언론사

Communication Between People of Different Native Languages

: During International Exchange and Internship Programs

The Cheongdae Times Cub reporter Ye-Seul Jang

Our university's international exchange program does not mean students take a leave of absence. Up to 18 credits can be recognized as graduation credits, and you can study at prestigious universities abroad with your school's tuition.

You can receive high-quality education through special agreements with sister universities and operate customized programs for each stage.

Such as short-term cultural experiences, short-term vacation training, semester course training and regular courses, and internships at a lower cost than other universities and private international schools.

This reporter is attending the Department of English and Literature, and is entering the 12th week of his life in San Diego by working as an intern in the United States through our university's international exchange program to facilitate communication with foreigners.

The program this reporter is participating in is a variety of overseas internship programs characterized by active participation of students, including basic language courses.

In addition to "American language training + internship," there are various internship programs such as "UK language training + internship," "Chinese language training + internship,“

"Canadian internship at an educational institution," and "Chinese sister university Korean language assistant teacher internship."

This reporter wanted an internship to proceed at an elementary school in San Diego, which is related to my major because he is conducting a teaching course, but as the California law was enacted during the training, he is currently working as an assistant teacher at the local language school on weekdays and as an interpreter at the Balboa Park Visitor Center on weekends.

The Institute of the Language for International Students has students from various countries such as Korea, Japan, China, and Brazil, and most of the students are from Russia.

There is also an inconvenience in not being able to communicate as an assistant teacher because there are no students who speak English as their first language.

I talked to Nolan, a regular teacher who taught these students for many years, to hear about any difficulties or interesting episodes.

Regarding the difficulties in teaching students from various countries, teacher Nolan said, "There were many difficulties in verbal communication when interacting with students while teaching students of various nationalities.

I had difficulties with the teaching culture of various countries." For example, "Korean students are shy and present without confidence when they make a presentation, but most of them give the correct answer.

On the other hand, students from some other countries make a rather noisy atmosphere by confidently answering even the wrong answer, but (laughs) I hope that Korean students will have confidence because the wrong answer will teach them more information."

He also said, "I felt proud as a teacher when I saw a student who could not communicate at all while teaching students of different nationalities, first in words, then in sentences, then in conversations, and then in small talk when they met.“

He said, "It's a shame to leave students at the end of each semester, but I feel rewarded to see the students who have grown and improved that much and I have time to prepare to give more lessons to new students who will come next semester. That doesn't mean I'm used to breaking up with students every semester," he said, expressing his affection for the students.

A visitor center in Balboa Park also guides people of various nationalities. One time, a Korean tourist asked about pass tickets in short English, so I guided him in Korean.

Then, he said, "I feel at ease because a Korean guided me. Actually, I felt at a loss because I came on a business trip to the U.S. alone. Thank you." I also feel a great reward to be able to help Koreans in need while working here.

Of course, when guiding non-English-speaking tourists, they sometimes have difficulty communicating because they do not understand each other's words.

Communication does not consist solely of language, but we have something that communicates through gestures and eyes. Communication has no borders.

British actor Clive Owen said, "Good communication doesn't mean you have to speak in perfectly structured sentences and paragraphs. It is to connect with the audience and convey the message effectively."

It is false if there were no difficulties in living in a native English-speaking country. But if you think about it, there are few grammatically perfect sentences when we talk to our friends.

Even if I don't use such a perfect English sentence, I think it would be perfect communication if the meaning I wanted to convey to them was conveyed.