Thursday, May 17 Panel on Academic Life

As part of our 18 day program, Shannon asked us to participate in 2 sessions of her US study abroad workshop series. The first of the two that we had the opportunity to be in was on Academic Life. Majority of the students that attended the workshop were graduate students who wanted to continue on with their masters or PhDs in the United States. However, since many of us have worked in a research lab or in a setting with graduate students we were able to answer basic questions. The major concerns that I noticed were regarding respect and hierarchy. In Korea, there seniority and ranking is highly addressed in almost every regard. The conclusion that we came to was that Americans tend to value experience over age. It was interesting and different to have to discuss our own culture in front of others. We tend to do things without thinking because it has become our natural way of life.

After the panel, a few of our students went to the university's English Cafe. This is were students come to practice speaking English. While there, us American students had to practice as well. We had to enunciate our words and speak slower than we would to each other. One of the things I personally learned was that although English education is highly cherished in Korea, most students only focus on the reading and writing. Therefore, many of the students mentioned that they could read and write better than they could speak. Overall, have the opportunity to help some Korean students practice heir English was a great experience. Who would have known that knowing English was such a privilege.  :)