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Updated Apr.7,2009 12:28 KST

Korean Sports Stars and Their 'Flawless English'


Kim Yu-na, after winning the recent ISU World Figure Skating Championships, was praised for her fluency in English in interviews with the international press. The Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim's "English teacher" was her mother, Park Mi-hee (52), who made her daughter listen to English-language education tapes every day during her three- to four-hour drive to and from skating lessons.

Really? If that's true, then soccer star Park Ji-sung, golfers Pak Se-ri and Choi Kyung-ju and swimmer Park Tae-hwan, who are all adept at English interviews, must have all grown up listening to English tapes that their mothers played for them. But what all of them have in common is not passionate mothers, but a sense of confidence that comes from reaching the pinnacle of their respective fields. It is here that we can find one of the secrets to learning English. Rather than going overseas to study English at a young age, youngsters need to develop an area of expertise.

Whether it is the mother tongue or a foreign language, content is what matters. Once a person is sure about what he or she wants to express, the words will come out. People who cannot speak either have nothing to say or do not know what to say.

One of the areas that our news is most often wrong about is people’s level of fluency. Recently, there was an article about a woman who graduated from a particular university at the top of her class, which described her as being fluent in four different languages. This is like saying a concert pianist is also a virtuoso on the violin, viola and cello. It is improbable, to say the least.

Whenever a Korean athlete is interviewed in the international press after a victory at an international sporting event, the domestic media tends to report that the interview was conducted in "flawless English." Indeed, the athletes usually get their meaning across without too much difficulty. They talk about how their physical condition was that day, what were the toughest and easiest parts of the competition, that they will try harder next time and that they would like to thank their fans. What's so difficult about that? And why are we constantly seeing these exaggerated reports?

Former prime minister and incumbent Korean ambassador to the U.S. Han Duck-soo once said it was difficult for him to be vocal when he knew there were so many people who were fluent in English. Korean articles about him invariably say that he carries a notepad in his coat pocket containing the latest English expressions, describing how hard he tries to keep up with the language. Is the public pleased to learn that a person as busy as him, who once served as prime minister, is putting so much effort into learning English?

Korean golf, soccer, swimming and skating champions, who have reached the top, are not as perfect in their English language skills as their athletic abilities. They can say a few words after they win trophies and medals, but their English is not enough to draw the envy of students and parents who have grown tired of early education. Why should it? The Korean media never criticized Guus Hiddink, Jo Bonfrere, Dick Advocaat, Pim Verbeek and other Dutch soccer coaches for speaking "horrible" English.

By Kwak Joong-chol, a professor of the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200904/200904070025.html