What has been your first personal driven act to improve your language skills?

In the summer of 2017, I participated in an international language school based in London. Since the programme was heavily focused on the English language, I started to develop my interests in language and culture. I was able to engulf myself in an environment which I considered as a melting pot of unique individuals, ranging from different nationalities and backgrounds. This feeling became stronger when I realized that I was the only Dutch person in the programme. Choosing English as my main focus was easy. I simply wanted to be able to comprehend, digest and understand such a state-of-the-art language. Globally speaking, almost every individual has access to learn English. This concluded in me seeing the relevancy of it all.

A few years later, we land in 2020. In the third year of your studies, you get the opportunity to delve into learning a foreign language. Your university offers a big palette of languages to choose from. However, your final choice ended up being the Korean language. Could you elaborate on this choice?

During my personal challenge to embark upon improving my English, I made a bet with a Korean friend. He was one of the participants of the language school in London and stated that I would never be able to speak Korean. I took his words as part of my new challenge to analyse the basics of the Korean language. Then, I realized that the Korean language has so much depth to it. Almost poetic and exotic. In the end, you are also learning a language that in essence really does feel ‘foreign’ from the Dutch language. Learning and remembering three basic Korean words made me feel ecstatic, already. Eventually, the quest to study Korean and to visit South Korea became even more serious. Possibly visiting a whole new country, located in a (personally) undiscovered region made me self-conscious to a certain extent. I felt that there was a need to know some sentences and be able to hold a (basic) conversation in Korean.

Since last year you have been attending the Korean School of Amsterdam (KSA). Has your personal quest also acted as an incentive to apply for this language school?

Yes. I have never felt very productive during self-study sessions. Hence, I was searching for possibilities to learn Korean by applying the classroom method. Furthermore, I was also unfamiliar with Korean (pop)culture. Maybe I picked up little bits of information through my friends’ stories and remained fascinated by it. I attended one of the open days of KSA and I was impressed by its popularity concerning the Korean language. An introductory session to learn Hangul (한글) was completely packed with enthusiasts. Even outside the classroom, in the hallway, visitors tried to get a glimpse of the lesson. Partly because of these impressions, I immediately registered for the A1 beginner’s class. “Otherwise, there is no spot left in this class!”, I thought.

Eventually, the first day of school arrives. How was this experience?

I was nervous, because you also feel somewhat vulnerable. I was feeling quite anxious when I spoke to a native English speaker in London, let alone speaking Korean to a native Korean speaker. It felt uncomfortable at first: a healthy tension, so to speak. Fortunately, I soon noticed that there was a relaxed atmosphere and vibe in the classroom. As a class, as a collective, we also laughed at how difficult it was! I think we all shared the same thoughts at that time, something like “what are we doing now”. It reassured me. When you know everyone has been sharing the same thoughts, you can just laugh about it and keep moving on.

Do you have examples of difficult moments during class? Maybe from the first day?

The Korean script. I immediately thought “help!”. In particular, the pronunciation of the double consonants is associated with a lot of nuances. Up to this day, I still have trouble with this. In addition, the grammar is really different from the Dutch language. Fortunately, our teacher took the time to focus on this, which was great. We always went through the materials at a comfortable pace. Not too fast, not too slow.

During the first lesson you were also immediately given the timetable for the semester. Could you give us a little insight?

KSA offers more than just the ‘regular’ classes on Saturday. They also provide us with in-depth classes and extracurricular activities. For example, with the beginner’s class we made kimbap together (Korean rice in sheets of seaweed, complemented by a filling) and we visited the Hendrick Hamel Museum in Gorinchem. One of the activities that I remembered the most was a taekwondo class. A passionate taekwondo teacher guided us through the basics of the sport. It is so appealing to me that KSA offers us more than solely language lessons. The diversity within the extracurricular activities broadens your horizon and your perception of the Korean culture.

In addition, the mixture and variety of students really spoke to me. You have a number of classes for children of different age groups, but you also have classes for adults only. Also, within these classes there is a richness to the diversity of the groups.

Regarding those classes: when applying for KSA you had the choice to register for classes with a Dutch or English-speaking teacher. What did you opt for and why?

 I chose for the English-speaking teacher, because it was important for me to maintain my level of English. My major is entirely in Dutch. As a result, I do not get many opportunities from the academy to study in English. In retrospect, this might have made it more difficult. Now, for example, I have to take an extra step to make the translation from Korean to Dutch.

Could you briefly describe a regular day at KSA?

The day actually begins before the first class starts! We can voluntarily participate in an additional class. These lessons always start before the first official class and are dedicated to repeating and / or enriching the materials we are offered in the regular classes.

The regular lessons follow each other in the morning: three lessons with a ten-minute break in between lessons. These short breaks are always nice to catch up with the students of other classes. At the beginning of the first regular lesson, we are obliged to greet our teacher in Korean. During the first few lessons I was always greeting very fast and unintelligibly in Korean. This allowed me to avoid any response from the teacher. Nowadays, I feel a lot more confident! 

Hee-Min, our teacher, taught us very quickly to give simple reactions or answers in Korean. I personally enjoyed her approach, because it encouraged me to actually converse in Korean. Of course, it will put you outside your comfort zone, but with the best intentions. 

Furthermore, I also want to mention the student composition of our own class. I was very delighted with the diversity in age, nationality and professions. We were able to enrich each other’s knowledge by sharing personal stories. 

Finally, you finished the semester with an exam in all the language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing skills). How did the exam go?

Everyone was quite nervous. Of course, we have been working towards this concluding moment throughout the entirety of the semester. We were even able to practice with some old exams and additional materials. However, it just feels more exciting for us as a beginner’s class. This is our first insight and experience with how the Korean exams are being conducted at this language school.

I was very well prepared for the oral exam since this might also be considered the most nerve-wracking part. You namely have to be able to improvise and give your sentences a certain dynamic (intonation). I studied a lot for this part of the exam. Ironically, I was so well-prepared that it did not come across as if I had ever practised this bit. I still consider that as a compliment. Altogether, I believe that the lessons had prepared us well for the final exam. It was definitely doable.