SHERRIN MICHELLE ERIKA

College of Sustainability and Tourism

Program

Language in Action (LIA)

Key Information

Program Location/Partner University	Saga, Korea
Year of Participation	July - August, 2026
Program Length	Domestic Training (Saga, Day Trip), Overseas Training (Korea, Approx. 1 Week)

Instructor: JUNG Jonghee

Reason for Applying

Meeting Korean friends at APU and my interest in K-pop motivated me to study Korean for 3 semesters. When I heard about a new program about conducting field research in Korean, I was eager to put my language skills into practice. A previous field study in Europe had shown me how visiting places and listening to local people could deepen my understanding. The program’s focus on comparing the ceramics industries and cultures of Arita, Saga Prefecture, and South Korea also connected with my studies in community development at ST. It felt like an opportunity to put both my language skills and academic learning into practice.

What do you hope to gain from participating in the program and how will you apply it to your future undergraduate studies or career?

In our weekly preparatory classes, my teammates and I repeatedly revised our research aims and interview questions in Korean. We also took the initiative by arranging an additional research site ourselves. During the program in Korea, though I could ask my prepared questions, I struggled to understand the native, fluently spoken responses, confronting me with the limitations of my Korean skills. Still, by showing written sentences and borrowing expressions I learned from more proficient teammates, I became less afraid of mistakes. This strengthened my motivation to keep learning. I hope to apply this initiative, openness to local perspectives, and resourcefulness in communication into future research and work in multicultural environments.

Message for Students Interested in The Program

If you want to put the language you have studied into practice, or explore your interests beyond the campus, I strongly encourage you to participate! At first, I hesitated a lot because of worries like “What if my Korean’s not correct?”. However, using Korean every day gradually helped me focus on keeping on trying to get my message across. The local people we visited also responded warmly to our enthusiasm for learning. Discovering what you cannot yet do can be just as valuable as recognizing your strengths, because it gives you a reason to keep learning. Go ahead and try putting your preparation into practice, and experience the joy of learning through conversations and encounters!