If you’ve ever studied abroad or travelled to destinations with the intent to absorb as much of the culture and language as possible, you’re well aware of how difficult it is to learn the intricacies of each spoken word and phrase.
Read MoreWhy Teaching English as a Second Language Isn't Easy
Despite the fact that my sole purpose for going to South Korea was to teach, I hadn’t really ever thought of myself as being a real teacher. I had my Bachelor of Arts in English and so was more qualified than some (you just needed a degree, any degree, to teach English in South Korea at the time), but I had never been professionally trained in the teaching trade.
Read MoreThe Hangul Revolution: How The Creation of A Written Language Changed South Korea Forever
Poo-doon-mao oh don gee yo was my (phonetic) address when I lived in South Korea, and one of the first things that I learned to say (once it had been written out for me of course) in Korean. I was told that it meant something like, “the brownish-orange buildings with numbers in the 500s on them.” All I knew for sure was that when I got in a cab and said it to the driver, I would end up in the right spot.
Read MoreWhat are Idioms? They're A Piece Of Cake!
If you think learning a second language as a native English speaker is hard, be grateful that it isn't English that you have to learn! I never realized how complicated my own language was until I started teaching ESL in South Korea.
Read More