Young North Koreans are demonstrating a growing appetite to learn foreign languages so as to improve their job prospects – and allow them to understand TV programmes broadcast by neighbouring countries.
Kim Jong-un reportedly made foreign language-learning compulsory from the age of four after taking power in 2011, but today many parents among the country’s elite are paying for extra tuition to improve their children’s chances of being accepted into Chinese or English university courses.
Ask a North Korean: do you learn foreign languages?
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“Many people believe that those who work in [foreign] trade have [even] better standards of living than provincial party cadres, so there’s more interest in language skills,” said a source in Ryanggang province.
“If you’re good at a second language you can get into a good university and get a nice job, so the drive among parents to get their children into special foreign language classes is fierce.”
Future market for English teachers? North Korea?
- thepostman2020
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Future market for English teachers? North Korea?
Why North Koreans are developing an appetite for foreign languages
I went out to eat and watch the show with a colleague at Pyongyang Arirang restaurant a month ago. The waitress told me all about her English lessons using a textbook called Family Book. I searched for it out of curiosity and found that it was a 1991 children's school book for ESOL students in the U.S. This was her university course.
Some of my Chinese colleagues did an educational exchange with a North Korean school. They were fairly appalled at the repression there. They also thought N. Korea was very backwards.
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Pyongyang university is fairly better than RUPP....jingyou wrote:Some of my Chinese colleagues did an educational exchange with a North Korean school. They were fairly appalled at the repression there. They also thought N. Korea was very backwards.
all my ex's living in phnom penh
I recently saw a documentary which followed the lives of English Teachers from the US and elsewhere (possibly Aus or UK?) living and teaching English in North Korea, was quite interesting, they had a whole bunch of restrictions imposed on them. Will try and find it again, might have been on youtube.
I'm not a negative person, I encourage people all the time...it's usually to f**k off! But, whatever.
I'd like a link to that documentary if you find it.
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Just finished reading the book "without you, there is no us" good read about an Korean born American who went to North Korea to teach English. She was there when the dear leader passed..
Book is predictable but...
Book is predictable but...
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