I have a massive headache. I have finally met students that have been push so far up an educational system the sun don't shine. I was teaching my class like normal when I come across students that do not know what "civilization" and "tradition" means. I get that. I am learning these words in my 5th language. They can be difficult to grasp, even for me. The world graduation (iphak) took a bit of time in basic Korean.
But then I come across students that do not understand a single world after explaining to them what it means every which way possible AND not understanding that means there is something wrong with how they are studying English. Clearly one should be able to get, "a person you do not know" or "someone who isn't known." These are students that have studied English for 3-4 years and they are supposed to be in the upper intermediate level.
I even broke it down even further
1. Someone you don't know.
2. Do not know their name or where they are from.
3. You never have seen this person before.
4. They can be seen on the street and walk by you everyday.
5. They can be random people whom you never met.
Sigh and double sigh. I just want to beat them with a dictionary. How can these students go through so many years of English study and not know the word stranger nor how to understand its simple English definition? I would have seriously had a talk with the previous teachers as a parent. It is just a shame that the parents in Korea are at times neglectful and do not focus on the children in their times of need yet shell out ridiculous amounts of money for their children's education.
To wrap things up, if they do not understand the word stranger, it is going to be a looooooooooooog semester with that class.
