Practice English Speaking&Listening with: [영어공부자극] 이웃집찰스 인기스타 남아공 교수 가브리엘과 미국인 교수 Jean의 즐겁고 유익한 영어수다 [ENG+KOR]
G: Hi, I'm Gabriel. Nice to meet you all.
G: Right now I am living and working in Busan. It’s great to meet you all.
M: How long have you been here in Korea?
G: Um, I’ve been here, basically, about nine years.
M: Wow! Jean, you’ve been here for…?
J: About the same. Altogether, about nine years.
M: Jean, do you remember that day we visited Gabriel’s house in Daejeon?
J: I do remember, actually, when we first met.
M: It was a long time ago. At that time, Gabriel didn’t have the third *child*, his son.
M: There were the two princesses.
Now he’s got five family members in his family.
G: Yeh, that’s a...I’m building a whole country.
M: So, you really enjoy living in Busan.
G: I love Busan! It’s got basically everything I need: natural beauty, the ocean.
Anyone who loves to eat raw fish, it is the best place.
M: Do you eat raw fish?
G: Uh, no.
J: I don’t really like it.
M: I love that!
M: What brought you *here* to Korea?
G: Well, I’m originally from South Africa,
so back home I had many Korean friends in college.
So, when they graduated, when they came back, they invited me to come and experience Korea.
So, the first time I came here was because I was invited to come and experience Korea.
M: What did they tell *you* about Korea?
Did they tell you about North Korea problems or anything bad as well?
G: Well, I knew about the whole North Korean thing before I came here.
One thing they told me was that, you know, was that I could experience Korean culture and because I love history.
M: What was your first Korean food, then?
G: My very first Korean food ever was, um, it was Shin Ramyeon with kimchi.
M: That’s even so spicy for some Koreans!
G: It was a contest between myself and my friend to see who could handle the spiciness.
G: So, they brought out Shin Ramyeon, plus kimchi, plus little chili *peppers*. So, yeh, I won!
M: Actually, Gabriel’s wife is one of my best friends, Jieun. See the picture here?
M: How did you meet each other?
G: Actually, it was quite interesting. We met through a mutual friend.
She just came back to help, I think they had a project basically for building a new hospital
in a country called Malawi in Africa. So, she was there as a volunteer.
When she came back, my friend kind of said: “You’re from Africa. She just came back from Africa, so talk.”
M: What a coincidence!
G: So true! So, basically that how it started. First, became friends and then the rest is history.
M: What do you think?
J: I’m just listening! It’s really cool.
J: But, I’ve met your wife and I’ve seen your wife, so I understand why you got together.
Because, you’re a smart guy!
M: A lucky guy, as well.
J: Indeed!
M: What do you do in Busan?
G: I’m a professor at Goshin University. A professor of English.
M: It seems very interesting and fun to teach.
M: It seems very interesting and fun to teach.
G: Well, yeh. The good thing is that I get to teach students from different majors;
so, from social welfare, to nursing, and everybody.
So, you learn a lot about the world and the studies and everything.
J: Sure. And you don’t get bored!
M: Actually, Gabriel is very popular in Busan.
Because he was *already* on TV. 이웃집찰스, RIGHT?
and there are many people who notice you.
G: Early this year, Yonhap News TV also made another 4-part series. So, it’s been fun.
M: So, it’s an honor to have you here as a guest!
M: Jean, do you have any questions about Gabriel?
J: What do you enjoy most about teaching?
G: What I really enjoy is when you see how students slowly progress.
Because you do find students who just simply don’t apply themselves, are very lazy.
G: But, I think when you do have students who actually focus, who do try their best…
Like, for example, I met a student who when she first came as a freshman student, really the English level was so terrible.
Right now, she’s in her third year now and speaking almost perfect English.
G: You know, and in a short span of time.
G: And then it’s very encouraging because she also served as an assistant and as an interpreter and everything else.
Next year, she’ll be a senior, and so just to see that progression in many students.
J: What creates a change like that for students?
G: I think the first thing will be motivation.
J: Sure.
G: Ah, because I students, when they feel there’s a need for learning English, they will tend to apply themselves more.
G: Second, I think will be self-confidence as well.
J: Yeh! I agree, definitely!
G: So, if a person slowly builds their self-confidence in speaking and everything else,
then they’ll have a natural, sort of, umm, inclination to push themselves harder.
*They will* read more, get more vocabulary, and learn how to use what they’re learning.
G: So, motivation and also comfort.
J: Yeh, I agree. In my experience,
I have students who… They tell themselves all the time,
“English is so hard. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” That builds a wall, right?
J: You tell yourself you can’t and then it *really* hard to do it.
G: So true! G: I basically try to make the learning experience fun.
J: And useful. G: Yeh, very useful in the real world.
G: Some homework assignment that I do is a video assignment. Where they actually take and use English outside the classroom:
interact with people, interview people, make skits and situations, and things that really apply to them in their real world.
G: Yeh, it’s quite fun. M: Yeh!
M: I saw some videos about your teaching a class. You were so funny!
J: I’m not that funny.
M: You guys are, you know, a little bit different personalities. Were you originally that funny?
G: I think one thing I learned is that, like back home, I had a very good language teacher.
He was so energetic, so lively. Every time he read a poem, you used to basically act it out and you know.
So, when I saw that as a young student, I thought “Wow! If I ever get to teach, I want to be like that!”
G: Because, I wasn’t a very good student, initially. But, because it was interesting, then I, basically, my grades went up.
Thanks for taking a lot oi time for this!
