In South Korea, they teach English with a kick

PAJU, South Korea (Reuters Life!) - Learning a foreign language often involves a lot of boring memorisation and verb conjugation, except in South Korea where flying punches and killer kicks are part of the curriculum.

More than 40 academies nationwide teach what is known as "Taeglish", where Korean children are trained in Taekwondo by English-speaking instructors who say the martial art gives the students confidence in the language.

South Koreans spend billions of dollars a year on English instruction for their children. The language is seen as a must for entry into a good university and a good job.

"After English is combined with Taekwondo practise, children can have fun learning the language and do it in high spirits," said Kim Sung-han, the founder of Taeglish.

Taeglish, a combination of the words Taekwondo and English, was introduced in March 2007 as an activity offered by a department store for children. In about a year, academies had spread throughout the country.

Taeglish students are far more energetic in the classroom than their peers who study through traditional methods but their language skills are often not as good as their peers.