Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mi Hyun Yoon (Harbin, China ’09) - Alumni Development Fund



With funding from the CLS Alumni Development Small Grants Program, Mi Hyun received Chinese language tutoring from a native Chinese speaker. Below in her own words, Mi Hyun describes the impact of the CLS Alumni Development Fund in helping reach her language goals.

My main objective of this activity was to maintain my Chinese language abilities even after graduation. Of course, I had been studying on my own through the use of resources available on the internet, but the grant allowed me to have the opportunity to learn in person from a tutor who would cater the sessions to my interests and needs. Moreover, it was also a step towards accomplishing my professional goal of finding a career opportunity that would allow me to use my Korean and Chinese language skills since more prospective employers would seek to interview and hire me if my Chinese language abilities improved.

Through the one-on-one tutoring funded by the grant money, I worked on reviewing and practicing tones and pronunciation so that I could sound more like a native speaker of Chinese, without an awkward accent. In addition, the tutor helped me review grammar and vocabulary through the use of text and HSK sample questions. My Chinese speaking was a little rusty after almost a year of disuse, but with the tutor to act as my conversation partner, I regained confidence in speaking Chinese and received more motivation to continue Chinese studies once the tutoring sessions were over.

Indubitably, I was the main beneficiary of the tutoring sessions as I met with the tutor one-on-one and she taught materials based on my needs. However, it also benefits many other students of Chinese who have access to the Guilao blog that the CLS Harbin alumni and I set up, as I posted the scans of the materials from each session on the blog. While they do not have the same benefit of having a personal tutor, the readers of the blog can still use my materials and other posts to supplement their own personal studies. With the end of the tutoring sessions, I have resumed my own studies, and I will continue posting China and Chinese-related material on the blog with the other alumni.

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