The simple words of a lecturer adjusting a microphone. . . “Can you hear me now?”  I have called out that question myself when trying to teach in a large classroom.  I want to know that my students can hear me, even the ones trying to hide in the back of the room.

“Can you hear me now?” was the basis of a highly successful advertising campaign by Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless network in the United States.  (Verizon was a sponsor of the U.S. launch of Korean pop star Se7en.)  The commercials showed a Verizon technician trying to use a cell phone in different locations: cities, small towns, Southern states, the West Coast, taxis, etc.  In each place, the employee would take out his cell phone and ask “Can you hear me now?”

Why would this campaign appeal to an American cell phone user?  Dead spots.  A dead spot is a place where there is no cell phone service – in those places, a person cannot receive or make calls.  If a person passes through a dead spot while on the phone, the call gets dropped.  Can I make a call when I am visiting my sister in Ashland, Kentucky?  my father-in-law in Oak Creek, Colorado?  my friend near Ithaca, NY?  Answer: not if I am trying to use a cell phone.

When I moved to Korea, I was immediately impressed by the cell phones – subway maps, English-Korean dictionaries, and television are just a few of the features found on Korean phones.  I can watch television on the subway!  (Not that I understand anything that is being said.)  In cafes, restaurants, theaters, elevators, buses, taxis, subways, and parks, I see cell phones being used.  I doubt that there are any dead spots in Seoul.  Koreans can use their cell phones any time, any place.

Including the classroom.  Cell phone use seems to be a normal part of the Korean university classroom.  Students send text messages, play games, or watch videos during lectures and seminars.  I have seen professors and guest speakers answer their cell phone in the middle of their lectures – and then stop the lecture to speak to the caller.  When I ask my students to turn off their cell phones during class (off, not vibrate), they look confused as if they do not understand what I am asking them to do or why I am asking them to do it.

In many American university classrooms, cell phones are not welcomed.  Ringtones and vibrations are distracting to other students.  Those sounds are distracting to professors.  When I look out at my students during lecture, I can see what each student is doing, and it distracts me when I see students messing with their phones.  I know that a student who is texting cannot be giving me his/her full attention – the student cannot hear me now.

Turning off a cell phone is not just about limiting distractions in the classroom, it also a way of showing respect.  A professor turns off her cell phone to indicate that her full attention is on the lecture and on the class.  American students do not bow to professors, but turning off their cell phones shows respect for the time and effort of the professor.  The classroom is important, and the interaction between professor and student is important . . . more important than that text message, phone call, or game.

In my American classes, I have a “no cell phone” policy in my syllabus.  Most students honor that policy and keep the phones off.  Some students, of course, forget the policy.  As a gentle reminder for the forgetful student, I have this rule: if I see a cell phone used in class, then I take the phone.  The student must then give me $5 to get the phone returned.  A student rarely needs to be reminded twice.I may need to introduce this policy to my Korean students.  Is it too much to ask a student to turn off a cell phone for 75 minutes?  With all of my lectures in English, students need to be able to focus on what I say to more fully overcome the language barrier.  When I am at the front of the classroom and call out “Can you hear me now?”  I would like the answer to be an overwhelming “YES!”