We spoke to him in Hong Kong while he was on a short business trip. We couldn’t help notice that although his spoken English was grammatically quite accurate, it was extremely formal and full of old-fashioned words and expressions. He was speaking in a way that would be more appropriate for writing. We pointed this out to him and this is what he had to say in reply.
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Yes, I am not surprised that you mention this. In Korea, we only know one form of English - written English. There are very few native speakers of English and even fewer native speakers who are qualified to teach English. We also have very little access to English language programmes on the radio and television. As a result we have almost no chance to practice. For a short time I took private lessons from the wife of an American soldier based in South Korea. She sounded as if she was speaking another language - not English. There are so many phrases, idioms and colloquial expressions which I am not aware of. One thing I learned from this experience, however, is that the only way to improve and to gain in confidence is to speak and that is what I am trying to do.' |