Sim, Chaenny

E-mail: csim1@nd.edu

Language: Korean

Location of Study: Seoul, South Korea

Program of Study: Seoul National University

Sponsors: Center for the Study of Languages

Blog URL: http://sites.nd.edu/sla2018/author/csim1/

A brief personal bio:

My name is Chaenny Sim, and I am a rising Junior from Carmel, IN. I am currently majoring in Science Pre-Professional Studies (premed) with minors in Korean and Anthropology. After graduating, I hope to continue onto medical school. On campus, I am a part of FIMRC (Foundations in International Medical Relief of Children) and AAA (Asian-American Association). I am also a tutor for the Learning Resource Center. I enjoying watching movies, reading, traveling, and taking long walks.

Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:

Although I speak Korean fluently, I would consider my Korean a more conversational level than a professional level. I can communicate effectively with my peers in everyday colloquial conversations. However, I would like to be able to use my Korean in more formal and professional settings. In future, as a physician, I would like to be able to use Korean to communicate better with a wider diversity of patients. I would also like to improve both my reading and writing skills, both of which are not as advanced as my speaking. Because I grew up in a household where I spoke Korean most of the time, speaking comes very naturally, but I rarely had to read or write in my native tongue. Therefore, I find these two skill sets to be less developed.

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

Through this I grant I would like to not only improve my language proficiency but also explore my culture. Although I was born in Korea, I grew up in the United States. I think that I visited Korea more frequently than some other Korean-Americans that I know, but I feel like I was always constricted in exploring the country because we always went to visit family. We did do some traveling when I was younger, but I do not think I understood the significance of the places that we visited and was not particularly interested. Years later and much more knowledgeable about my roots, I regret not being very active during my summer visits. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to explore my heritage and get a better understanding of myself.

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

1. At the end of the summer, I will be able to give a formal presentation in Korean without reading off of a script.

2. At the end of the summer, I will be able to understand news broadcasts and articles in Korean without using a dictionary.

3. At the end of the summer, I will be able to write papers in Korean with little or no mistakes.