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Fun & Free: Creating Multilinguals at the GIC Korean–Chinese Language Exchange By Chloe Chan
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www.gwangjunewsgic.com
December 2021
hile learning a foreign language, what hinders us from proceeding to the next level seems to always be related to the loss of interest. As many bilinguals or multilinguals are able to attest, we all have experienced a period of time when we find it extremely difficult to stay committed to our language goals. Unarguably, human beings get disinterested so easily that we so often find constant stimulation necessary in order to stay motivated. It sounds cliché to emphasize “fun is the key to effective learning,” but it is indeed very true. During my own research, I came to realize the significance of interactive pedagogy in one’s cognitive learning process. Instead of a traditional one-way cognitive teaching approach or a rigid school curriculum, the incorporation of creative, multicultural learning methods is often deemed to be rather effective in terms of knowledge acquisition. The Gwangju International Center has resumed its Korean–Chinese language exchange program this year. Hosted by a Chinese student from Honam University, Nate Yuan, this year’s program has transformed into a fun language-learning experience designed to engage natives and non-natives to talk and learn languages in a stress-free manner.
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Various group games are set out as icebreakers to connect newcomers. Based on the theme of the day, participants are granted a chunk of time to interact with one another. The major features are highlighted below for those who are curious about the program. GROUP DISCUSSION & DEBATE The host divides the participants into two rows and faces them across from each other. A topic is given for them to initiate conversations regarding the theme.
▲ Group discussion and debate.
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