▲ English Lounge located on the 2nd floor of CWNU Sarim Hall

CWNU offers a unique space where all conversations are conducted in English at the English Lounge on the second floor of the Sarim Hall. In the English lounge, native speaker instructors and eight English- speaking lounge staff work alternately. Thanks to the assistance of native instructors and staff, students can engage in English conversations from start to finish. In order to learn about the changes made to the English Lounge, which opened this semester, an interview was conducted with Shin Ye- rin, a person in charge of CWNU's language education team.
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Shin: Hello, I'm Shin Ye- rin from the language education team at CWNU's International Affairs.
Q. What does the English Lounge do?
Shin: The English Lounge focuses on English conversation, providing opportunities for English expression that may be harder to come by in students' daily lives outside of the university.
Q. Please introduce the activities that students can do at the English Lounge.
Shin: There are two main activities that students can do. The first is an English conversational group study. The second is a collection of five programs that last 30 minutes. The five programs include, 'Answer English Questions,' 'Guess What,' 'Pic Talk,' 'Theme Talk,' and 'Topic.' There is a game- type program for students who are not familiar with English conversation, a program to talk about specific topics that can be enjoyed more in everyday English conversation, and a program to solve and provide feedback questions from TOEIC speaking and OPIC, to help prepare for exams related to English speaking.
Q. Is the English Lounge open to foreign students as well?
Shin: Of course. The purpose of using the English lounge may be to improve your English skills, but the most significant advantage is that you can meet new people and communicate actively. There are many Korean students who want to meet and communicate with foreign students. It would be nice if the English lounge became a meeting space, as it would be an opportunity for many domestic and foreign students to actively interact through the English language. In addition to using the program, the English Lounge can also be used as a personal English conversational space, so I hope many students will stop by the lounge and enjoy English conversations in a comfortable space.
Q. Have there been any changes to the English Lounge this semester?
Shin: The main framework hasn't changed, but the program material has. In the case of Pic Talk, we have increased the amount of photos available during the week. We prepare 13 weeks in advance, so that participating students can choose various topics they want, and provide them with them. In the case of Theme Talk, when selecting a topic, instead of a rough, broad topic, a discussion- type topic where opinions can be expressed in, ‘yes,’ or, ‘no,’ was selected, so that students can have a richer English conversation. In the case of Guess What, we have prepared a script that can be asked as an example, and modified it to lead the conversation.
Q. Please let me know if you have any future events at the English Lounge.
Shin: There are no events scheduled for the first semester. In the second semester, special lectures by professors and shorts competitions will be organized to help students have more diverse experiences. Please show a lot of interest.
Q. Is there anything you want to add?
Shin: When I was a student, visiting the English Lounge, I felt like I was able to get out of the box and see a wider world. I was motivated by the students who spent their busy time trying to develop themselves, and I regretted the complacency of thinking that I was the only one living a hard life. I hope all the students who visit the lounge will see the world from a wider viewpoint, through each other, receiving new stimulation and energy.
CWNU's International Affairs operates English special lectures as well as English Lounges. The special lecture program provides lectures at various levels through native speakers, so students who want to learn English are putting a lot of effort into improving their language skills on campus. Students can enhance English proficiency by participating in the diverse range of programs offered by CWNU.

By Kim Min-seong, cub-reporter  kms9494274@gmail.com

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