The Great Wall of Language

Today I found myself at the Seoul Immigration Office, trying to procure my alien resident card. It's been a complete headache and it was my second time to the office. Turns out, I look Korean. Turns out, I don't speak Korean that well. Because of these two factors I was bewildered when the woman across the counter spoke at a speed that was way too fast for me. She kept repeating the same thing, not slower, but louder. I needed her to break it down, but she kept insisting that I get a form -- but I couldn't understand what the form was. I became so confused I had to inject some sense into her: "If I speak English like this, at this speed, and spoke English words that you couldn't understand, would you be able to comprehend all I say?" That stopped her in her tracks. We stared at each other for a few seconds and I could almost see the light bulb go off in her head. She repeated slowly what she said, attempted her best to clarify what she said, and wrote down for me what she said.

Must keep this in mind when teaching my Korean-speaking students.