A.) Study Plan -study plans to improve foreign languages (korean.english.ect) required for taking a bachelors degree course BEFORE and AFTER you come to Korea
In terms of being proficient in English I got a grade 1 in English for CXC. What I have been doing prior to receiving the scholarship is learn hangul. I practise it almost everyday with the help of the online website talktomeinkorean.com. I listen to their podcast after each lesson. I have also took it upon myself to know useful verbs and nouns such as 가 다, 먹 다, 자 다 also 물, 우 유 and a good bit more.
I try my best to memorize the characters and understand passages offered on the website. I then listen to the podcast and try to mimic and copy how Hyun woo and Helen speak. Last month I finished Level 1 of Korean on the website talktomeinkorean.com. Before I move on to level 2, I am currently reviewing everything I previously learnt in order for me to make sure I understand every single lesson taught to me.
I started watching k dramas a good while now without the subtitles, to get myself accustom to just hearing Korean. I sometimes find myself squealing with happiness when I know what they say or at least get a gist of it. In my spare time I make sure to check up on South Korean news to educate myself on things that are taking place in Korea. I obviously still have a lot to learn but so far I did the best I can by self teaching myself another language.
When I go to Korea for my first year of language courses I plan to completely immerse myself in the Korean language and culture. I plan to sign up to live with a host family after getting settled in Korea, I personally think by staying with a Korean family I would get first hand experience and better understanding of the culture.
Some activities or hobbies I plan to get involved in is Korean Calligraphy and I plan to definitely learn the Traditional Korean Hour Glass Drum Dance 장 구 춤 . I personally hope I get to perform at a Korean Folk Festival performing that dance. I partially love historical k drama, so you can steam my interest in Korean Calligraphy and Traditional Dance from that.
I plan to make lots of friends and only communicate to them in Korean which I think will help enhance my communication level by a lot. I have made it my personal goal to reach level 5 in the TOPIK examination at the end of my Korean Language course by always staying dedicated and focused on my studies, I will always review my school work after each lesson and always ask for help from my teachers when I need it.
As mentioned above you can guarantee that I will make the best out of my Korean Language course. I know for sure by getting completely immersed in the culture will make it easier for me to naturally speak korean. In the end it will become like second nature to me.
Hi, I don't think you have to stress so much how proficient you are in English. They only care about foreign languages, so this is geared towards people from non-English speaking countries. I would definitely leave out this sentence: "Which just proves how proficient in English I already am."
What do you mean about reading Hangul? Isn't Hangul sort of like the alphabet? So do you read stories in Korean, or are you just memorizing the characters. Try to be more clear and specific as to how exactly you are practicing Hangul.
I really think they are expecting you to put forth more effort towards improving your Korean before you arrive in Korea. You really have not outlined a pre-arrival study plan at all. Make sure to fully discuss all the steps you plan to take. I would think taking an online course, watching Korean tv shows, news programs and movies in Korean, and reading simple Korean books or articles would also be something they are expecting you to do.
Your plan for after you arrive is also very vague. You say "getting engaged with the Korean culture", but how will you do that? What school and outside activities will help you achieve this goal? And then you say you will learn grammar and vocabulary. Once again, this is more of a goal than a study plan. It is like an NFL football coach saying "Our plan this year is to win the Super Bowl" - of course that is every coach's goal, but how they plan to achieve it is was is really important.
So in short, you need many more details and more specifics for the actual steps you plan to take to accomplish your goal of scoring a 5.
Hi Z_zandie, I think this is outstanding. Reading this, I can definitely feel how interested you are in the Korean language and culture. It is clear how much effort you have put into this already and I am convinced that you will continue to do so once in Korean and that you will achieve your goals. I really think the readers will be impressed.
I do think you need more of a formal introduction here though - maybe something like "Achieving a goal, especially one as challenging as mastering a foreign language, requires much planning. As a native speaker of English, scoring a grade 1 in English on the CXC, my knowledge of that global language will help me navigate the KGSP program. Still, my primary focus of course is to become fluent in Korean, so I have developed a detailed plan of actions I will take both before and after arriving in Korea to make that goal a reality." Then begin your next paragraph with "What I have been focusing on prior to ..." }
Thanks soooo much!! It really means a lot to me that you went out of your way to help me. I will take all of your advice and pointers into consideration. I feel on Cloud 9 getting complimented on my Study Plan from you since you helped me from the start. Thanks again!!
