Tolan

Genre: Comedy / Crime

Plot Outline: Mobster Paul Vitti is released into Dr. Ben Sobol's care, where only more chaos ensues.

Cast overview:
Robert De Niro: Paul Vitti
Billy Crystal: Dr. Ben Sobel
Lisa Kudrow : Laura Sobel
Joe Viterelli: Jelly

If you'd like to find out information about movies, the best site I can recommend is the 'Internet Movie Data Base'. www.imdb.com

If you like movies, and you'd like to learn more about your favorite movies, visit www.imdb.com It even has information about lots of Korean movies like: Old Boy, Swiri, JSA and others.

Best of all, the site is free and doesn't require any registration or log-in!

Click the COMMENTS link to leave your comments about this movie, or, if you didn't see the movie, to leave your comments about movies in general...

Enjoy

Welcome to my KNUE Blog

Hello everyone!

Welcome to KNUE's Intensive English Teacher Training Program!

During the next six months I will be using this Blog, the KNUE pages on my homepage, and my KNUE discussion board to communicate with trainees.

The success of these online class supplements depends on you. Please play an active role in contributing to these online environments by not only visiting often, but also by posting often.

This blog will be used mainly to expand on topics that came up during class, but that we did not have enough time to discuss fully in class. It is very easy to post your comments on this blog, just click on the COMMENTS link at the end of the post.

Why don't you try it now and get started on making your contributions to this blog. Click on the COMMENTS link at the end of this post and leave a short comment introducing yourself.