Lee Kang-hyeon’s I Didn’t Study English — A Title That Tells Half the Story

Knowing English opens up more ways to get at information. There are books, articles and university courses you can use directly, many of them available online. The advantage is often a matter of choice: you have more places to look when you want to learn something.

English has become a shared language in many international settings. Even in a job based in Korea, dealing with an overseas buyer or partner can make English part of the working day.

Why English Matters at Home Too

Doing well in English can help with school marks and entrance exams. For some Korean students, that is the first reason they have for taking it seriously.

Some employers also ask for a recognised English test score. Experience with the language can make a difference well after school.

Learning Where English Isn’t the Default

Living and studying somewhere English is spoken gives a learner regular chances to use it. That option takes money and time that many families don’t have.

In Korea, much of daily life can go by without English. Anyone who wants to use it regularly has to find or make occasions for it.

Can You Get Comfortable with English without Leaving Korea?

It is possible. Getting there takes regular practice, and the practice may need to be more deliberate when everyday life does not provide it.

Lee Kang-hyeon’s I Didn’t Study English is the story of someone who did that work in Korea and reached a point where using the language no longer made him anxious.

From Reluctant Learner to Comfortable Speaker

Lee started during military service. He tried the five stages of Jeong Chan-yong’s Never Study English, a method that had drawn attention around the turn of the century.

He writes about studying after duty, sometimes under the lights late at night. After leaving the military, he used Cambridge’s Grammar in Use, then little known among people around him, to give himself a firmer grasp of grammar.

He went on to transfer into the English literature department at Sungkyunkwan University. After graduation, he worked alongside native English speakers and used English at work.

A Young Man Who Kept at It

The title is ironic. The person who says he didn’t study English spends much of the book describing how hard he worked at it.

To bring more of the language into his day, he set his browser to open an English page and tried beginning a thought in English when Korean would have been easier.

Jeong’s method had its critics. Lee was willing to give it a sustained try and find out what he could make of it.

A Method That Shows Its Age

Some of the techniques now feel old. It helps to remember how different the tools and materials were in the early 2000s. At the time, much of what he did was unusual enough to take some initiative.

Today’s learner has many other ways to bring English into the day. What remains worth noticing is how long Lee stayed with a goal he had chosen, changing the details when he needed to.

Book Information

I Didn’t Study English (Korean title, translated)

Author

Lee Kang-hyeon

Publication date

11 September 2017

ISBN

979-11-961107-X-X (05000)

View the book on YES24

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