thedrifter
01-20-07, 07:42 AM
Posted on Sat, Jan. 20, 2007
Linguists on middle school mission
DLI officials tell students of Korea trip
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
There are no southpaws in Korea. Any car there with a paint job other than black, white, silver or gray is considered low-rent.
These were a few of the factoids students at Carmel Middle School's Spanish classes got during a visit by a team of linguists from the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey on Friday morning.
Five DLI students and a language instructor spoke to Spanish teacher Sharon Lee's 80 middle school students about their experiences, their studies, and the opportunities that they believe mastering a difficult foreign language can open up to them.
The DLI students were among a group of nine people who won last year's grand prize in the Korea Times Literature Translation Awards contest, co-sponsored by the Korea Exchange Bank.
The students entered the contest at the behest of their professor, Juhn Hye-jin, in the spring, and worked on their own time through the summer, translating works of contemporary Korean poet Chang Chöng-il.
"We had no intention of winning the prize," Airman 1st Class Deandrea Charoenpon told students. "But when we got the e-mail congratulating us, I started crying."
Charoenpon, 20, who hails from Dallas, Texas, and joined the Air Force out of high school, was one of three people on the nine-member translation team who went to Seoul, Korea, in November to accept the prize.
She and the others found themselves "in full immersion," speaking Korean the whole time.
"I found out how functioning my language is. I took Spanish and high school ROTC," she told the students. "I never would have experienced the things I have without joining the Air Force."
Cultural differences|
Seoul is a major metropolitan city, much like Los Angeles or Tokyo, and the traffic "is crazy," Charoenpon said. She asked about the predominance of soberly-painted cars and was told that Koreans considered colors other than white, silver, gray or black "lower class, cheap and flashy."
The students' instructor, Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas "Dave" Clanton, gave a quick rundown on unexpected cultural differences in Korea.
Children born left-handed, he said, are schooled from an early age to be right-handers.
"They want people to be conformists," he said. A Korean mother might bandage the left hand of a child to force right-handedness while learning to write and use implements.
The Korean language lacks a number of consonants found in English, he said, including F, D and V.
"You can't ask for french fries at a McDonald's in Seoul," he said.
Direct eye contact is a social faux pas, he said. One should look down while talking to another, to show humility. So is failing to greet someone first thing at work, or not sitting down for tea and conversation before embarking on business, no matter how urgent.
There is no fourth floor in Korean buildings: the words for "four" and "death" are identical. Koreans often consult fortunetellers before making a major decision.
DLI students study their languages for up to 60 hours a week, Clanton said, including 30 hours of class time. He showed the middle school students one of the original Korean language textbooks used by DLI. The English was printed but the Korean was hand-lettered because, in the 1950s, there were no machines to type the Korean alphabet.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Helling said he grew up in Louisiana and Texas as an indifferent student who enjoyed theater and athletics in high school.
"I wasn't much of a school type," he said. "I struggled in class and played football."
He decided in elementary school, Helling said, that he wanted to join the Marines, and his high physical test scores helped, but he was surprised to learn he had scored high in language aptitude, "a pretty interesting test" in which students are taught and tested in a language on a single day.
He found himself struggling at DLI, Helling said, "but I got better and better. Whether you struggle in high school or not, if you pass that test, all the doors of opportunity open for you."
Language training gives graduates "so many job opportunities," said Airman 1st Class John Stevenson of San Antonio, Texas.
Linguists wanted|
A show of hands revealed that nearly every student in the school theater had a cell phone, and Stevenson noted that most cell phones are made in Japan or Korea.
The manufacturers of cell phones, video games and other electronics, he said, need linguists to communicate with makers and customers, to translate operating and repair manuals, and even translate games from Japanese to English.
A military career also opens doors to future employment in government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security, Stevenson said. That is because military language students will have received security clearances and background checks, and have the added advantage of speaking a foreign language.
Some DLI students hold college degrees up to doctorates, Clanton said, and have told him that learning Korean is the hardest thing they have done academically. Even civilian government agencies will tap military linguists for help in investigations "because the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security don't have enough Asian linguists."
Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.
Ellie
Linguists on middle school mission
DLI officials tell students of Korea trip
By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer
There are no southpaws in Korea. Any car there with a paint job other than black, white, silver or gray is considered low-rent.
These were a few of the factoids students at Carmel Middle School's Spanish classes got during a visit by a team of linguists from the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey on Friday morning.
Five DLI students and a language instructor spoke to Spanish teacher Sharon Lee's 80 middle school students about their experiences, their studies, and the opportunities that they believe mastering a difficult foreign language can open up to them.
The DLI students were among a group of nine people who won last year's grand prize in the Korea Times Literature Translation Awards contest, co-sponsored by the Korea Exchange Bank.
The students entered the contest at the behest of their professor, Juhn Hye-jin, in the spring, and worked on their own time through the summer, translating works of contemporary Korean poet Chang Chöng-il.
"We had no intention of winning the prize," Airman 1st Class Deandrea Charoenpon told students. "But when we got the e-mail congratulating us, I started crying."
Charoenpon, 20, who hails from Dallas, Texas, and joined the Air Force out of high school, was one of three people on the nine-member translation team who went to Seoul, Korea, in November to accept the prize.
She and the others found themselves "in full immersion," speaking Korean the whole time.
"I found out how functioning my language is. I took Spanish and high school ROTC," she told the students. "I never would have experienced the things I have without joining the Air Force."
Cultural differences|
Seoul is a major metropolitan city, much like Los Angeles or Tokyo, and the traffic "is crazy," Charoenpon said. She asked about the predominance of soberly-painted cars and was told that Koreans considered colors other than white, silver, gray or black "lower class, cheap and flashy."
The students' instructor, Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas "Dave" Clanton, gave a quick rundown on unexpected cultural differences in Korea.
Children born left-handed, he said, are schooled from an early age to be right-handers.
"They want people to be conformists," he said. A Korean mother might bandage the left hand of a child to force right-handedness while learning to write and use implements.
The Korean language lacks a number of consonants found in English, he said, including F, D and V.
"You can't ask for french fries at a McDonald's in Seoul," he said.
Direct eye contact is a social faux pas, he said. One should look down while talking to another, to show humility. So is failing to greet someone first thing at work, or not sitting down for tea and conversation before embarking on business, no matter how urgent.
There is no fourth floor in Korean buildings: the words for "four" and "death" are identical. Koreans often consult fortunetellers before making a major decision.
DLI students study their languages for up to 60 hours a week, Clanton said, including 30 hours of class time. He showed the middle school students one of the original Korean language textbooks used by DLI. The English was printed but the Korean was hand-lettered because, in the 1950s, there were no machines to type the Korean alphabet.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Helling said he grew up in Louisiana and Texas as an indifferent student who enjoyed theater and athletics in high school.
"I wasn't much of a school type," he said. "I struggled in class and played football."
He decided in elementary school, Helling said, that he wanted to join the Marines, and his high physical test scores helped, but he was surprised to learn he had scored high in language aptitude, "a pretty interesting test" in which students are taught and tested in a language on a single day.
He found himself struggling at DLI, Helling said, "but I got better and better. Whether you struggle in high school or not, if you pass that test, all the doors of opportunity open for you."
Language training gives graduates "so many job opportunities," said Airman 1st Class John Stevenson of San Antonio, Texas.
Linguists wanted|
A show of hands revealed that nearly every student in the school theater had a cell phone, and Stevenson noted that most cell phones are made in Japan or Korea.
The manufacturers of cell phones, video games and other electronics, he said, need linguists to communicate with makers and customers, to translate operating and repair manuals, and even translate games from Japanese to English.
A military career also opens doors to future employment in government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security, Stevenson said. That is because military language students will have received security clearances and background checks, and have the added advantage of speaking a foreign language.
Some DLI students hold college degrees up to doctorates, Clanton said, and have told him that learning Korean is the hardest thing they have done academically. Even civilian government agencies will tap military linguists for help in investigations "because the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security don't have enough Asian linguists."
Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.
Ellie