일기예보에 ~이 예상되다 (the weather forecast calls for ~ / ~ be in the weather forecast)

일기예보에 ~이 예상되다 (the weather forecast calls for ~ / ~ be in the weather forecast) [쾌청하고 (sunny skies) 낮 최고 기온 (a high of ~)이 25도로 예상된 3일 연휴 (3 consecutive days off) 마지막 날엔 가족과 함께 가까운 호수에 가서 kayak 탈 예정이야] 

마음껏 (at will) ~하고 싶다 (feel like ~ing)

마음껏 (at will) ~하고 싶다 (feel like ~ing) [ NYT 급 지성인 영어로 마음껏 표현하고 싶다 (I feel like expressing myself at will in English of caliber so high as to be reminiscent of NYT English)]

한국어를 모르는 캐나다 독자들의 요청으로 제 책 표지 내용을 아래와 같이 번역합니다.

~의 소유다 (belong to sb)

~의 소유다 (belong to sb) [높은 고품격 영어 구사력 (a high command of quality English)은 영어 원어민 또는 영어권 거주/유학 경험 등 단순 외적 지위 (sheer status)와는 별로 상관없고, 그런 능력을 습득하려고 평생 쉬지 않고 열심히 노력하는 겸허한 (humble) 사람이 소유한다]

In the mid-1970s, I fell so ill with tuberculosis in my last high school year in South Korea and was so unable to work on many subjects for university entrance exams that I devoted whatever energy I had to one single activity—reading novels and philosophers’ books in English. 

귀 쫑긋 (ears prick up)

귀 쫑긋 (ears prick up) [잘못된 이념 (ill-conceived ideology)으로 양육되어서 (weaned on~), 영어공부에 방해된다고 한국어를 멀리할대로 멀리한 (distance myself from ~) 내가 세상에서 제일 반가운 언어 한국어에 귀가 쫑긋해졋다]; 피는 물보다 진하다 (thicker than)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

 Weaned on the ill-conceived ideology that the more exposed I would be to Korean, the less predisposed I would be to acquiring English. I had distanced myself as far from Korean as possible since my freshman year (1977) in Korea, while reading and writing only in English. In what repudiated the ideology, my M.A. and Ph.D. studies at Canadian universities occasioned my encounter with tons of empirical research findings that, to a large degree, effective teaching methods for ESL adolescents and adults boil down to maximally tap their first language-based cognitive competence into learning ESL.  Apart from this kind of turnabout in my attitude toward Korean, here in Canada, I normally use only English, with few Korean acquaintances. Although Korean has a really scant presence in my daily life this way, I doremember the moment when Korean gladdened me the most in my entire life. Once I finally got a long-awaited Canadian visa after medical re-examination, almost two decades ago, I was so excited with the visa that, with several huge pieces of luggage, I arrived in Vancouver for my M.A. studies at UBC even though I had no pre-arranged accommodation. Perennially strapped for cash, I couldn’t afford a hotel room as an accommodation evern for  one or two nights. In a storm, these piecessnarled me so much that I was reduced to helplessly crying. Then my ears suddenly pricked up and my face lit up. I heard passers-by speaking Korean, the gladdest language in the world! Although normally thin-skinned rather than thick-skinned, out of character, I mustered courage to run after them and asked in Korean “Are you Korean?” Coming from a large Korean company, they were doing a stint and were kind enough to allow my luggage to be left in the balcony of their on-campus residence until I would find an accommodation. Thinking of their kindness reminds me that blood is thicker than water.

푹 빠져 [be lost in ~ing)

푹 빠져 [be lost in ~ing) [길을 걸을 때도 한 손에 손수 타자기로 친 영어 문장들이 적힌 독서카드를 쥐고, 영어 문장 암송하는데 푹 빠져서 앞도 제대로 안 보고 (not pay enough attention to things ahead) 걸으시는 선생님이 가로수에 부딪치실까 (bump into a sidewalk tree) 봐 걱정했어요]

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Hi J & H,

J, I’m pleased to hear that in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, your daily routine begins with looking forward to a new entry, which I have posted on my English blog on a daily basis so far. The extent to which reading my English blog plays a role in your daily excitement is well reflected in what you term as “a wishful thinking”: You wish that my summer recess were extended so that, as now, I could post a new entry daily even after August.