Volunteer, Internship, and Research Opportunitieshttp://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/en-US2008-09-05T20:17:52ZSquarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Language Studyhttp://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2008/8/12/language-study.htmlAK Connection2008-08-12T17:02:08Z
Learning a foreign language late in life can be rewarding but hard work.  One of the challenges is a lack of familiarity with foreign sounds.  For example, a Japanese speaker finds it hard to distinguish between 'l' and 'r', which can create confusion with words like 'lice' and 'rice'.

Children, however, have little difficulty learning a second language, and they can quickly master a foreign accent and sound like a native speaker.  This raises a question.  What happens when a child learns a second language early in life, but then stops using it?  Does he or she completely forget this language, or is some of this knowledge preserved?  For example, would this child relearn the language more quickly if exposed to it again as an adult?

Professor Jeffrey Bowers and Dr. Sven Mattys in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol, UK, have been awarded a research grant from the Economic and Social Research Council to find out.

Their research provides evidence that early learning is permanently engraved in our brains, and that it facilitates later relearning. The experimenters taught English speakers sounds from foreign languages that are difficult to perceive by English speakers. For instance, Zulu includes two different sounds that both approximate an English 'b', but sound very different to Zulu speakers (as different as 'l' and 'r' sound to English speakers).

The key participants of Bowers and Mattys' study had spent a few years of their early life in South Africa, where they had learned some Zulu as children.  Now in their 20s and 30s, they have no memory of Zulu - for instance, they cannot not translate the word mother into Zulu.  Bowers and Mattys found that, at the start of training, these participants performed at chance in distinguishing between the two Zulu 'b', just like a control group of participants who were never exposed to Zulu.  Strikingly, however, the participants with the Zulu background started learning the contrast after about 15 training sessions, whereas the control participants continued to treat the two sounds identically. By the end of training, the former were performing at a similar level as native speakers, whereas the control participants never got much beyond chance.

The important implication of this work is that early exposure to a language has a long-lasting impact on a person's ability to learn a language. Even if the language is forgotten (or feels this way) after many years of disuse, leftover traces of the early exposure can manifest themselves as an improved ability to relearn the language. The researchers conclude that it is a good idea to expose children to a foreign language early in life, even if they do not practice until years later.

The study is far from over, however. Bowers and Mattys are looking for participants over 18 years of age who where exposed to Mandarin or Korean as a child, but have not been exposed to the language since then, and have little or no knowledge of Mandarin/Korean now. If you have this background and would like to find out more about the study, please contact Jeffrey Bowers at j.bowers@bristol.ac.uk If you are eligible to participate, the research can be carried out in your own home, anywhere in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. You will be reimbursed for your time. You can learn more about this study at: http://language.psy.bris.ac.uk/languagestudy/]]>Camp Pride 2008- Volunteers needed!http://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2008/6/12/camp-pride-2008-volunteers-needed.htmlAK Connection2008-06-12T15:51:48Z

It’s that time of the year again- time to plan for Camp Pride!  Camp Pride is a Korean culture camp for Korean American adoptees. For the past several years, KRCC has hosted the high school student segment of the camp (the teenagers!)

The camp is being held Monday, July 28 ~ Friday, August 1.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, camp will take place from 9am to 3pm at Hanmee Church in Itasca, IL.  Thursday, we will bring the students into Chicago for a Koreatown fieldtrip and they will stay overnight at KRCC until Friday early afternoon.  Then we will bring them back to Hanmee Church for the closing program around 1 or 2pm on Friday.

We need energetic volunteers to come help with camp this year.  It is always wonderful to have Korean American role models for the students to get to meet, talk with and bond with.  I have enclosed a volunteer form.  Please give it a look, fill it out and email it back to me as soon as possible.

For those of you who will be able to volunteer the whole week, we will be having a planning conference call within the next few weeks.  For the past few years, a group of students who attend camp volunteer to help design the program (this way they cannot yell at me too much if they are bored!)  I will send you the call in information as soon as I set the date with the students. 

Also please feel free to pass this email on to others you think might be interested in volunteering.

Thanks for your consideration and I hope to see you at Camp Pride this year!  Becky Belcore

                                                                              

Becky Belcore

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC)

2701A W. Peterson Ave.

Chicago, IL  60659

773.506.9158 x201 (t)

773.506.9159 (f)

becky@chicagokrcc.org

www.chicagokrcc.org

]]>Festival of Nations Volunteers Needed!http://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2008/4/10/festival-of-nations-volunteers-needed.htmlAK Connection2008-04-10T19:18:14ZThe Korean Association of MN is looking for volunteers for Festival of Nations 2008. The event is from Thursday, May 1st through Sunday, May 4th.

Please contact Cheong Hwang at 612-554-9993.

Web site for the event is www.festivalofnations.com.

No special skills needed.

]]>Asian Adult Adoptee Gathering & Film Festival -- Honolulu, October '08 -- Call for submissions!http://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2008/3/6/asian-adult-adoptee-gathering-film-festival-honolulu-october.htmlAK Connection2008-03-06T22:42:32ZThis news release is announcing the Asian Adult Adoptee Gathering & Film Festival, hosted by Korean Adoptees of Hawai'i (KAHI) in Honolulu this October, and a call for entries for the Film Festival.

]]>Korean Service Center internship opportunityhttp://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2008/2/4/korean-service-center-internship-opportunity.htmlAK Connection2008-02-04T20:58:07ZThe Korean Service Center is currently looking for an intern. This is a great learning experience for undergraduates interested in working with a local Asian American non-profit. This organization and internship is not limited to AKs.

Download the KSC Internship PDF. 

]]>Korean/English Bilingual Immersion School Development Surveyhttp://www.akconnection.com/volunteer/2007/11/16/koreanenglish-bilingual-immersion-school-development-survey.htmlAK Connection2007-11-16T22:13:01ZThis survey is developed by a group of Twin Cities (MN) parents who are trying to find more effective ways to help their children develop a more global
perspective as well as a bilingual education in a regular public school setting. Immersion education is a way of learning a second language (after the native language) and has been proven as the most effective way to learn a second or foreign language. Your feedback in this survey will assist in knowing the community's level of interest in starting a Korean/English bilingual immersion school.

http://kismn.org/survey/english

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