▲Main Gate of the Korean Language School

In our school, various nationalities of international students are experiencing school life with us. International students need to have knowledge of the Korean language and an understanding of Korean culture, to successfully adapt to Korea. For this reason, some of the international students in our school are learning the Korean language and culture at Korean Language School of International Affairs. Recently, Korean Language School staff at CWNU, have been supporting Korean Language School students’ Korean studies, by making textbooks themselves and using them for teaching aids. We heard about the details of the Korean Language School, the place of introducing foreigners to our proudful Korea, and that they are studying the Korean language, through an interview with the Operating Personnel of the Korean Language School.

Q. Please introduce yourself.

Lee: Hello. I’m Lee Chun-yeon, Operating Personnel of the Korean Language School.

Q. Is it essential for international students studying in our school to take the Korean Language School course?

Lee: The Korean Language School course is not essential for our school’s international students, however currently, there are two of our school’s graduate students and 5 exchange students, attending our Korean Language School.

Q. Then, which students usually take the Korean Language School course?

Lee: The proportion of students at the Korean Language School is overwhelmingly composed of students for language courses (93.8%), and the other students are composed of marriage visa holders and accompanying resident visa holders. Most of the students in support of our language course, studying at our Korean Language School, are wanting to enter our university: CWNU. However, there are cases of applying to another Korean university, after receiving our university’s Korean Language School course. To enter a Korean university or to seek employment in Korea, international students are required to obtain a Level 3 or 4 of TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean). For this reason, students are taking the Korean Language School course.

Q. Which nationalities are the students currently attending Korean Language School, and how many students are attending now?

Lee: Currently, the total number of Korean language students is 179. Vietnamese students account for 142 students (79.3%), followed by 11 students from China (6.1%), 8 students from France (4.5%), and the remaining are from the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Russia, Laos, Tunisia, Thailand, and Nepal.

Q. The Korean Language School will conduct classes with self-produced textbooks this time. What is the purpose of making a self-produced textbook?

Lee: First of all, I think it's very meaningful, as this self-produced textbook is a textbook created by our Korean Language School teachers. Self-produced textbooks were produced with the aim of contributing to improving the Korean language comprehension, and adaptability of Korean Language School students, and improving the overall quality of our Korean Language School education program.

Q. What synergy do you expect from students when conducting classes with self-produced textbooks?

Lee: This self-produced textbook was made based on the learning data from students who attended our Korean Language School. Therefore, it is expected that students attending our Korean Language School will help them study Korean, according to their level.

Q. The curriculum of the Korean Language School is divided into Grades 1 to 6. However, this self-produced textbook consists of Grades 1 to 5, so it seems that there will be a change from the existing curriculum. What changes will occur?

Lee: The existing school materials (Seoul National University Korean) are used as they are. This self-produced textbook will be used as an auxiliary textbook. The auxiliary textbook consists mainly of practice questions and is used as a workbook, so there is no change in the existing curriculum.

Q. Please let me know if you have anything to add.

Lee: To introduce our Korean Language School further in this article, our Korean Language School provides systematic classes from Beginner to Intermediate and Advanced Korean, to foster high-quality Korean language skills for foreigners. It also teaches international students to understand Korean culture and to see the good aspects of Korea. In addition, the admission fee for the Korean Language School is 1,200,000 won, but for graduate students, undergraduates, and exchange students attending our school, the admission fee for our Korean Language School is 800,000 won, which is discounted. In particular, most graduate schools have classes in the afternoon, so I think it will be convenient to attend our Korean Language School, which operates both morning and afternoon classes.

In our university's Korean Language School, not only international students, but also foreigners of various nationalities with various purposes, who want to study Korean are studying together. This can be an opportunity for international students in our school to communicate with other students of various nationalities. In particular, the Korean Language School on campus applies discounts on admission fees to undergraduates, exchange students, and graduate students of our school, so they can refer to it. The brisk operation of the Korean Language School in our school will contribute to the international affairs of our school and further the development of our society. We support all students of the Korean Language School, who have been adapting in Korea, even in the current COVID-19 situation, and hope that the development of the Korean Language School will continue in the future.

By Kim Su-gyeong, cub-reporter  tnrud2824@naver.com

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