KF Global Challengers Internship Letter
I am working as a Korean language assistant at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, United States. I arrived here in August last year and will continue my nine-month internship until May. I hold three Korean language drill classes each week within the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC).
In the beginning, students were often confused by the grammar patterns they had just learned, and I had to help them understand the patterns by giving further explanations. In doing so, I would sometimes be forced to omit things from my lesson plan due to time constraints. Perhaps I had been too ambitious with my initial plans, but I have since struck a more effective balance between my passion for teaching and my students’ capability.
In addition to the regular classes, I preside over the K-Corridor program, which is designed to help students with improving their command of the Korean language by living in same corridor. The program usually deals with such soft topics as popular culture and food, designed to match the interests of the students, but efforts are also made to encourage them to turn their eyes to broader subjects like politics, economics, geography, and history.
Nestled in a cozy neighborhood surrounded by a forest and a lake, the campus boasts beautiful scenery and a wonderful atmosphere. Interns like me can stay in the dormitory along with the students and dine in the student dining hall, helping to lower the cost of living. In my free time I sometimes venture out to the town of Wellesley and enjoy the local food on offer. There is even a handy shuttle bus system that takes people to downtown areas of Boston free of charge or at a low cost. Indeed the school offers a number of excellent services catering to students’ needs, and in these pleasant surroundings, I will do my best to introduce more students to the joys of studying the Korean language.