English Internationally

Throughout my trips abroad, I've noticed that English is becoming more and more prevalent as a second language. Especially in Korea, the government has recently begun to require students to begin studying English around 3rd or 4th grade until they go to university. As a result, talking to many young people here is easy because they know at least some conversational English, whereas speaking with the older generations can prove to be more difficult. I believe English has become so important because it has transformed into the "international language;" it serves as the one language that different societies can share and speak with one another. For example, one person we met with commented on how he saw two people from different East Asian countries communicate to one another through English. Although English was neither of the two peoples native language, because English is becoming more international, it can serve as the single communication link between two varying cultures.

Consequently, the Korean government has taken an initiative to up the amount of English education within Korea. A main goal of the government is to provide English education to all students on at least a useable level, to make them more prepared and equipped to tackle the professional world. The Korean government has newer goals of hiring foreigners to help teach English, which may be because foreigners (say from America, Britain, etc.) are more fluent in the language and thus teach it more correctly. Also, having a foreigner as a teacher can be beneficial to the students as they can also better understand the culture behind which uses the language - the teacher has first-hand experience living in English-speaking societies.

Being fluent in English has many benefits compared to being fluent in other languages. Because it is becoming the international language, no matter where I go, I always have at least an okay chance at finding someone else who speaks a little English there. To show the opposite end of the spectrum, imagine a Korean couple wanting to visit France. If the Korean couple does not know French, then they will most likely be completely shut off language-wise once in France; from my understanding, Korean is not a popular language outside of Korea. Whereas if I visited France, I would likely run into some English speakers and be able to get by relatively well.