Why do Korean students say 'I went to station' without 'the'?

Teacher Notes: Article Practice

Answer Key

Practice A:

1. a, The
2. a, The
3. a, The
4. a, The
5. a, The

Practice B:

1. ~~a~~ subway → the subway OR subway (no article, if talking about the subway system generally)

Most natural in Seoul: "by subway" (no article)

1. is teacher → is a teacher

1. the new phone → a new phone

1. The honesty → Honesty (no article for abstract nouns used generally)

1. a station → the station

"The station near my house" is definite because there is probably only one

Teaching Tips

Timing: This handout works best after you have taught the definiteness rule explicitly. Do not use it as an introduction.

Practice A: The pattern is deliberate — every second sentence needs the because the noun is now definite. If students are getting these wrong, stop and re-teach the binary question: does the listener know which one?

Practice B, #1: This is a trap that Korean students fall into constantly. In Seoul, "I go by subway" needs no article (subway as a system), but many students over-apply a because they are countable-noun hunting. If half your class writes "by the subway," it is also acceptable — British English often uses it that way.

Practice B, #5: "A station near my house" is technically grammatical if you mean one of several stations nearby, but in context most native speakers would say the station, because "near my house" makes it definite. Accept either answer if the student can explain their reasoning.

Practice C: Walk around while students write these. The goal is to see whether they can generate the pattern themselves, not just recognise it. If a student writes two unrelated sentences, they have not understood definiteness yet.

Common Issues

• Profession nouns: Korean students will write "She is teacher" until you drill "She is a teacher" fifty times. It does not come naturally because Korean uses no article for professions.

• Transport: "By subway," "by bus," and "by taxi" take no article in standard English, but "I took the subway" does. The distinction is whether you are talking about the mode (no article) or a specific trip (article). This confuses everyone.

• Overgeneralisation: After you teach this, some students will start writing "the love," "the friendship," "the honesty" because they think important nouns need the. Drill abstract nouns separately: no article when used generally, the only when you mean a specific instance ("the love between them").

Extension

If your class is strong, give them this follow-up:

Why is one correct and one wrong?

• I like dogs. ✓
• I like the dogs. ✗ (unless you mean specific dogs)

• The water in this bottle is cold. ✓
• Water is important. ✓
• A water, please. ✓ (informal, means a bottle of water)

This gets at the countable/uncountable split, which is the second half of the article system.