Differences by Major Language: teaching style and grammar

 Michuhol Foreign Language High School is divided into four major languages. It consists of the Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese language departments. When students apply to Michuhol Foreign Language High School, they freely choose one of these departments to enter.

 

 We investigated how the language classes are conducted differently for each major and how concepts such as grammar, onomatopoeias, and mimetic words are taught. By interviewing students and teachers, we were able to get answers to this. We asked the teachers about their class plans, the first graders about the special learning methods of their major, and the second graders about grammar and specific expressions.

 

 In the case of Spanish, in first grade classes, when students are taught by a Korean teacher, they interpret Spanish texts to find the meaning of words. In particular, students read while focusing on the positions of accents that the teacher emphasizes. Sometimes the teacher has them sing along to help them remember the accent positions more easily.

 

 Grammar and text are the main focus in the second grade classes. Classes are conducted with worksheets distributed separately from textbooks, and worksheets are mainly about grammar. Classes with a native-speaking teacher are always conducted only in Spanish. However, since students often struggle to understand, a Korean teacher provides translations. When there are situational dialogues in the text, students stand in front of the classroom and take turns to read and perform the conversations. In classes with the native-speaking teacher, first grade lessons focus on learning about Spanish culture and basic vocabulary, whereas second grade lessons emphasize interpreting and understanding texts related to everyday life in Spain.

 

 The special grammar of Spanish is to distinguish between female nouns (la) and male nouns (el). Students should take notes on how verbs change depending on subjects like “you”, “she”, “them”. Also, unlike Korean, the standard word order is subject-verb-object. Special symbols like “¡!”and “¿?”both at the beginningand end of sentences are used to express emphasis or create questionnaires.

 

 French classes tend to focus on grammar through dialogues and texts from a textbook. Also, the importance of pronunciation is highlighted. Teachers first pronounce the words, and then students imitate them. Afterward, students hear the detailed explanation of the pronounce. And although there are not many special activities, first graders sometimes sing French songs and choose French names for themselves. According to the French teacher, when teaching a foreign language, it's more effective to make the class interesting so that students remember information better than if they just memorized it. In particular, French has many differences from Korean, so she plans activities accordingly. Second graders learn through repetition by writing example sentences or filling in the blanks of additional worksheets, including textbooks.

 

 Unlike Korean, French has gendered words, so the gender agreement of nouns, verbs, and adjectives is very important. Also, the subject has 6 types, and there are various verb changes. Students memorize words through application with things such as class cards. They read and interpret the text on their own, do group activities, or learn by posting interpretation on the Padlet. Usually, in French, adverbs such as “bien”and “tellement”are more commonly used than onomatopoeic and mimetic words. The teacher said that she tries to explain French grammar easily to the students because it is tricky. She wants to provide more interesting lessons rather than focusing on grammar, but Michuhol Foreign Language High School students prefer accurate grammar explanations because of their great passion for learning.

 

 Chinese grammar is more similar to English grammar than Korean. The sentence structure is subject-predicate-object, so if students are confused with grammar, they can think of English sentences. In Chinese classes, the teacher uses textbooks and the outputs evenly. Through textbook use, the students learn example sentences and then deepen their understanding of the grammar through the outputs. Students also participate in Chinese cultural experiences like making moon cake and learning about Chinese traditional paintings. There are sound symbolic words like 蹦蹦跳跳and 扑通扑通that are used in everyday life. The teacher explains grammar with the outputs and the students shadow the textbook's words and the body of the book. Then they make pair and play a role of the body paragraph.

 

 In Japanese classes, the teacher instructs students mainly through example sentences. Trough sentences, they can acquire the necessary grammar so the teacher said he usually uses many sample sentences. In class students also sing popular Japanese songs to get an immersion and interest in the language. Since they have to speak Japanese continuously, it can help them become well acquainted with pronunciation. As far as grammar, the word order is the same as Korean, it is unaffected. But to read Japanese, knowing Chinese characters is essential so it can cause some trouble when learning Japanese. Second grade class concentrate on respectful expressions.

 

 Especially in Japan, honorific language is widely used. This is utilized in various ways which causes, students to have some difficulties. Second graders have to memorize these phrases more concretely than first graders. Students also have to study all of the related Chinese characters and the methods of writing Chinese characters. The distinction between transitive verbs and intransitive verbs is important. Students learn grammar not only through the use of textbooks but also in outputs. In the classes with native-speaking teachers, the first graders learn basic words and the second graders learn Japan's terrains and cultures. There are many sound symbolic words like わんわん, ぺこぺこand these are used widely in Japan.

 

 Through this article, we can see the commonalities and differences in the teaching methods of the major language at Michuhol. Students read the text with a teacher in class, common in Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese. In addition, fun activities such as singing songs in the major language and performing a situational play based on dialogues are carried out to help students understand and use the language more easily. However, there are differences in grammar, such as word order, gender agreement, and accent in each of the languages. Compared to Korean, some languages have similar word order, while others do not. Also, the frequency of onomatopoeic and mimetic words usage is also different.

 

By Staff Reporter Hwang jae young (1-8)

Lee Seoyun (2-8)