°ϲ’s Summer Korean Language and Culture Program is a Hit
STARTALK, the Korean language and culture summer program at °ϲ College, just wrapped up its second year. Held over three weeks during the summer, 26 middle-schoolers from diverse language and cultural backgrounds engaged in a program of learning about and experiencing Korean language, art, music and dance.
Co-directed by Drs. Mi-Hyun Chung and JungKang Miller, faculty members in the School of Education, STARTALK provides language practice, cultural connections and perspectives on traditional practices in Korea and America. The full-day program is offered free for up to 30 students with limited knowledge of, yet strong interest in, Korean culture and language.
Why offer a Korean cultural program for middle-schoolers, some of whom may have no connection or prior exposure to that country’s language or customs?
According to One World Now, a Seattle-based international educational program, Korean enrollment at four-year colleges nationwide increased more than 45 percent between 2011 and 2013. Currently, Korean is spoken by more than 70 million people worldwide.
Closer to home, word about °ϲ’s STARTALK program has spread. “Parents see it as an opportunity for their children to learn a foreign language over the summer — something they will need for college applications and for life in a more globally-focused world,” said Miller.
“Foreign language programs at the middle- and high school level are generally not well-funded,” said Chung. “We provide an integrative focus on what we call the five Cs — Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons and Communities — that facilitates development of Korean language skills and understanding of Korean culture through student research and hands-on activities in Korean arts and crafts.”
While most participants have one or both parents who are second or third generation Korean, a fair number had no prior association. “Some came because they have friends who are Korean,” said Miller. One student began learning Korean on her own, and commuted from Manhattan to °ϲ for the program. Still others, fascinated by the current musical trend from Korea known as K-pop, came to find out more about their idols’ home country.
“In our program we focus on both traditional and modern Korean cultural influences, and K-pop certainly fits in with that,” said Chung. “A positive association with a culture through any form, be it food, music or language, makes people more receptive. K-pop captured their attention, and now they want to learn more about Korea’s centuries-old traditions.”