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Korea Summer Program

Language(s): Korean
Duration: Six weeks
Age of Students: High School Students ages 15 to 18
Class Hours: 120 hours / 4 hours per day
Target Proficiency: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
Overseas Partner: YES International
Overseas Language Institution: Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea
Host Family Accommodation: Korean families in Seoul


Course and Program Description
The goal of the NSLI for Youth Summer Intensive Language Program in Korean administered by iEARN-USA and YES International is to rapidly increase students’ Korean vocabulary and ability to communicate with confidence. Classrooms will provide a creative environment for students to extensively practice their Korean skills with a focus on speaking and comprehension skills. Other activities and homework assignments will be theme-based and will include writing dialogues, along with organized opportunities to practice dialogues outside

of the classroom setting. Korean will be the primary language of instruction and students are expected to speak only Korean during classed and program related language events. Over the course of six weeks students will maintain a portfolio of their language work and progress. Upon completion all students will receive grades from Sogang University, based on their performance in class and progress in the language as shown on tests or quizzes.
 
The academically rigourous Korean Language Program will include the following:
 
  • 120 hours of Korean Language Instruction at Sogang University in Seoul
  • Organized language enhancement opportunities with Korean University students, also referred to as the “Buddy Program”.
  • 6 weeks of Host family living with Koreans throughout the Seoul area.
  • Guided excursions of Korea by local tour guides.
  • Courses on Korean cuisine, history, art, music and Taekwondo.
Text Books and Materials
Textbooks and materials will be provided by Sogang University and will be supplemented with authentic and current language materials including short newspaper articles, radio listening exercises and other relevant Korean materials.
 
Cultural Activities
Students will be grouped together with college students who will serve as cultural guides with the goal of providing further understanding of Korean culture and society. Students will also have organized opportunities to learn about Korean cuisine, attend taekwondo classes and to learn about religion, historical sites and cities, all while enhancing their language skills.
 
Final Presentation
Students will present and showcase their final language portfolios during a formal gathering of all participants at the end of the program. Students can choose to present on a specific topic in their portfolio, including their experience with cultural activities.
 
Course Goals
The Program has a five-fold objective:
 
  • Develop students’ Korean skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) at the elementary,
  • intermediate and advanced levels in an immersion learning environment.
  • Improve students’ understanding of traditional and modern Korean culture through various kinds of interactive cultural activities.
  • Build new personal and institutional relationships between our students and their Korean peers, host families, and between the United States and Korea.
  • Foster continued study of the Korean language and culture upon the students’ return to the United States.
  • Enhance students’ self-awareness and confidence and build interpersonal communicative skills.

 

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National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)

About the Program

The Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with American Councils for International Education, AFS-USA, and iEARN-USA, is awarding U.S. government funding to high school and just-graduated students (ages 15 – 18) to participate in summer and full-year language programs in countries where these languages are widely spoken. 

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