HONOLULU - Moanalua High, Moanalua Middle, Moanalua Elementary and
Salt Lake Elementary were presented a grant of $32,000 to help
continue their innovative K-12 Korean Language Learning Program for the 2017-18
school year from the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and
the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in Honolulu. This is the third year of funding from the
ROK, which has now donated a total of $86,000 for the language program.
“[The Korean
Language Learning Program] started with a vision for one or two classes and it
has grown into a wonderful program that encompasses not only a full line of
classes at the high school, but also classes at the middle school and two of
our elementary schools,” said Moanalua High School Principal Robin Martin. “We have many parents that request to have
their children come out on geographic exceptions because of the Korean language
program… and we couldn’t have done it without the Korean Consulate and without
the community’s support.”
The funds are
split equally among the four schools and pay for part-time teachers at the
elementary and middle school levels, along with funding for project coordination
at the high school level. Lessons focus
on vocabulary and syntax skills and also include cultural exchange activities,
such as videoconferencing with schools in South Korea. In 2018, students from Daegu High School will
visit their Moanalua High counterparts and Moanalua High is planning to make a
similar cultural exchange visit in the future.
“It’s important
to have the chance to learn a foreign language when you are young,” said ROK
Consul General Young Hoon Kang. “It’s very
important for the Moanalua schools complex to set up this kind of program from
the elementary school level.”
“Globally, the
world is becoming a smaller place and it’s beneficial for our youngsters to be
exposed to another language or several languages,” said Salt Lake Elementary
Principal Duwayne Abe. “We really
appreciate the funding that the Korean government has shared with us.”
For more information on the Korean
Language Learning Program, please view this video at https://vimeo.com/242875520.
