Brian in Jeollanam-do - Blogging Korea and South Jeolla

Tom Coyner had an interesting piece in the Joongang Ilbo the other day.

Thanks to missionary work, academic exchange programs, the Peace Corps and others, more native English speakers are functionally foreign language capable than in the past. Yet when it comes to truly serious matters, it seems progress has been marginal. In recent years, there may even have been a retreat in foreign language learning by native English speakers.

One need not look any further than daily newspapers, television broadcasts or the Web. Yes, we see news as it happens, but almost always with real-time commentary by “experts” who share their views, inevitably filtered through the lens of the English language.

These opinion leaders rarely have the capacity to read a newspaper in the local language of the areas on which they profess authority. At best, they rely on local contacts who are bilingual in English for a disturbingly large percentage of their understanding. When Western opinion leaders use these contacts, they are basing their perspectives on the views and interpretations of a relatively narrow, elite segment of a foreign nation.