By Mike Long

The obstacles one faces when attempting to really learn English in Korea, where it is not needed outside of the classroom, are formidable.

Classes are usually large and everyone speaks Korean. If there are students from other countries, we may learn a little English in order to communicate with them, but all my classmates are Korean. As a Korean student, I have no compulsion to speak English to another Korean.

The only real reason I seem to learn English is to pass that section of the college entrance exam. My Korean teachers fully prepare me for this so why do I need to do more? Of course, I know I'm not learning to communicate. Since this skill is not tested, there is no motivation to try.

My parents among others tell me that being able to speak English is important for my future but that's such a long way away. I have enough on my plate right now anyway.

Classes with native speakers are enjoyable, and focus on my communication skills, but how much progress can be made in a single weekly session? Just when we are beginning to warm up, she's gone for another week and I revert back to Korean.

In the meantime, what can I do? I need to feel really inspired to do anything in English outside the classroom.

It has to be something fun, something I enjoy. It should be something that isn't going to be tested so I can just relax. It also needs to be something that really helps to improve my English. I need my teacher to give me something to do that I will want to do!

These sentiments may well be those expressed by Korean students of all ages. My argument is that unless we can encourage students to use English outside the classroom, then we are just playing games ― sometimes literally.

Teachers are having little effect on their students, since, on average, they see them once a week. By the time the lesson comes around, the students feel it's like starting all over again.

What we need to do is start investing our time, effort and money in what we can do to motivate the students outside the classroom. Extensive reading, extensive listening, journal writing, watching movies with English subtitles and preparing mini-presentations are some of the things that are going to result in worthwhile gains.

Using a textbook and simply going through the units, never really revising what we learned in one before moving on to the next, is not going to cut it. Even a teacher who is truly dedicated to the art of language recycling would have to move at a snail's pace.

The message is simple ― unless we can inspire our students to actively use English on a day-to-day basis in and outside the classroom, we are merely whistling in the wind.

When we walk into the classroom one day, we might hear our students shout out in unison ``Groundhog Day,"referring to the movie starring Bill Murray as a man who is doomed to keep reliving the same day over and over.

The writer is an English instructor at a university based in Daegu. He can be reached at mikelong0609@gmail.com.