Speaking Korean is not allowed at the Paju English Village, a huge English camp near Seoul, South Korea, that immerses its students in an all-English environment. But this is more than just a language camp. It is a real community made to look like an English village where hundreds of people live, eat, sleep, shop and learn.
The Paju English Village is built on a 277,000m2 piece of land, and is the world's biggest English immersion camp, boasting its own bar, bookstore, bakery, restaurant, bank, theater and even a city hall.
Electric buses drive along the main street, which branches off to classrooms and houses for 550 Korean students and 70 staff, as well as 100 teachers from various English-speaking countries. Korean is outlawed and even written signs are not allowed.
PHOTO: AFP
"We wanted to create an environment where students feel they left Korea behind," said Jeffrey Jones, head of the Paju camp.
Tens of thousands of young Koreans go abroad every year as they try to learn to speak English. In an attempt to reduce the outward flow, and to provide another choice for people who can't afford the trip, English villages are starting to appear across South Korea. Ten of these villages have already opened since 2004, and at least four more are expected to open soon.
Jones said the village allowed its Korean residents to speak in Korean only twice a day over meals, while making them speak English the rest of the time.
The Gyeonggi Province government, which owns the Paju camp, pioneered the huge immersion language program in South Korea by building the first English-only village in 2004 at a cost of 85 billion won (NT$2.88 billion). (AFP)
在南韓首爾附近的大型英語營「波州英語村」不准說韓語，讓學員沉浸在全英語的環境。不過這不只是一個語言營而已，它是一個打造成英語村的真正社區，有數百人在此居住、飲食、睡覺、購物與學習。
波州英語村佔地約二十七萬七千平方公尺，是全世界最大的英語營，以擁有酒吧、書店、麵包店、餐館、銀行、電影院，甚至市政府而感到自豪。
電動巴士沿著主要街道行駛，巷道內是教室及五百五十位南韓學生、七十位職員與一百位來自各英語系國家的教師的房舍。村內禁止使用韓語，連書寫的標語都不准。
波州英語營主任傑弗瑞．瓊斯說：「我們想創造一個讓學生將韓國拋諸腦後的環境。」
每年有好幾萬南韓年輕人出國學習英語。為了減少出國潮，提供負擔不起海外旅行的人另一個選擇，南韓各地開始出現英語村。從二○○四年開始，已有十家英語村開幕，短期內預計至少還有四家將開幕。
瓊斯表示，英語村只准許村內南韓人一天兩次用餐時說韓語，其餘時間都得說英語。
波州英語村隸屬於京畿道道廳。京畿道道廳在二○○四年斥資八百五十億韓元（新台幣二十八億八千萬元）打造了南韓首座全英語村，是南韓全英語學習計劃的先鋒。 （法新社／翻譯：賴美君）
An outbreak aboard a cruise ship of a rare rodent-borne illness called hantavirus has left three passengers dead and sickened others, but global health officials say the risk to the general public remains low because the germ does not easily spread between people. “This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization (WHO). “Most people will never be exposed to this.” The virus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to
Have you ever wondered how people navigate the world when they can’t see a map? For individuals with visual impairments, conventional maps are nearly impossible to use. This is where tactile maps come in — essential tools that allow people to “see” the world through touch. A tactile map is specially designed with raised lines, textures, and symbols to represent geographical features such as roads, rivers, and buildings. Users explore it with their fingertips. However, these maps are not exclusively for people with visual disabilities. They serve as valuable multisensory learning tools that enhance spatial understanding for everyone, making
1. 他病了三天。 ˇ He has been sick for three days. χ He has been sick since three days. 註︰這裡現在完成時態 have / has been 表示從過去某一時日到現在的一段時間存在的行為或狀態，與它連用的時間副詞應為 「for ＋若干時」，如 for a year, for three hours 等，意思是歷時多少。 2. 他自從星期三以來都很忙。 ˇ He has been busy since Wednesday. χ He has been busy from Wednesday. 註︰「自從……以來」，該用 since。說從某一天（某一時刻）到某一天（某一時刻）才用 from，如 from Monday till Friday。 3. 房間角落裡散放著一些零星物件。 ˇ There were some odds and ends lying in the corner of the room. χ There were some odds and ends lying at the corner of the room. 註︰「在房間角落裡」該用介詞 in。例如： He stood in the corner. There is a lamp in the corner of the room. at the corner 指房子外部的拐角。例如： A little boy
A: In early May, there were concerts by Icyball, Chyi Yu, Korea’s EXO and Japan’s Anisama, but I missed them all. What a shame. B: That’s OK. There are shows coming up by various artists, including Power Station, Accusefive, Japanese singer Mika Nakashima, Chinese-Icelandic jazzer Laufey, and even Singaporean diva Stefanie Sun. A: After a 12-year hiatus, Stefanie is finally returning to Taipei again. B: In late May, there will be more shows by Crowd Lu, WeiBird, Korea’s Donghae, 2AM, EXID, and Thailand’s BUS. A: The Thai boyband is so popular. It looks like “T-pop” is catching up with J-pop
RSS