8/16/2019 Korean Grant

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With a large Korean population, Clarksville, Tennessee presents an interesting opportunity toprovide high quality after school courses to learn the Korean Language and Culture. There aremany opportunities to practice in Clarksville, whether at one of the many grocery stores orrestaurants, or with the elder community at church or other community functions. The firstgeneration of Korean-Americans generally do not retain much of the language outside ofhousehold commands and simple phrases, and it is practically impossible for the non-Korean

community to interact and learn the culture and language. The goal of this program is to makelearning the language and culture accessible to the entire community so that there is a betterunderstanding of the similarities and differences between the American and Korean cultures,and hopefully address the need to offer structured courses in a school setting in order topromote a more complete understanding of the language.

Clarksville has a population of 200,000 and is the second fastest growing city in the UnitedStates(Census, 2012). The Korean population represents the majority of the asian immigrant,with over 10,000 residents. There are several local Korean businesses, churches, andrestaurants. (Rossview, Kenwood, Northeast, Northwest, CHS, Montgomery Central, WestCreek, etc)

IDEA: 

Send 3-5 willing students to a school in South Korea that will give them the fundamentals ofKorean and an experience that will help them better understand the culture. After time at thelanguage school, I would then seek a school or training environment that would accommodatethe extra attention and training to be better prepared to teach Korean. These measures wouldnot only provide the framework for the after school Korean language program, but alsostrengthen the resumes of those involved. The final goal is to prove that there is enoughdemand at the K-12 level and the university level, so that we could create a language programbetween Clarksville-Montgomery School System and Austin Peay State University, andhopefully some of the community colleges in the area. (Nashville State and Hopkinsville

Community College). 

I would choose applicants that are already in the school system which would meet needs foracquiring a grant and better the chance for a longer involvement within the school system.Some of the grant money would be apportioned for the compensation of those teachers afterthe initial 12 months, although outside support from the community will be sought. Theunfortunate reality is that, although there is an obvious need for this type of program, the rightchannels have not been pursued, and through government funding of the beginning of thelanguage program. The hope is that the initial funding of this program will show the communityhow much it is needed.

I need: 

Money for travel and program 

Money to compensate the teachers for their time after the program has started 

Money for community awareness/program participation and research 

I would target the neighborhood schools that have larger Korean-American populations togenerate more interest, but I would make the program open to all interested students in thearea. The program would be free to students. A long term timeline includes the transition from

8/16/2019 Korean Grant

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an after school program to actual courses offered at the K-12 level and the University level. Ifenough interest is shown, the community will support these programs as the number of Korean-American students increases.

RESEARCH: 

Find a program in South Korea that offers an adequate learning environment 

Go to Korean churches and poll the korean community 

Census information on students and regions of clarksville that have higher populations speak to director of CMCSS for support and information. Seek qualified and interested faculty and staff of CMCSS that would be wiling to participate inprogram and extra commitments.

 

Read previous grants that were awarded 

END GOAL: 

TO INCREASE THE INTEREST AND AWARENESS OF THE KOREAN CULTURE ANDLANGUAGE IN ORGANIZED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AT THE K-12 AND UNIVERSITYLEVEL. BECAUSE OF THE LARGE KOREAN POPULATION, THE HOPE IS THAT SOMESTUDENTS WILL PURSUE DEGREES AND LICENSURE TO TEACH KOREAN, THUSCREATING A CYCLIC SYSTEM OF LEARNING AND TEACHING KOREAN IN OURCOMMUNITY.