성 김안드레아 한국학교

성 김안드레아 한국학교

St. Andrew Kim Korean Catholic Church

17615 Old Baltimore Rd,

Olney, MD 20832 · (301) 924-8330

Why my son and I study Korean?

 

by Courtney Schatz

 

 

 

Alex (Korean name 민제) and I started studying Korean at SAKKS during the spring semester of 2009.  (I had taken one Korean class at another heritage language school before I found St. Andrew Kim.)  We are learning Korean because I think learning the language is very important to understand any culture.  In addition, since we adopted Alex from Korea, we feel that it is his right to have the opportunity to learn his heritage language.  And since we are planning return visits to Korea in a few years, basic Korean language skills would be very helpful.  Alex does have enthusiasm for learning Korean and learning about Korean culture.  I hope that my enthusiasm for the language and culture encourages Alex's interest.  With the help of the internet and some very dedicated teachers (and our principal), I have been able to find additional resources to help Alex learn at home since he does not have the advantage of living in a Korean-speaking family.  And not coming from a Korean-speaking family causes us the greatest difficulty, particularly for Alex, as I think all of his classmates have Korean-speaking parents.  My Korean skills are still so limited that I can only say very basic and elementary sentences to him.   My husband and I both work full time, so finding the time to study Korean during the week can also be very challenging.  My future plans are for us to continue studying Korean and learning about Korean culture.  I am motivated to try to improve my Korean so I can help my son learn his heritage language.  I try to keep in mind that language learning is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

미주한국일보에 게재된 기사 보기 (Article in the Korea Times)

 

1/12/2010