KOREA FOUNDATION

KF Global Challengers Internship Letter

I am currently doing an internship for Korean Language Education in Hanoi, Vietnam. I work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at Vietnam National University (VNU), which has the only Korean Studies division in Vietnam’s capital. The division belongs to the Faculty of Oriental Studies where students choose their major in the sophomore year. Many students want to major in Korean Studies.
  The Korean Studies division has four full-time instructors, including two from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and me. To overcome the lack of teachers to meet the ever-growing number of students, the division is making great efforts to invite instructors from outside, and it operates a reference room and an instructors’ room to support the teachers in their preparation for classes and meetings.
  I was in charge of three classes for two subjects during the semester spanning from September to December 2018. During the first seven weeks, I taught reading and listening in the Advanced Korean Language 3 course for senior students and in the Introductory Korean Language 2 course for sophomores. During the final seven weeks of the semester, I taught in the Advanced Korean Language 4 course for seniors and in the Introductory Korean Language 3 course for sophomores. For the classes for seniors, my colleagues and I reviewed many books, newspapers, and current issues and prepared teaching materials on selected topics related to economy, politics, and society. For sophomores, I mainly used the second and third volume of the textbook Comprehensive Korean Language for Vietnamese, published by the KF.
  In addition to teaching, I have taken part in various events. In October, I attended the Hangeul Day commemoration at VNU and an academic conference on the current status of Korean Studies textbooks and the ways of developing them, held at the VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the VNU University of Languages and International Studies, respectively. I also remember the Vietnamese Women’s Day I observed with my students. On Vietnamese Women’s Day, which falls on October 20, men present flowers to women, and I was happy to be part of the celebration.

KF KF Korean Language Education Internship VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities Bang Jihye

#Vietnam #Hanoi #Korean_Language #Hangeul