OVERVIEW
Foreign Language Education in the 19th Century
Asian Language Education in the 19th Century
Missionaries
- John Ross (1842 – 1915)
- Horace Grant Underwood (1859 – 1916)
- James Scarth Gale (1863 – 1937)
- Homer Hubert (1863 – 1949)
Scholars
- William George Aston (1841 – 1911)
- Gustaf John Ramstedt (1873 – 1950)
Grammar-Translation Method
- Developed from the 1500s as a method of teaching Latin and classical Greek and remained dominant until the end of the 19th century
- Applied to teaching modern languages in the 19th century
- Goals
- Develop ability to read literature in target language
- Develop mental discipline
- Method
- Instruction in learners’ native language
- Grammar rules taught deductively
- Drills consist mainly of translation from target language into learners’ native language
- Little attention to pronunciation and oral aspects of the language
- Materials
- Textbooks containing a bilingual word list, a codified set of grammar rules, translation practice
Direct (Natural)
Method
- Developed in France and Germany in the lage 19th century
- Response to dissatisfaction with grammar translation method
- Emphasis on modern languages
- Goals
- Teach the spoken language for practical use
- Method
- Instructing entirely in the target language
- Emphasis on oral practice during lessons
- Vocabulary, sentences, and phrases taught at beginning level
- Grammar taught inductively starting at intermediate level
- Materials
- Specially designed textbooks based on situations
Asian Language
Education in the 19th Century
- Sanskrit: Sir Williams Jones (1746 – 1794) founded the “Asiatic Society of Calcutta” in 1784 … from there, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1824 by Henry Thomas Colbrooke (1765 – 1837); translation of Sanskrit classics
- Chinese: Jesuits Michele Ruggieri (1543 – 1607), Matteo Ricci (1552 – 1610); 19th century grammars and dictionaries, chair in Chinese at College de France (1814)
- Japanese: Serious study began after 1868 Meiji Restoration; Earnest Mason Satow (1843 – 1929) British diplomat and founding member of the Asiatic Society of Japan (1872); William George Aston (1841 – 1911) British diplomat and scholar: Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850 – 1935) British professor Japanese at the Imperial University; James Curtis Hepburn (1815 – 1911) American Presbyterian missionary and author of first major Japanese-English dictionary
Influences of 19th
Century Learners of Korean
- Influence of grammar-translation method remained strong
- Asian languages studied primarily for translating canonical texts or Bible translation
- Grammars and dictionaries produced for self-study and translation work
- Missionary work required proficiency in the spoken language
- Terra incognita: Almost no interaction with the West prior to the mid-19th century
EXPAT KOREAN LANGUAGE LEARNERS
John Ross (1842 – 1915)
- Born in northern Scotland, educated at Fearn School, Glasgow University and Theological Hall, Edinburgh
- Presbyterian Minister in Gaelic-speaking churches before going to China in 1872
- Worked in Shenyang and learned Chinese and Manchurian; gave first sermon in Chinese in 1873
- Learned Korean from Yi Eung-chan, a Korean dealer in traditional medicine in border areas of Manchuria
- Wrote phrase book (1877) and grammar (1882), and a history of Korea (1879)
- Oversaw the first Korean translation of the New Testament (1887)
- Returned to Scotland in 1910
- Language bibliography:
o
Ross, John. Corean
primer: being lessons in Corean on all subjects, transliterated on the
principles of the “Mandarin primer”, by the same author. Shainhai: American
Presbyterian Mission Press, 1877.
o
Ross, John. Korean
Speech with Grammar and Vocabulary. Yokohama: Kelley and Walsh, 1882.
o
Ross, John. The
History of Corea: Ancient and Modern; With Descriptions of Manners and Customs,
Language and Geography. London: Elliot Stock, 1891.
- Approach: language learning = mastery of grammar through example sentences that reflect practical needs.
- Method: Intensive language learning through self-study and use of Korean tutors; development of teaching materials
- Second languages: English (native speaker of Gaelic), German, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Manchu, and Korean
Horace Grant Underwood / 원두우 (1859 – 1916)
- Born in London, immigrated to the US with his family in 1872, educated at New York University and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary
- Arrived in Korea in 1885 with Henry Appenzeller
- Founded Saemunan Presbyterian Church (1886)
- Married Lillias Stirling Horton who was a doctor to Empress Myeongseong (Queen Min), their son Horace Horton Underwood, three grandsons, and great-grandson continued service to Korea
- Collaborated with Gale to organized the Seoul branch of the YMCA and founded the Chosen Union Christian College (now Yonsei University) in 1915
- Collaborated with Appenzeller, Scranton, Gale, and Reynolds in translating the New Testament (1900) and the Old Testament (1910)
- Published grammars, edited dictionaries, and wrote textbooks
- Language bibliography:
o
Underwood, Horace Grant. An Introduction to the Korean Spoken
Language. Yokohama: Kelly and Walsh, 1890.
o
Unerwood, Horace Grant,
James Scarth Gale and Homer B. Hulbert. A
Concise Dictionary of the Korean Language: In Two Parts, Korean-English and
English-Korean. Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh; New York: ADF Randolph, 1890.
o
Underwood, Horace Grant and
Horace Horton Underwood. An Introduction
to the Korean Spoken Language. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1914.
- Approach: Mastery of codified grammatical rules and language / culture immersion
- Method: Intensive language learning through self-study with Korean tutors and mentors; development of teaching materials
- Second languages learned: French and Korean
James Scarth Gale / 게일 (1863 – 1937)
- Born in Ontario and educated at the University of Toronto
- Arrived in Korea in 1888 as a lay missionary of the University College YMCA, but joined the Presbyterian mission
- Established a mission in Wonson and traveled widely in Korea
- Wrote grammars, dictionaries, educational materials, and translated literature
- Wrote on Korean history and culture; gave first RASKB lecture; founded the Korean Music Society in 1917
- Language bibliography:
o
Underwood, Horace Grant,
James Scarth Gale and Homer B. Hulbert. A
Concise Dictionary of the Korean Language: In Two Parts, Korean-English and
English-Korean. Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh: New York: ADF Randolph, 1890.
o
Gale, James Scarth. Korean Grammatical Forms. Seoul:
Trilingual Press, 1894.
o
Gales, James Scarth. The Thousand Character Series: Korean Reader
Number 3. Korea: Korean Religious Tract Society, 1905.
o
Gale, James Scarth. A Korean-English Dictionary. Yokohama:
Printed by Fukuin Printing, 1911.
o
Gale, James Scarth. A Korean-English Dictionary (the Chinese
Character). Part II. Yokohama: Printed by Fukuin Printing, 1914.
o
Gale, James Scarth. Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies.
Translated from the Korean of Im Bang and Yi Ryuk. London: New York: JM Dent
& Sons, Dutton & Co., 1913.
o
Gales, James Scarth. Cloud Dream of the Nine [A translation
of a Korean novel by Kim Manjung, a story of the times of the Tangs of China
about 840 AD]. With an introduction by Elspet Keith Robertson Scott and Sixteen
Illustrations. London: Westminster Press, 1922.
o
Gale, James Scarth. The Great Learning. [A translation of
Confucius from Chinese into English and the Korean vernacular, with parallel
text]. Seoul: Christian Literature Society of Korea, 1924.
o
Gale, James Scarth and
Alexander A. Pieters. The Unabridged
Korean-English Dictionary, 3rd ed. Seoul: Christian Literature
Society of Korea, 1931.
- Approach: Applying grammatical rules to translating canonical texts
- Method: Intensive language learning through self-study and use of Korean tutors and mentors; development of teaching materials; writing in Korean
- Second languages learned: French, Korean and classical Chinese
HomerBezaleel Hulbert / 흘법 (1863 – 1949)
- Born in Vermont, educated at Dartmouth and Union Theological Seminary
- Arrived in Korea in 1886 and taught English at the Royal English School (육영공원) for five years
- Did missionary work with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Korea from 1893 – 1897
- Supported reform and independence movements
- Served as principal of Imperial Normal and Middle Schools from 1897 – 1905
- Expelled from Korea in 1907; returned to the US and continued to speak out on behalf of Korean independence
- Syngman Rhee invited him to Korea and he returned in 1949, but died soon after
- Language bibliography:
o
Underwood, Horace Grant,
James Scarth Gale and Homer B. Hulbert. A
Concise Dictionary of the Korean Language: In Two Parts, Korean-English and
English-Korean. Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh; New York: ADF Randolph, 1890.
o
Hulbert, Homer B (ed). The Korean Language. Washington: n.p., 1904.
o
Hulbert, Homer B. A Comparative Grammar of the Korean Language
and the Dravidian Languages of India. Seoul: The Methodist Publishing
House, 1905.
- Approach: Language learning through basic understanding of grammar and use of language à learning by doing
- Method: Intensive language learning through self-study and contact with wide range of native speakers; little interest in classical Chinese
- Second languages learned: Korean
William
George Aston (1841 – 1911)
- Born in Derry, Ireland; educated at Queen’s University Belfast
- Appointed Japanese interpreter to Japanese Legation in Japan in 1864
- Began research on Japanese grammar and expanded to translation work
- Served as British counsel-general in Korea from 1884 – 1885; first European diplomat to reside in Korea; returned to Japan in 1885
- Began learning Korean in 1870s with the help of Yi Dong-jin and continued studying in Tokyo with Kim Jae-guk, who he worked with in Seoul, until 1887
- Retired in 1889 and returned to England
- Language bibliography:
o
Aston, William George. “A
Comparative Study of the Japanese and Korean Languages.” The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
New Series, Vol. 11, No. 3 (pp. 317-3640, 1879.
o
Aston, William George.
“Corean Popular Literature.” The Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland New Series, Vol.
18, (pp. 104 – 118), 1890.
o
Aston, William George.
“Chhoi chhung: A Corean Marchen.” The
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland New Series,
Vol., (pp. 1 – 30), 1900.
- Approach: Mastery of codified grammatical rules applied to translation of literary texts and research on linguistic structures
- Method: Self-study using 1841 textbooks for Japanese learners of Koreans by Urase Iwajiro and used Korean tutors
- Second languages learned: Latin, Greek, French, German, Japanese, Korean
- Born in southern Finland, educated at the University of Helsinki
- Studied Finno-Ugric languages and later Altaic languages with a focus on Mongolian
- Became active in Mongolian independence movements
- Served as a Finnish diplomat in Japan (1920 – 1929)
- Known in scholarly linguistics circles; acquainted with Ogura Shimpei, the leading Japanese Korean linguist of the early 20th century
- Learned Korean in Japan, spent no time in Korea
- Active in Esperanto movement
- Language bibliography
o
Ramstedt, Gustaf John. A Korean Grammar. Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen
Seura, 1939.
o
Ramstedt, Gustaf John.
“Studies in Korean Etyology,” MSFOu
95, Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1949.
- Approach: Mastery of codified grammatical rules and applying them to linguistic research
- Method: Language learning through self-study and use of Korean informant/tutor Ryu Jin-geol
- Second languages learned: Finnish (native speaker of Swedish), English, German, French, Russian, Mongolian, Japanese, Korean, Esperanto
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS
- Mastery of grammar à Grammar-translation method
- Self-study, often intensively
- Korean tutor/mentor:
o
Ross à Yi Eung-chan
o
Underwood à Song Sun-yong
o
Gale à Yi Chang-jik, Ji Si-gyeong?
o
Aston à Yi Dong-jin, Kim Jae-guk
o
Ramstedt à Ryu Jin-geol
- Developed language learning materials
- Translation of canonical texts
- Use of available “language resources”
Implications for Korean language learners today:
- Rethink grammar à mastery of grammar is important
- Rethink native speakers à frequent, mentor-like contact is important
- Rethink literature and translation à close reading and translation are important, particularly at advanced levels
- Rethink Chinese characters à assist vocabulary development and access to cultural heritage
- Rethink motivation à inner drive, desire for perfection, “language person,” “passion for Korea,” etc.
à Old-fashioned language
learning with passion is what we should be striving for?
_________________________________________
Robert Frouser, with a B.A. in Japanese language and literature, an M.A. in applied linguistics, and a PhD in applied linguistics gave this presentation on the early learners of Korean. Robert has lived off and on in Korea since the mid-1980s. He has written numerous articles on Korean art and cuisine, and has translated Understanding Korean Literature by Kim Hunggyu into English. Since 2009, he has been active in hanok preservation, particularly in the Seochan neighborhood of Seoul. He also has been a member of the RASKB Council since 2011.
He was careful to teach the difference between two types of grammar for the audience to have deeper understanding of his presentation on language learning, transcribing and in some ways, teaching:
scholarly grammar - a grammar for describing
pedagogical grammar - grammar for teaching
