{"id":3740,"date":"2018-12-23T13:50:56","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T04:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/?p=3740"},"modified":"2019-08-09T09:01:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T00:01:11","slug":"alienated-graduate-international-students-in-gist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/?p=3740","title":{"rendered":"Alienated Graduate International Students in GIST"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bilingual Campus, A Long Way To Go<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\uc0bd\ud654<\/a>
\uc0bd\ud654 = \uc774\uc724\uc9c0 \uae30\uc790<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u20182018 Research on the Work Environment of GIST Graduate School Students\u2019 published in the 22nd edition of GISTNEWS has identified many difficulties for the international graduate students. Despite GIST\u2019s official policy of pursuing a \u2018Bilingual Campus\u2019, many foreigners are frustrated over unexpected language barriers, such as lectures and administrative services that are only offered in Korean. Currently, 105 foreign students from 23 countries are attending GIST. Since 10 percent of the graduate students are foreigners, it is necessary to pay attention to the language problems that the foreign students encounter and come up with countermeasures.<\/p>\n

Major Classes in Korean
\nControversy over Infringing on the Right to Study<\/strong>
\nThere are no Korean language proficiency conditions in the five Science&Engineering Colleges (DGIST, GIST, KAIST, POSTECH, and UNIST) in Korea. This is because the schools guarantee classes in English and bilingual administrative services. \u201cGIST is known to be a bilingual campus, but it is not true,\u201d said Raqibul Hossen Saikat, the representative of GIST International Students\u2019 Association (GISA).<\/p>\n

According to \u2018The Guideline for English Use\u2019 Article 2 Protocol 1 of GIST\u2019s rules, \u2018All classes should be in English.\u2019 However, that is not the case. Some major classes are taught only in Korean. \u201cIn few classes, professors recommended international students to drop their classes arguing that English classes were impossible because the prepared materials were in Korean. Nevertheless, the foreign students took classes taking unfair treatments lying down in order to fulfill their required credits\u201d said Hossen, the GISA representative.<\/p>\n

In response, Min Kyung-sook, the head of the Section of Student Services, explained the reason that the lectures are in Korean, saying, \u201cIn order to deliver the lecture efficiently, professors sometimes ask for understanding of students and make some or all of the lectures in Korean.\u201d In sum, considering Korean students\u2019 understanding, it is hard to complete the entire class in English.<\/p>\n

Lab Meetings, Seminars in Korean
\nA Limitation of the Academic Debate<\/strong>
\nForeign students have often been excluded from lab meetings and seminars as well as their major classes. \u201cA lot of the international students have this same feeling that they are even left out in the academic discussions in lab meetings as they hear English for only 20 to 30 minutes during their own presentations during a three to four-hour-long lab meeting,\u201d Hossen, the GISA representative, explained. He also said that most of the academic seminars that both Korean and foreign students are required to attend are in Korean. \u201cI understand why Koreans give their presentations in Korean, but if they use English for the international students in part of their presentations, the foreigners would feel less alienated,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

However, some say that the speaker had better speak his or her native language for the delivery. They say that Korean students need to speak Korean to deliver the contents about their personal researches or laboratory assignments and receive feedback. \u201cThere are some laboratories where all lab meetings are held in English, but in order to enhance understanding of the presentations during a lab meeting, there are some labs where Korean students speak Korean and international students use English when they present their researches. In addition, the feedback is in the speaker\u2019s language,\u201d said Choi Joon-ho, the vice president of GIST Graduate School\u2019s representative association.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, GIST has the aforementioned \u2018The Guideline for English Use\u2019. Based on the regulation, the school needs to take active measures, since major lectures, lab meetings, and department seminars delivered in Korean could be a violation of foreign learners\u2019 right to study.<\/p>\n

In-School Notices and Promotional Materials Are Also in Korean
\nFrequently Missing Important Information<\/strong>
\nThe school sends students various life-related guides as well as academic works by e-mails. This is no exception to foreign students. \u201cMost e-mails from the school and the departments are written in Korean, so the international students cannot keep important deadlines sometimes. Also, promotional materials and school websites such as the GIST Portal and the Laboratory Animal Resource Center are all in Korean. At first, I used dictionaries and translators, but there are limitations. It is also difficult to keep asking Korean colleagues to understand the contents in Korean. Many foreign students have asked the school to write the notices in both Korean and English several times, but it has not improved at all,\u201d said Hossen, the GISA representative.<\/p>\n

Regarding this, Choi Soo-in, the head of the Section of International Cooperation, said, \u201cAll the administrative departments are trying to write bilingual notices or at least write the title in English.\u201d She also promised to continue to direct each administrative department and department office to send out instruction e-mails for foreigners in English.<\/p>\n

Regarding the matter, Choi Joon-ho, the vice president of the Graduate School\u2019s representative association, asked for cooperation from the fellow Korean students, saying, \u201cWhen there are some documents in Korean which the international students probably need or get interested in, Korean students who are the laboratory fellow should actively convey the contents in English. The role of Korean students is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Lack of Diversity in Diet
\nNo Menu Written in English<\/strong>
\nThanks to the international students\u2019 suggestion, a Halal food truck has operated twice a week (Monday and Friday from 11:30 to 12:30) in the parking lot in front of the international hall since May this year. Now, many students, including Muslims and vegetarians, are using the food truck.<\/p>\n

Although many students responded positively to the food truck operation, it is also regrettable that the number of operations is low. \u201cIt takes a long time to cook food in the kitchen when the food truck is not coming. Many Muslims and vegetarians hope to expand the operating,\u201d said Hossen, the GISA representative.<\/p>\n

The school says it is difficult to increase the operating times of the food truck. \u201cIt is difficult for school cafeterias, which are currently in the red, to add a new menu for foreigners, Muslims or vegetarians. Although the school has approved the operation of the food truck as an alternative, it is too much to increase the number of the operations due to a violation of the school cafeterias\u2019 business rights and food safety issues,\u201d explained Choi Young-soo, the head of the Section of General Affairs.<\/p>\n

Also mentioned was the fact that menus in the school cafeterias are in Korean only. Choi Young-soo, the head of the Section of General Affairs, said, \u201cIt is difficult to provide bilingual menu because of the limited size of the menu screen, i.e., all the letters would become too small to look at if English is added to the menu, but major meat and allergic products are written in English, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, there is only one cafeteria where this is being observed: the 1st school cafeteria (the school cafeteria on the first floor of the 1st student union). Except for this, no cafeterias in GIST are using English in their menu.<\/p>\n

Language Exchange Program
\nExpecting to Help the International Students Adjust to Korea<\/strong>
\nAs a way to ease the difficulties of the international students, Hossen, the GISA representative, suggested a language exchange program. Most Korean language education centers at universities, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, support language exchange activities. They match foreign students and Korean students for one on one partnerships and let Korean students help foreign students study Korean, do various cultural activities together, and help them adjust to Korean life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the school connects the international students and Korean students 1:1 and manages them regularly, the language exchange program will help the international students adjust to Korean life a lot. Korean students will also be positively affected by the expansion of their thoughts through the language exchange,\u201d said Lee So-rim, a Korean instructor in the Language Education Center. Choi Joon-ho, the vice president of the Graduate School\u2019s representative association, said, \u201cLanguage exchange activities will help both Korean and foreign students to practice conversation and build human networking.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Article 3 of GIST\u2019s rules on \u2018The Guideline for English Use\u2019, \u2018All members of GIST should strive to open their thoughts, throw life areas open and wide, and internationalize our school by making the use of English a daily life through self-directed learning, despite the distinctions in Article 2.\u2019 Reconsidering of the current situation is required.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Jeong, Dain(\uc815\ub2e4\uc778) dainj981@gist.ac.kr<\/a><\/p>\n

The Korean version, http:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/?p=3719<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bilingual Campus, A Long Way To Go The \u20182018 Research on the Work Environment of GIST Graduate School Students\u2019 published in the 22nd edition of GISTNEWS has identified many difficulties for the international graduate students. Despite GIST\u2019s official policy of pursuing a \u2018Bilingual Campus\u2019, many foreigners are frustrated over unexpected language barriers, such as lectures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":3694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gistnews.co.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/\uc678\uad6d\uc778\ud559\uc0dd_2\ucc44\uc0c9.png?fit=2186%2C1334&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdL9j0-Yk","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3740"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4005,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3740\/revisions\/4005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3740"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gistnews.co.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=3740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}