Amina Hadef
Student spotlight details
Thanks to a growing interest in K-pop and K-dramas, Amina decided to enrol on our Korean Beginners course and is now planning on progressing on to the next level.
'I have an MSc in Biomedical Sciences-Haematology and work in Technical Services for a Biotechnology company. I have always been interested in languages in general but never thought of learning an Asian language before. My native language is French and after learning English, I understood the power of learning a new language, what it meant and what kind of impact it had on me. Learning English changed me in a good way, made me more open to the world, to the people, and I feel like it unlocked a door in my brain which was closed before. I define myself as open minded and I am always interested in learning new things. A couple of years ago, I got interested in Korean culture mostly though K-dramas and K-pop. As I was watching the movies and listening to the songs, my interest in learning Korean grew.
'I find this language very beautiful and melodic. The writing system is also visually very beautiful and complex. I tried learning Korean by myself and managed to pick up some words and learn hangul on my own which was not that difficult but, although I have many books on how to learn Korean, I could not find a proper way to learn the grammar and the language itself that would make sense to me since it is quite different from English or French. I needed some structure and external support. That’s why I chose to learn at Oxford University. I wanted to learn things properly as I wish to be fluent in Korean.
'The beginners course consisted of 20 lessons over two terms, with each class being 2 hours. The teacher, Ms. Kim, is knowledgeable, helpful and very friendly. I had an amazing time during the class and I learnt so much from her that I decided to enrol on the consolidation course the following term. This was more intense in a sense as we consolidated all that we had learnt from the Beginners course but we also learnt new things at the same time. In this class, there was more learning and practicing how to speak - it was awesome! Thanks to Ms Kim, I also participated in a quiz on Korea culture at the Korean Cultural Centre in London. I had so much fun participating in this and Ms Kim even came to support us! I made new friends and got to learn so many things about Korean culture and language.
'I recommend these courses to anyone who is interested in learning Korean and I will definitely enrol on the Lower Intermediate course next. It can be difficult to study whilst working full time like I did, and you may have to make a few sacrifices to keep on track or work a little bit more on the weekends, but it is all worth it. Now I am so happy when I understand some things while listening to music, reading or just watching movies/TV. It motivated me to travel to Korea too!'
