What makes my heart beat? - Celebrating Milestones

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. 

For those of you who follow my Instagram stories, you may already know that I recently started doing Pilates. It's a really tough workout that leaves my whole body shaking. I've even had to stop in the middle of a workout because I felt dizzy. I asked for advice on my Instagram story that day, and I received some great tips from many of you, so thank you. However, since starting the workouts, I've actually gained more energy. With all this vitality, I'm able to work even harder and I'm more excited about my daily routine. I even enjoyed preparing for my next semester's classes.

First, let me introduce my students from last semester.

🎓LAK Graduation Ceremony Feb, 2023🎓

Can you feel the joy🎊 of students who have completed a whole semester of classes? My classes are always lively. Course registration is now open to my subscribers before it opens to the public! Leave a comment or send me an email if you have any questions!

Now, let me share the story of how I became a Korean teacher.

I started living abroad for the first time in China in 2007. That's when I first started teaching Korean to my friends and I felt my heart beat. I had a strong conviction that this was something I truly loved doing. That's when I decided that I wanted to become a Korean teacher. I started this job just because I loved it without any second thoughts. Back then, Korean was not as popular a language as it is now, but I enjoyed teaching it so much. At first, I thought anyone who was Korean could teach Korean easily. But that wasn't the case. I found it hard to explain why certain things were done the way they were since I had been using them since I was a child. I really wanted to be a good teacher. That's why I decided to get a Korean teacher certificate and started studying for it. After getting the certificate, I became even more ambitious and went to graduate school to specialize in Korean language education. Writing a thesis and doing research wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but it was something I truly loved doing, so I was able to get scholarships every semester.

However, I learned that having knowledge alone doesn't necessarily make for a good class when I was teaching my students. I learned through experience that teaching methods need to change according to different students' needs and that I needed to communicate with them to create lively, energetic classes.

After teaching various classes for more than 4500 hours over the past 10 years, including University classes and online classes, I now have students all over the world. Some of my students have become so proficient in Korean, from the very basics of the alphabet to being able to communicate with Koreans fluently, that people may mistake them for native Koreans. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing my students use Korean to communicate in real-life situations. Some students have even said that studying Korean was a turning point in their lives, while others have shared the exciting news that they landed a job in a great company in Korea. I plan to interview some of them in the future.

I started creating content on Instagram because I wanted to help more people. Through communication with my followers, I have learned more about what they need, what they want, and what they are curious about.

This semester, I received many inquiries about Sunday classes, so I decided to open Monday classes (Sunday in the United States) once a week, ahead of the official opening. You can find more information about my classes through the link below. Please feel free to ask me any questions about my classes. And if anyone has any questions about my April class, please feel free to ask anytime. 😉

In this week’s newsletter, we're going to talk about how learning Korean is like doing a workout.🏋️‍♀️ At first glance, it might seem like these two activities have nothing in common. But they actually do, we'll find that there are many similarities between learning Korean and getting fit.

1. You need to start with the basics. When you start working out, you can't just jump straight into the heavy lifting. You need to start with the basics, like stretching and doing some light cardio,🏃‍♂️ to build up your strength and endurance. The same goes for learning Korean. You need to start with the basics, like learning the Korean alphabet🔤and simple vocabulary before you can move on to more complex grammar and sentence structures.

2. If you want to see results from your workouts, you need to be consistent. You can't just work out once a month and expect to see any changes. The same goes for learning Korean. When you consistently practice your Korean skills, whether that's through listening to Korean music, watching Korean dramas, having conversations with native speakers or taking classes.

3. When you work out, you'll run into challenges. Maybe you'll hit a plateau in your progress or struggle to lift a certain weight. The same goes for learning Korean. You'll have some challenges, whether that's mastering a difficult grammar rule, listening,👂 or pronunciation🗣️. It happens, but just like with working out, you won't see results from learning Korean overnight. It takes time and dedication to make progress. But if you stick with it, you'll start to see improvements in your Korean skills. You'll be able to understand more and more of what you hear and read, and you'll be able to express yourself more fluently in Korean.

4. Finally, just like how it feels good to see progress in your workouts, it's also amazingly rewarding to make progress in your Korean skills. Being able to communicate with Korean speakers and understand Korean media is a the best feeling, and it's something that takes hard work and dedication to achieve.

In conclusion, learning Korean is like doing a workout in many ways. It takes dedication, consistency, and a willingness to push through challenges in order to see results. But just like with working out, the rewards of learning Korean are well worth the effort. So if you're thinking about learning Korean, remember that it's like doing a workout – it might be tough at first, but the end result is worth it. 화이팅!💪

How was my second newsletter that you receiveoday? In the future, I plan to send you short Korean clip lessons throud tgh this newsletter. In this newsletter, I will attach a PDF file with tips on the pronunciation of the Korean letter 'ㄹ'. Stay tuned for my next newsletter, where I will provide more tips and mini lessons.