The Future Is Bright

Let's talk about this link here. It's referring to my job replacement. If you're too lazy to read it, which I'd guess probably half of you are (I would probably be included in that if I were in your position), I will explain it. The Korean education system is slowly shifting from a mildly autistic happy child to a violently retarded drooling chimpanzee with its latest set of decisions.

I am, of course, exaggerating, but it seems that Korea has taken a serious interest in implementing the use of robots to replace foreign English teachers in the future. Yes, you heard me. Robots. That's good and well, isn't it? Because a robot can deviate from a set pattern of dialogue and tell jokes or inspire a student to learn. A robot can certainly be mobile and explain a game or activity using body language. A robot is an excellent lesson planner. A robot is also certainly capable of properly disciplining a student for misbehavior.

I am, of course, joking. A robot cannot feasibly do any of these things. It can only do one or two of them if it is remotely controlled by a Filipino, as they suggest it may be. The main reason they want to implement this program is the same reason why anyone does stupid things: money. Let's take a look at the last paragraph that borders on insulting:

"Plus, they won't complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan... all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while."

Maybe someone should upgrade and repair your thought processes, brother. We're human beings. Most of us don't complain about things like that, but some of us do. If they'd rather pump money into a barely animate object instead of treating us like human beings with needs, then so be it. They will fall behind in their English ability.

One other thing stood out to me about the article. This:

"Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers," Kim said.

Seriously? Let's talk about avoidance issues here (which is part of a larger problem in this country). So, instead of exposing shy students to human teachers to help get over their shyness, you'd rather appease them by giving them a robot instead of a real human being. What's the point of learning a language if you're too afraid to speak it to actual people!? I admit, sometimes I'm a little bashful about speaking Korean to Koreans, but I usually trudge forward. Why? Because I know and every reasonable person knows that making mistakes is part of learning.

Anyway, Korea is going down a silly, fruitless road if they choose to pursue this option in full. This might work in a hagwon environment or a very low level classroom, but to develop a working portfolio of English knowledge, the student must be exposed to native teachers period. They're losing out on 1) mannerisms 2) accents 3) cultural awareness 4) overcoming shyness toward non-Koreans. It could not possibly be adopted in a middle or high school level with any success. I hope they do not commit to doing that in the name of saving a buck. Future generations will suffer.