[EDLING:404] In S. Korea's language villages, the young get an English edge

[Francis M Hult]

The Boston Globe

In S. Korea's language villages, the young get an English edge

By Anthony Faiola, Washington Post
November 21, 2004

ANSAN, South Korea -- "Next!" barked Joanne Richardson, a
bureaucratic-looking Canadian sitting behind a desk in a bustling hall
marked "Immigrations." She beckoned to a timid 15-year-old girl wearing a
Mickey Mouse shirt.

The South Korean girl beamed, suddenly excited at the sound of a language
she has come to love through Britney Spears songs and Disney movies.
"Hello, my name is Hu Jung Hee," she blurted out in brave but labored
diction, "and I want to be a movie star! I know first I have to learn good
English."

"You came to the right place," said Richardson, one of 40 native English
speakers from six countries who teach at this novel, government-funded
language complex on a small island 40 miles southwest of Seoul. "Welcome
to English Village. Enjoy your stay."

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