How K-Pop and Korean Culture Lead to Amazing English as a Second Language Lessons

I have lived in Korea for a year and a half, arriving in March 2010 from the United States. My reasons for moving to Korea are like many other foreigners: teaching English and traveling doing it. ESL, or English as a Second Language, has become all the rage in Korea these days and teaching in Korea is incredibly rewarding and fun.

However, there are also challenges. Language barriers and cultural differences will be your biggest obstacle. Fortunately, by turning the tables and using your own Korean pop culture, teaching in the country becomes much easier.

Take a look at these three steps that will help you in your ESL lessons in Korea:

1) Connect with your students. Actually, this is a universal rule in teaching, but even more so in a foreign country. The way you relate to Korean students is by talking about things they know. Namely, K-pop. K-pop is so ingrained in Korean society that almost all students, of legal age, know all the popular songs. Has an entire class ever sang “Gee” by Girls Generation or “Hands up” by 2PM? It is a pleasure to see you.

So the lesson here is don’t talk about that new American musician who just came out. You will only get blank stares from students. Rather, it talks about the latest K-pop superstar.

2) Learn the culture. Each country has its own rules. Korea is no exception. Although new teachers will have a difficult time learning Korean culture at first, this will help them in classroom teaching later on. Don’t you know what Pepero’s Day is? Ask one of your Korean co-workers. Do you know the meaning of Chuseok Day? Take the time to look it up on Wikipedia. Have you heard of the date from the 6th to the 25th before? Look up the history of the Korean War and find out.

Your students will appreciate your attempts to learn their culture. Therefore, they will be more motivated to learn.

3) Take a Korean class. Korean can be difficult at first. His writing system, Hangul, will look like Egyptian hieroglyphs at first glance. Speaking Korean will also be a game of tongue twisters for many. However, even knowing the basic words will make students laugh. Instead of making fun of you, they will be amazed at how a foreigner is learning a new language. They will appreciate the fact that you are learning their native language, just as they are learning theirs.

Anyone who takes the time to learn someone else’s language shows that you care. And you definitely do.

By following these three tips, your students will be motivated to learn in the classroom. Many times, the best way to teach is not to have the best theories or mythologies, but simply to engage with the student. To see what motivates them, their tastes and hobbies. Once you are curious to learn about them, they will naturally do the same for you.