<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp5ff11247yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Why Korean, if anybody knows?</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I'm an American expat and I live and teach in Taipei, Taiwan. Korean is immensely popular at our cram schools (the after-school and weekend private sector schools that teach such subjects as English conversation, test prep skills, etc.), mostly in the evenings and on weekends.</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">When teaching at cram schools, I've seen classes taught by Korean teachers and packed with Taiwanese students. When I asked the teachers why so many Taiwanese were enrolled, the answer surprised me. I had assumed that these Taiwanese students were seeking professional opportunities connected with Korea. Not so!</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">They're enrolled in Korean classes at personal expense because they are aficionados of Korean popular culture: K-Pop, etc.</div><div><br></div><div class="ydp5ff11247signature"><div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><font face="arial" size="2"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Daniel Steve Villarreal</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">, Ph.D. </span></font><font face="arial" size="2"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"><font face="arial" color="black" size="2" style="background-color: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">(</span><span style="font-size:10pt;">萬丹青</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">)</span></font></span></font><span style="font-size:13.3333px;"></span><div style="font-size:13.3333px;"><font face="arial" color="black" size="2"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Assistant Professor of English (MOE # 036823)<br clear="none">Licensed Court Interpreter # 315 (Spanish-English, TX), Master designation<br clear="none">ESL & Spanish instructor<br clear="none">Spanish-to-English translation</span></font><font face="arial" color="black" size="2"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"><br clear="none"></span></font><div><span style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:17px;background-color:rgb(246, 246, 246);">https://tw.linkedin.com/in/daniel-steve-villarreal-ph-d-39a60077</span><span style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:17px;background-color:rgb(246, 246, 246);"> </span></div><div><span style="line-height:17px;"><font face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);background-color:rgb(246, 246, 246);">https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=3495217 <--Degreed North American native English speaker; <b>interested in teaching English online?</b> </span><font color="#ff0000" style="background-color:yellow;">CLICK HERE!</font></span></font></span></div></div></div></div></div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div>
</div><div id="ydp4963d05cyahoo_quoted_2479574826" class="ydp4963d05cyahoo_quoted">
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">
<div>
On Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 12:17:39 AM GMT+8, Francis M. Hult via Edling <edling@lists.mail.umbc.edu> wrote:
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><div id="ydp4963d05cyiv4059999023"><div dir="ltr">Axios<br><br>College students bid adieu to foreign language classes<br><br>Enrollment in languages other than English at U.S. colleges and universities dropped 16.6% between the fall of 2016 and the fall of 2021, the Modern Language Association (MLA) reports.<br><br><div>The biggest declines were in German (-33.6%), Arabic (-27.4%) and Modern Hebrew (-26%).</div><div><br></div><div>The only three languages with enrollment gains were Korean (by a whopping 38.3%), Biblical Hebrew and American Sign Language (ASL).</div><br>Full story:<br><a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/15/college-students-foreign-languages-enrollment-french-spanish-korean" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.axios.com/2023/11/15/college-students-foreign-languages-enrollment-french-spanish-korean</a></div>
</div><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Edling mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Edling@lists.mail.umbc.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Edling@lists.mail.umbc.edu</a><br><a href="https://lists.mail.umbc.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://lists.mail.umbc.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling</a><br></div>
</div>
</div></body></html>