Porter, Sydney

E-mail: sporter1@nd.edu

Language: Korean

Location of Study: Seoul, South Korea

Program of Study: Yonsei University

Sponsors: Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, the College of Arts and Letters, and the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures

Blog URL: https://sites.nd.edu/sla2018/author/sporter1/

A brief personal bio:

Hello, my name is Sydney Porter. I am a rising sophomore from New Orleans, Lousiana currently double majoring in Political Science and Film, Television, and Theatre and minoring in Korean. On campus, I am officers in both the Martial Arts Institute and the Science Fantasy & Fiction Club. My studies so far at Notre Dame has taken me to Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, and will take me to South Korea this summer and next spring.

Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:

The SLA grant is important to my future academic plans because it affords me the opportunity to immerse myself fully in Korean culture. I have always been interested in Korean culture and have tried my best to learn the language while at Notre Dame. I aim to become fluent in Korean, and this grant allows me to enter into a program where language acquisition is the main focus of the program. Because of this grant and my summer experience, I will be better equipped to complete my minor at Notre Dame. Korean will also be very important in my future plans because I hope to secure a job working on security and diplomacy issues between the United States and the Korean Peninsula. Learning the language in Korea will give me first-hand exposure to the language, the people, and the culture which will only help me in the future.

What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:

With this SLA grant, I hope to deepen my understanding of Korean and Korean culture. Throughout my summer studies, I hope to also gain more confidence in my Korean knowledge and speaking skills. Because I will be in a place where Korean is the primary language spoken, I will be challenged to use the language more, which will help me to improve my comprehension skills. Learning the language in South Korea will also allow me to pick up on all of the intricacies and complexities that a textbook can’t convey. I also hope to connect with the local Korean students more, in order to learn what daily life in Korea looks like.

My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:

1. By the end of the summer, I hope to improve my comprehension, oral, and writing skills in Korean.

2. By the end of the summer, I will be able to have simple daily conversations with Korean natives.

3. By the end of the summer, I hope to learn more colloquial and slang terms in Korean.

4. By the end of the summer, I will be able to more comfortably engage with the Korean language.