The Student Spotlight is an ongoing series where we ask former students to share their experience with LanguageBird. In this installment, we’ll meet Ivy, a former Korean language student.

1. Why did you choose to participate in a summer program?

I’ve been longing to learn Korean for over a year now, and when I entered high school I thought it was the perfect opportunity to do an independent study of the language I truly wanted to learn, rather than the ones taught at my school. Motivation is supposed to be the key to language learning, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to find that with the classes offered.

2. How did you decide which program was right for you?

LanguageBird met all of my school’s requirements, and it was one of the only websites that came up when I searched for accredited Korean courses. At the time I had been taking a different language through a different program and it just wasn’t the right fit for me, I was needlessly stressed, and I knew I needed to switch.

I decided to give LanguageBird a try, and from the moment I signed up I knew I had made the right choice. I was a little skeptical at first because I couldn’t find many reviews, but I gave it a chance and enrolled. Since then, these classes have felt like a huge breath of fresh air compared to my earlier situation, and I don’t think I could be happier!

3. What was a typical day in your summer program?

My teacher usually begins class by reviewing previous lessons, before going over vocabulary and grammar, generally ending the class with a lesson on Korean culture, such as history, holidays, and traditions. The classes are personalized to my interests, lending to the motivation aspect by working with things I enjoy. My teacher is incredibly nice and very good at what she does, I love spending time with her during the lessons and feel very comfortable around her, which is always good when working with a topic you’re bound to mess up in quite a bit.

4. What was the most memorable moment of your summer?

I think it would be hard to pick a specific moment as the most memorable, but definitely one of my favorite parts of every class is toward the end when we go over aspects of Korean culture and history. That’s a part of the lesson I couldn’t get anywhere else and it’s really interesting to learn about it from a local who has actually experienced it.

5. What advice do you have for teens looking at summer programs?

If there’s something you really want to do or a class you really want to take, put your mind to it and don’t let anything stop you. Before I began the school year this was just a crazy idea, but I knew it was something I wanted to do, so I pushed through, and eventually, it became a reality. Now, looking back, this has definitely been one of the best decisions of this year, and I’m so glad everything has turned out the way it has!

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