A Graduate Student Perspective-KI Graduate Summer Language Study Grant Summer 2015, Joseph Pomp, G1, Comparative Literature

I had been greatly looking forward to returning to Korea, and I had heard so many good things about the Sogang University Immersion Program, but there was no way that I could have anticipated how well my time would be spent in Seoul this month. Sogang did a great job of making us feel welcome and motivated to make great strides in Korean language acquisition (including making us sign a language pledge, which, though obviously pretty tenuous, set a good tone). They also set up a language exchange program from which I benefited greatly, meeting with a regular Sogang University student once or twice a week for conversation and cultural activities. The classroom time itself was superb. The language instructors, as on-the-ball as any I've had (and, as a comparatist, I've had many!), struck a sound balance between drilling, interactive activities or "active learning," reading and writing exercises, and review. I was particularly impressed by their ability to communicate so much, even grammar structures or idiomatic expressions that are hard for foreigners to grasp, without resorting to English. Sogang has the reputation for excelling at the communicative approach, and it really delivered, especially by complementing the classroom hours with both opportunities to interact with Sogang students and the activities in "culture class," which were conducted at a good level of Korean. The chance to learn a bit of taekwondo, Korean dance, and other aspects of Korean culture to which I had no prior exposure, was wonderful.

Getting to share many of these experiences with fellow Harvard graduate students, though a side benefit, was a big one. I now feel part of a community of people working in Korean studies that is not always tangible in Cambridge. Meeting many sonbaes and key Korea Institute folks over dinner and drinks in Insadong was a joy! The KI Language grant made possible, without a doubt, the most productive summer educational experience I've ever had.