EFL Geek 3.0 - ESL & EFL in Korea

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English Nicknames

I was thinking earlier today about how some students have English nicknames and how some do not. Some schools even have policies on English nicknames. For example my first my first hagwon (teaching children) insisted that all the kids have English names, my first university also insisted that all students had English nicknames, however my current school has a no English name policy. Is it a big deal, probably not but obviously some people consider it an important issue. There are clearly pros and cons to both sides of this argument.

Cons
Why would someone oppose the use of English nicknames? Perhaps they feel it smacks of linguistic imperialism or will somehow erode the students self identity. I cannot see how it has any resemblance to linguistic imperialism as the nickname would only be in use during language study. This is in no way similar to the insistance that all Koreans take Japanese names during the colonial period (1910?-1945).

Your name is a large part of your self identity

The argument about loss of personal identity probably has more merit however. Your name is a large part of your self identity. Again however I do think that most adults would be able to accept a nickname during language class as an exercise identifying with the langauge and culture more easily. It could also help one to become more comfortable with a foreign teacher who consistently butchers the pronunciation of your real name. In my(thankfully) brief stint teaching children I found that most children enjoyed having an English nickname. However if a student (adult or child) were to protest the use of an English nickname, I would think that any school policy insistingon the use of English names should be waived immediately.

Pros
I already alluded to a couple of the pros in the previous paragraph. The first one being that some names will be incredibly difficult to pronounce for foreign teachers especially those fresh off the boat and linguistic virgins with the host language. However in Korea names are not very difficult to pronounce for English speakers. I have only had trouble with one or two names in my nine years here. So at least in the Korean context this point is moot.

The second advantage I see is that learners can make a new personality for their new names. It is much easier for Brian or Suzy to make a mistake than it is for 김태진 or 박미영. Additionally students may be more willing to be vocal and be more active participants in the class.

Other
Personally I have no personal preference either way. THere has only been one time where I recommended a student take an English nickname. I was working at an adult hagwon and one of my students was preparing to work in L.A. for two years on a special project with his company. He was a little trouble to deal with in the classroom quite often challenging me for now reason and intentionally attempting cause intercultural misunderstandings. The week before he was to leave he proudly proclaimed that he would not take an English name while working in America despite my quiet urging. In the end I took him aside and told him it wasn’t because Americans would have trouble saying his name. His name is actually quite easy to pronounce. The problem came with the unintended meaning of 유범석 Yu Bum Suk. I would foresee people having trouble not snickering and with his personality issues his name would definitely become a target of derision and fun. Fortunately this is not a common name. I have only met two Bum Suk’s in my time here.

The only real issue I have is with learners taking stupid nicknames

The only real issue I have is with learners taking stupid nicknames. My first university job was at a womens university and most of the girls took normal names, but a few took some odd or exotic nicknames. However there were the few unique names that really stand out such as Easy - yes we explained the meaning to her, but she didn’t change her name. Another good name was smiles - she did smile alot, but when she got her grade it was difficult to not laugh when i called her name, because of the incredibly upset look on her face, definately not smiling at that time. Others include Gonny, Studyman, Double, Shine, Bin, Diva, Sweety, Tweety, and more.

Back to the kids hagwon. The teachers were required to name the kids because obviously 5-12 year olds do not have much experience with English names. In order to entertain myself and avoid as many repeat names as possible I named the kids after characters in TV shows. I had the entire cast of The A-Team, Threes Company, Different Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, and Seinfeld. I don’t think I would do that again, but it was fun at the time.

So what do you think of English nicknames?

Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Thursday Jun 16, 2005 at 07:26 PM
Teaching |

Елизавета wrote 135 words on Friday Jun 17, 2005 at 01:50 AM

In French class, many years ago, we were required to use French names. We did not have any experience with French names, so we were asked to select a name from the list. (Plus, in France, you must name a baby with a proper first name, by law.) I chose a name that was not difficult to pronounce and didn’t seem too foreign: Isabelle. One girl in the class chose Geneviève. Later in the school year I was quite jealous of her very French-sounding name.
(It’s funny because these days “Genevieve” doesn’t seem exotic in the slightest.)

When I began my Russian studies, the first thing I did was take a Russian name. It makes me feel like I have a little grasp of this foreign language and perhaps a small identity within its boundaries.

마익 wrote 109 words on Friday Jun 17, 2005 at 10:24 AM

We had to take Chinese names in college. The teacher just assigned them. Nobody really cared one way or the other, but it was funny because you never learned your classmates’ real names.

The funny thing is when someone who doesn’t speak English very well introduces themselves. They kida stumble through the “Hi, my name is” part but then they get to their name and (since that’s the part that’s foreign to the listener), when they should slow down an enunciate carefully suddenly they speed up (because their name is the part of the sentence they feel most comfortable saying). I understand why it happens, but it’s funny nonetheless.

Adam wrote 34 words on Friday Jun 17, 2005 at 11:54 AM

Isn’t the main reason for giving students an English name not so much that Korean names are hard to pronounce but rather that they’re deviously hard to remember?

Do you have a Korean name?

마익 wrote 16 words on Friday Jun 17, 2005 at 07:02 PM

I know many foreign folk who take Korean names for the same reason, as I did.

Sean. wrote 101 words on Friday Jun 17, 2005 at 07:04 PM

Елизавета,
I had to take a French name in high school as well. I didn’t like French and I definitely did not like my French name. It was a little irrational on my part because it was just the French version of my English name.

Mike,
Yes it is funny

Adam,
I have an Korean name, but I only use it on 한국어 연습장 because I like to blog anonymously. When I’m in a classroom I use my name. I dont’ find Korean names any more difficult to remember than English names, but then I’ve always been terrible at remembering names.

Brian wrote 171 words on Saturday Jun 18, 2005 at 09:03 PM

I’ve soured on nicknames since coming to Korea. HEre’s why:

First, there’s the underlying assumption that Korean names are difficult for foreigners, so nicknames are made as some sort of polite gesture to stupid foreigners. Frankly, I have an easier time learning their Korean names than their nicknames. After all, my student looks like a Sang-do, not a Bob.

Then there’s the stupid nickname issue, as you mentioned. Some of the dumb nicknames I’ve had to deal with over the years include Cool Cat, Zipperman, Big foot, and ORange (and these are all adults).

Finally, I don’t by the argument that using a nickname allows one to better crreate an identity for themselves in the target language. In all the years of Korean classes I’ve taken, I’ve had a total of 2 fellow students who bothered taking Korean nicknames. Why so few? Maybe we see just how superficial they really are.

Success in language learning comes from practice, practice, and more practice, not from choosing a cool or funny nickname.

Brian

Semantic Compositions wrote 139 words on Sunday Jun 19, 2005 at 08:24 AM

When I first started taking Spanish in 7th grade, my teacher insisted on us all taking nicknames. Six boys in my class, including me, ended up going by “Diego”. I stuck with it whenever I needed a nickname for Spanish classes throughout jr. high and high school, although I was never asked to use it in my Spanish literature classes in college. I found it very useful to maintain the nickname during the time I spent in Spain with a host family, though—Diego was a lot easier for them to pronounce than Justin.

There was a Korean guy in my high school named Bum Suk. He went by Charlie. However, at his size and weight (he was a varsity football fullback, and sometimes defensive lineman), nobody was going to be snickering at him if he didn’t go by Charlie.