Meet A-KEEP's New Interns

Introduction of Hyewon Na, A Visiting Language Intern

I’m Hyewon Na and I’m majoring in French language education and film studies as minor at Pusan National University in Korea.

When I was a high school student, I taught Korean to international students for a school club activity. My teaching skill was inexperienced, but I really enjoyed it and it is still my good memory. Then, I saw a YouTube video about a teacher teaching Korean in New York. Many students were inspired by her teaching and Korean etiquette. That video was touching, and it led me to apply for an internship in A-KEEP’s Professional Development Program.

It is my first time visiting the U.S.A. and I arrived here June 30th.  So many things have happened! I assisted the teachers and I practiced dancing to K-pop songs with the students in the STARTALK program. While my stay in Montgomery is only 7 months, I am training to teach overseas because French is one of the foreign languages in Korea.  I want to meet students who are enthusiastic with learning Korean language and culture and I am glad that I already found the students that I was looking for, at the first week of the STARTALK program!

안녕하세요! Nice to meet you!  

I am Juyeon Jo, the new KSL Education intern. I dreamed of becoming a Korean teacher since I was in middle school. As a person who loves meeting new people with different cultural backgrounds, the idea of teaching Korean language and introducing my culture to students with different languages and cultural backgrounds sounds cool to me. That is why I majored in Korean Education as a Second Language and minored in Korean Language and Literature at my undergraduate school. As I keep studying how to teach Korean to those who do not use Korean as their first language and volunteering at several Support Centers for Foreign Workers and Saturday Schools teaching Korean, I got a strong conviction that I really love what Korean teachers do. Therefore, I started my masters in Korean Education as a Second Language at graduate school. 

I came to A-KEEP to experience teaching Korean to non-adult students living outside of Korea. While I was having an interview with Ms. Han and Ms. Jemma, they said that the way they teach Korean to students in Alabama is different from to students in Korea. Those are two different circumstances and have different needs. I agree with them and I am already learning a lot from the instructors at A-KEEP by assisting and observing STARTALK: Catch the K-Wave program. I believe that my knowledge of Korean and years of teaching experience from the A-KEEP instructors can make a good synergy together. I am so excited to start my new journey here in Alabama with A-KEEP!