By Casey Lartigue Jr.
At last, I have concluded we must ban bilingual tutors who insist on using Korean when tutoring North Korean refugees in English in my nonprofit organization. This is not a rash decision and I'm still open to counter-arguments, but they will have to be damned good to counter the feedback I have heard from many refugees.
When we first started tutoring North Korean refugees in March 2013, we didn't enforce the English-only policy strictly or consistently. We had our first crackdown after refugees began complaining about bilingual tutors abusing that to teach primarily in Korean.
The turning point came last year when TNKR co-founder Lee Eun-koo quit her paid job to volunteer at TNKR full-time. At last, we began having in-depth interviews with newcomers, current and returning students.
The first key point refugees make: Bilingual tutors "aren't patient." Many refugees say they prefer tutors who let them work through problems instead of taking shortcuts by translating into Korean. Many refugees have told us, "I rely on Korean once the tutors start using it. I stop listening to English." When classes are bilingual, they can coast, knowing the Korean explanation will come eventually.
One refugee, while thanking her tutor, told him: "Next time, I want a real teacher." Asked to explain, she told the tutor, "It is fun studying with you, but next time, I want a tutor who will push me to use only English."
Closely related, the second key point: Refugees say they feel a sense of accomplishment by having classes solely in English. Several refugees have called my co-director, proudly telling her, "I did it! I had a class only in English!"
Third is the deeper reason that refugees say they don't complain when volunteer tutors use Korean: They don't want the tutors to be bored. Last week, one refugee called my co-founder to ask, "Will my teachers quit?"
She explained that she was concerned that the teachers might be "bored" teaching an ABC level English speaker. "They must be having a tough time dealing with me. So they might want to quit?" As that student said, "I was determined to try English only, but when I met my teachers, I guessed that some of them might want to use Korean because of my low level."
Other refugees have said similar things, such as one student saying she was okay with tutors using Korean. "I am at such a low-level that the teachers may have trouble teaching me. I hope they will use English, not Korean."
Others have said they hope the tutors can understand some Korean without using it, adding: "My English level is so low that the teachers may not want to teach me. I hope they will teach me in English."
Refugees at the intermediate level want to be pushed into the swimming pool of English immersion, to sink or swim. A student I interviewed last week responded, "No, no no. They are English teachers, they should only use English. Korean is already mine!"
Others are dumbfounded about teachers using Korean: "Huh? Why would the teachers do that? I heard that the tutors in TNKR teach refugees in English."
What is becoming increasingly clear is that refugees who allow Korean do so out of concern for the teachers and their own insecurities about learning English. For those tutors who insist they should be allowed to use some Korean, I allow a few exceptions.
One, they are both being chased by a gang, and must determine if they are going to run left or right, or jump from one tall building to another. Two, one of them is choking to death. Three, they are being questioned by a police officer about a possible homicide.
Our biggest struggle is with South Koreans citing the way they learned English. It is natural for people to teach the way they learned, but in our project, they are blind men feeling only one part of the elephant.
We have set things up so refugees can choose their own tutors, as many as they want, to choose their own study path, to be in control of the class. Studying in English as the refugees say they want is another signal to them that the organization is learner-centered in reality, not just in theory, advertisements or fancy funding proposals.
We remind tutors that refugees have many options to study with Korean instruction, at other organizations, language institutes, in language exchanges, online, in government programs, and at community centers.
We aren't saying that our approach is the only way in the world, but that's what refugees request. No matter what we say, many of the Korean tutors point back to their own experiences learning English. In response, I will start to point to the exit more often, encouraging them to teach at other places already doing things their way.
Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu.) is co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) in Seoul.
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When we first started tutoring North Korean refugees in March 2013, we didn't enforce the English-only policy strictly or consistently. We had our first crackdown after refugees began complaining about bilingual tutors abusing that to teach primarily in Korean.
The turning point came last year when TNKR co-founder Lee Eun-koo quit her paid job to volunteer at TNKR full-time. At last, we began having in-depth interviews with newcomers, current and returning students.
The first key point refugees make: Bilingual tutors "aren't patient." Many refugees say they prefer tutors who let them work through problems instead of taking shortcuts by translating into Korean. Many refugees have told us, "I rely on Korean once the tutors start using it. I stop listening to English." When classes are bilingual, they can coast, knowing the Korean explanation will come eventually.
One refugee, while thanking her tutor, told him: "Next time, I want a real teacher." Asked to explain, she told the tutor, "It is fun studying with you, but next time, I want a tutor who will push me to use only English."
Closely related, the second key point: Refugees say they feel a sense of accomplishment by having classes solely in English. Several refugees have called my co-director, proudly telling her, "I did it! I had a class only in English!"
Third is the deeper reason that refugees say they don't complain when volunteer tutors use Korean: They don't want the tutors to be bored. Last week, one refugee called my co-founder to ask, "Will my teachers quit?"
She explained that she was concerned that the teachers might be "bored" teaching an ABC level English speaker. "They must be having a tough time dealing with me. So they might want to quit?" As that student said, "I was determined to try English only, but when I met my teachers, I guessed that some of them might want to use Korean because of my low level."
Other refugees have said similar things, such as one student saying she was okay with tutors using Korean. "I am at such a low-level that the teachers may have trouble teaching me. I hope they will use English, not Korean."
Others have said they hope the tutors can understand some Korean without using it, adding: "My English level is so low that the teachers may not want to teach me. I hope they will teach me in English."
Refugees at the intermediate level want to be pushed into the swimming pool of English immersion, to sink or swim. A student I interviewed last week responded, "No, no no. They are English teachers, they should only use English. Korean is already mine!"
Others are dumbfounded about teachers using Korean: "Huh? Why would the teachers do that? I heard that the tutors in TNKR teach refugees in English."
What is becoming increasingly clear is that refugees who allow Korean do so out of concern for the teachers and their own insecurities about learning English. For those tutors who insist they should be allowed to use some Korean, I allow a few exceptions.
One, they are both being chased by a gang, and must determine if they are going to run left or right, or jump from one tall building to another. Two, one of them is choking to death. Three, they are being questioned by a police officer about a possible homicide.
Our biggest struggle is with South Koreans citing the way they learned English. It is natural for people to teach the way they learned, but in our project, they are blind men feeling only one part of the elephant.
We have set things up so refugees can choose their own tutors, as many as they want, to choose their own study path, to be in control of the class. Studying in English as the refugees say they want is another signal to them that the organization is learner-centered in reality, not just in theory, advertisements or fancy funding proposals.
We remind tutors that refugees have many options to study with Korean instruction, at other organizations, language institutes, in language exchanges, online, in government programs, and at community centers.
We aren't saying that our approach is the only way in the world, but that's what refugees request. No matter what we say, many of the Korean tutors point back to their own experiences learning English. In response, I will start to point to the exit more often, encouraging them to teach at other places already doing things their way.
Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu.) is co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) in Seoul.
