• Meeting Length: 39minutes 35seconds

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/12 9am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample : 3:02~8:20

2) Topic: College student life, Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

  dorm(기숙사), calm(차분한), minor(제2의, 부전공), apply(지원하다, 신청하다), appropriate(적절한), human right(인권) discriminate against(차별하다), typically (일반적으로), in public(공공장소에서), restriction(제한), scenery(경치)

  boring customer(따분한 손님), certain(특정한)

  I don't know how to say [ ](~ 어떻게 말하는지 모르겠어)

  thank you for coming(와줘서 고마워)

• Meeting Summary:

  Isabella currently goes to school at home, not in the

  dormitory, and has classes every day except Friday.

  But it's not that busy and it's a calm schedule

  She hasn't worked yet, but she is currently applying to many places.

  There is no honorific language in the United States, but there is a difference between the language you communicate with your friends and the language in formal situations.

  The grammar structure is not different, but in formal situations, certain words used with friends are not used.

  Isabella's major is International Affairs, so she's interested in human rights.

  She said that people value the problem of being discriminated against and having a hard time for no reason.

  The differences in fashion between the United States and Korea and the ways in which the two countries express themselves were discussed.

• strategies employed for better communication and understanding:

  Rather than trying to talk in perfect sentences, speaking with confidence, completing sentences with each other's help, and telling words you don't know

• Plan: We will meet again on Zoom next two weeks this time.

o Meeting Length: 40min (The recording was cut in the my part...)

o Meeting Time and Date: 9/13 9:30pm

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): Select the best

TOPIC: college student life, favorite hobby and part-time job, favorite sports

meeting summary:

When I first had a meeting with Katarina, I could see myself frozen. I am not good at English, so I often use a translator if there is something I don't understand during the meeting. However, I did not have many problems understanding because he answered in easy English during the conversation. However, it felt very difficult for me to speak in English. Thank you so much for understanding even if I was vague about English. Next time, I will have a meeting with the translator off

Plan: Study words for English conversation, study grammar-based conversation, and try to do it with the translator turned off

Meeting Time and Date : 9/14 00;30~1;40am(KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 5;15~10:30

2) Topic : Simple self-introduction, About school (assignment, College studendt life), Job

3) Language use information

The vocabulary I learned : expectation, humid, democratization

Meeting Summary

I think this was the first time I had a conversation with a foreigner at Dong-A University, so I was very nervous. I’m not very good at English, so I couldn’t fully understand everything Ayanna said and often had to ask her to repeat herself. For words I didn’t know, I kept using a translator to understand them. Since it was my first time, I used a translator frequently, but I want to be able to communicate to some extent without one in the future. I also experienced that the pronunciation and speed of native speakers are different from the English I usually listen to. My English skills are still at the level of understanding and speaking individual words, but I will try to speak in full sentences as much as possible from now on.

Plan

We will meet again at zoom next week.

o Meeting Length: 40min (The recording was cut in the my part...)

o Meeting Time and Date: 9/13 9:30pm

time frames for your best speaking sample

1:10~2:30 (The recording was cut in the my part...)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): Select the best

TOPIC: college student life, favorite hobby and part-time job, favorite sports

meeting summary:

When I first had a meeting with Katarina, I could see myself frozen. I am not good at English, so I often use a translator if there is something I don't understand during the meeting. However, I did not have many problems understanding because he answered in easy English during the conversation. However, it felt very difficult for me to speak in English. Thank you so much for understanding even if I was vague about English. Next time, I will have a meeting with the translator off

Plan: Study words for English conversation, study grammar-based conversation, and try to do it with the translator turned off

https://youtu.be/4cqRTA2lZf4

Meeting Length

: 36 minutes 35 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 9/14, 1am (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 5:05~11:15

Topic

: Self introduction, College student life, Short conversation about family

New words and expressions I learned

: figure out, 알아내다 / introverted, 내향적인 / consistently, 일관되게, 꾸준히 / maternal, 외가의 / that’s why, 그래서

Meeting Summary

:It was the first meeting, so it was awkward, and it was not smooth in exchanging conversations. However, we tried to understand each other's shortcomings and help each other if there were any difficulties or do not know about Korean and English. Still, I could understand most of what Ashley was talking in English. It was a pity that my speaking in English was awkward and grammatically incorrect. At this meeting, we talked about each other's college life. By asking and answering questions about universities in Korea and the United States, we could know similar but different university lives. It was a good thing to be able to hear about the American universities I was curious about in person.

Plan

:We decided to meet next Sunday on Zoom at a similar time to this time. And about the topic to be shared in the next meeting, I will think about what I want to say in advance and try to reduce grammar mistakes.

• Meeting Length: 43 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/14 9am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 2:20~7:50

2) Topic: College student life

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: student center, I spend all my time at, ordinary, hang out

• Meeting Summary: Victoria major is Asian studies and I chose this major because I wanted to teach English to Korean students. I don't do much in college, but I'm working part-time, so I just take classes and go back to work. There's not much that school does. I don't do club activities. I spend all my time at work, go to school part-time and just take classes. I got back to school around 30 years old. So it's not normal. know there are places like libraries and student center. where people study on campus, but usually study only at home. It's fun to learn Korean. favorite class is Korean class. only take two subjects. took a Korean class for a year.

• Plan: We will meet again at zoom next week. The next topic will be 'Job applications and work experiences, including part-time jobs‘

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/15, 7:30 pm (EST)

• Speaking Sample Time: 19:30~25:30

• Total Meeting Duration: 33:57

• Topic: College Life

2) New Words and Expressions

• 통학을 해요 - I commute

  
  

• (집에서 학교까지) 이동해요 - Move

  
  

• 예배를 - Worship

  
  

• 꽉 채워요 - fills up

  
  

3) Meeting Summary and Plan

Summary: Before I met with Joohyun I was very nervous, but she was very kind. We got to talk about our college life and introduce ourselves, so I was able to get comfortable talking to her. During our meeting we also talked out what we do in our free time when we are not at school. I learned that Joohyun has a part time job at a bakery called Tous les Jours. She has class everyday of the week except friday just like me, then she works part time on the weekends. She made me feel comfortable even when I made mistakes, that way it was easier to fix whatever I said that was wrong.

Plan: I didn't have questions already planned, but next time I will definitely make some, so conversation can go a lot smoother. I will also practice some more adjectives for when I describe things.

: 34 minutes 01 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 9/16, 2pm (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 8:53 ~ 10:40

Topic

: Self introduction, College student life, Favorite movie genre, song type, hobby, American and Korean place recommendation, favorite food, etc

New words and expressions I learned

time flies: 시간이 빨리 지나간다

senior: 대학 4학년

get used to: 익숙해지다

external activities: 대외활동

Meeting Summary

Her major is Asian Studies, and she is a senior. She is learning Korean and takes part in student clubs as part of her college life. Her hobby is learning about other cultures, and she enjoys watching related videos on YouTube. She likes thriller and mystery movies, and often listens to K-pop and Ariana Grande. Her favorite food is lasagna made by her mother. The travel destinations she recommends in the United States are New York, Texas, and Georgia.

Since I usually lack confidence in English, I often stuttered and made mistakes in word choice. Because I was nervous, I relied heavily on a translator, and as a result, the conversation did not flow smoothly. Fortunately, thanks to Aubri’s consideration, I was able to speak more naturally as the conversation went on. Next time, I hope to rely less on a translator and have a smoother, more natural conversation with Aubri.

Plan

We’re scheduled to meet at 10 p.m. (KST) this Sunday.

o Meeting Time and Date  - 2025.9.17 6:00~6:40am KST

o Link to the meeting 

https://files.fm/f/ggat76gyvr 

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 34m~

o New Words/Expressions - 

ran out of questions : 질문이 없어요

 credits don't transfer : 학점이 이전되지 않는다

o Meeting Summary and Plan -

 We asked each other questions like How your school life is, What color / movie / season / food / music do you like, and more.  We talked randomly in English and Korean.  Next time, it will be better if we talk the whole 15 minutes just in Korean, and the other 15 minutes just in English, and I want to have a deeper conversation. We planned to talk more using messenger. 

o Plan: Next week, same time.

        3. Respond to at least two postings. In your response,

• As this was the first time, things about Imani were the most interesting things to know.  I learned that Imani is studying acting. She said that she wants to be a Korean-English translator. I hope she can achieve her dream through this project.

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 34 minutes 46 seconds

Meeing time and date : 9/16 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe : 05:17~13:33 (about 8 minutes)

2)topic: simple self- introduction, College student life, Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs,

The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3)Language use information

- New words/expressions: calm(침착한), relaxable(안심하다), immediately(즉시, 즉각), public transportation(공공 운송 기관), frosted(서리에 뒤덮인, 냉동), personally(개인적인 의견을 말하면), international affairs(국제 문제), politic(현명한), government(정부), hopefully(바라건대, 희망을 갖고), upon( ~에 의지하다), cafe hopping(카페 투어)

Meeting summary: Ayana lives in a school dormitory. Her major is International Affairs. She is not working part-time yet. Because the land is large, it is difficult to move on foot. She wants to run a clothing store later to sell clothes. She wears necklaces differently from season to season. There are two classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Among them, the first is Korean and the second is German. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is only one class called International Affairs. There are two online classes on the remaining days. She said she wants to do a cafe tour when she comes to Korea.

strategies employed for better communication and understanding, overall conversation experience): I wanted to finish the sentence by making the most of the words I knew, but it was difficult because I couldn't think of the words well

Plan: Your plan for the next meeting: Study more words, Practicing finishing sentences in conversation,

Meeting Length: 39 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 9/17 7pm (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 5:45~8:10

2) Topic: Introduce and college life

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: lawyer, a part-time job, bodybuilding, pay attention, pharmacy

Meeting Summary

Moni is 19 years old and in her junior year of university. She is preparing to become a lawyer. She is studying hard because she has an exam this Friday. Her hobby is bodybuilding and she said that she worked hard with her friend when she was in high school, but these days, she doesn't have time, so she only does it a little. She goes to school every day on weekdays and works part-time at a pharmacy with her friend on weekends. Last night, her roommate said she couldn't sleep well because she sang until 1am.

In fact, we had another meeting before this meeting, but it was not recorded, so we had another meeting today. At the previous meeting, I already introduced myself, and I mainly talked in English at that time, so there are many Korean-oriented conversations this time.

Plan

The schedule for next week's meeting was decided to check each other's schedule and talk on instagram. So, we decided to contact instagram to decide the topic of the next meeting.

 o Meeting Length : 32minutes 11sec

o Meeting Time and Date : 9/16

9:30 ~ 10:02 pm(KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample : 

2)Topic: If you had $100,000, what would you do?, If you could travel, where would you like to go?, About your favorite idol, Hobby

3)Language use information

The vocabulary I learned : flat, that is a lot

Meeting Summary

I feel that this first meeting was a truly meaningful experience for me. It was my first time having a face-to-face conversation with a foreigner, so I felt very nervous and even a bit overwhelmed. During our conversation, there were moments when I couldn’t think of the right words in English and had to rely on a translator. While listening, I also didn’t understand some parts, which made it difficult for me to respond. Whenever that happened, I felt sorry toward Skye. I realized that my English skills were weaker than I had expected, especially in vocabulary and listening. This experience made me understand how important it is for me to study English more, expand my vocabulary, and improve my listening skills.”

Plan : I’m going to study more English words and grammar for communication and practice speaking more naturally. Next time, I’ll try to have a conversation without using a translator.

• Meeting Length: 48 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/13 11pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 4:28~9:45

2) Topic: College student life

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: syllabus, participation, registration, campus facilities

• Meeting Summary: Jenny is 29 years old and majoring in Asian Studies. She usually wakes up at 9 o’clock and goes to school, where she takes Korean language classes and also a class about love. She attends school three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

I shared that college life in Korea is quite difficult because there are too many assignments. I also mentioned that I like studying at cafes, so after school I usually go to a café to do my assignments.

In addition, Jenny and I exchanged stories about our daily lives and cultural experiences in Mexico and Korea.

• Plan: We will talk about ‘Job applications and work experience inclusion part-time jobs’ next week at this time

-Meeting date: 09/12 10:30 AM (KST)

-Time flame for my best speaking sample : 15:10~ 20:10

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/DloHoPhlkCE?feature

-Conversation topic: We talked about

College student life, our daily routine, self-introductions, how we go to school, weather, and classes.

-Meeting Summary

: We talked about our student life and shared our timetables.

She has a five classes a week,

and she it takes her 30 minutes to get to university by car.

Her current major is Public-relation. Her original major was Media and Entertainment but She changed it.

She started learning Korean because she likes K-pop and Korean culture. And, She wants to improve her Korean more than now.

When we were talking about the weather in our area, I couldn’t understand that.

Also, I use a translator when I can’t make an English sentence.

Finally, I should try to use more Korean next time and I will prepare for the next meeting better than this one.

-New word and expressions

: 부담감(pressure, burden),

언덕(hill) , 교양과목 (General Education course)

연설하다 (give a speech),

부전공(second major),

광고, 홍보 (Public-Relation)

-Plan: We will meet at the same time next week.

-Meeting Length: 34 minutes 58 seconds

-Meeting Time and Date: 9/15 1pm(kst)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample: 9:10~15:45

2)Topic: simple self-introduction, Collegue student life, today's plan

3) New words and expressions I learned:

community: 공동체, 주민

take a class: 수업을 듣다

cat person: 고양이를 키우는 사람

way from: ~와 떨어져 있다.

just from: 방금 막, 이제 막

Meeting Summary

: We talked about our college life in many ways. We also had time to get to know each other. She is 36 years old and entered college at the age of 30. She is also currently living in Georgia. Her younger sister is also 26 years old, the same age as me. She is studying Korean now, and after going to college, she says she is studying Korean hard enough to even at home. She also has Korean friends at school. While we were on a video call, she showed me around books. She is very interested in Korean culture, and she also told me that she likes STRAY KIDS.

Plan: Although the video ran out of time, we decided to meet again next week.

o Meeting Length: 31 minutes 13 seconds

o Meeting Time and Date: 9/16 - 7am (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 12:52~17:52

2) Topic: College student life

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions: strict(엄격한), lectures(강의), curfews(통금), tuition(등록금), dorm(기숙사), Freshman(신입생/1학년)

4) Meeting Summary

She is 19 years old and majors in International Studies at university. She has three classes on Mondays and Thursdays, and two classes on other days. Most of her classes are in the morning; on Mondays and Wednesdays, she has class at 1:30, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 9:30 and 2:00. She usually eats lunch at home, often eating Mexican food her mother makes. She says American college students don't do anything special between classes; she usually goes straight home after classes. Attendance policies depend on the class; some are strict, some are not. She studied in Korea for a month during a summer program at Hanyang University. She can make her own class schedule as she wants. There is no set lunch break at her college; she usually schedules her classes back-to-back, so she rarely has breaks. Most of her classes are lecture-based; one class tried discussions, but it shifted to lectures because they went off-topic.

I was surprised that her Korean was much better than I expected and her pronunciation was very accurate. I was happy to see her interest in and fondness for Korea and Korean culture. It was a meaningful time because I was able to hear about life at an American university, which is usually difficult to learn about in detail.

5) plan

we will meet again on Zoom next week this time. (09/24 - 7am <KST>)

1) Meeting details

o Meeting Length: 38:29

o Meeting Time and Date 09/17 10:30 PM(KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 5:00~10:00

2) Topic: College life, favorite food, travel plan, favorite movie

3) Language use information

New words,expressions: Department of Business Administration(경영학과),Dormitory(기숙사), I'm dead(웃길때 쓰는 표현)

Meeting Summary

First of all, it was my first one-on-one conversation with a foreigner, so I was very nervous and stuttered a lot. I talked to TJ about each other's college life. TJ is 21 years old and she is majoring in animation. She is 21 years old and has a driver's license, so she said she will drive from college to her house. She was raising a dog. And I talked about her favorite movie and she said she likes Marvel with me. It's morning in the U.S., so TJ said she has to go to school at 1 o'clock. And we talked about her favorite snack, and she said she likes yoplas and I like salty snacks like potato chips. And when the time ran out, we asked her to meet again on Zoom next week and had a meeting.

Plan: Study english for communication with TJ and We will meet the same time.

o Meeting Length 1hour

o Meeting Time and Date 9/17 21:00

o Link to the meeting 

I used Google Meat, but there was a recording error, so it cut off a lot and my microphone didn't work So I worked on the recording.

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 0-5 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o College student life

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

: executive 운영진, taking classes 수업 듣기

, liberal arts 교양, I got attached to 정이 들었어요

o Meeting Summary

- At first, we talked about college life.

I major in global business administration at Seoul Theological University and Chrislyn major in Asian studies.

- When I eat lunch, I usually use food, delivery, and eat a lot of yukhoe bibimbap, and Chrislyn usually takes her lunch box at home and eats sandwiches or pizza.

- I found out that Chrislyn is coming to Korea to study next year and she said she wants to visit Gangnam and Myeongdong. I recommended Korean travel destinations and food such as Yeouido Hangang Park and pork belly.

- When I go to school, I take the subway for about 20 minutes and walk, but Chrislyn said it takes about an hour by driving, but it doesn't feel like it takes long.

o Plan

We decided to have our second meeting on Sunday at 9/21 and the topic is The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

Meeting Length: 약 1시간 50분 (12:20 am ~ 2:00 am)

Meeting Time and Date: 9/18, 12:20 am ~ 2:00 am

Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 12:45 am ~ 12:50 am

2) Topic:

College student life

Part-time job experiences

Hobbies and favorite foods

K-pop and movie interests

Korean language learning

Future career goals

3) Meeting Summary:

When I first had a meeting with Briana, I was a little nervous, but she was friendly and easy to talk to. Briana is 21 years old, a fourth-year student majoring in Health Science, and she dreams of becoming a pediatric anesthesiologist. She works part-time at the school gym’s lounge and previously worked at an ice cream shop. Her favorite foods are dumplings, pizza, ramen, and mango ice cream.

We talked about her college life in the US. She joined a medical student club and a Korean language club. She studies Korean because she wants to watch Korean dramas without subtitles. She also enjoys K-pop and Korean culture, especially Blackpink, NewJeans, and shows like Parasite, Squid Game, and Korea Demon Hunters. Her favorite movies are Stitch and Rapunzel. On weekends, she usually does homework or goes to parties. Tomorrow she will do homework and attend her biology class. She has a 16-year-old younger brother. This semester, her most interesting class is pharmacology because she learned about how drugs affect the body. At school, she mainly spends time with friends talking about movies and classes.

During the conversation, sometimes I struggled to find the right English words, but I tried to use simple sentences. Briana’s slow and clear speaking made it easier for me to understand. I realized that even if my English is not perfect, I can still communicate effectively.

4) Plan:

For the next meeting, I plan to prepare more questions about college student life and hobbies. I will study new English vocabulary related to health science and everyday conversation to speak more naturally. I also want to practice asking about K-pop, movies, and cultural differences without relying on a translator.

o Meeting Length: 34 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date: 09/18 - 2AM (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 00:00 ~ 05:00

2) Topic: College student life

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions: What's up(인삿말), How's it going(인삿말)

4) Meeting Summary

This was the second time we had the meeting with Zoom. The first meeting was held in 9/16. However, both of us lost the data of the recording, so we had another meeting in 09/18.

She is 19-years old, learning Biology at school, which is in Atlanta.(information from the first meeting) She already had a visit to Korea, but said that she would come here in the summer vacation one more time. She was interested in Jeju island. So I also made an advise for her to have a better vacation.

College in the USA was not that different from Korea. There were also a cafeteria, and foods that they could buy. However, there was a difference. She pays for the food one semester's worth. In Korea STU, we pay by meal one by one.

This time she had no idea what to teach me, because my English skills were not that bad. So I used my English to teach her Korean, by comparing Korean and English words and sentences.

5) plan

we will meet again on Zoom next week as the first meeting, on Monday. (09/22 KST)

Meeting Length: 40minutes

meeting time and date:9/17 8:00p.m.

How to meet:Use zoom, but there was record error so I have audio file only.

2)Topic

introduce and Q/A about us

3) Meeting summary

-At first, we asked each other how we got into each other's college. In Korea, we take a test called the SAT and go to college according to our grades, and in the United States, They take the same test as SAT and ACT.

-We talked about Music.

She and I had many overlapping singers. She liked hip-hop and pop songs, which overlapped with my taste in singing. Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Trayvit Scott, and so on.

-After that, we asked each other about their majors. She introduced herself as an entertainment major and I am an autonomous major. She told me that she is learning Korean hard because her minor is Korean.

-We talked about each other's food. She chose bulgogi as the food she wanted to eat in Korea, and I answered that it is an American handmade cheeseburger. I also recommended her to try tteokbokki if she comes to Korea.

-Finally, we asked each other about their careers. She said she wanted to be a drummer, and I said I wanted to be a global executive.

New Word: second major: 부전공

football:미식축구

government:정부

record:녹음(녹화)

nervous:긴장한

relaxable:안심하다

4)Plan:We will meet again at zoom next week.

1) Meeting details

- Meeting Length: 34 minutes 52 seconds

- Meeting Time and Date: 2025.09.16 9:00 pm (K.S.T)

Link to the meeting: I used Zoom for this meeting (Please put up the volume to hear my voice!)

- Time frames for your best speaking sample: 5:30–10:30

2) Language use and topic coverage :

We talked in English for 18 minutes and in Korean for 15 minutes.

The topic I chose to talk about in the Zoom meeting was College Student Life.

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions :

ㅇ American foreign policy = 미국 외교 정책

ㅇ executive = 운영진

ㅇ liberal arts = 교양과목

ㅇ attached to (emotionally) = 정이 들었어요

ㅇ Kazakhstan (country, often confused with Russia) = 카자흐스탄

- Meeting Summary:

In this meeting, we first decided whether to speak in English or Korean and chose English. My partner introduced himself as Jordan, also called Jojo. He studies international affairs and Korean, and he shared about his daily schedule, work, and involvement in Model UN, which I found interesting since it’s not common in Korea.

I introduced myself as a double major in theology and global business management. I said I added business because I like marketing and design, though accounting is difficult. I also explained that theology requires many essays, which are challenging but meaningful. Jordan asked about classes in Korea, and I told him that universities here assign fewer essays than international schools, though it still feels like a lot in some majors.

We compared student life in Korea and the US. I live in the dorm during the week and go home on weekends, a two-hour trip. Jordan sometimes has only one class a day and works the rest, then spends weekends shopping or studying with friends. I learned commuting in the US is often by car, and even an hour’s drive doesn’t feel long.

In the second half, we switched to Korean and talked about daily life, siblings, food, and music. A fun moment was when she said she’s been a vegetarian for nine years just because she doesn’t like meat. I taught her the word “채식주의자”(vegetarian), and she told a funny story about buying Jin Ramen but giving it to friends because it had meat. These casual topics made the meeting relaxed and enjoyable, and it was nice to practice Korean this way.

Overall, I learned about my partner’s student life and how patience and clear communication can overcome language difficulties. This reminded me that language learning is more about effort and practice than perfection.

- Plan : For the second meeting, it would be on the 20250930. Same time 9:00 pm KST. I am planning to talk about Job Applications and Work Experiences, including part-time jobs. I will prepare vocabulary related to resumes, interviews, and part-time work so I can describe my own experiences more smoothly. I also want to practice asking questions in Korean so that I can encourage my partner to share his own experiences as well.

• meeting length: 29:36

• meeting time and date : 9am (KST) 9/16 on Tuesday

• link to the meeting: ZOOM MEETING

• the meeting time frame

2) Language Use and Topic

• Language use : 15 minutes use English and 15 minutes use Korean

• Topic: university student life introduction each country

3) Language use information

new word/expressions :

age (나이), clubs (동아리), work (일하다, 작동하다), weekend

(주말), keyboard (건반)

meeting summary and plan

:In the first meeting, we had our first meeting. We introduced our age, name, and where we live, and we each talked about our college life. And Gledys has fun at school on weekdays and also studies. I work on weekends. I don't work on weekends, but I work two days on weekdays. We all understand each other well because we have something in common with our work. And Gledys likes Korean "잡채" So, I introduced her to rice snacks, a Korean snack. We finished our first meeting without any problems and promised to have a meeting next week

4) Plan

we will meet same time and day at ZOOM MEETING

o Meeting Length 

37 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

9/18 8:05 ~ 8:42 (KST)

o Link to the meeting 

https://files.fm/f/hnntyxujqe 

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

8-13 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage

o Self introduction, Major, College student life, Favorite food, The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

idiomatic expression 관용표현

credit 학점

curious 궁금해하는

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

In today’s language exchange meeting, we talked about self-introduction, our majors, college student life, the usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech), and favorite food.

Brooklyn’s university is only about 10 minutes away from her home. She enjoys dancing and has a pet dog. After our meeting, she had to go to work. Her major is elementary education, and she is currently taking five classes, some of which are online. Brooklyn likes the Korean language and is studying it, but she finds Korean grammar, especially the difference between informal speech and polite speech, quite difficult.

I found it challenging not in understanding the topics themselves, but in expressing my ideas clearly in English. I could easily explain them in Korean, but turning my thoughts into natural English sentences required more effort. Sometimes I struggled to find the right words or sentence structures to match what I wanted to say.

Through the conversation, I learned about my partner's college life and food culture in Georgia, USA. It was interesting to see both similarities and differences compared to my own experiences.

To overcome difficulties, I tried to explain ideas step by step in simple English and sometimes used examples from daily life. My partner also helped by rephrasing or confirming what I said, which made me more confident.

The meeting was helpful and enjoyable. It gave me a chance to practice expressing familiar topics in English, which was both challenging and rewarding. I became more aware of the gap between what I know in Korean and how I can express it in English. 

oPlan: 2025.09.25 8:00

- Meeting Length : 30 minutes 15 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 9/13 10:20pm (KST)

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 8:20 ~ 11:55

2) Topic : Self-introduction, What would you do if you had $100,000?, Favorite food, College name, Religion

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : Shellfish, Soy sauce

- Meeting Summary : We chose one of the topics to introduce ourselves and talk about. We talked about each other's opinions and continued our Q&A while listening to what we wanted to know more about there. It was my first time talking to a foreigner like this, so I was very nervous. However, when I saw him smiling and answering, I felt comfortable and felt friendly at the end. When we first met, there were many moments when we didn't talk to each other, but I felt sorry that I was awkward. Maybe because I'm not good at English, I used a translator to talk to you, but in the next meeting, I'd like to reduce the use of the translator and talk more.

- Plan : We are meeting at the same time next week. We have decided to choose a topic in advance and organize our thoughts.

• Meeting Length: 1 hour

• Meeting time and date: 9/17 8:00 am

• Link to meeting: https://meet.google.com/ydv-xrtb-dgk

  • We met on google meets this time but we will meet on zoom next time.

• This is about 16 minutes of the meeting

2)Topic: introduced ourselves and talked about our lives in college.

3) New words and expressions:

• 서울신학데학요: Seoul Theological College

• 육희: row beef

• 양: sheep

- We talked about the clubs and activities that we do in college and some of our favorite foods and what we want to do with our majors. we also talked about where we might want to travel since we have the same goals in our major, which is international business. We both struggled with our speaking so we used a translator and tried to help each other when we struggled to say a specific word.

4) Plan: I quickly found that i was very under prepared for the meeting so next time I will prepare some questions to ask and my own responses to the questions. I will also study for some new vocab so that I can be better prepared to respond to questions. my goal for the next meeting is to use my translator less.

• Meeting Length:48 Min.

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/13 10am(EST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 4:28~9:45

2.) Topic: Intro, college student life, daily lives, and culture

3.) Language Use Information-> New words/expressions: 주로-usually, 어떤-what kind, 일과-routine, 음식-food, 스포츠-sports, 졸업-graduate, 운동-exercise, 반말-informal way, 궁전-palace, 계절-season, 형제-sibling, 칼국수- knife-cut noodles.

4.)Meeting Summary: This is a new experience for me and Sehee. First, we introduced ourselves. I am 29 years old and Majoring in Asian Studies in Kennesaw State University. Sehee is 21 years old and Majoring in Global Business Management in Seoul Theological College. Second, we talked about our college routine lifestyle. She said that college life in Korea is really hard because she needs to do alot of assignments after class. She also eats (칼국수)which is a knife-cut noddle soup dish and is very delicious. I wake up in the morning and go to my 3 classes for three days a week . After I finish school, I go home and eat dinner and go to sleep. Therefore, right now in Korea is warmer because summer is over. In Atlanta, it is hot. Next, we talked about our daily lives and likes. She studies at different cafes and buys coffee at starbucks and twosome cafe. She ate cake in twosome cafe. Her favorite season is winter because she likes the snow. I like winter too but also I like spring season because is around my birthday. She likes all types of Korean food like (김치) and (떡볶이). I like Korean food, Chinese food, and American food. We both like Kpop and Kdrama. Finally, we discussed about our cultures' experience and our experience as exchange students in America and Korea. We both enjoyed the meeting and she was very kind person.

5.)Plan: We will meet again on Saturday at 10am(EST) in Zoom this coming week. We will discuss about 'Job applications and work experience including part-time jobs'.

• Meeting Lenghth: 31:50 minutes

• Meeting Time and date: 9/19 09:00 (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 02:28~05:41

2)Topic

•College student life

•Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

•3 places in the U.S. that I want to recommend

•hobby

•etc

3)Language use information

•New Words/Expressions

: (Slang) lock in ~ : ~에 몰입하다, 집중하다

•Meeting Summary and Plan

: Kendall is 21 years old and in the department of global management. She is currently only going to school for two days and does not have a part-time job. She loves K-pop and scary movies. She also knew many Korean zombie movies. She and I both had puppies, so we showed pictures of each other and talked about the common things. She was surprised that she had never been to Korea before. She also told me about the U.S. that I have been to.

•Plan

: Today was my first meeting, so I felt nervous and talked rambling. Next time, I will prepare more questions and practice speaking in advance, and next time, I will have a more comfortable conversation.

We are going to have the next meeting at 09.29(mon) 10:00(KST).

Meeting length: 40 minutes

Time and date: 9/17 7:00 am (EST)

Platform: Zoom (There was an issue with recording the screen, so I only have the audio file)

Time frame: 0:00 - 5:00

2)Topic

Q/A about interests and college

3) Meeting Summary

We talked about things like our majors and possible future careers, favorite music and food, siblings, etc.

- First, we introduced ourselves and our major. He's 20 and said his major is undeclared. I told him that I'm studying media and entertainment.

- We talked about our favorite music artists, and he said he liked Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar. We shared similar tastes in genres as well.

- We discussed what our favorite foods were. I told him one of my favorite Korean foods is kimbap. He told me that he likes cheeseburgers.

- He asked me if we had any tests to take to get into college, and I explained that in the U.S, we have the ACT and SAT. It's similar to a college entrance exam in Korea.

New words:

basketball: 농구

global: 세계적인

record: 녹음

minor: 부전공

4) Plan: It was a little awkward for me at first because I didn't have many questions for him and didn't know what to teach him. He talked a lot in English, and I appreciated him for keeping the conversation flowing and enjoyed it nonetheless. However, next time I will prepare more questions and try to teach him more vocab. We will meet again within the next week or two.

o Meeting Length 39:27

o Meeting Time and Date 9/21 21:15

o Link to the meeting 

I used ZOOM

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 3-8 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o polite or deferential speech and informal speech

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

: My Pleasure 도움이 되어 저도 기뻐요

, honorific 존댓말, informal language 반말, via 통해

o Meeting Summary

- First, we talked about honorifics and informal speech. With the PPT I prepared, I talked about the sentences that I use a lot, starting with the expression of greetings.

- Chrislyn said she first knew about the word "식사." I told that the definition of a meal is the act of eating food.

- It tells that honorifics usually add yo, and it tells about high expressions like this.

- When I heard "thank you" in English, I learned that it is My Pleasure in polite words.

o Plan

We decided to have our Third meeting on Sunday and the topic is Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

• Meeting length: 32 Minutes

• Meeting time and Date: 8/15 8:00 pm(EST)

• Time Frame: 16:11-22:00

2) Topic: College life, hobbies, likes and dislikes, visiting korea

3) Meeting Summary

We talked about our majors and things we like to do. I learned he liked to play soccer and exercise. We also talked out about what music we like. In the english portion we talked about Kpop where I learned he liked blackpink and in the Korean portion I learned he listens to hip hop. We also talked about our classes this semester (what we were taking). There were some classes that we both are taking such as science. After we talked about school, we talked about Jeju Island and how I want to visit it. We also talked about kdramas. I'm going to watch a kdrama that he said was fun so hopefully we can discuss next meeting.

New words:

축구 - soccer

마음에 드는 - favorite

취미 - hobby

굽다 - to bake

Plan:

I was very nervous before the meeting, but Joowon was encouraging and patient. I had some questions but next time I plan to prepare more so the conversation goes smoothly. Next time I want to work on my listening and responding skills and ask more questions. We plan to meet next week around the same time.

meeting length: 37 min

• meeting time and date: 9/17 at 6 am (EST)

• time frame: 6:25-11:25

2) Topic: Introduction, college life, hobbies

3) meeting summary:

We had an initial meeting previously, but the audio wasn't recorded, so this is our second meeting. Hyunkwang is 23, a junior, and a global business major. Hyunkwang typically drinks protein shakes throughout the day and does a bit of bodybuilding. He had a few classes earlier that day, and we both talked about how we had exams soon. After this, we talked about part-time jobs, which he does not have, and is instead focused on school and fashion. He asked about the season here in the U.S., to which I told him it was summer and that my favorite season was fall.

4)New words and Expressions

취미- hobby

현영한- politic

5)Plan: I was nervous before our meeting and realized that I did not have a lot prepared, as it was early in the morning. He talked a lot in English, which made it easier to keep our conversation going, since I struggled to keep up. Next time, I will better prepare myself with some questions and study so I can be more prepared when responding.

• Meeting length: 40 minutes

• Time and date: 9/12, 8PM EST

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 9:25-11:46, 29:14-30:45

2) Topic: college life, work life, likes, travel

3) Meeting summary

First, we briefly introduced ourselves-- Yeryeong is 20 years old and studies global business management. We talked about our class schedules, she talked about her work at Mega Coffee, and we talked about some differences between Korea and the US (such as speech, fashion, etc). I asked about things she likes, such as music, movies, and season. We compared the weather between how it is in Korea year-round and how it is in Georgia. After talking, we both said that we would prepare harder for our next meeting, which was funny, because she was much better at English than I am at Korean! I was happy that she was very patient with me, and even if there were some parts where we struggled a little, we helped each other. She was very nice and I look forward to speaking to her again!

New words:

존댓말 - polite speech

유일 - only

한 번- once

조금만 쓰고- use a little bit

Plan: We will meet again this Thursday, 9/25. This past time, I relied only on what I could think of off the top of my head, but I think I'll prepare more of my vocab and a translator for times when I really need it so I can communicate a little better in Korean as well. I'll prepare more in-depth questions too.

length: 31:04

time + date: 9/19 at 7pm EST.

platform: Microsoft Teams

best timeframe: 13:05-15:00, 2:47-4-20

2) topic: introduction, hobbies, favorite media (movies, etc.), college life

3) meeting summary:

After initially introducing ourselves, we stared with the Korean portion of our meeting. I learned that he is 20 years old, an english major, and he used to work as a DJ in Hongdae. He wanted to be an english major so that he could write better lyrics for his songs. It takes him about 45 minutes to get to Hongdae by subway, which he prefers over the bus. We spoke briefly about the Waterbomb festival, and where I'd studied and lived during my study abroad in Seoul. That day, he was planning on having Guksu for dinner. We found out that we both enjoy Marvel movies, his favorite character being Iron Man, and his favorite artist being Don Troliver. We also shared our favorite foods, his being pasta, and he's an only child. We also discussed the top three places we would visit in each others countries: He said that he would most want to visit Chicago, L.A, and go back to New York. We also spoke about our dream jobs, and what we would do if we had $1,000; 태경 would buy a very nice keyboard with the money, and his dream is to become a musician/producer. He was incredibly patient, which I was really grateful for (as I was super nervous and basically forgot every word I know in Korean). Overall, we had a very productive meeting, and I believe next time I will be much more prepared (and less nervous).

4) new words + expressions

안입니다- lit. it's not/am not. He said this whenever I would apologize, to let me know that it was alright and there was no issues.

5) plan

Next time, I will definitely come prepared with many more questions, and ask questions about words that I don't know or recognize. We are going to send each other our schedules for coming weeks and set up another meeting soon. I'm also going to try and practice with some of my friends at home so I can get better at the listening portion, as I struggled with it the most.

1) Meeting details

Length: 40 Minutes

Time & Date: 9/16 @ 10:00 PM EST

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample: 11:34-15:39

2) Topic: Introduction, College Lifestyle, Interests, Reason for learning Korean/English, Major differences between Korean and American College

3) Meeting Summary: First, me and my language partner introduced ourselves and started with Boeuun's English questions where she asked me why I chose Asian Studies as my major as well as a Korean Minor. Then I asked her some questions about what she did that morning and how her school schedule goes and her college lifestyle! We were both very excited to compare and contrast the college lifestyle of Korea vs. America and also shared some interests in coffee, tea, and music! She actually told me about the rising popularity of Korean Bands, which are different from K-pop since they are more like a band with instruments compared to just singing, dancing, and visuals. She also asked me about a presumption she had about American college and if it was really like the movies that depict the American College student "lifestyle". I told her about the differences and she explained how it is similar in Korea of the presumption of K-dramas versus reality. We had a very engaging and interesting mix of conversations on different topics and ended the meeting with deciding that we would meet every week or other week at the same time since it worked well for both of us!

New Words/Phrases:

식사 - Meal

통학에요 - I'm Commuting to School

겉이 - The Outside

MT- Term for College trip in Korea

Plan: We will meet again this Tuesday 9/23 at the same time EST. This first meeting, I definitely tried to not look at my notes of questions and actually listen to what my partner was saying so I could respond with understanding rather than just asking another random question not related. For this next meeting, I would like to challenge myself more and expand my vocab as well as try to continue the conversation in more Korean rather than asking just Korean questions. I will also prepare more diverse and in depth questions to talk about as well as get to know her more on a personal level rather than just talking about student life.

Metting length: 31 minutes and 13 seconds

Meeting time and date: 9/16 6pm EST

Speaking sample time: 1:02- 6:02

2)Topic: College student life

3)Meeting summary:

We introduced ourselves to each other at the beginning and talked a little bit about what we hoped to do during this meeting. After that, I started by asking my partner some questions in Korean. I asked her about her age, her major, and how many classes she was taking this semester, and I also shared my own answers to those questions. She told me that she is 21 years old and that her college life is both very fun and very busy. Her major is global management, and she is currently enrolled in nine classes. Interestingly, she mentioned that she doesn’t have school on Mondays or Fridays, which gives her a longer weekend to rest or study. On the days she does attend class, she takes either the bus or the subway to get to campus, and she usually spends her entire day there from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. After answering my questions, she then asked me a few of her own. She was curious about what I usually do during my free time between classes, what the attendance policy is like at my college, and what I normally eat for lunch. At one point, she also asked me about buldak ramen. I told her that I thought it tasted too sweet, but she disagreed and insisted that it was very spicy, which made us both laugh. Throughout the conversation, we naturally switched back and forth between speaking in English and Korean. This made it easier to clarify things when one of us wasn’t sure, and it also helped keep the conversation lively and fun. We ended up laughing quite a lot, especially at our small mistakes and different opinions. I was very impressed with her English skills, and it was very easy to understand her. Overall, we were able to follow each other’s ideas without too much difficulty.

4)New words:

시작할까요?- Shall we start?

미국 학생들은 수업 사이 겅강 시간에 보통 뭐해?-What do American students usually do in their free time between classes?

미국에서는 출석관리가 엄격한 편인가요?- In the US is attendance policy strict?

5)Plan:

We will meet again on Zoom on Tuesday, 9/24, at 6 pm (EST). I will try to be more prepared as I couldn’t understand some of the questions she would ask me in Korean. I am going to look into future topics we will discuss and try to learn some of the wording that will be used in Korean. I might have to have a translator prepared beforehand just in case. I will definitely need to study and learn new Korean words and phrases outside of the classroom to help better keep the conversation going.

• Meeting length: 35:37

• Time and date: 9:30 PM EST 9/11

• Time frame: 3:34-4:07, 13:20-16:09

2) Topic: Introduction, college life/daily life, and transportation.

3) Meeting summary: First off, we forgot to record from the very beginning, where we introduced ourselves. Afterwards, we introduced ourselves and discussed the reasons why we selected our majors. She mentioned that the reason she selected Global Management as her major is that it'll be easy to find a job in Korea. We also discussed what year we're in, as I found out we're both sophomores! We got into the topic of how many days we go to school and what days we have classes. I learned that she has classes every day except for Friday, and that she has chapel on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We also discussed the topic of transportation. She mentioned she has about a 1-hour commute, and that is considered a small time of commute compared to other students in her university who usually take about 2 hours of commute or so. Another topic was about the weather, and she did mention it's hot, especially when walking up a hill to school, which gets hot and tiring. I also asked her if she likes business, and she said originally she wanted to do accounting, but she feels like she fits better in business. We got into why I selected my major and also what class is our favorite.

In all, I believe we had a nice, enjoyable, and informative conversation. I did find it difficult to communicate some information that I really wanted to say or ask, but I know the more I practice and keep learning, the better I'll be able to converse with her.

New words/Expressions:

더워 - Hill

채플 - Chapel

Plan: We plan to meet this week! And we also plan to practice more. I know for myself, I need to practice my speech and memorize more vocabulary! And, plan more questions!

1) Meeting details:

• video duration: 1:30:21

• Time/ date: 09/17/25 11:05 am ( EST)

• Time stamps of best speaking: 21:10-26:46, 36:35-40:37 plus more

2) topic :

College life, part time jobs, hobbies, age, k-pop, majors, food, movies, etc

3) meeting summary:

I had my first meeting with 권존오, I was nervous throughout the whole thing but I got better as we continued to conversed.He was very sweet and understanding that I’m learning and it a struggle for me. But overall we talked about everything, he told me that he is 20 years old, he has a 10 year old sister. He lives in Bucheon, Gyeonggi near his university. He told me that he works part time at baskin robins. Which I in return told him that I also used to work at an ice cream shop as well. We talked about hobbies and he said that his were sports like basketball, watching movies, and playing games. He’s a freshman who’s in the department of autonomous major looking to change his career path to go into global marketing. We talked about what types of foods we like and we have pretty much the same food likes such as Mandu, Ramen, ice cream, kimchi, hamburger, pizza, etc. And he also gave me a little dumpling place (수원) in Chinatown in Korea which when I plan to go plan to go. we talked about how he enjoys American movies and his favorite genre is action which involves like Marvel and if he did do you like romantic comedies, he said his favorite with the Titanic and then we talked about K-pop Demon hunters and sung a little bit of those songs and then I told him about some of my favorite K-dramas and K-pop stars such as stray kids, BLACKPINK, and NewJeans. 존오 also answer my question about places he wanted to visit in America and he told me New York, Georgia, and Hawaii, which brought up the topic about birthdays because I told him I was going to New York for my birthday, which is in November and then he told me that his is August 16. We also discussed why we wanted to learn Korean for me in English for him and he told me that it’s very popular nowadays in Korea and that he uses it all the time.Overall, this meeting was very fun and I enjoyed talking with him.

4) New meeting plans

For the next meeting, I plan to write out more questions to get to know him, such as what he wants to do with his major after he graduates. What’s it like to be a university student in Korea, how it’s like talking with a foreigner and does he have any foreign friends. How’s it like coming out of high school and going to college now. I want to have more exposure to Korean vocabulary and language.

Length: 36:35

Time & Date: 9/14 @ 12:00 AM EST

Best Speaking Sample: 24:10-24:31

2)Topic: introduction, college life, hobbies, music

3) Meeting Summary:

This meeting was about introductions and college life. The first half was in English, while the second was in Korean. There were many instances where it was silent, but Junhyeok was very patient. He is a 2nd year Global Business Management major, and is 22 years old, US age. Also, he mentioned that he had already completed his military service. Junhyeok's hobbies are working out, running, and listening to music. When exercising he likes listening to strong and fast pop songs, but he usually likes ballad songs. We mainly spoke about American college life, and how it is different to Korean college life. He mentioned that class sizes in Korea are way smaller than in America. It was very interesting learning about the differences between colleges.

4) New words:

그냥: just

다른: dfferent

평소에는: usually

5) Plan:

Originally, we were supposed to meet again this past Sat/Sun, however I was unable. We are currently trying to reschedule for later this coming week.

Meeting Length: 31:51

Time and date: Thursday Sep 18 @ 8PM EST

Best Speaking Sample: I started speaking at 6:45 and from then on it jumped around a bit with both English and Korean

2) Topic: College life, classes, majors, hobbies, music, movies, etc.

3) Meeting Summary:

In the beginning we introduced ourselves and talked about our ages, our classes, and college life. We found out that we both were majoring in business. We asked each other what jobs we wanted in the future and she said she wanted to work in marketing. We started to talk about our hobbies and she talked about how she liked going to hang out with her friends. We discussed some more of our interests and we discovered that we both liked 공유. I asked her if she had seen Train to Busan and she said yes which was surprising because she mentioned that she couldn't watch scary movies but she then clarified that zombies were okay. We also discussed the kind of music we both like listening to and she said she enjoys R&B. I asked what artist and she said Joji which was one of my favorite artists as well. When she asked me questions in Korean there were some words that I was familiar with but still struggled to recognize. I also had to look up some words in Korean. Those words were 회사 (company), 배우 (actor), 기생충 (Parasite), 학원 (University/academy), and 아세요 (do you know). We planned to meet again Next week on Sunday Sep 28 @ 9PM EST.

Time and date September 17 7:00am

Zoom Meeting

2) Topics: Greetings, hobbies, religion, school, schedules

3) New Words: 십자 - cross 

착하시네요 - your nice

Next Meeting: September 26th 7:00am on Kakao Talk

Meeting summary - We started off saying hello and and greeting each other. I realized it has been awhile since I have practiced using Korean so I felt under prepared in thinking of sentences to say and knowing how to respond. Since I forgot to press record at first the intro where we asked each others names and ages was left out. But I found out 후원 is 21 years old and studies Global business. While we both had a little bit of a hard time understanding each other, we used the translator to help our responses. He also responded in English in a couple questions and I tried to answer in Korean. I first started asking about hobbies and if English was hard to learn. He said yes and then I also said Korean is hard but he then said we can cheer each other on and practice. I learned 후원 can sing quite well and can sing in different languages, I also learned he has many hobbies like horseback riding which were fun to learn about. For the next meeting I will prepare more questions and try to use more Korean sentences. Even though it was a little difficult to understand we cheered each other on in learning.

• meeting length: 34:52

• meeting time / date : 9/16, 8am est

• time frame: ~20:00-26:00

Topics

• college life, hobbies, family, favorite foods 

Meeting Summary

• At the beginning of our call we spoke in English. I think my partner did a very good job and I learned that she went to an international school in India for several years which I thought was very cool. We talked about our majors and what college was like for each of us. I learned that my partner is a double major in Theology and Global Business Management which I thought must be difficult. She is the first theology major that I have met. We had similar music taste and both come from 2 hours away from our schools. She also does dance and choir at her university which sounds fun. In the second half we spoke in Korean. We are both the youngest sibling, she has an older brother and I have an older sister. We talked about our favorite musicians and food during this part. She mentioned that she like gopjang a lot so then I talked about being a vegetarian and my favorite foods. I learned a lot of new words and phrases during this section because it felt very casual even though I was nervous. 

New words 

• 채식주의자- vegetarian 

• 추천- recommendation 

• 깊은- deep (voice)

• 다르다- different 

Plan 

• I think that I was really nervous during this meeting because I wasn’t sure what to talk about and technical difficulties made it harder to focus so next time I plan to check the zoom call first and have a set list of topics going in. I plan to talk about vacations and American vs. Korean culture and holidays. It could also be fun to talk about pop culture topics like books and television.

1. Meeting Length: 42:42

2. Meeting Time: 9/13/2025, 8pm EST

3. Time frame: 24:00 - 29:00

Topic: College student life

New Words:

1. 회계사: accounting

2. 목표: goal or target

Summary: We started off with English first and then switched to Korean second. We spent the first part talking about our majors, why we chose them, and what we wanted to do after school. 이지민 mentioned that she was a Global Business Management major focusing on accounting, and she's a part of the International Exchange Program. Neither of us spend a whole lot of time on campus nor are we in any clubs, so we didn't have much to contribute to college life. After, we talked about a mix of random things like music, food, and classes we were taking. There were a lot of awkward silent moments and apologizing when we were trying to think of what to say next, and we struggled to really understand each other as well. We would have to repeat ourselves a few times to help the other understand, and there were moments we would try to say a word the other wasn't understanding in both languages to help. Even though it was difficult, we both tried our best to help the other understand.

Plan: The plan for the next meeting is to have more questions prepared in both languages to have more of a conversation. We'll also try typing what we're saying to the other when we aren't understanding instead of repeating it over and over.

Topic: Self Introduction, College student life, Favorite movie genre, Music genres, Hobbies, Places to recommend in America and South Korea, Favorite food

Meeting length: 34:01

Meeting time / date: 9/16, 1 am

Best Time Frame: 14:40-19:03

New Words:

일딴: at first , for now

개학: school starts

Meetings summary:

We started our meeting with a self introduction where Minji introduced herself in English. She said that her name is Lee Minji, she is 20 years old, and living in Incheon. She is doubling majoring in global business management and computer engineering. This was actually our second time recording and I felt that this time Minji was more comfortable speaking English. It was a good conversation because we were able to learn about our college lifestyle as well as some interests. I also thought it was good that we both asked and answered questions. After 15 minutes of speaking English, we switched over to Korean and here I introduced myself in Korea. I felt a little nervous because I was worried about my pronounciation and grammatical errors but when talking to Minji it was clear that she understood what I was trying to say in Korean so I felt more comfortable to speak freely. At some points in the conversation, I didn't quite understand what she said in that moment because I struggled somewhat with processing everything that was said in a sentence, but this exposure let me to learn more Korean words that I can use for our next call. Overall I think that this was a good start for both Minji and I.

Plan: Next meeting, I will become more comfortable with speaking to Minji. Next meeting we will talk about Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

Meeting time: 9-15-25 at 12am

Meeting length 34:58

Time frame 29:33 to the end

Topics: school, life in general, music we liked, pets, transportation to school.

Meeting summery: In the meeting we forgot to formal introduce ourselves to each other. We talked about where we lived and how far we have to travels to our campus my language partner 우성 state that we travels an hour and 30 minutes to get to campus. We talked about pets and I told him I had a cat. We talked about our ages and he is 26 years old and I believe he state he is majoring in marketing, it was a little hard to understand when he said it in English, there was a lot of silent through out the meeting with trying to find things to talk about and trying to figure out how to say it in Korean. For me I was nervous about because of that I forgot Korean vocabulary and grammar. I also found myself relying on English too much, but I tried to speak in Korean. So I do not think I have a good solid five minutes of speaking.

Plan: the plan for next meeting is to review Korean vocabulary and grammar. And speak more Korean in the meetings even if they a simple sentence. Come up with questions and stick to those questions and try to not get off topic. Set and keep to the 15 minutes of speaking in Korean and English. Also use the chat in zoom to help with learning and understanding words that we may not know.

Length: 30:17

Time/Date: 9/13 9:20 AM (US EST)

Time Frame: 13:39-17:15

new words: 아반떼 (car brand), 간장 (soy sauce), I also learned that in S. Korea, people usually start college at 20 years old.

topics: self introduction, 'what would you do if you had $100,000?'

summary: We started off with introducing ourselves. 서영 is the same grade as me, but she's 22 years old. We both aren't Christian and her dream car is a Hyundai Elantra, which I drive. We talked about what we would do if we had $100,000. 서영 said she would buy a car and go to New York. I talked about how I would go to S. Korea and try all the different foods.

Overall, it was a bit awkward at first since neither of us are fluent in each other's language. I was nervous because I didn't want to say the wrong thing, so I used my translator more than I should've because I wasn't confident in my memory. But, after a while, we both got comfortable and laughed quite a bit. I look forward to the next meeting and trying to rely on only my vocab knowledge.

plan: our next meeting, we will discuss what things we want to do when we travel abroad. also, we'll talk in Korean for 15 minutes and English for the other 15 minutes

Length :31:04

Time & Date :9/20 08:00am (kst)

platform : Microsoft Teams

best timeframe :16:04-17:30

2)Topic : introduction , hobbies , favorite media(movies , etc.) ,college life

3) meeting summary

At the beginning, we introduced ourselves and spoke in Korean for the first 15 minutes. Zoe is 22 years old and a sophomore. We briefly talked about the Waterbomb Festival, and she shared her experience of studying and living in Seoul as an exchange student. She said that most of her daily life is spent at school, and the rest of the time she does a lot of homework. This past summer, Zoe worked as a camp counselor and took care of children.

When asked the question, “If you had $1,000, what would you do?” she said she would like to travel. She chose Seoul, Jeju, and Busan as her top 3 cities in Korea. When we talked about the top 3 cities in the USA, we found we had some in common, which made us feel a strong connection. She also mentioned that she often visited cafés in Hongdae but hasn’t been to a club yet—though she would like to try going one day.

When asked about her dream, she said she wants to become a professor. Overall, this meeting was a meaningful experience for both of us and a lot of fun.

4)new words + expressions

camp counselor= 캠프 지도자, 상담사

5)plan

Next time l will definitely come prepared with many more questions . and we are going to send each other our schedules for coming weeks and set up another meeting soon. l also going to try english more fluently.

- 회의 날짜: 9월 17일 7시

- 상대방 이름: 브리앤(크리스천)

- 칭찬

- 회의 기록: 상대방을 한국어로 완벽하게 이해시키지 못하여 알기 쉬운 표현들은 한국어로 말하고, 이해시키기 어려운 말들은 영어로 번역해서 카카오톡으로 대화했습니다. 그리고 대화할 때 브리앤이 기다려주며 친절하게 대답해 주었습니다.

그리고 브리앤과 취미와 평소 일상에서 흥미 있는 일들을 나누었는데, 브리앤의 취미에 그렇게 특별하거나 대단한 건 없었습니다. 그래서 저의 45 가지 취미를 말해 주었습니다. 세부적으로 말할 시간이 없어서 대략적으로 가장 좋아하고, 잘하는 것들 위주로 얘기했는데, 많이 놀라했고, 감탄하였습니다. 그렇게 계속 칭찬이 오고가는 미팅을 가졌습니다. 브리앤에게 배울 점이 있었다면 겸손을 배웠습니다. 대화 내용은 평범하지만 한편으로는 어느 정도 의미 있는 시간이었던 것 같습니다.

계획: 27일 9시 시작

Length: 40:00

Time&Date: 9/17 11:00am(kst)

Best speaking time: 26:00-31:00

2) Topic: introduction, college student life, differences between American and Korean universities. Stories about each other’s personalities and k-pop stories.

3) New words/Expressions

Extrovert/ 외향적인 사람

Introvert/ 내향적인 사람

Divide/ 나누다, 가르다

Compare with/ ~와 비교하다

4) Meeting Summary and Plan

we were talking about self introduction. And the reason why we chose this major. Abigail is interested in the culture of other country.

And I talked about cultural differences between Korean and American universities, and I told them that MT and Abigail told me that American universities do not have MT and are very independent cultures. We also moved on to a personality topic and talked to each other about whether each of us was an extrovert or an introvert and we both said we thought we were in the middle.

At the next meeting, I would like to talk about each other's current situation and what we want to do or what we want to do in the future.

• Meeting Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/26 12:00 AM (KST)

• Link to the meeting: I used ZOOM

• Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 10:00 ~ 15:00

2. Language use and topic coverage:

• College student life, weekend life, $100,000 plan, favorite things

3. Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

  • tuition fee (등록금)

  • lobster (랍스타)

  • save money (저축하다)

  • health system (보건 시스템)

4. Meeting Summary

• First, we talked about how my weekend went. I said I was very tired because I worked at the hospital. Also, because of allergies, I didn’t feel well.

• Yesterday, I did dance practice, work, and homework, then went to sleep.

• After that, I shared about the classes I am taking this semester: Biology, Biology Lab, Alcohol and Society, Korean, and Health System.

• On days when I don’t have class, I usually meet my boyfriend, study, and sometimes work.

• We also talked about the question “What would you do if you had $100,000?” I said I would pay for my university tuition first and save the rest of the money.

• For fun, I also shared that I want to buy a house and a car in the future, I like the color pink, and I want to eat lobster someday.

5. Plan

We decided to have our next meeting next week and discuss part-time job experiences and travel plans.

• Meeting Length: 1hour 7minutes 17seconds (The video was divided into two, but only one video was uploaded, so I only uploaded the first video)

  
  

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/26 9am (KST)

  
  

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 24:33~30:05

2) Topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, What I want to do in the future and what I want to live

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

  sort of a gym(일종의), drop off(내려주다), looking after(돌보다), abroad(해외로), struggling(분투하는), entrepreneur(사업자), admit(인정하다), mindset(사고방식), motto(좌우명), desire(열망), passion(열정), in person(직접), foreign aid(해외 원조)

  
  

• What she learned from me:

  사회학(sociology), ~선택 했어요/했다(I chose it), 노래를 부르다(sing a song)

  어떤 노래를 불러요?(What song are you going to sing?), 소소하다(trivial, minor, small, petty, trifling), 진상 손님(a bad customer), 백수(unemployed), 은퇴(retire)

  
  

• Meeting Summary

  When I met Isabella two weeks ago, she had never worked

  At the second meeting, Isabella was interviewed and she got a job looking after the kids in the gym

  She said she was a little nervous but excited

  
  

  [What I want to do]

  Isabella later said she wanted to go abroad and become an ambassador representing some kind of America.

  She wants to represent a group that helps struggling countries

  
  

  [When I was young]

  But Isabella said she wanted to be a singer when she was young.

  She still love listening to music and singing But her parents wanted her to choose something else

  Even now, She want to be a singer, but She don't want to admit that

  The good thing about music is that you don't have to study

  For Isabella, music is a natural act

  She feels like she's born with that kind of talent

  So She said he thinks music will follow her life

  
  

  She said that she chose International Affairs as her major because her favorite subject in school was society and her favorite field is still society

  
  

  [How do you want to live?]

  I don't have grand goals and dreams

  It's good to live small and fun every day.

  Isabella said that even if you go through a rough time, if there is happiness at the end of it, you can accept that time

  What I also felt while working is that playing is not the life I want, and I realized that working and playing is fun even if it is hard

  Isabella also said that she can do hard work first and then have fun after work and do whatever she wants.

  She told me that I need to have a hard time or a dark time to get a bright time

  
  

  [Children's plan]

  I could have children if I was given the belief and financial environment that I could be a good parent. Parents are everything about responsibility. But I have a desire for work, so it will be important to choose between child and work

  Isabella said she would find out whether I like children or not through this

  
  

• Plan: 10/10 9:30am (KST)

  We decided to have a meeting every two weeks

Meeting Length: About 45 minutes (The Zoom session was disconnected midway, and because of the reconnection issue, the video is only 39 minutes.)

Meeting Time and Date; 9/28 11 AM(KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample 5:30~10;30

2) Topic: About colleage life, How I spent the past two weeks and the hobbies or things I enjoy , Tip culture in the United States and drug problems, U.S. travel recommendations

3) Language use information

cost of living(생활비), The difference between football and soccer. I’d like to(나도 ~하고싶다)

Meeting summary

We talked about what we had been doing over the past week and also shared our hobbies. Since I really like soccer and baseball, I had many questions about sports in the United States, and I was able to hear about American football, which is the most popular sport there. I was surprised to learn that every school has its own football stadium. In addition, since I plan to go to the U.S. next year, I asked about the tipping culture and received some answers. I also heard about the drug issue in the United States. Next week is Chuseok in Korea, so I explained about this holiday and we also talked in Korean about Korean food

Plan: We’ll meet at zoon in next week.

Meeting Length: 38 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 9/29 10am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 24:30~27:00

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: beef, weight, aesthetic, genderless, minimal

Meeting Summary

If she had $100,000, she said she would like to travel to Switzerland. She usually likes hiking, so she wants to go to the volcano. She said she had traveled a lot with her family since she was young. I also asked her where she usually spends her money, and she said she spends a lot on food. There's nothing she can't eat, and she says she likes beef the most. In fact, she ate beef again today and beef again the day we talked last time. She said she was a woman, Adam Sandler, and that she was not good at dressing.

Plan

The schedule for next week's meeting was decided to check each other's schedule and talk on instagram. So, we decided to contact instagram to decide the topic of the next meeting.

time/date: 9.17

topics: school life and work life

we started off the meeting with introductions. we discussed our major, school year and school life. we started in english. my partners English level is pretty good so I don't know what to practice with him. we move on to korean which was hard because of my limited vocab. my partner Is around 22 years old and lives on campus dorms.

plan: come to the next meeting with new vocab and try to speak strictly Korean.

Meeting Length: 32:02

Meeting Time & Date: 8:00 AM EST

Time frames for your best speaking sample 15:00-19:00 & 24:00-26:06

Topic: Work Experience

New Words:

아르바이트 - part-time job

열정 - passion

Meeting summary: Minji and I discussed all of the jobs that we have worked at before. One of the jobs that I told Minji about is how I used to work at a summer camp and am now working at the YMCA. One of the jobs that Minji used to work at was at a chicken restaurant. We also talked about whether we would find another job if we can't keep getting into the field we want to work in, or whether we would keep trying. I told Minji that since I'm passionate about teaching, I would keep trying. Minji responded and said that she would try to get a different job. Later we talked a little about what we want to do after graduation, and I told Minji how I want to maybe go to Japan after graduation as a vacation. After this, Minji shared with me how she has been to Japan and how it was fun but very hot during the summer.

Plan: We will meet again on Wednesday to talk about manners and customs.

o Meeting Length: 46:08

o Meeting Time and Date: 9/20 21:30

o Link to the meeting: TEAMS

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 25:50 ~ 31:00

2) Language use and topic coverage:

Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA.

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

complicated 복잡한

heritage 유산

recommand 추천하다

Meeting Summary

I told you about my part-time part-time job.

I started after explaining about my work and telling you what it was like when I worked.

And we talked to each other about the trip and said each other's favorite food, and we answered what kind of food we ate when we went to America.

And we talked about our favorite drinks, and we talked about whether it was in Korea or if Korean sweet tea was delicious.

I recommended three must-see places in Korea in English, and Katarina also explained to me a very beautiful place in America.

5. Plan

We decided to hold a meeting on October 1st.

o Meeting Length 

38 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

9/28 22:06 ~ 22:44 (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

19:00 ~ 24:00

2) Language use and topic coverage: 

Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, the American school system (high school and college), the American and Korean military systems, daily activities (what we did today), and the time difference between the U.S. and Korea

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

freshman 1학년, sophomore 2학년, junior 3학년, senior 4학년, conscription, draft 징병제, voluntary military system 모병제

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

In today’s meeting, we first talked about our ages and noticed that even though we were both born in 2006, the U.S. and Korean school systems start at different times. This led to a discussion about the American high school and college system, with its freshman-to-senior structure, and how it contrasts with Korea.

We also talked about taking time off from school. I explained that in Korea, many men take a break before graduation to complete military service, while Brooklyn shared her perspective on the U.S. system. From there, we compared the American and Korean military systems.

Later, we shared what we did today. I mentioned it was time for me to sleep, while for Brooklyn, her Sunday was just starting. This highlighted the time difference between Korea and the U.S., and we agreed to adjust our meeting times more carefully.

Brooklyn also described her campus, which is large and even has a Starbucks, and she explained how busy she is with two jobs: teaching science and robotics to young children in an after-school program, and working at a mall where kids ride toy animals. She also studies Korean by watching the animation Jado. I shared my own work experience at Mega Coffee during summer vacation.

Overall, today’s meeting helped us learn about each other’s school systems, daily lives, and work experiences, and we plan to continue sharing and adjusting our schedule around the time difference.

o Plan: 2025.10.05 8:00

Meeting Length

: 37minutes 36seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 9.28, 11:00AM(KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 14:15~19:50

Topic

: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, What I want to do in the future

New words and expressions I learned

: focus on, not to sure, concentrate, opinionated, hourly wage

Meeting Summary

: In this meeting, we talked about the interview experience and the part-time job. I have been working at a Chinese restaurant for a year now, and Ashley said that she had no experience working part-time. She said that she had never thought of working part-time because her parents told her to focus on her studies. I also said that I was planning to quit my part-time job because I had to study for my dream from next year. We also talked about what we want to do in the future. Ashley said that she wanted to become a nurse by using her major, and that I wanted to use my major to work for a company related to finance. It was similar that we are all interested in learning at university now and want to have a job related to our major.

Plan

: Our third meeting was supposed to be the same day, same time. But next week is the Chuseok holiday, so we haven't promised the exact schedule yet

• Meeting Lenghth: 37:05 minutes

• Meeting Time and date: 9/29 12:00 (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 20:30-21:46

2)Topic

•What would you do if you had $100,000?

•About Korea food

•About current trends in the U.S

•About Chuseok

•Music recommendations

•ect••

3)Language use information

•New Words/Expressions

: Wrote down, Get time off, Get to school, Putting on, How long~

•Meeting Summary and Plan

: Kendall asked me questions about myself in Korean, such as whether I have siblings in Korean and what my favorite songs are. I asked Kendall what she would like to do if she had $100,000, and she replied that she was investing. And I explained about the Korean holiday Chuseok, and Candal said that he learned about Chuseok in school class. Also, Kendall has one sister and two younger brothers. And she asked about food or fashion that is currently trending in the U.S., and Dubai chocolate is said to be trending. But she said she doesn't like chocolate. Fashion in the 2000s is said to be fashion Y2K and I found it similar to the trend in Korea. And I found out that it took her and I both an hour to go to school, so Kendall drives to school by herself. She says she usually listens to music in her car when she goes to school. I was able to learn more about Kendall than last time.

•Plan

: The second meeting was less nerve-wracking than the first one. However, I am still so nervous that I can't speak very well. I will practice speaking more before the next meeting and try to communicate more smoothly by talking more than reacting.

The next meeting will be 10.6 12:00 (KST)

- Meeting Length: 37:00

- Meeting Time and Date: 9/30 8:30am (KST)

- Time frames for my best speaking sample: 4:34~9:34

2)Topic

Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use information

Resume: 이력서, Personal statement: 자기소개서, Financial aid: 정부나 학교에서 제공하는 학자금 지원 또는 장학금, 대출 , Minimum wage: 최저임금. Indeed: 미국의 구직 사이트, Pickle fries / Fried pickles: 피클(오이절임), pocket money(용돈)

4) Meeting Summary

• She worked at an American restaurant for three years, making hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, tater tots, fried pickles, and ice cream.

• Job interviews in the US can be casual, especially for fast food jobs. Sometimes, if the company urgently needs workers, the interview may only involve simple questions about availability and transportation. More formal jobs, like at a cell phone company, have more formal interviews.

• People in the US find jobs in various ways: by seeing hiring signs outside businesses, searching online, or using job websites like Indeed.

• College students can get help from counselors to find jobs, or use apps and websites to search for positions, filter by pay, schedule, and type (part-time/full-time).

• Minimum wage in Georgia is $7.25 per hour.

• She received financial aid from the government for college, which covers tuition and provides extra money for personal use.

• When greeting customers, employees say things like, “Welcome to [restaurant name], how can I help you?”

• She sometimes used Spanish to help Spanish-speaking customers.

• The most important thing to prepare for a job in the US is to know your reasons for wanting to work at the company and your availability, as employers care about your schedule.

• She described a difficult part of her job as making ice cream with various mix-ins and handling money, which could be stressful.

One thing I regret is that I got confused about the topic and prepared for the meeting with a different subject instead of jobs. So I couldn't prepare much for the answers, and I feel sorry that I couldn't share more information with Daisy.

5) Plan

We will meet again on Zoom next week this time

: 32 minutes 02 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 9/24

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 21:00~21:32

Topic

: Job application and work experience, including part-time jobs, and future career plans after graduation

New words and expressions I learned

pursue 추구하다

admirable 감탄할 만한

Meeting Summary

Aubri and I talked about our previous part-time job experiences. Aubri shared that he had worked at a summer camp and is currently working at the YMCA. He also mentioned that his current job is tiring because he has to keep moving and stay busy. In addition, he said that he wants to pursue a career in teaching children. We also discussed what we would do if we couldn’t find a job in the field we wanted—whether we would try something else or keep pursuing it. Aubri said he would continue to challenge himself and make efforts, while I answered that I would look for another job, which made him seem admirable to me. He also mentioned that he wanted to visit Japan, so I told him about my trip there during this summer vacation and shared how hot it was and how much fun I had.

Plan

We decided to talk about etiquette customs on Wednesday, October 15 at 9:00 (KST).

-Meeting Length: 37minutes 27seconds

-Meeting Time and Date: 10/01 10:00AM(KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample

2)Topic

Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

Activities from Last Week, On Future Plans ect

3) Language use information

New Words/Expressions

hopefully 바라건대, amazed놀란

I really like when that happens. 그런 일이 생기면 정말 좋아.

It seems like it. 맞는 것 같아.

Has that been 그게 지금까지 ~였니?

Meeting Summary

In today’s meeting, we discussed the following topics. Although I have recently been practicing and studying English, I found it challenging to speak fluently when I tried. By reflecting on my own speaking, I became aware of areas I need to improve and recognized the importance of building greater confidence.

She was occupied with school assignments last week.

Having completed exams on Thursday and Friday, she plans to attend a concert this weekend.

We exchanged our past work experiences, reflecting on how we felt and the amount of work involved.

We examined the average daily working hours across different countries.

We discussed the arrangements for the next meeting.

We held a conversation about family relationships.

Plan

We decided to have a meeting on Wednesday morning the week after next.

Language Exchange Log – Meeting 2

1) Meeting details

Meeting Length: 38 minutes 01 seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 2025.10.01 9:00 pm (K.S.T)

Link to the meeting: I used Zoom.

Time frames for my best speaking sample: 17:15–22:15

2) Language use and topic coverage

We spoke in Korean for about 16 minutes and in English for about 15 minutes.

The main topic for this meeting was Job Applications & Work Experiences (including part-time jobs).

3) Language use information

New Words/Expressions :

- coworker = 동료

- niche = 틈새, 특화된 분야

- allowance = 용돈

- nerves down = 긴장을 풀다

- address it = 문제를 다루다 / 해결하다

- Meeting Summary:

At the beginning, we decided to speak in Korean first since we had started with English in the first meeting. We talked about part-time jobs, and my partner taught me how to say part-time job in Korean, using both 아르바이트 and 알바. I shared that I recently started working at a café, which was my first café job, and also mentioned my experience at a Vietnamese restaurant and as an English tutor. I asked her about her own experiences as well.

My partner explained her past jobs as a lifeguard and campus assistant. She said lifeguarding required certifications in the U.S., and that many American high school students work part-time in the summer to pay for gas or activities. This was interesting because in Korea, it is rare for high school students to work, and most start only in college. This showed me a cultural difference in student life between the U.S. and Korea.

We also shared about interviews. I explained that my first restaurant job was offered by someone I knew, but for my café job I had to do a real interview, and I was nervous. My partner gave me tips and said confidence is very important, and she practiced mock interviews with friends to reduce nerves.

She also shared that some jobs are difficult not because of the work, but because of boredom. For example, lifeguarding meant sitting for ten hours with little to do. She said she coped by making friends with coworkers and visitors, and by addressing problems directly rather than ignoring them. I thought this was an important lesson about responsibility and communication.

We ended with a lighter talk in English about concerts and idols. She said she went to concerts for TXT (투바투) and P1Harmony, while I mentioned Bruno Mars and Olivia Rodrigo. This made the meeting fun and casual, and showed that even when the main topic is jobs, hobbies and music help keep the exchange natural.

Overall, I learned about job experiences, cultural differences in part-time work between Korea and the U.S., and strategies for interviews. I also noticed my partner’s Korean has improved since our first meeting, and we understood each other more smoothly this time.

- Plan : For the third meeting, we scheduled October 14, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. KST. The topic will be 존댓말 (Polite Speech) vs 반말 (Informal Speech). I will prepare examples and situations to explain the difference more effectively, and maybe also plan to practice role-play with my partner to help her understand when to use each form naturally.

- 회의 날짜: 9월 17일 7시

- 상대방 이름: 브리앤(크리스천)

- 칭찬

- 회의 기록: 상대방을 한국어로 완벽하게 이해시키지 못하여 알기 쉬운 표현들은 한국어로 말하고, 이해시키기 어려운 말들은 영어로 번역해서 카카오톡으로 대화했습니다. 그리고 대화할 때 브리앤이 기다려주며 친절하게 대답해 주었습니다.

그리고 브리앤과 취미와 평소 일상에서 흥미 있는 일들을 나누었는데, 브리앤의 취미에 그렇게 특별하거나 대단한 건 없었습니다. 그래서 저의 45 가지 취미를 말해 주었습니다. 세부적으로 말할 시간이 없어서 대략적으로 가장 좋아하고, 잘하는 것들 위주로 얘기했는데, 많이 놀라했고, 감탄하였습니다. 그렇게 계속 칭찬이 오고가는 미팅을 가졌습니다. 브리앤에게 배울 점이 있었다면 겸손을 배웠습니다. 대화 내용은 평범하지만 한편으로는 어느 정도 의미 있는 시간이었던 것 같습니다.

계획: 27일 9시 시작

- 회의 날짜: 9월 27일 9시(KST)

- 언어: 자연, 노래, 여행지, 경관, 시차, 하루 수업 및 일정

- 회의 요약: 자연, 노래, 여행지, 경관, 시차, 하루 수업 및 일정의 내용을 가지고 각각에 대해 아주 자세하게 대화를 나눴습니다. 브리앤은 여행을 많이 안 다니고, 노래도 많이 모른다고 했습니다. 저와 회의할 당시 브리앤은 하루를 준비하고, 아침 식사를 한 후 학교에 간다고 했습니다. 브리앤은 자연 경관 보는 것 또한 좋아한다고 했습니다. 그리고 브리앤은 본인이 한국에 왔었을 때 경복궁에 갔었다고 했습니다.

- 약속 일정: 10월 10일 8시

-Meeting Time and  Date : 9/26 10:30 pm (KST)

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/x0-T8ssIHUc?si=fbmxqh8HLeN3VbSv

-Time frames for my best speaking sample:

43:00~ 46:00 , 48:40~ 51:00

-Topics: work experience, How to get a job in America and Korea, office worker's working hours and so on.

-Word and expressions:

Overseas employment 해외취업

liberal arts 문과

mandatory 의무적인

minimum hourly wage 최저시급

get a job 취업을 하다

-Meeting Summary and Plan :

We mainly talked about how to get a job in America and Korea. In the U.S, experiences are said to be important when getting a job. And in the case of new employees, She said that if they do a lot of small things (like part-time jobs) such as restaurant, cafe work, they can get a better job. Also, minimum hourly wage in the U.S is $7 (= 9,800 won in Korea) the average working hours of office workers are eight hours, but it depends on what they do.(Depending on the job, working hours vary from 8 to 12 hours.)

What was interesting was the work time of an American office worker, and she said that they goes to work at 5 or 6 in the morning and ends at 4 p.m. However, She said that it varies greatly from job to job.

After that, we talked about the teacher's working hours and also talked about the students' school hours.

Sometimes I couldn't understand English during this meeting, I think it felt difficult because the meaning changed depending on the question. I want to do better on the next meeting.

Still, it was a very beneficial time to know how to get a job in the U.S and the daily life of office workers.

-Plan: We haven't fixed the time yet, but I think I'll do it after the holidays.

o Meeting Length

35minutes ( I pressed the recording button late, so the video in front of me was cut off a little.)

o Meeting Time and Date

9/26 10:45~11:20

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 11:07~16:07

2) Topic

What would you do if you had $100,000?, Do you celebrate Halloween in Korea, What I do on Halloween, What I do on Chirstmas

3) Meeting summary

At the beginning, TJ and I talked about where we would spend the big money. TJ said he would donate and share the money with his family. And TJ said he wanted to live alone and travel to Africa. I also wanted to live alone and share some money with my family and go on a backpack trip with my friends. And I said I would save the rest of the money. And we talked about a holiday related to Chuseok, which is the week after we left. TJ asked me if Halloween is celebrated in Korea, too, and I said that I don't usually celebrate it on Halloween in Korea. And when I asked TJ what he was doing for Halloween, he said he was watching a horror movie with his friend. After that, I talked about when we should meet next and decided what topics to talk about then and finished.

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

brace: 치아 교정기

Plan

We will meet at the same time next week. Before that, I will practice speaking English more naturally.

• Meeting Length: 39 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/30 9pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 6:30~9:05, 15:40~17:30

2) Topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

waitress 여성 종업원

take up all 모두 차지하다

background screenings 신원 조회

identity check 신원 확인

businesses to check people's employment 사람들의 재직여부 확인

• Meeting Summary: Victoria worked as a restaurant server and a cashier as a part-time job. Now, she works 40 hours a week and she works at an office. She works like background checks and identification, and she is in charge of a team, which she is a manager. The team calls companies to check people's employment status. She is busy working and attending school. This is because school and work take up all of her free time, and she even spends a lot of her free time doing assignments. Victoria's hardest or most memorable part of her part-time job was dealing with a rude customer while she was a waitress. A family member made a huge mess of the table, and it was hard to scream because of it. Victoria says her goal is to come to Korea after graduating from university and teach English to students.

• Plan: I decided to talk about The usage and context of and informal speech on 10/12 and I decided to finish it next time because there are questions I haven't been able to ask about this topic yet.

• meeting length: 36:23

• meeting time / date : 10/01, 8am est

• time frame: 1:10- 5:50

Topics

• Part-time jobs, concerts, job interviews 

Meeting Summary

• During this meeting we spoke in Korean first which helped me be a lot more comfortable. We both talked about part-time jobs. I told her all about my job as a life instructor and I learned that my partner currently works at a cafe and has worked at a restaurant before that. I learned that a lot of people in Korea don’t have part-time jobs during high school and instead start them in college. I asked her if students find things expensive in Korean and she said not so much but the pressure is still there. We also talked about job interviews and I gave her some tips about how to approach them as I have done quite a few interviews before. We also expressed how we both felt comfortable talking to each other and that made me very happy. We also talked about concerts because she saw that I had gone to recently on my instagram. She told me she saw Olivia Rodrigo and Bruno Mars which was very cool to hear. She has good music taste and is patient when it comes to me speaking Korean so I am excited to speak to her again. 

New words 

• 안전요원 / 구조요원 - lifeguard 

• 대결 - battle 

•  부담 가요 - feel pressured 

• 혼자 - alone 

Plan 

• I feel like this meeting went pretty well but I plan to take more notes of full phrases that I can use in Korean during the next meeting. We plan to call on the 14th of October. 

Meeting Length : 44:48

Meeting Time and Date : 9/27 8:00am(KST)

Time Frames for best speaking sample:22:36-24:11

2) Topic

Daliy life , favorite movie, favorite food , college life , societal expectations for college students

3) New words and expressions

all the way up - 위로 올라가다

4)Meeting Summary

We played 15 minutes in Korean and 15 minutes in English, and Zoe wanted to know what Slang was in Korean, so I informed her that it was similar to a slang. Zoe asked me about my daily life and also asked me if I had visited Hongdae and answered that I had visited to perform. And asked if I met my friends in Hongdae, so I answered that I met them in 2 weeks. Zoe said he watched a movie this summer and asked me if I watched a lot of movies normally. We asked each other what the last movie we saw was and I said Fantastic 4 and Zoe said Superman. When asked about Korean movie recommendations, I recommended a movie called Taza to Zoe. Finally, he told me that the genre of movie I watch is action and comedy.

In the English session, we asked how each other was doing and explained about our day. I asked Zoe about her school life for a week. She said she would commute to school. Zoe's favorite Korean food is cold noodles, and she said she likes Shake Shack Burger as an American food. We also talked about our favorite vegetables. We also discussed the pressure we expect from college students. Among them, we talked about pressure, and compared to Korea, the United States is different, but it is more pressured.

5)Plans

We scheduled a time for the next schedule and thought we should do our best to make Korean and English more fluent next time. We also exchanged whatsapp numbers

Meeting Length : 44:48

Meeting Time and Date : 9/27 8:00am(KST)

Time Frames for best speaking sample:22:36-24:11

2) Topic

Daliy life , favorite movie, favorite food , college life , societal expectations for college students

3) New words and expressions

all the way up - 위로 올라가다

4)Meeting Summary

We played 15 minutes in Korean and 15 minutes in English, and Zoe wanted to know what Slang was in Korean, so I informed her that it was similar to a slang. Zoe asked me about my daily life and also asked me if I had visited Hongdae and answered that I had visited to perform. And asked if I met my friends in Hongdae, so I answered that I met them in 2 weeks. Zoe said he watched a movie this summer and asked me if I watched a lot of movies normally. We asked each other what the last movie we saw was and I said Fantastic 4 and Zoe said Superman. When asked about Korean movie recommendations, I recommended a movie called Taza to Zoe. Finally, he told me that the genre of movie I watch is action and comedy.

In the English session, we asked how each other was doing and explained about our day. I asked Zoe about her school life for a week. She said she would commute to school. Zoe's favorite Korean food is cold noodles, and she said she likes Shake Shack Burger as an American food. We also talked about our favorite vegetables. We also discussed the pressure we expect from college students. Among them, we talked about pressure, and compared to Korea, the United States is different, but it is more pressured.

5)Plans

We scheduled a time for the next schedule and thought we should do our best to make Korean and English more fluent next time. We also exchanged whatsapp numbers

Meeting Lenth:38 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 10/02 20:00~20:35

2)Topic: Introduction, talk with prepared question for each other.

1. What do you do on weekends?

2. What is your most impressive movie?

3. What do you do in your free time?

4.Can you tell me your daily routine?

5.What do you think is more special in American culture compared to Korea?

6.What are you going to aim for when you graduate from college?

7.Who is your role model?

8.What was the difficulty you had and how did you solve it?

Language use information

Dormitory: 기숙사

commute: 통근하다

sophpmore: 2학년

discussion: 토의

3) meeting summeary

It was awkward at first, but we got close when we said hello again.
We asked each other about their daily lives and asked questions about their hobbies or careers
The most impressive thing was the story of the book
I found out that she is living in a dormitory, while I commute to STU. She said that although the distance to the university is close, she is having a hard time because she does not see her family often.
I recommended a book called 1984 to her, and she had heard it once, so I talked about the book called 1984.
I was able to have a serious discussion with her by sharing the background of 1984 and the content of dystopia.

Finally, we talked about the next time we met
Since she met me on Zoom in the morning with my time difference, I decided to meet her on her time at the next meeting.

4)Plan

I improved my English speaking skills, but I was uncomfortable because I couldn't think of words right away, and my grammar was terrible. Next time, I will study grammar and prepare words in advance to develop my ability to communicate in English more and more.

Next meeting : 10/06 (not confirmed)

•meeting length: 34:59

•meeting time/date: 9/17, 8:00 am(EST)

•time frame: 09:15~14:05

Topic: college class, dream, countries I’ve visited, part-time job

New Words:

1.accounting

summary:

We conducted our meeting through Zoom. She was curious about what I study, and I told her that I study Global Management. She also studies Management. During our conversation, we found out that we both study Accounting as well, and through this we were able to relate to each other’s struggles. She asked me if I had ever visited another country, and I answered that I had visited Japan for the first time. She reacted positively, and it seemed like she also likes Japan. We also shared about our part-time jobs. She works at a sushi restaurant on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and I also work at a Texas food restaurant on the same days. Since our working days and hours are similar, we found many things in common and could relate to each other.

Plan: We have decided to hold our next meeting at the same time next week, Monday at 8 AM (EST).

And in preparation for the next meeting, I will improve my English speaking skils and look for conversation topics.

Length: 39:25

Meeting time and date: 9/30 11:00(KST)

Best speaking sample: 13:00 - 18:00

2) Topic

Weekend life, my favorite place in Korea, recommended places in Seoul, some tips for teaching English, A lecture in Korean that Abigail takes

3) New words/ Expressions

Judge - 판단하다

Evaluate - 평가하다

Keep + 형용사 - ~한 상태를 유지하다. ~한 상태로 있다.

4)Meeting Summary and Plan

I talked about what I've been up to now and recommended places in Korea. Also, I was surprised that I know not only Seoul but also Busan and Jeju Island and I want to go there!

I talked half and half Korean and English, and it was very useful that Abigail gave me tips to teach English well to elementary school students. Also, I could get closer by talking about various topics such as Korean dramas, travel, internships and brotherhood.

At the next meeting, I would like to ask more about American culture, life, atmosphere, etc. Also, it would be good to talk about what you want to do in the future or your job together!

• Meeting Length: 34 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 9/20 11pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 2:51~8:39

2) Topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: resume 이력서 / work experience 업무 경험 / employee 직원 / coworker 동료

• Meeting Summary: Jenny works part-time at a Mexican restaurant every weekend. The restaurant’s symbol is a donkey. She writes down customers’ menu choices and serves the food that has been ordered. She also does cleaning. After finishing work, Jenny goes home and falls asleep right away. She feels that her coworkers at the restaurant are kind, the atmosphere is good, and it is more fun than she expected.

I also work part-time at a cafe, similar to Jenny. I serve customers, do cleaning, and make drinks. We both felt that our part-time job experiences showed some similarities between our cultures.

• Plan: We will talk about the topic of usage and context of and informal speech on October 11.

• time/date: 9:00 - 9:34 (9/23)

• length : 34:48

• meeting frame: 2:20-7;40

Meeting Topic

:Thanksgiving Day, 추석

Meeting summery

: We talked about Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. and Chuseok in Korea. On Thanksgiving Day, we spend time with family and friends and eat turkey, crambberries, mash potato, and pumpkin pie. We also talked about Chuseok in Korea. On Chuseok in Korea, the whole family gets together and eats ingredients harvested this fall. Our favorite foods include 송편, 전, 잡채, 갈비찜.

And we also talked about the long 추석 holiday in Korea this year. Because we talked about the holiday starting from National Foundation Day. He also explained about National Foundation Day.

And we also talked about each country's landmarks such as Disneyland in the U.S., 롯데월드 in Korea, and 에버랜드.

Personally, my goal is to go to Disneyland in each country later.

New word: National Foundation Day-개천절

Holiday-연휴

Thanksgiving Day-추수감사절

Meeting plan: we are going to meet at Zoom meeting next week same time

•meeting length: 35:41

•meeting time/date: 9/22, 8:00 am(EST)

•time frame:05:40~ 15:00

Topic: marriage duty, teenager depression, favorite food, driver license, save house

New Words: depression,

summary:

In this conversation, we first discussed the obligation of marriage. She said that while it depends on the person, she would like to get married at the age of 27, noting that on average people tend to marry between 28 and 30. I mentioned that traditionally, older generations considered marriage an obligation, but nowadays young people view it more as a choice. I also added that many of my friends identify as non-marriage oriented.

We then moved on to the topic of teenage depression. When I asked her if she had experienced depression during her teenage years, she explained that she struggled in high school after her grandfather passed away and because of heavy academic pressure. I shared that even though I was not a very diligent student, I also felt the burden of academic stress. From this, I came to think that teenage depression is often rooted in academic demands.

Plan:

We scheduled our next Zoom meeting for the same day next week. Today’s meeting went more smoothly than I expected, and I was able to gain a bit of confidence in my English speaking. Therefore, in the next meeting, I will try to use more new vocabulary and engage in a deeper conversation.

1) Meeting details

Meeting Lenth:38 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 10/02 20:00~20:35

2)Topic: Introduction, talk with prepared question for each other.

1. What do you do on weekends?

2. What is your most impressive movie?

3. What do you do in your free time?

4.Can you tell me your daily routine?

5.What do you think is more special in American culture compared to Korea?

6.What are you going to aim for when you graduate from college?

7.Who is your role model?

8.What was the difficulty you had and how did you solve it?

Language use information

Dormitory: 기숙사

commute: 통근하다

sophpmore: 2학년

discussion: 토의

3) meeting summeary

It was awkward at first, but we got close when we said hello again.
We asked each other about their daily lives and asked questions about their hobbies or careers
The most impressive thing was the story of the book
I found out that she is living in a dormitory, while I commute to STU. She said that although the distance to the university is close, she is having a hard time because she does not see her family often.
I recommended a book called 1984 to her, and she had heard it once, so I talked about the book called 1984.
I was able to have a serious discussion with her by sharing the background of 1984 and the content of dystopia.

Finally, we talked about the next time we met
Since she met me on Zoom in the morning with my time difference, I decided to meet her on her time at the next meeting.

4)Plan

I improved my English speaking skills, but I was uncomfortable because I couldn't think of words right away, and my grammar was terrible. Next time, I will study grammar and prepare words in advance to develop my ability to communicate in English more and more.

Next meeting : 10/06 (not confirmed)

-Meeting Length: 34:12

-Meeting Time and Date: 10/03 13:00-13:40(KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample: 2:30~8:50

2) Topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use information

-New Words/Expressions:

take order: 주문을 받다, 주문을 하

so far: 지금까지

local: 지역의, 현지의

translater: 번역가

take a nap: 낮잠을 자다

4) Meeting summary:

We talked a lot about our part-time job and work this time. We also said that we are traveling to Taiwan because it is a public holiday in Korea, and asked how you have been. She told me that she is working at a chicken restaurant. I told her that I have worked at a convenience store for 6 months, worked at a movie theater, and worked at Lotte World. She told me that she really wants to go to Lotte World if she comes to Korea. She also said that she likes to go on rides. She also told me that she has been to many amusement parks, including Disney Land. And we had time to introduce each other to Korean tourist attractions and American tourist attractions.She also said that she wants to be a translator in the future. In order to become a translator, she said that she practices translation at home.

5) Plan : We're going to have our third language exchange next Monday.

• meeting length: 37:27

• meeting time & date: 09/30, 9:00 pm est

• best speaking sample: 16:32-22:00

Topics:

• jobs experience, family life/siblings

Meeting summary:

• In this meeting me and Joowon talked about our past work experience where I learned we both worked in factories but in different industries. He mentioned that he has only had part time jobs, and I mentioned that I only had a full time job, but our hours were about the same. It was interesting to learn about the different in hours within the U.S and Korea and how they are titled. After talking about our hours and job titles I asked him if he had any siblings and he told me he had one older brother. This meeting I had many more questions prepared so I felt myself looking down a lot. There were some words that I didn't know but Joowon was very patient and helped me understand the context of his sentences.

  New words:

• 외동 - only child

• 긴장된다 - nervous

• 금속 - metal

Plan:

• This meeting I was less nervous than last because I got comfortable quick but even so I felt like my speaking could improve a lot. I plan to continue asking Joowon what words mean so I can understand more of what he says. Our next meeting will be October 15th.

• Length 44:48

• September 29th 7:00am Microsoft Teams 

• Best speaking 4:30-5:30

Topics: Music, movies and shows, studies, and what we did that day

New Words

• 관광 - Tourism

• 가능해요 - it is possible

• 자연 - nature

Meeting Summary: In this meeting I asked about 호원 his day since it was evening for him. He then asked me what kind of work or job I wanted to do and I mentioned traveling. We also talked more about our interests like movie and shows genres we liked and what we have watched. We both have watched Strong woman Do Bong-soon and Vincenzo. One thing I found interesting was I asked 호원 why he studied English and he said it was because it has become uncomfortable these days if you can't speak English. Which I found a little surprising. I then told him that I studied in Korea last spring and talked about a few of the activities I did there. For me I think this meeting was more smooth than the last one since we know a little more about each other now. I still struggle to understand quick enough so I do have to use the translator. I also tend to use it for questions since I feel I can not think of them quick enough. Despite still struggling to understand each other fully we talked about music and the singer Andrea Bocelli since he likes to sing in Italian. He also shared a playlist that I have been listening to which has been fun.

Plan: We plan to meet on October 10th 7:00am on Microsoft Teams. In the next meeting I will prepare more questions and try to rely less on a translator.

Time and date: 9/27 @10:00PM via Zoom

best speaking sample: 29:25 - 32:40

New vocab:

성경 - Bible

추석 - Korean Thanksgiving

발표 - presentation

Topics: Action movies, what we did during the week and sports.

Meeting summary: I liked this meeting much better! I felt more confident when speaking to 건우 and I made sure to review as much of my Korean as possible so that he was speaking less English than he did in our first meeting. This one was also better planned and prepared for. We held a casual conversation. 건우 asked me about the weather, good tourist attractions, tipping culture and my college life. I spoke about the things I did this week as well as my intentions for the evening that day. I asked what he did the following week as well as whether he enjoyed action movies since I was going to mention my love for Star Wars. I feel nervous when we're actively in the moment speaking to each other in Korean but I feel this meeting reflected a more better version of my level of competnecy in korean. I would want to get better about not needing him to translate as much.

Plan: We have not come to a consesnus on when our next meeting is exactly but I will ask more about his family in Korean in the upcoming one. I will also just continue to review what I already know so that the conversation can be a bit more relaxed and not so aswkward. I saw better results when I reviewed more before our meeting.

Meeting time: 9/25 8pm EST

Best speaking sample: 16:00-18:00,

Topics: work experiences, future job, lifestyle, family

New words:

노래 부르다 - to sing a song

백수 - unemployed

은퇴 - retired

선택 - choose

Summary:

Yeryeong and I talked about our current job situations and what we want to do in the future with our lives. In her case, she works at a large café in Korea and deals with a lot of (in her words) scary customers. I found that really interesting! For me, I was just hired and have not gotten to actually experience working yet. In the future, she wants to go into the tax industry, and I want to become an ambassador and/or work with Americans in other countries. Our meeting carried way over the limit on Zoom, so we actually talked for much longer than the duration of the video. At the end of this video and in our continued conversation, we talked about our families. I told her about my older sister and parents, and she told me she had two older brothers. She said she wished she had an older sister, but I told her that it sounds better than it actually is. We then talked more extensively about family and how our families navigate the workforce. This meeting went smoother than the first one, but I think we should both try to expand our speaking by using a translator for some words we might not know. Overall, we had a great conversation and got to know a lot more about each other!

Plan: We will meet every two weeks on Thursday, except for next meeting, we will meet this coming Friday. Since we have set topics, I will prepare for each topic as best as I can!

meeting time/date: 9/28 9pm EST

time frame: 3:30-8:20

Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000, traveling, eating etc.

Summery: Hyunkwang and I spoke over the topics of what we would do with $100,000. In his case, he said he would save most of it and only spend a bit of clothes as he doesn't want to buy anything. I personally would travel to Switzerland to hike, as well as Guatemala to climb a volcano, and trying new foods. I wanted to mention saving as well, but was not sure how so it did not come up for me. Towards the middle of our video we began talking about favorite meat types, he said he likes chicken among others. This meeting felt a lot easier since we communicated beforehand over our topic. There were a lot of things that he said to keep the conversation going, but I found myself not knowing what was said, so I will need to study and review more.

New words:

반지- ring

따라- repeat

진실- truth

Plan: In this meeting I was still nervous, but after a bit it calmed down. I do think, next time i'll ask Hyunkwang to write what he says in korean in the chat so I can take note of it and understand the meaning. We plan on discussing our next meeting through dm.

• length: 44:48 (the first few minutes are of me waiting for my partner: i started recording early on accident!)

• date: 9/26 7PM EST

• best speaking samples: 16:00-17:00, 20:46-23:00, 29:49-30:10

topics: plans from the weekend, movies, dishes, friends, study tactics, societal expectations for college students, etc.

new words:

은어 - slang

양파 - onion

래퍼- rapper

가끔 - now and then

summary: 태경 and I spoke about a lot of different things this session, but mainly about our interests. We talked about our daily lives, and what he had done last weekend. He told me that he went to Hongdae with some of his music friends (they sing while he raps), and that they had made music together before. That day, he was planning on renting out a music space to create in by the station. I asked him what made him like music so much, and he said "just because", which I thought was a very fair answer. I found out that he watches movies now and then in the theater, and he recommended that I watch "타짜", an older Korean action movie about gambling. We also talked about our commutes to school, and daily schedules. We also had the same favorite western foods, with hamburgers and pasta. We had a fun time figuring out the translations for toppings from English to Korean, and I was surprised that I knew some of them. We also spoke about social expectations for college students; I mentioned that it seems like there is a different amount of pressure on college students in Korea rather than in the U.S, but that a little bit more competition might benefit us in the U.S. He mentioned that the societal expectation for education in Korea felt like a "just do it" mindset. We also talked about how much we use social media like Instagram and YouTube. We both watch Youtube a lot, and he watches a lot of music videos about his favorite rapper's fashion. We also talked about our favorite places in the U.S and Korea. My favorite place is the beach, which I really enjoy; He doesn't swim, but he enjoys playing volleyball on the sand instead. I also found out that his favorite word in english was "vibe". We also discussed where we would first go when we got to the U.S/Korea; I said that I would say hi to my old professor in Korea, and he said that he would try a hamburger place like Shake Shack or In-N-Out. I think I was the weakest in speaking Korean during this meeting out of all of them so far; I struggled a lot, and it made me want to learn more, and practice with my listening. 태경 was very patient again, and let me ramble in english when I wasn't quite sure how to ask something, which I appreciated.

plan: for our next meeting, I plan to be much stricter with myself when separating the english versus korean speaking times. during this one, I wound up speaking a mixture of both throughout, and I want to become much better at switching between either fully, being able to express myself in each. we planned our next meeting for Oct. 4th at 8:00PM EST.

1. Meeting Length: 35:55

2. Meeting Time: 9/30/2025, 8am EST

3. Time frame: 19:10 - 24:10

Topic: Work Experience including Part-time Jobs

New Words:

1. 전임직: full-time

2. 벌다: to earn

3. 신원 조사: identity check/background check

4. 점원: clerk

Summary: We talked about the jobs we currently have and what we do at work along with any previous experience we've had before. 이지민 works as a server at a restaurant, and she's been working there for about a year. One of my previous jobs was as a server, so we both bonded over having to deal with rude customers at restaurants. Since this is 이지민's first job, we spent some time talking about my past part-time jobs. I mentioned that my current job is a full time position, so we also talked about it being difficult working at going to school at the same time. We also talked about having friends at our jobs. 이지민 has a friend from college that she works with, and I have a few that I only work with. Overall, I feel this meeting went better than our last. We were both prepared with more questions to ask and answer, and when we weren't understanding each other, we utilized the chat to type out what we were saying to one another. I feel I still struggled with vocab recall. I did fine with the questions I had prepared, but when I was trying to answer 이지민's, I had issues trying to remember all the vocab we'd learned in the last year.

Plan: The plan is to continue to write questions and answers ahead of time for the meeting and to utilize the chat to type out the questions and answers the other isn't understanding. I'm also adding in studying more vocabulary through flash cards ahead of time to help with the vocab recall when answering questions unprepared.

Meeting length: 37 minutes

Meeting time and date: 9/29 at 7:30 PM (EST)

Speaking sample time: 0:45-6:34

Topic: Job applications and work experiences, including part-time jobs

Meeting summary:

We greeted each other and discussed what we were going to talk about. I began the conversation and asked Hyunseo about her interview, job, what she does, and how the job was going. She works at a café and is in charge of making drinks, sandwiches, and salads. She also used to work at Subway. She only works on weekends as she is focused on school on weekdays. She works from 9 am to 6 pm. She has been working at the café for a year and says the job is not hard. She also showed me her resume, which contained her picture, which I found odd, as in the US you don’t typically put your picture on your resume. Another thing I found interesting was that at her job, only two people work at a time, which is different from my experience, as we usually had three to four people in the front and 3 to four people in the back, and one to two managers working at the same time. A common ground we both found was that finding a job in both countries is difficult. She said that many people do not get hired, so it is difficult to get a job. When she does have free time, she likes to dance or play video games.

New words:

자기 소개서: a letter of self-introduction, 이력서: resume, 직업: job, 처음: the beginning, 일을 처음 배울 때 어려웠던 처음은: when you first started working, was is hard?, 어서오세요: welcome

Plan: For our next meeting, we plan to meet at the same time next week. Our topic will be the usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말.

Length: 37:37

Time & Date: 9/27 @ 10:00 PM EST (9/28 @ 11:00 AM KST)

Best Speaking Sample: 00:00~05:00

2) Topic: jobs, part-time jobs, future endeavors

3) This meeting we spoke about job experiences and what we want to do in the future. Junhyeok said that he has a part-time job at a restaurant and encounters celebrities. He also mentioned that he has met a lot of people from different countries there, which help him learn about other cultures. He works Monday to Sunday. He mentions that his part-time job is tiring but fun. Junhyeok also mentioned that he wanted to quit his part-time job in order to focus on his studies more. When we started talking about future endeavors, Junhyeok mentioned that he wanted to work in a finance-related area. He also wants to stay in Seoul after college. Overall, I feel like this meeting went better than the first one. Even though the language barrier is still there, the conversations felt like they flowed better.

4) New Words:

아르바이트: Part-time

졸업하다: To graduate

간호사: Nurse

아르바이트 해본 적 있어요?: Have you ever worked part-time before? 

해본: Have tried doing something

적: Occasion/experience

5) We plan to meet next Sunday around the same time. In the next meeting, I will try to come up with more questions that pertain to the topic in both English and Korean.

meeting length: 35 minutes

Speaking sample: 5:32-11:19

Time & Date: 10/02 at 7:00am

2) Topic: part-time jobs, what we did over the weekend, etc.

New words/expressions

Industry 산업, director 감독, commute 통근하다

3) Meeting summary

This meeting was much more comfortable than the first one. We talked about part-time jobs and what we did last weekend and last week. I learned that he commutes to school and lives at home. I also learned that he will go to the military soon so he will take a break from school. We talked about some challenges we faced starting college regarding our majors, and I will say this meeting felt smoother than the first because we both prepared questions and responses in advance.

4) Plan

I will study more grammar and come up with more questions. We plan to meet sometime this week, but do not have a confirmed date yet.

Length: 40 Minutes

Time & Date: 9/30 @ 10:00 PM EST

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample:

20:46-31:29

2) Topic: Cafes in Seoul, Jobs, Favorite Places in South Korea, Teaching English in Jeju, Comparing cities in America and South Korea, Professors and learning styles for each other's languages

3) Meeting Summary: Me and my partner were able to talk about a lot of different topics during our second meeting since it is very comfortable and easy to talk to her. We both had kind of prepared some questions but mores went off of each-others responses. She told me how she is not working right now but she was planning to go to Jeju with some of her friends to teach English to elementary school children and we talked about possible tips for that. We also discussed what she wanted to eat for Chuseok, the Korean holiday where she would spend time with her family. It was super cool to learn about all of the things she wanted to do when teaching English and seeing her passion about that since I also want to teach English in South Korea after I graduate!

New Words/Phrases:

명절- Traditional Cultural Holiday

행동- Behavior

추석- Chuseok (did not know Korean spelling before haha so technically new)

안 싸워요- Don't fight?

Plan: We will meet again next Tuesday 10/07 and bring questions we prepared. I also am going to send ideas and topics to think about a couple of days prior as we discussed in class! I want to strive to be as prepared as I can so I can be able to do well for my meeting with my partner!

Meeting length: 01:18:01

Time and Date: 9/26/25 9:30 AM EST

Speaking Sample: 00:00-05:20

2) Topic: Part-time jobs/how to obtain, average pay, and hours worked, etc.

New words/expressions:

• 2 Days - 이틀

• Kind - 종호류

• After class - 수업 끝나고

• Obligation - 의무

3) Meeting Summary

In this meeting, we spoke about how it was obtaining a job in both countries, whether experience helps, and also pay, and hours. Office work, teachers, job hours. We also discussed volunteer work we have done in the past. We had planned for the weekend. Something that I found interesting is that it seems like there is a set time everyone goes in and out for work. She also mentioned that students don't have part-time jobs, but rather take that time to focus on studying. She also mentioned that it is hard to get a job in Korea since most companies have limited staff in which makes it competitive to get a spot/job. Another thing I also found interesting is that they take an English exam in which those scores matter since English is important in Korea. This exam can also be taken by office workers. We also touched up on the topic of self-study for high school students. And how most high school students don't get out of school till later in the day because they stay to study to make sure they get into their desired college. This meeting felt better than the previous one; however, I know I should've prepared more questions. I also know I need to practice a ton, especially with vocabulary. There were sentences I could've said in Korean but didn't, which made me a bit frustrated with myself, knowing I could've. I know I need to look back through all the vocabulary and practice writing out sentences.

Plan: I wasn't as nervous as I was in the previous one. There were points where I got stuck because I did not know how to frame my question or response in Korean. I know I can better my Korean with practice. So, looking back through the vocabulary and practicing writing sentences. We plan to meet soon!

Meeting length: 34:14

Time frame: 16:00-20:00

Topics: job applications, work experience. Part time jobs, traveling

Meeting summary: I felt that I did a lot better in the second meeting than the first. We talked about part time job and how to apply to them. Woosung stated that he has worked at a conference store, a movie theater and lotte world. I told him I have worked as a substitute teacher and Chick-fil-A. We talked about both Korean and American tourist attractions like Disney world, Disneyland's and six flags in America and lotte world in Korea. I told him after graduating from college I would like to work as a translator. Woosung state he was traveling to Taiwan for the upcoming holidays.

Plan: we schedule our third meeting for next Monday 10/13/25 at 12am my time 1pm Korea time.

New words:

번역가 - translator

주문을 받다 - take an order

주문을 하- place an order

대만 Taiwan

Meeting Time: 9/22 7:30pm EST

Best Speaking Duration: 16:30 - 21:30

Topics: Work experience, deal with rude people, daily life, interest.

New Expressions:

딸뻘 - 딸이랑 나이가 비슷해 보인다 - be the same age as his daughter 아들뻘 - 아들이랑 나이가 비슷해 보인다 - be the same age as his son

Summary:

I don't have a job so Joohyun wasn't able to ask that many questions about part time jobs with me. Since we already talked about her part time job during our first meeting, I decided to ask about her bad experinces working. She then told me of two instances with bad customers. Through these stories I learned that rude customers are the same no matter what country you're in. We also talked about the job she wants in the future, which was to be working at an entertainment agency such as: SM, JYP, HYBE, etc. I also have some interest in the entertainment industry, so it was very interesting to her about it from her side.

Plan: I want to work on my responses for when someone tells me something based on the context (funny, scary, interesting, sad, etc.) instead of just always say "ohh~"

• video duration: 1:17:21

• time/ date: 09/17/2025 11:30 am (EST)

• time stamps of the best speaking: 00:00-20:34

2) topic:

College life, interests, cultural differences, plans from last week, $100,000 plans, favorite things, holidays, etc

3) New words:

트빌리시: Capital and largest city of the country, Georgia.

스테판츠민: Town in Georgia, Mtskheta- Mtianeti region, formerly known as Kazbegi

4) In our meeting, we discussed many topics, from places we want to visit, what we would do with $100,000, interests, cultural differences, etc. 준오 wants to visit 트빌리시, 스테판츠민, and Georgia, USA. He said that he wants to specifically want to come to Atlanta and go to the World of Coke museum, the GA aquarium, and Centennial Park for the culture and the history behind these places. We also showed each other photos from our aquarium visits, since at the moment, that was the topic of discussion. Then the conversation shifted to cultural differences, asked 준오 about words existing in Korean that aren't in English, and he expressed that English has more words than Korean does and that English covers more Korean words than Korean does for English. We also talked about Pepero day, which is a Korean holiday that is celebrated on November 11th because it resembles the stick that makes Pepero. Also, I asked him if he had a girlfriend, which he does, and a fun thing he told me is that he asked his girlfriend to be his girlfriend on Pepero day. We also discussed our favorite colors and his is black and mine is pink. After that, we showed items to each other that our in our favorite colors. like my backpack, cups, notebooks, iPad, etc. Lastly, we talked about cartoons we like to watch with our families, such as Adventure Time, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, etc. But overall, this meeting was fun, and I hope to learn and grow in my Korean learning skills.

5) next meeting details:

We discussed after our meeting to do the same time next week. But change the meeting day through Instagram because of Korean Thanksgiving.

•Meeting Length: 34 Minutes

•Meeting Date & Time: 9/20 10am(EST)

•Time frames for your best speaking sample:

2:51~8:39

2) Topic: Job Applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use Information:

• New words/Expressions: 업무 경험-work experience, 분위기도-atmosphere, 알바-part-time job, 손님-customers.

4)Meeting Summary: We both talked about our jobs and experiences in our job applications process. 세희 works part-time in a cafe and her application process was easy and she enjoys her experience working there. 세희 works her part-time job from 11am~6pm on Sundays. She says is a little hard because her work time is very long. She also mention that her coworkers are very sweet and helpful. We both have some similarities on our side work routines in our job. I also work on weekends and enjoy my job experience. Also, my application process was very easy and I send resume and salary is decent. We both do customer service, clean, and take orders, and prepare drinks. It was a fun experience to know about each other's job experience.

5) Plan: We plan on talking about the next topic: usage and context of formal & informal speech ending forms on Saturday Oct 11.

• Happy 추석 day~^^ㅎㅎ

• Meeting Length: 39minutes 22seconds

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/11 9am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 10:40~13:22, 31:50~33:20

2) Topic: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

  switch(전환), context(맥락), as much(그만큼, 최대한), humble(겸손), fishing for compliments(긍정적인 반응을 이끌어내기 위해 자신의 성취나 외모를 과소평가함으로써 간접적으로 다른 사람들이 당신을 칭찬하게 하려는 관용어), deny(부정, 거절), concept(개념), consciously(의식적), lack(부족, 없다), scold(혼내다, 꾸짖다), tone(어조)

  
  

• What she learned from me

  보통의 상황, 의식하지 않는 상황(casual), 무의식적으로(unconsciously), 예의(etiquette), 나이든 사람(older people), 연장자(a senior citizen)

  
  

• Meeting Summary

  Isabella said that when she came to Korea, she had difficulties verbally

  When you switch between formal and informal situations

  Even though the meanings of words are the same, some words are only used in certain contexts

  She said it was difficult because she couldn't understand the context well at the time

  For example, when it's your birthday, it's a "birthday(생일)", but it's a small difference like "birthday(생신)" for my grandmother, but it was a little difficult

  
  

  English uses the same word regardless of the other person's age

  She thinks English is easier in terms of honorific conversation

  Because you don't have to be careful or think about honorifics

  It was difficult to think about the situation where she had to use honorifics when she learned Korean

  
  

  Isabella said she felt respected when someone used formalities in English.

  I don't feel particularly burdened and I feel like they understand me.

  
  

  Isabella talked about the answer of yes or no as an experience of misunderstanding due to cultural or linguistic differences in Korea.

  For example, when someone compliments you in Korea, you say, "No, I'm not." (에이, 아니에요)

  It was a misleading situation.

  
  

  Korea and the U.S. seem to be different when they are praised

  Korea responds with a humble attitude

  The United States is confidently praised

  
  

  It might seem humble to say "No, it's not" (에이, 아니에요) when you get a compliment.

  However, sometimes you have to give the other person a bigger compliment after you refuse a compliment, or you may have a "fishing for complaints" situation

  Sometimes in the U.S., it's better to end the conversation with a thank you after receiving a compliment

  
  

  Isabella thinks that the concept of honorifics is a little difficult for English speakers because it is different from Korea

  In the case of the United States, there is no honorific concept, so she think it helps to be comfortable with each other

  
  

  Isabella said that attitude and action seem to be more important than words when it comes to manners.

  If you go to another country, even if you are not good at language, I think the action has an impact, just like you can communicate your intentions by action.

  
  

• Plan: 10/24 9:30am (KST)

Meeting Length

: 34 minutes 54 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 10.13 11:AM (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 17:22~22:58

Topic

: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal     speech)

New words and expressions I learned

: depend on(~에 의존하다), specific(명확한, 뚜렷한), abbreviation(줄임말), sum-up(요약),   

Meeting Summary

: We talked about the difference between informal and honorifics in Korean and English. We helped each other to understand more easily by explaining each other with examples. I learned that English does not have a specific expression for talking informally and honorably like Korean, so it is divided into tone and voice. This time, Ashley has studied Korean a lot, so communication in Korean went smoothly. In addition, when talking in Korean, we had time to apply honorifics and informal speech to the conversation.

Plan

: We're supposed to have a meeting this Sunday at 11 o'clock.

• Meeting Length: 59 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/12 11am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample:

17:00~18:15, 39:25~40:15, 46:25~48:10

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

debt 빚, 부채

specific 특정한

honestly 솔직히

grocerie 식료품류

• Meeting Summary: When asked if she would let people around her if she had $100,000 to make it known, Victoria said she would let her parents and friends know and wanted to pay her parents. And if she had money, she said she would like to visit many places through world travel, and among them, she would like to visit Korea. If you visit Korea, she says she wants to see the Han River the most, because she saw pictures of it and it's beautiful and pretty. Victoria likes to play games, so she will buy video games, and among them, she wants to buy horror games. In the U.S., people asked where they use it for when they have a lot of money, but in the U.S., many things are expensive, but they seem to spend a lot on food, and they also spend a lot on electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones. He said that there are more than $100,000 in American houses and over $1 million in California, so he would be enough to pay off his debts and friends' debts. And the rest of them wanted to travel together.

• Plan: We are supposed to meet on 10/26

Meeting Length: 39 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 10/14 7pm (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 33:20~35:00

2) Topic: Controversial social issues

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: private, slang, financial, weird

Meeting Summary

We had a conversation on social issues. The first thing we talked about was about private education. Most of us get private education, but she said she doesn't. And we said that private education can have a big impact on economic differences. The next thing we talked about was about marriage and children. Most places where she lives get married early, and she said she wants to build a career without getting married early. Also, I think I can only have children if I can afford them financially. In response to this, she said that men who think from an economic point of view are not common. In this part, I could see that she and I were on the same page.

Plan

The schedule for next week's meeting was decided to check each other's schedule and talk on instagram. So, we decided to contact instagram to decide the topic of the next meeting.

Language Exchange Log – Meeting 3 (2025-10-14, Zoom)

1) Meeting details

Meeting Length: 39 minutes 15 seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 2025.10.14 (Tue) 9:13 PM KST

Link to the meeting: I used Zoom.

Best 5-minute speaking samples: 1:55–3:55 and 6:20–9:20 (total 5 min)

2) Language use and topic coverage

We spoke in english for about 16 minutes and in Korean for about 22 minutes.

The main topic for this meeting was 존댓말 (polite speech) vs 반말 (informal speech).

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions

state fair = 주립 박람회

Bible Belt = 성서 지대 (미국 중남부에서 동남부에 걸쳐 있는 지역, 기독교 근본주의의 영향력이 강한 지역)

Atlanta = 애틀랜타 (미국 동남부 조지아주의 주도)

midterms = 중간고사

shrinkage (hair) = 수축(현상)

- Meeting Summary :

We began in English, and I introduced today’s topic—존댓말 vs 반말—explaining that Korean speech levels depend on relationship, age, and situation. We reviewed polite endings like –요, 감사합니다, 죄송합니다, and compared them with casual ones such as 안녕, 고마워, 먹어, 좋아. I also taught the phrase “말 편하게 해도 돼요?” to show how Koreans ask before switching to casual speech.

We then talked about 반존대, which mixes polite and casual speech. I shared an example from my younger friend, “언니 밥 먹었어요? 나 배고파.” It shows how close friends with a small age gap often mix styles naturally.

My partner compared this to her U.S. experience. As an African American Southerner, she often says “Yes, ma’am/sir” to elders, while people in New York speak more casually. She said some American families even call parents by their names, which is very different from Korean culture. She also shared that she sometimes worries about using the wrong level in Korean, so she usually starts formally first to avoid sounding rude.

In the second half, we switched to Korean and practiced casual and formal speech. We talked about a state fair (animals like cows and chickens), her roommate, hair topics (braids, shrinkage), and daily life during midterms. We also compared regions— I explained the 수도권 (Seoul–Gyeonggi area) and my Busan trip, while she talked about Atlanta and the Bible Belt culture in the U.S.

Practicing the conversations felt more natural and real. Overall, the talk went smoothly and showed clear progress from our last meeting.

- Plan : For the next meeting we scheduled October 28, 2025, at 9:00 p.m. KST. The topic will be Controversial Social Issue. And maybe Possible subtopics could be mental health among young adults, societal expectations for students, gender roles, or marriage/children as a requirement. I’ll try and prepare key vocabulary terms and few guiding questions beforehand.

topic: 3 things you want to do/visit in S. Korea or America

best speaking time frames: 2:37-5:06

first, 서영 shared the places in Korea that are worth a visit: 경복궁, 경주, 불국사, 석굴암, and 제주. she said that when she visits America, she wants to go to California to see the waters of another country and to dress freely. I told her about how I wanted to try many different foods in S. Korea, visit Jeju Island, and see the beach. We both agree that we like drinking, but alcohol is disgusting, so we prefer sweet cocktails. We talked about our jobs and our plans for the day. I told her I was saving for a concert that's next year and we talked about how we both use our checks to eat good food. I've found with each meeting that we find more things that we have in common and I really look forward to them!

our next meeting will be about college/student life

- Meeting Length : 30 minutes 32 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 10/11 11:10 p.m. (KST)

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 18:40 ~ 23:20

2) Topic : Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans, midterm examination, What I did yesterday, About the concert

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : agree, midterm

- Meeting Summary : I talked about three places I wanted to visit in my country and one place I wanted to visit in the other country. I introduced Gyeongbokgung, Gyeongju, and Jeju in Korea and said that I would like to visit California in the United States. Kayla recommended Miami, New York and Las Vegas in the U.S. and said she would like to visit Gwangjang Market, Myeongdong and Busan in Korea. We talked about the midterm exam because next week is the midterm exam, but we said that lectures without exams are the best and difficult to concentrate on studying. Kayla said yesterday that she went to her friend's birthday party and went to her sister's wedding in the evening before going to the after-party. Everyone was drunk and drank until 1 a.m. And we talked about idols. Kayla said she liked BTS, so I liked it before. Kayla said she likes all BTS members, but she likes Jimin the most.

- Plan : Last time, there was a situation where I couldn't record twice, so we decided to hold a meeting twice on the 11th.

- Meeting Length : 30 minutes 6 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 10/11 11:40 p.m. (KST)

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 15:50 ~ 20:40

2) Topic : College student life, Why did you choose your major, Second job, MBTI

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : Second job, Tip

- Meeting Summary : I am in the second semester of my third year and am attending the Department of Global Management. I am thinking of taking a leave of absence next year. Because I did not meet the graduation conditions. The conditions for graduation are one certificate and one TOEIC score. Kayla is a third grader and majoring in cybersecurity. She is taking 4 classes and has a meal with her friends after class. After eating, I go to the library to study, do homework, or talk. The reason I chose the Department of Global Management was that I majored in tourism management in the first year, but I changed my major because it was not fun. Kayla wanted to become a teacher, but she didn't because she didn't make much money. After graduation, she said she will get a job and earn a lot of money, so she will become a teacher after the age of 40.

- Plan : The next topic is 'The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)'

-Meeting Time and  Date : 10/10 11:00 pm (KST)

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/e0rF5RF1LrI?si=tilAcVjiP9ZqNIg-

-Time frames for my best speaking sample:

06:15-11:15

-Topics: The use of honorifics and informal

language

-Word and expressions:

depending on the person 사람에 따라 manners 예의

regardless of ~와 관계없이

exception 예외

title 호칭

-Meeting Summary and Plan :

We talked about honorifics and informal speech in the U.S. and Korea. She said that honorifics are not used separately in the U.S.

  Instead, when you call an older person, you call them Mr. or Mrs. And she said that the greeting method in the U.S is the same regardless of age. However, they are taught to respect older people from an early age.

  We also talked about our favorite honorifics and informal language. She said she liked words like  ”있습니다“, ”좋아요“, “안녕” because it's easy and familiar. I also gave her some examples of informal speech and honorifics.

Often when I didn't understand what she was saying, she would write it down in a chat. I should practice and prepare hard so that I can do better next time. I hope my skills get better and better!

-Plan: We’ll meet the same day in two weeks.

: 32 minutes 02 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 10/15

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 21:00~21:35

Topic

: What you do on Christmas, Korean and American culture, and what you usually talk about with your friends

Word and expressions:

rude 무례하다

spread 퍼지다

festive atmosphere – 축제 분위기, 연말 분위기

hang out with friends – 친구들과 어울리다

Meeting Summary

I had many conversations with Aubri, and one story that stood out was from a few days ago when she was driving and three drunk college students climbed onto a truck in front of her, which really surprised her. She also enjoys talking with her friends while watching Reels or funny videos. Last year, she spent Christmas in Korea and couldn’t be with her family, which was disappointing, so this year’s Christmas feels even more special to her. I hope Aubri has a truly memorable Christmas. Lastly, she mentioned that while in Korea, she noticed that on Christmas Day, everyone except her and her friend was in a couple, which she found quite surprising. And Americans don’t use KakaoTalk very often.

Plan

October 22 at 9:00 (KST).

- Meeting Length : 29 minutes 05 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 10/13 9 P.M

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 03:27 ~ 06:40

2) Topic : Job applications and work experiences including part time jobs.

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : logistics

- Meeting Summary : More than half of the meeting is not recorded this time. Since my former partner has dropped this class, I got a new partner named Pheobe. However, she was new to this class from week 2. She did not have much information about this class, so I took some time to introduce the contents, and what should we do in this semester.

After that, we exchanged greetings lightly, and talked about ourselves. Then, we started to talk about the job applications.

I learned that she didn't really work, but rather focused on volunteer work. I'd heard that her health prevented her from working long-term, so I also heard that she focused on volunteering. However, since I had some part-time work experience before and after my military service, I was able to share some of my work experiences in Korea. Unfortunately, neither of us had any experience that prepared us for full-time work.

- Plan : Since this is our first time meeting, I'm planning to talk a little bit about the topic separately, excluding the recorded version, to get closer.

- Meeting Length : 49 minutes 29 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 10/16 9 P.M

- Time frames for your best speaking sample : 03:00 ~ 08:00

2) Topic : The usage and context of polite or deferential speech and informal speech

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions :

- Meeting Summary :

We had a conversation about the polite speech and informal speech. Pheobe thought that polite speeches in the U.S would be the younger generation would like to show their efforts to the adults. Like they are trying to make the sentences and slangs more politely for the elderly.

However, she also said that the polite speech and informal speeches are not that classified in the U.S. People just try to use naturally as they did in the past, not to disturb someone based on the T.P.O.

In Korea, I told her that our cultures are based on Confucianism, so it is very important for us to show our respect to the person who is older than me. Just like when we use polite words to the person who is just 1 year older. Also, because Koreans respect each other, I said that older people do not use informal speeches from the first time. They also use the polite speeches first, and we usually allow each other to use informal speeches after we start to get closer.

- Plan : Next time we decided to talk about the social issues "depression among young adults".

o Meeting Length 30minute

o Meeting Time and Date 10/15 10:34(KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 10~15 minute

2) Topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA/ What is doing on Chusuk / What is doing on Halloween

3)Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

crash out 슬프거나 바쁠때 쓰는 말

4)Meeting Summary: TJ and I talked about what we were doing this week and last week. Then, we decided to talk about places we want to visit in Korea and the U.S. I told them that I want to go to LA and Washington DC and eat delicious food, and TJ said that there are more delicious food in Texas or New York than in LA. And TJ said that he wants to go to Jeju Island. He said that he wants to go to Jeju Island and eat a lot of seafood. I answered that black pork in Jeju Island is delicious. And after that, I asked TJ about what he is doing for Chuseok and we talked about it. And I also asked TJ about how he plays on Halloween and ended the meeting.

5) Plan

We decided to have a meeting at the same time next week and I think I will have to practice speaking more without being limp until next week and I decided to prepare some slang.

Meeting Length: 33 minutes 2 seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 10/13 1 PM(KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample: 4:20-10:24

2)Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions:

chilly: 쌀쌀한

so far: 어느 정도까지만, 지금까지

couple of days: 이틀, 며칠동안

mostly: 주로, 일반적으로

memorization : 암기, 기억

-Meeting Summary: We talked about what we would do if we had $100,000 for this topic. We also had time to talk about what we did during the holidays for the past time. She said that she wants to travel because she likes to travel. She said that she has traveled to Germany in Europe. I said that I would like to buy a car if I had $100,000. Or I said that I would like to save half and go to an expensive restaurant to eat with my family. She also said that her favorite beach is Daytona Beach. I said that I like Haeundae Beach the most. After we finished talking about the topic, we had a time to ask each other about today's routine after the video.

Plan: We decided to have our fourth language exchange on October 27.

o Meeting Length: 36:55

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/16 – 7:00a.m. (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 10:25~15:25

2) Topic: The usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

hierarchy(계층)/sibiling(형제)/hanging out(많은 시간을 보내다.)/expression(표현)

o Meeting Summary

- In English, there are no clear grammatical distinctions like banmal (informal) and jondaetmal (formal) as in Korean.

- In English, the tone and choice of words change depending on the person you are talking to. For example, with a friend, you might simply say "I didn't know," but with a boss, you might say "I was not aware of the situation," which is more formal.

- More polite tone and vocabulary are used when speaking to teachers, bosses, or friends' parents, while simpler and more casual expressions are used among peers or close friends.

- The distinction between formal and informal speech in English is not grammatical, but rather depends on adjusting vocabulary and tone according to the situation.

- There is no clear switch between formal and informal speech in English; it changes naturally depending on the relationship and context.

- Honorifics such as 'sir', 'ma'am', 'Mr.', and 'Mrs.' are used, mainly in formal situations or when addressing adults or strangers.

- In summary, in the U.S. (English-speaking countries), there are no grammatical forms for formal and informal speech like in Korean. Instead, respect or familiarity is expressed through tone and word choice.

o Plan: We will meet again on Zoom next week this time.

ㆍ회의 시간: 40:58

ㆍ미팅 시간 및 날짜: 10월 16일 7시

ㆍ최고의 스피치 샘플을 위한 시간 프레임 -

2. 주제: 자연 관련 단어, 넷플릭스, 케이팝, 유튜브

3. 언어 사용 정보

ㆍ새로운 단어 표현: Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, Alps, Ural Mountains, Great Dividing Range, Caucasus Mountains, Scandinavian Mountains, Atlas Mountains, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Hindu Kush

• 회의 요약: 지난 주 만남 이후에 어떻게 지냈으며, 무엇을 했는지에 대한 이야기로 시작했습니다. 교양 과목을 4개 듣는다고 했고, 바쁘다고 했습니다. 자유시간에는 주로 넷플릭스를 본다고 했으며, 아이유나 나오는 드라마를 정주행 한다고 했습니다. 브리앤은 자연에 관심이 많고 자연을 좋아하는 편이었습니다. 그리고, 케이팝 아이돌 그룹은 데이식스, 세븐틴을 좋아한다고 했습니다. 그리고 게임 유튜버를 좋아한다고 했습니다. 그리고 또 좋아하는 동물과 음식, 노래를 말해주었습니다.

ㆍ계획: 10월 23일 목요일 8시에 만나기로 했습니다.

o Meeting Length 34:23

o Meeting Time and Date 10/12 22:00

o Link to the meeting 

I used ZOOM

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 00:38-5 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

: In my case 제 경우는요

I had to go to school together 학교와 병행해야해서

labor attorney 노무사

relevant 관련있는, 적절한

Substitute 대타

o Meeting Summary

- First, we talked about Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

- Chrislyn said she is working on teaching math to students.

- When asked if she had any difficulties in her work, she said it was difficult to teach children.

- When I heard that I was working part-time at a cafe, she asked me about the process to get a job and said I had an interview with a barista license.

- When I asked her which one she liked, coffee or drink, she said she liked herbal tea.

- She said she works three to four hours a day and I work ten to thirty minutes a day.

o Plan

We decided to have our Fourth meeting on Sunday 9:00 in korea time and the topic is What would you do if you had $100,000?

Meeting Length : 28:46

Meeting Time and Date : 10/6 9am(KST)

Time Frames for my best speaking sample : 13:45 ~ 15:06 , 16:31 ~ 18:46

2) Topic : Weather , college life , Holiday , language , music genre , depression among young adults. , gender roles

3) Language use information

Pumkin spice : holiday drinks in starbucks

4) Meeting Summary : As soon as we met, we first started talking about the weather and talked about the weather in the country. Zoe asked how she had been doing this week, and she said she was resting at her mother's house because it was Chuseok, a Korean holiday. We also continued to talk about the holiday. We shared our daily lives for a week, and Zoe was curious about my new music, so we talked about the story of the song and the inspiration I received. We also talked about each other's part-time job experiences. We talked about marriage, and we talked about the burden of marriage. And I asked a question because I was curious about the difference between Starbucks in Korea and the United States. It was time for us to get to know each other more.

5) plan : we decided to have our 4th language exchange on google meet on 10/11

Meeting Length: About 39 minutes

Meeting time and Date: 2025.10.16. 9PM(KST)

Time frame of my best speaking samples: 1~6

2) Topic

We talked about what we’ve been up to, how school life is, and what classes we’re taking.

3) Language use imformation

sino number: 중국식 한자를 기반한 숫자(1=일 2=이), Thanksgiving culture in the United States

4) Meeting summary

It was nice to see each other after a long time, and we caught up on what we’ve been up to. Since Korea had a two-week break for Chuseok, we talked briefly about what we did over the holiday. We also talked about when Thanksgiving is in the U.S. and what people usually eat then. It also struck me that Sino-Korean numbers can be pretty confusing for foreigners learning Korean.

5) Plan

We wii meet zoom after exam

• Meeting Lenghth: 36:02 minutes

• Meeting Time and date: 10/14 22:00 (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 8:52-10:20/13:00-14:25/ 33:26-34:08

2)Topic

•About favorite food

•About hobbr

•About whether you like working out

•About experience traveling

•Why learn Korean

•ect••

3)Language use information

•New Words/Expressions

: Picky-까다로운, Mythology-신화, proposal-소개팅

•Meeting Summary and Plan

: We talked about what we did last Chuseok with Kendall. She explained about eating songpyeon during Chuseok. Kendall has not traveled yet, and she plans to go to Canada with her family this Christmas. Kendall is said to learn Korean because she likes Korean culture, such as Korean holidays, myths, and food. Kendall recommended Netflix dramas and movies to each other, and he was surprised because he knew more about Korean dramas than I thought. Also, we talked about the music you recommended to each other last time and said it was good. Kendall doesn't have a favorite food and he has a picky taste. Kendall and I found out that neither of us likes working out, and we shared our mbti and got more information about Kendall.

•Plan

: I felt that I could have a meeting more comfortably than the last meeting. I rarely used the help of the translator compared to the last time, and even if it was insufficient, I tried to speak on my own. I felt that I thought and spoke more than last time.

The next meeting will be 10.20 12:00 (KST)

• Meeting Length: 30 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/11 11pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 1:10~7:47

2) Topic: The use and context of honorifics and informal language.

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: relative 친척 / physical affection 스킨십 / public places 공공장소 / common 공통의 / humble 겸손

• Meeting Summary: We talked about role-playing, which compares the etiquette of Korea and Mexico on public places, family gatherings, holidays, meetings with friends, presentations, interviews, and cultural learning topics. Among them, public places in Korea should be quiet so as not to disturb others, but Mexican-American have newly learned that speaking loudly in public is not rude, but a way to express friendliness and warmth. Also, in Korea, hugging or touching friends may be a little awkward, but Mexican-American could know that physical contact, such as hugging and hitting shoulders, is natural.

Mexico has the same culture as Korea in that it uses honorifics to parents and grandparents and uses informal speech to babies, children, and close friends. In the America, informal speech is used a lot, but in Mexico, there were many parts that were the same as Korea.

• Plan: We are going to talk about controversial social issue to discuss next Saturday at this time.

o Meeting Length : 40:12

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/6 21:30~22:30

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 21:30 ~ 25:00

2) Language use and topic coverage: Make sure you cover the required topics during the language exchange. Here are the required topics.

o What would you do if you had $100,000?

o What casual English do you use in America?

3) Language use information

save money 돈을 모으다

abbreviation 줄임말

probably 아마도

spend 소비하다

o Meeting Summary

I taught Katarina about honorifics. It taught her the difference between honorifics in the military and society, and how to use honorifics, and who to use and use. I asked Katarina what she would like to do if she had $100,000, and I also asked her about casual English in the United States, which she was curious about separately.
I was curious because I heard from a friend who knows that casual English is often used in the U.S. I found out that they use it in real life such as "It is what is it

o Plan:

We are planning to have another meeting at 9 p.m. on October 17th.

o Meeting Length 

58 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

10/16 08:17 ~ 09:15 (KST)

o Link to the meeting 

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

5:00 ~ 10:00

2) Language use and topic coverage: 

What did we do last week.

Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans. 

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

ornament 장식, 장식품

honor 기리다, 예우하다

ferris wheel 관람차

casino 카지노 (pronounce)

congested 혼잡한

cuisine 요리

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

During our language exchange, we talked about places we want to visit in Korea and the USA. Brooklyn’s top three places in the U.S. were New York, Atlanta, and Florida. She wants to visit New York’s Statue of Liberty and Times Square, enjoys living in Atlanta with its parks and restaurants, and hopes to go to Florida for its beaches and Disney World. 

In Korea, she wants to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gyeongpo Beach, and Jeonju Hanok Village. She wants to wear a blue hanbok at Gyeongbokgung, see the sunset at Gyeongpo Beach, and try Korean food like bibimbap in Jeonju. She also likes One Million Dance Studio and plans to visit Korea next year with her mom.

oPlan: 10/23 thursday 8:00 (KST)

-Meeting Length: 38minutes 20econds

-Meeting Time and Date: 10/16 10:00 PM(KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample

3~10minutes

2)Topic

The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

Activities from Last Week, About the Culture of Chuseok and Thanksgiving

3) Language use information

New Words/Expressions

What have you been doing? 그동안 어떻게 지냈어요?

Thanksgiving culture in the United states

Meeting Summary

In today’s meeting, We talked about Chuseok, which is a Korean traditional holiday, and also about Thanksgiving.

At first, I was a little confused when I heard about Thanksgiving, but I felt happy when I found out that it is similar to Chuseok in Korea.

After that, I learned more details about Thanksgiving and its traditions.

Then, we talked about what we did last week and what we are going to do next week.

We also talked about the difference between 존댓말 (polite speech) and 반말 (casual speech), and I was surprised that they knew so much about it.

Plan

We will meet zoom after exam

• meeting length : 28 minutes

• meeting time and date : 10/14 10:00 pm

• Time frames for your best speaking : 2:40 - 7:37

Language use information

• lotto - 로또, 복권

• win the lotto - 복권에 당첨되다

• license - 운전 면허

• donate - 기부하다

• donation organization - 기부 단체

• live alon - 혼자 살다

Meeting Summary

We had a discussion on the topic of what we would do if we won the lottery. First, I started by sharing my experience of buying a lottery ticket once on my 20th birthday and said that if I were to win first prize, I would like to buy a house and a car. I mentioned that I have a dream of living alone and that I would like to drive on days when the weather is bad. I also said that I would like to donate the remaining money to charitable organizations. Gladys said she had never bought a lottery ticket, and when asked what she would like to do if she won the lottery, she said she wasn’t sure.

Plan

• 10/21 Tuesday 9:00 am (KST)

o Meeting Length 

38 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

9/28 22:06 ~ 22:44 (KST)

o Link to the meeting 

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

19:00 ~ 24:00

2) Language use and topic coverage: 

Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, the American school system (high school and college), the American and Korean military systems, daily activities (what we did today), and the time difference between the U.S. and Korea

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

freshman 1학년, sophomore 2학년, junior 3학년, senior 4학년, conscription, draft 징병제, voluntary military system 모병제

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

In today’s meeting, we first talked about our ages and noticed that even though we were both born in 2006, the U.S. and Korean school systems start at different times. This led to a discussion about the American high school and college system, with its freshman-to-senior structure, and how it contrasts with Korea.

We also talked about taking time off from school. I explained that in Korea, many men take a break before graduation to complete military service, while Brooklyn shared her perspective on the U.S. system. From there, we compared the American and Korean military systems.

Later, we shared what we did today. I mentioned it was time for me to sleep, while for Brooklyn, her Sunday was just starting. This highlighted the time difference between Korea and the U.S., and we agreed to adjust our meeting times more carefully.

Brooklyn also described her campus, which is large and even has a Starbucks, and she explained how busy she is with two jobs: teaching science and robotics to young children in an after-school program, and working at a mall where kids ride toy animals. She also studies Korean by watching the animation Jado. I shared my own work experience at Mega Coffee during summer vacation.

Overall, today’s meeting helped us learn about each other’s school systems, daily lives, and work experiences, and we plan to continue sharing and adjusting our schedule around the time difference.

o Plan: 2025.10.05 8:00

• Meeting Length: 30minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/11 10am(EST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 1:10-7:47

2.) Topic: The use and context of honorifics and informal language.

3.) Language use information:

• New words/expressions: 공공장소-public places, 존중-Respect, 전통-Tradition, 질서-order, 따뜻함-warmth.

4.) Meeting Summary: Me and Sehee described about both cultures' honorifics and context and their informal/formal language. We mentioned about role play that compared the etiquette between America and Korea. I mentioned that Mexicans use formal honorifics with elders,strangers, and higher position people. Koreans use formal honorifics with elders, strangers, and higher position people too. The topics we mention was on public places, family gatherings. holidays, meeting friends, interviews,presentations, and learning about culture. In Korea, it is more conservative so in public places it needs to be very quiet. In Mexico, is very normal and okay to be loud because is a way on showing interest and affection toward the other person. In America, is normal close affection and skin-ship but in Korea is not common. Mexican and Korean culture are very similar in manners and celebrations . However, their traditions and lifestyle are different. In America is more freely and open minded. Both cultures are great to learn from.

5.) Plan: We are going to talk about controversial social issues to discuss on next Saturday Oct. 19 10am(EST).

1. Meeting length: 1:02:00

2. Meeting time: 10.15. 11:00(KST)

3. Best speaking sample: 24:00 - 29:00

Topic

: OOTD, fashion styles, 반말과 존댓말, 추석

New words of expressions:

Strerchy/ 잘 늘어나는

Material/ 소재

Ground/ 토지, 땅

Meeting summary

: We talked half and half in English and Korean. We met for the first time in a while and talked about each other's tastes. We talked about fashion, clothes, tea, and more, and especially about the one-size brand, Brandy Melville. We also talked about the Netflix drama we both watched. It was a time to get to know each other's tastes. We also taught them about Korean informal speech and honorifics, which made it difficult to explain because there were many irregular grammar, and we also talked about it compared to English grammar. What was interesting was that Abigail didn't have a chance to practice informal speech. It was interesting because I've never thought of a Korean when I heard that I don't have the opportunity to learn informal language because most of the formal Korean and Korean that I can practice and learn at school are honorifics.

Plan

: The next meeting is also scheduled to meet on the same day and time, and I will try to speak informally which was difficult in speaking Korean. Also, I want to study more expressive words such as adjectives and verbs so that I can communicate more freely.

1. meeting length: 40minutes

2. meeting time: 11:00(KST) 10/17

3. Time frames for your best speaking sample:20:09~29:38

   
   

   Language use information

   
   

KST: Korea Standard Time(한국 표준 시간)

domitary: 기숙사

profound: 심오한

comprehend:이해하다

obviously:명백히

Meeting Summery

First of all, I knew the time to meet her was the standard time in the United States, but the Zoom appointment time was delayed due to confusion because it was the Korean standard time

In this video, I talked with my foreign friend about our daily lives.
She had just finished her exams last week, while I was preparing for my exams next week.
I told her that I visited several landmarks in Seoul during the Chuseok holiday, and she said she was looking for a Halloween costume for the upcoming celebration on October 31st.
She also mentioned that she plans to have a party with her friends on Halloween.

It was fun to share our daily experiences and learn about cultural differences.
I found it interesting that Halloween is considered such a big event in other countries, which made me appreciate cultural diversity.
Speaking in English helped me check my language skills and practice expressing myself more naturally, so it was a meaningful and valuable experience.

Plan: We will meet between 10/20 and 10/31

• Length: 40:58

• October 16th 6:45am Microsoft teams 

• Best speaking times: 00:35 - 02:00

2) Topics: Youtube, travel, likes and dislikes, daily life 

3) Summary: 

• New Words - 히말라야 - Himalayas, 안데스 - Andes, 알프스 - Alps, 보내주세요 - Please send, 녹음파일 - recorded file

• In this meeting it felt more casual and I think flowed better than the last two meetings. There were still some awkward moments in which we needed to use the translator and figure out what we were trying to say. I was underprepared in asking questions because at some point I was unsure of what to talk about. But 호원 then came up with some in English and I tried responding in English and then in Korean. It still is difficult to quickly think of topics and sentences beyond school so I realize I need to come up with more questions beforehand. Overall I think we are improving a little bit and getting more used to communicating. For the next meeting I want to try talking more about Korean mannerisms versus American ones.

• Next Meeting: October 23rd 8:00pm Korea time 7:00am U.S time.

• Length: 38:20

• Meeting time and date: 10/16 9:00 am EST

• Best speaking sample: 27:00- 33:10

2) Topic: Different kinds of speaking, holidays, school life, food

3) New Words:

• 인기잇는: popular

• 휴무: holiday

• 양녕치킨: yangnyeom chicken

4) Meeting summary: This meeting we discussed Chuseok and Thanksgiving and shared the similarities. I learned about what he did for Chuseok. I shared my plans for Thanksgiving and that is where we started talking out about food. We tried to talk in informal speak but it came a little unnatural to me. I can tell we are becoming more comfortable with each other, and I am trying my hardest to make conversation go smoothly when talking in Korean.

5) Plan: We plan to meet the week after next once exams are over, and we will message to discuss a specific time.

1. meeting length: 40 minutes

2. time: 10:00 pm 10/17

3. speaking sample: 8:05-12:06

Topic: Midterms, holidays, hobbies. etc

New words/ expressions:

profound: 심오한

stocks: 주식

midterm: 존간고사

Meeting Summary:

We met at 10pm EST this time since the last two meetings were in the a.m. for me. I asked how he's been, and he told me about his break during Chuseok, and that he spent time with his family in Seoul. We also talked about Hallowed explained our plans for the holiday. I learned that Halloween is also a heavily celebrated holiday in South Korea. He was studying for his upcoming midterms and told me about the presentations that he has to give for one of his classes, and I told him about my midterms that I had last week.

Plan: We plan to meet sometime next week and will discuss what time.

1. Meeting Length: 59:43

2. Meeting Time: 10/11/2025, 10pm EST

3. Time Frame: 0:54 - 5:54

Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

New Words:

1. 국립현대미술관 = National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

2. 박물관 = museum

3. 신나다 = to become excited

4. 세계 = world

5. 방문하다 = to visit

Summary: We talked about what we both would do if we have $100,000. 이지민 said she would give her family some money and then invest the rest. I mentioned that I would give money to my friends and families and then spend the rest of mine traveling. We joked about not being a house because the $100,000 would not be enough to afford one in either country. I told 이지민 that I was actually going to be traveling to South Korea this December, so she gave me a few recommendations of places I should visit while there (put the places here). We also talked about different places that we would like to visit, which I mentioned I specifically wanted to see the Han River while out in South Korea. 이지민 talked about wanting to visit Canada, Australia, and the US, and she mentioned that she was really into art, so she wanted to visit some of the art museums. We then talked about different music artists we liked and who our favorite person was in the groups. I did still struggle a little with my vocab recall, so I had to use a dictionary a bit to remember some words. However, overall, I think this was our best meeting so far. We definitely felt more comfortable speaking with one another and had an easier time understanding one another. Typing in the chat really helped a lot in understanding what the other is saying!

Plan: The plan is to continue using flash cards to study vocab that we already know to help with the recall for future meetings. We'll continue with utilizing the chat to help with our communication. For our next meeting, we're going to talk about the usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말.

1) Meeting details

Length: 60 Minutes

Time & Date: 10/13 @ 10:00 PM

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample:

29:27-35:25, 43:54-45:44

2) Topic: Chuseok, OOTD, Brandy Melville Controversy, Student Pressure in Korea, Favorite Colors, Personal Styles & Aesthetics, What Would You Do With $100,000 Dollars, Dream Cars, Banmal Use

3) Meeting Summary: This meeting was very fun and I feel like me and my language partner are getting more comfortable with each other and were able to talk about a lot of topics outside of school. We talked about many topics but I made sure to cover two of the required topics we needed to discuss of "What would you do with $100,000 dollars?" to which my partner said she would invest it which I think is smart and I said I would buy clothes and travel, but she mentioned her dream car which is a jeep! We talked about why a jeep and how one of my best friends has a white jeep. The other topic was a controversial issue and I asked her about pressure on students in Korea and finding good study habits. She asked me about the Brandy Melville controversy of the "one size fits all" which I found very interesting because in Korea it is mostly or all "one size" stores, but in the United States, there are a range of sizes to accommodate all body types.

New Words/Phrases:

신축성이 있는- Stretchy

느낌좋은- Good vibe/ aesthetic vibe/ good style (반말 Phrase)

무서워하다- To be Scared

Plan: We will meet again next Tuesday 10/07 and bring questions we prepared. This time I want to come up with more of a plan of schedule that way we hit all of the points we want to. I also want to see if we can both do a little learning session with each other of words we want to learn or things we are struggling with when learning English or Korean!

Length: 34:53

Time & Date: 10/12 @ 10:00 PM EST (10/13 @ 11:00 AM KST)

Best Speaking Sample: 0:27~1:27/7:15 & 12:44~15:31

2) Topic: Usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말

3) This meeting we spoke about the usage of 반말 and 존댓말. Junhyeok told me that you use 반말 with friends or people younger than you. While, you use 존댓말 with people who are older than you. He also told me that there are a lot of different words that indicate whether someone is speaking 반말 or 존댓말. An example he gave the the different phrases for "Happy Birthday". 생일 is what you use in 반말, and 생신 is what you use in 존댓말. After he explained the difference, we started speaking in 반말. It was not very comfortable, because I am used to speaking 존댓말. However, we spoke about our families and favorite things, I felt a little more comfortable. All in all, I thought this meeting went fairly well. There was some pauses due to me asking him to write his answers in the chat. I feel like our interactions are slowly getting less awkward.

4) New Words/Phrases:

어린사람들: Young people

차이점은: "The difference is"

바뀌는 것도 있어요.: "Some things change"

저보다: "Than me"

5) Plan: We plan to meet next Sunday, around the same time. I will create some questions in English as well as Korean. Also, I will make sure to use more vocab and grammar points we learned in class.

length: 39:22

time and date: October 10, 8pm EST

best speaking sample: 13:45-17:30

2- Topic: using formal and informal speech in Korean and English/Korea and the US

3- New words:

무의식적으로: subconsciously

연장자: senior/older person

4- Summary:

This time, Yeryeong and I talked about the differences in formal and informal speech in the US and Korea and the consequences of using it. We came to the conclusion that, while switching between formal and informal speech in Korean is necessary, it can be a little difficult. Meanwhile, we both thought that the lack of formal and informal speech differences in English made the language easier and also shaped the more carefree nature of the US. We also had an interesting conversation about the effect of words versus actions and how we show respect. I think that actions speak louder than words, especially when you're in a foreign country and want to be respectful to the locals. Yeryeong made a good point that it's less about what you say, and more about the tone in which you say it.

5- Plan:

We will meet this coming Thursday, October 23, 8:30PM EST

Meeting length: 36:55

Meeting Time and Date: 10/12- 10 p.m. EST

Timeframe for best speaking time- 0:08~6:41

Topic: Usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말

New words:

동갑: same age

조금 사람: little person

무례 해 보이고: “you look rude”

엄청 중요하다고 생각해요: “I think it is very important”

존댓말을 써야 돼요: “you have to use honorifics”

Meeting Summary:

Hyunseo and I discussed about the usage of 존댓말 and 반말. She explained the differences between the two and when to use them. 존댓말 is used with your elders and people you do not know very well while 반말 is used with people you are closer to like your friends. It is used both in speech and in messaging with others. She emphasizes how important this is in Korean society and how important it is to know the different ways in which they speak as you can come off as rude if you speak to someone the wrong way. When talking to strangers you first start talking to them in 존댓말 until one of you asked to switch to 반말 which indicated you have gotten close. Children are taught this from a very young age at both school and home as it is the norm in Korea. She also let me know it was okay to speak to her in 반말 and had me try a few phrases. I found it a bit uncomfortable since I hadn’t really practiced speaking in that form however she made it fun. I will try to practice 반말 more to get used to it.

Plan- We will meet again next week around the same time. I will try to have more questions as well as more answers in Korean. I will also try to include stuff I have learned in class.

• length: 30 min (my timer was slightly off, i apologize!)

• date: 10/4, 8:00 PM EST

• best speaking samples: 00:46-1:44, 3:18-3:36, 4:15-6:32, 10:56-11:25

topics: weather, plans

new words:

촣아하는: favorite

비: rain

추석: korean fall holiday

나중에: later

summary: In this meeting, 태경 and I talked about many different things going on in our lives. For him, it was Chuseok (추석); He was excited to rest and stay in Seoul for the day. We talked briefly about music and plans for the week, and also spoke a little about the marriage question from the topic list. He said that he would like to be married later in life, and felt a little bit of pressure to do so; I agreed. Then we spoke a bit more about mental health in young adults and how social media gives unrealistic expectations for life. We both agreed that watching YouTube made us feel better than Instagram. In all, it was a very good meeting, and I was glad that it was a little easier to speak in Korean this time.

I'm still having a hard time speaking entirely in Korean without trying to explain myself in English/Translate out loud what he said, and while watching back the recordings I seem to do this often. I want to get better at speaking strictly in Korean, but I'm not quite sure how to practice that in between meetings.

plan: I would like to really figure out how to stick to speaking solely in Korean better, and also try to flesh out one or two topics for a meeting instead of jumping around the questions like I have been. I think it would also be good to prepare some more sentences in Korean in response, instead of mainly asking questions in Korean.

Length: 37:19

Meeting time and Date: 10 am EST - 10/10/25

Best speaking times: 10:56-11:29, 17:28-18:02

2) Topic: Honorific and informal speech

3) Words:

연세 - age

생신 - birthday

드시다 - to eat

4) Meeting summary:

We talked about honorifics and informal speech in both the U.S. and Korea. She did mention she liked speaking more formally since it is more polite. She also said you use honorific speech when speaking to elders, teachers, those older than you, and also when ordering people. She also gave me examples/phrases in formal speech, some of which are above. When it came to informal speech, she said it's used when speaking to friends and those close to you. It's a comfortable speech. She mentioned her favorite informal speech/phrase would be: 고마워.

Plan: I am planning to practice my listening skills! As I am going back, I noticed there were a few words/phrases I know I should've been able to understand in the moment, but later understood.

We are meeting on the same day in two weeks!

meeting time/date: 10/14 @ 6am EST

time frame: 6:44-10:30

topic- controversies (private education etc)

details: during our meeting we talked over private education in Korea vs the U.S. He mentioned that he has received private lessons, and that it is common for many to go to private academies. He also mentioned how there is some controversies behind this as those in the lower class cannot afford that. I mentioned that here in the states, in my experience, it's not as common to see students get private lessons outside of school unless you can afford it, but we do have private schools and other things. A lot of our conversation was in English as I did not know how to bring up these deeper topics in Korea and did not want to make myself seem more fluent than I actually am as the conversation could progress. We did bring up the topic of marriage where we had similar thinking towards age and responsibilities first. I also briefly explained the geographical differences here, where in the south many people our age get married young while many up north do not.

plan: we decided to text over dm to figure out when our next meeting will be.

topic: college student life

speaking time frame: 10:15-16:56

vocab: 졸업 조건 - graduation requirement

꿈이 확실 하다 - 'the dream is clear/certain'

최저임금 - minimum wage

서영 shared things about both her personal college experience and typical Korean college student life. She will be a 4th year student next year, but she's taking a gap semester because she doesn't meet graduation requirements and needs to get her TOEIC certificate. She plans to work in S. Korea post-grad and she finds the trade field interesting. I only have to commute to school 2 days a week and she has to commute for 5, but luckily she uses the subway. Then, we talked about our future career aspirations. I talked about how I want to go into cybersecurity for now, then retire and become a teacher. 서영 shared that it's hard to have the dream job she wants because many jobs don't pay well. I told her about the minimum wage in America and how jobs over here don't pay very well, either.

next meeting: we will talk about 존댓말 vs 반말 and when + how we use them in our cultures. however, we have to wait until after 서영 takes her midterms.

• meeting length: 39:54 

• meeting time / date : 10/14, 7am est

• time frame: ~16:00-21:00

Topics

• Formal/ informal language 

Meeting Summary

• During this meeting my partner taught me a lot about banmal v. jondaemal. She told me about how sometimes younger friends will mix both when speaking to her. It helped me understand that while people are fairly strict with the formalities there are some exceptions. I think it’s interesting how learning Korean strictly in jondaemal makes it awkward talking in banmal. My partner suggested switching to banmal and I really struggled with it. We compared it to American culture and I told her that there isn’t really much to compare it to in the U.S. We were able to talk about how the different cultures in the U.S call for different amounts of formalities and manners. We also talked about what we did over the weekend and I learned that my partner went to Busan on the other side of South Korea. I mentioned that I am going home soon a few states over but that is 8 hours away which really put into perspective the size differences of the countries. 

New words 

• 반말- casual speech 

• 무료 - free (of charge)  

• 모리 땋다 - to braid hair 

Plan 

• We plan to meet again on October 28th at 9pm kst. I was less prepared than last time but I will have notes because from this meeting I learned that I don’t quite have the vocabulary I want to be able to talk about more difficult topics. 

Meeting Length: 40 minutes

Meeting Time: 4:00 (KST)

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample: 10:00 – 20:34

Language Use Information

• No worries: 괜찮아, 걱정하지 마

• That sounds fun!: 재밌겠다!

• I can relate: 나도 공감해

Meeting Summary

Before the meeting, there was a bit of confusion because my friend thought the meeting time was set in her country’s time zone instead of the Korean Standard Time (KST). After we cleared that up, we started our Zoom meeting smoothly.

We mainly talked about our daily lives and cultural differences. I told her that I recently spent the Chuseok holiday with my family. I explained that during Chuseok, Korean families gather to make traditional food like songpyeon and visit their ancestors’ graves. I also shared that I visited my grandparents’ house and played traditional games with my cousins. It was so nice to take a break from studying and live a bit of what we call a “갓생 (got-saeng)” — a productive and meaningful life.

My friend found Korean holidays very interesting and said she wanted to visit Korea someday. Then we started talking about Korean slang words that are popular these days. I explained words like “모솔 (mo-sol)”, which means someone who has never been in a relationship, “킹받네 (king-badne)”, which expresses being really annoyed, and “심쿵 (sim-koong)”, used when your heart races because of something cute or touching. She laughed a lot and said Korean slang sounds very creative and funny.

It was really fun to share not only our daily lives but also these unique cultural expressions. Through this meeting, I realized that language is deeply connected to culture, and slang can actually show how young people think and live. Speaking in English while explaining Korean words helped me express myself in a more natural and confident way. Overall, it was a meaningful and enjoyable conversation that made me proud of Korean culture.

• Meeting Length: 40 mins

• Meeting time and date: 9/21 8:00 AM

2) Topic: Informal speech and honorifics

3) New words and expressions:

• 반말- informal speech

• 존뎃말- formal speech

4) Meeting Summary:

We mostly talked about the difference between formal and informal speech in korean and the grammar points to use. I attempted to teach my partner some phrases that are considered formal in English like the word "grateful" and the term " my pleasure" but I struggled a lot.

Plan: Next time I plan to come prepared with a powerpoint and touch on my own experiences when we talk about jobs as our next topic.

• meeting length: 30 mins

• meeting time and date: 10/12 9:00 AM

• waiting to get access for the file to upload the video

2) topic: Jobs and part-time job experience

New words and expressions:

• 탁아소: day care center

• 아르바이트: part-time job

3) Meeting Summary:

In this meeting we talked about our jobs. we haven't had real jobs yet so we only talked about the part time jobs were currently doing. My partner works at a cafe and helps with an after school program for a daycare. She's also part of a club at her school that does volunteer work. we talked about our schedules and how we navigate work and school.

Plan: Next meeting I plan to start the meeting so that I can share a powerpoint. my partner has been really prepared for all of our meetings so I want to put in the effort to do the same. We're going to have our meeting on Sunday October 26 at 9:00 AM est.

Meeting Lengths: 39 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 10/27 9am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 11:00~13:00

2) Topic: If you could go back in time, when would you go?

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: awkward, pumpkin, management, autumn

Meeting Summary

We had a conversation about when we would like to go back if we went back in time. She said she wanted to go back to high school because she wanted to go outside. She also said she was sorry that there were not many photos of her high school prom. I wanted to go back to that point, but the reason was similar to her. I didn't usually go outside either, but I started going out after I liked fashion. During these conversations, I thought it was good to experience anything, and I knew that she and I had a lot in common. Other than this conversation, we also had a conversation about what we did last week.

Plan

The schedule for next week's meeting was decided to check each other's schedule and talk on instagram. So, we decided to contact instagram to decide the topic of the next meeting.

Meeting Length: 41 minutes 39 seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 2025.10.28 (Tue) 9:00 PM KST

Link to the meeting: Zoom

Best 5-minute speaking samples: 0:25~5:25 (total 5 min)

2) Language use and topic coverage

English: about 20 minutes

Korean: about 20 minutes

Main topic: Controversial Social Issue – Depression/Mental Health among Young Adult.

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions (corrected + KR meaning)

initiative — (문제 해결을 위한) 주도적 노력

counselor(s) — 상담사

psychiatrist — 정신과 의사

diagnose / diagnosed — 진단하다 / 진단받다

taboo — 금기, 터부

buffer school — 완충(대안) 학교 (더 어려운 학교로 옮기기 전 선택하는 학교)

stigma — 낙인, 편견

advocacy — 옹호, 지지 활동

regional — 지역적인

trad wife — 전통적 성역할을 지향하는 아내(컨셉)

4) Meeting Summary

We started in English, and I introduced the topic of mental health among young adults. I explained that in Korea, many students feel pressure from school, work, and social expectations, which often leads to stress and depression. My partner said that in the U.S., people talk more openly about mental health and that seeing a therapist or psychiatrist is normal. She shared that her insurance covers most of the cost, which makes it easier to get help.

We compared how schools support students. In Korea, there are counseling programs, but many students don’t use them. In the U.S., her school has both formal counseling and relaxing events like journaling and gardening for students.

We also talked about social media pressure. In Korea, some young people spend or borrow money to show a luxury lifestyle online, while in the U.S. South, people see showing off as rude. Later, we talked about marriage trends, the idea of “trad wives,” and how people today marry later or choose not to have children.

Overall, I learned that each country handles mental health and social pressure differently, but both are starting to value emotional well-being more. The conversation was smooth and meaningful, and I could see how much both of us improved in expressing ideas clearly.

5) Plan

Next meeting: 2025.11.11 (Tue) 9:00 PM KST. Next topic, is ‘What would you do if you had \$100,000?’ scenario.

• Meeting Lenghth: 39:43 minutes

• Meeting Time and date: 10/27 12:00 (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 14:56-16:03

2)Topic

•Whether marriage or having children should be a requirement

•About Halloween

•About favorite holidays

•About Christmas

•ect••

3)Language use information

•New Words/Expressions

: come up, purge, texture, putting up

•Meeting Summary and Plan

: We talked about whether marriage and childbirth, which are social issues, should be a must. She and I both thought it wasn't a must. She and I both want to get married. But she said she didn't want to have children because it costs a lot of money. Instead, she said she wanted to get a dog or a cat. She likes YouTube more than other social media. We talked about our upcoming Halloween. She and I both said we love the Halloween atmosphere, and we shared our experience of cosplaying when we were young. We also talked about her giving thanks. It is said that relatives gather at her house to play games and share delicious food. She said that she is a picky eater, so she doesn't eat turkey.

•Plan

: Even if I didn't prepare many topics, I thought of various topics. Even if I was not good at it, I spoke with my own power as much as possible and had a lot of interesting conversations.

The next meeting will be 11.3 12:00 (KST)

: 33 minutes 00 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 10/29

Topic

: Halloween and young people's concerns, etc

new words

Cruel 잔인한

dress up as ~로 분장하다

get better at ~이 늘다

concerned about ~을 걱정하다

struggle with ~로 어려움을 겪다

Meeting Summary

Aubri said she went to watch a soccer game last week and had hamburgers and chicken.

She also said she’s going to dress up as Sulley for Halloween and have a party at home with her friends.

They’re planning to bake cookies together.

Last year, she enjoyed Halloween in Hongdae, dressed as an angel!

I’ve never tried wearing a Halloween costume before, so after hearing her story, I thought it would be fun to try it someday.

We also talked about gender roles in the U.S., and I felt that they’re quite similar to those in Korea.

Older generations used to think that men should work and women should take care of the house, but that’s changing these days.

I think our conversations are becoming more comfortable than before.

My speaking still needs improvement, but I believe my listening skills have gotten much better.

Plan

November at 9:00 (KST).

41 minutes and

42 seconds

Meeting start time

and date:

October 23rd, 7:48pm

Best conversation

part sample:

From 8:20

Until 8:25

Topic:

In general everyday

life About

Using Language:

English and Korean

Use irregularly

New words:

Holidays or holidays,

horseback riding,

vocal music

Meeting Summary:

Each Other's Daily Life

in general with

respect to We had a

conversation.

Brianne is almost

More than 80% of

the questions

I did, but really

Starting with my

daily life How do you

spend your holidays

Let's see if you're

sending it I do it on my day off Hobby is

whether or not you've

done it We talked

about it.

Planned: Friday, October 31 at 8:00 (Korean time)

Meeting Length

: 34 minutes 45 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 10.27 11AM (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 12:00~13:58, 16:56~19:18

Topic

: Choose a controversial social issue to discuss (e.g., depression among young adults, gender roles, societal expectations for college students, whether marriage or having children should be a requirement, etc.)

New words and expressions I learned

: competitive(경쟁적인), stick out(눈에 띄다), academic grade(학업 성적), drop out(탈퇴하다, 나가다), stand out(두드러지다)

Meeting Summary

: We talked about the social expectations of college students this time. It has been found that the United States has less expectations and pressure on college students than in Korea. In the United States, the need for certification was largely divided according to the major. It was said that there are many clubs and outside activities, so it is helpful in preparing for employment. We talked about Korea's high social expectations and high pressure in college life and job preparation. In addition, we talked about experiencing burnout and found out how to overcome each other. Ashley said that I overcome by exercising or meeting a friend, and Ashley overcomes by sleeping a lot or napping.

Plan

: We're supposed to have a meeting this Sunday at 11 o'clock.

• Meeting Length: 40 minutes 43 seconds

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/26 11am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample:

17:36~19:02, 19:40~21:00

2) Topic: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

slang 속어

Ma'am 사모님

depends very heavily on ~에 따라 정말 다르다

• Meeting Summary:

When asked if there was a distinction between honorifics and informal speech in the United States, Victoria replied that there was a slight difference. Most of them said the way they spoke was quite similar. I was told that they use honorifics such as 'Miss' or 'Mr.' depending on gender when they call people they don't know, such as teachers and doctors. They said that there are slang terms that they use between friends, although they don't use it for teachers and adults. However, some slang is also used by adults, depending on the intimacy of a relationship. There was not much difference between English used by adults and English used by friends. When asked how she uses manners in the U.S., Victoria explains that it varies from region to region. Victoria lives in the south of the U.S., where she said it is common to add 'ma'am' or 'sir' when it comes to manners, such as 'Yes, ma'am', 'No, ma'am', 'Yes, sir', and 'No, sir', and in the north of the U.S., she said they do not use 'ma'am' or 'sir' in general. When you call a friend, they say you call her by her first name, not by her last name. When you call a teacher, you call her by her last name.

• Plan: The next meeting will be on 11/2, and the topic will address contentious social issues.

- Meeting Length : 46:55

- Meeting Time and date : 10/20 9 P.M

- Time frames for your best speaking sample : 14:30 - 19:30

2) Topic : Choose a controversial social issue to discuss : Depression among young adults

3) Language use information

- Meeting Summary :

This time we had a lot to talk about, becuase we are one of the 'young adults', and there are many social issues about this topic. We mutually agreed at the fact that the smartphones and the social media was a great impact for the people nowadays. Which this affect is whether positive or negative.

In the depression of it, we both had a same opinion about the social media. In the U.S, there were several problems that were occuring to the younger generation, such as Korea. One of it was that only showing the positive part of life in Instagram made people think that these are some common points to people.

There were some conversations off the topic, however we were also talking about the younger generations, especially the minors. In the U.S, there were some people called iPad Kids, and iPad Parents who just watch the iPad all the time. I thought that we have some same social problems around the world by these dailogues. It was great for me to learn about some problems that are continuing even now in foreign countries.

- Plan : Next time we decided to talk about "What will you do if you had 100,000$?"

o Meeting Length: 37:31

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/17 21:30

o Time frames for your best speaking

8:00~13:00

o topics.: College student life

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

festival 축제

club 동아리

education 교육

college 대학

o Meeting Summary

In this conversation, we asked questions about college life. Katarina said that her dream is to be a teacher who teaches children, and she went to elementary school as a student teacher and conducted a practice. I also met many children through volunteer work, so I understood how hard it was. And when we talked in Korean, we talked about pop songs and sang a verse by mistake asking if we knew this song, so it became a shameful situation...

o Plan: We decided to have another meeting on November 1st

• Meeting Length: 39:14

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/24 9:30am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 19:22~24:25

  
  

2) Topic: <Choose a controversial social issue to discuss>

the presence or absence of a tipping culture, pressure to go to college

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: chilly(쌀쌀한), it's depends(상황에 따라 다르다), strict(엄격한), salary(급여)

  
  

• What she learned from me: 자연스럽게(naturally). 자유롭게(freely), 똑똑하다(smart), 선택(option), ~에 안 갔어요(I didn't go to~)

  
  

• Meeting Summary

  <the presence or absence of a tipping>

  Do you believe tipping truly motivates better service, or is it just a social obligation now?

  
  

  It depends. So I think it can be a motivation for people who are just getting to work. But I think it's kind of a duty because if someone tells you not to tip, you don't tip. Even if you did a good job, if you tell me not to tip, you don't tip. If you don't say anything, that will happen. But even here, for service workers, you don't get a normal salary, so the money you take home is just a tip. So if someone has a job like that, they need a tip or they won't actually get paid

  
  

  Sometimes if you don't tip someone at all, it seems rude not to tip at all. Because they think it's "Do you hate me?", "You hate me so much that you don't want to pay me?"

  
  

  Tipping systems are complicated. Also, some places have tip jar where you can put your money in them with just a tip jar. So there's less obligation to tip. Isabella loves tip jar.

  
  

  what do you think about the pressure to tip in new places like self check-out kiosks?

  
  

  Isabella doesn't think it's right. They don't actually work, so if they have to, they'll give you a low-level tip

  
  

  <pressure to go to college>

  Did you feel pressured to go to college?

  
  

  In Korea, people are usually pressured to go to college

  My parents didn't pressure me

  If you are a student in Korea, you are constantly under pressure from society

  It is not easy to get out of pressure to go to a 'good university' in an environment where I encounter friends and teachers at school where I live every day

  
  

  In Isabella's case, her father pressured her to go to college

  There was no other choice because of this

  
  

  But for U.S. students, in general, there is less pressure on them to go to college and they are free to make their own decisions, Isabella said

  Most of my friends have gone to college, but some are still working

  In that sense, I think the lack of power for Korean students to pioneer their own lives is a problem in the Korean environment.

  
  

• Plan: 11/7 9am (KST)

-Meeting Time and  Date : 10/26 09:00 pm (KST)

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/t4oyveD2abw?si=VUo_NZ0Li2_bIO3S

-Time frames for my best speaking sample:

10:10-15:10

-Topics: Social issues in U.S and Korea

-Word and expressions:

The wealth gap 빈부격차

requirement 필요조건

look into 조사하다

stuff 일

certain 일정한

-Meeting Summary and Plan :

We talked about social problems in the U.S and Korea, so we asked each other related questions. The problem in the U.S was having children and getting married. In the U.S, having children and marriage are said to be an option. Also, similar to Korea, there is a gap between the rich and the poor, and it is said that it has become more and more difficult to buy a house in the United States due to rising housing prices. And college students in the U.S. say graduating is a social expectation. Most American college students are employed and said that they can graduate if they take certain classes.

And I think about Korea's social problems

and I said there is a gap between the rich and the poor, youth unemployment, an increase in the number of people with depression. I think I still lack English listening. I often asked her to say it again. This meeting was difficult to coordinate the schedule because we were busy with each other, and it was a pity that we were not prepared enough to meet in a hurry.

-Plan: We’ll meet next week but we are checking the schedule.

- Meeting Length : 31 minutes 47 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 10/25

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 2:10 ~ 5:20

2) Topic : The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech), midterm exam, Piercing and earrings

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : paradox

- Meeting Summary : In the U.S., they sometimes use honorifics to older people and say that you don't have to talk to them. They say that you can use honorifics to children, family, friends, and strangers, too, and it's not rude. Kayla learned Korean in class and she said it was really interesting. She remembers the Korean word '습니다, 세요, 어서오세요, 주세요, 들어오세요.' Kayla likes piercings, so she will meet her friends tomorrow and get them pierced again.

- Plan : We will talk about 'job applications and work experience inclusion part-time jobs' at the next meeting.

o Meeting Length: 36:25

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/29 22:30

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 16:42~21:42

2) Topic: Choose a controversial social issue to discuss: about conflict, social media.

3) Language use information

pun: 말장난

yap: 쓸데없는 말

4) Meeting Summary

At first, I went into Zoom and apologized for delaying the appointment. After that, I thought about what topic to talk with TJ, and I asked him to talk about controversial social issues in the answers on Google sheet. And TJ asked about how he thought about voting in Korea, and I answered that I thought it was important. And after this answer, I asked if there are many conflicts in the United States as well. TJ said that there are many conflicts, starting with politics. He said that there are many conflicts, such as gender conflict and social media conflict. And I also said that there are many conflicts in our country these days, and I thought the reason was because of social media. Obviously, there seems to be no one I meet who causes conflict or is completely bad to others, but there are many strange people when I go into SNS, so I think there are more conflicts because of social media, and TJ agreed with this. And after the conversation about conflict, we talked about American and Korean slang. TJ taught me words such as yap and unc Yap seemed to mean useless words, and unc seemed to mean someone who acts old for his age. I also told TJ about Kuan-ku or Young-potty. After talking about slang like that, the time was cut off, so today's meeting ended.

5) Plan

11/5 10:30 pm (KST)

• Meeting Length: 25minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/25 11pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 0:15~7:05

2) Topic: Social controversy topic: depression among young adults.

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: competition 경쟁 / uncertain 불확실한 / student debt 학비 / mental health 정신건강 / weak 약한 / embarrassed 창피한 / counseling program 상담 프로그램

• Meeting Summary: In this meeting, we talked about a controversial social issue, and our topic was depression among young adults. In Korea, most young adults experience depression due to concerns about getting a job or their future, and we pointed out the competitive society as a major problem. In America, however, depression is mostly caused by loneliness.

We also discussed how, in Korea, talking about mental health often receives negative reactions, while in America, it is common to go to counseling for mental health. In addition, we agreed that the biggest cause of depression among young adults today is social media. In Korea, people often upload things to show off on social media, so many young people end up thinking that they are not good enough compared to others.

Another issue we mentioned is that in Korea, people often make comments about others’ appearance, and this is a major cause of depression among young adults. Although many young people in America also suffer from depression related to appearance, it is not as severe as in Korea. I felt that it would be good if Korea could adopt some of the youth depression support programs used in America.

• Plan: Our meeting will talk about the topic of 'What would you do if you had $100,000?' at this time next Saturday.

o Meeting Length: 38:21

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/30 21:00 (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample 10:00 ~ 13:20

2) Topics: Discovering Common Interests Through Conversation

3) Language use information

in a couple of hours 2~3 시간 후에, chilly 쌀쌀한, depends on~에 달려있다,

dressing up 변장, puppy강아지

4) Meeting Summary : We first talked about our midterm exams, and then we moved on to discussing the weather. I learned that in the United States, because the country is so large, there is a big temperature difference between the northern and southern regions. After that, we talked about our favorite seasons, and she said that spring is her favorite. We also talked in Korean about our favorite pets, and I was very surprised that we not only liked the same animals but also owned the same kind of pets. Through this meeting, I realized that we have a lot in common, and I think it helped us become closer.

5) Plan

Next meeting : 11/12 09:00 AM (KST)

o Meeting Length: about 34minutes

o Meeting Time and Date: 10/30 12:00 p.m KST

o Time frames for your best speaking :

1:00-6:00

2) topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions:

specific: 구체적인

a way of: ~하는 방법

cherry blossom: 벚꽃

tourism: 관광업

country music: 컨트리 뮤직(음악의 종류)

o Meeting Summary

: Today, we had the 4th language exchange session after asking each other how we were doing. Today, we had a time to talk about the U.S. and tourist attractions that we want to go to Korea. She wanted to come to Seoul, Jeju Island, and Busan. Seoul has always wanted to come often, and it seemed like she wanted to see the nature of Jeju Island. She said that it would be nice to come when cherry blossoms bloom. I said that I want to go to the La Dodgers stadium and the Golden States Warriors stadium in the U.S. Because I usually like to watch baseball and basketball. I also told them my plan to go and get a sign from Shohei Onati. I also said that I want to go to Disneyland because I like to go to amusement parks.

o Plan: We decided to have the 5th language exchange meeting on November 10th.

o Meeting Length 38:32

o Meeting Time and Date 10/26 21:00

o Link to the meeting 

I used ZOOM

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 00:19-5 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

: blind box = random box

what do you want to do 당신은 어떻게 하고 싶나요?

o Meeting Summary

- First, I talked to her on the topic of 100 million won. I like to imagine, but she said she likes it too.

- I thought 100 million was a lot of money, but it was a little money to change my life, so I said I wanted to enjoy traveling and cultural performances.

- She said she wanted to travel alone and also gave it to her parents. And he also said that she would like to donate to charity.

- She said she only wanted to do what she liked. So I asked her what she likes and she said she likes to make furniture and clothes.

- She was very dexterous. She showed me the clothes she made herself, and I was amazed.

- She and I showed each other what was in each other's blind box and were curious about the characters and explained to each other.

o Plan

We decided to have our Fifth meeting on Sunday 9:00 in korea time and the topic is Choose a controversial social issue to discuss (e.g., depression among young adults, gender roles, societal expectations for college students, whether marriage or having children should be a requirement, etc.)

Meeting Length; About 35 min

Meeting Time and Date; 31/10 23:50

Time frames for your best speaking sample

1;00~6;00

2. Topic: About what we’ve been up to, Halloween traditions, and school festivals.

3. Language use information : philosophy, anime, transitioning

4. Meeting Summary ; We talked about what we had been doing while we hadn’t been on Zoom and asked each other how we’ve been. We also asked about our plans for the weekend. We talked about our exams, and since it’s Halloween season in the U.S., we shared about how Halloween is celebrated in Korea and how it’s like in America.

5. Plan

Next weekend we will have meeting

• Length 44:48

• October 23rd 7:00am Microsoft Teams

• Best Speaking 13.00-15:00

Topics: Korean Culture, American Culture, Halloween, likes and dislikes, past and future plans. 

New words:

• 가을 Fall

• 할로윈 Halloween

• 별 Star 

Meeting Summary: For this meeting I suggested we try 10 minutes in Korean and then 10 minutes in English and then switch, since I feel the previous meetings we switched a lot back and forth. This time I prepared some questions to ask so we could try to avoid looking at our phones. I still struggle to fully understand his responses and words but he then types it or says some of it in English which then helps me figure it out. I also got to learn more about his interests and his thoughts on Korean culture. Since Halloween was coming I asked what he thought about it and if he dressed up at all. I also learned he had a small dog. When we switched to English I asked if he had any questions about America. He then asked me about America vs British culture which was fun to talk about. I also tried using Korean if he didn't understand my answer or response in English. Overall I think this meeting went well and we got to know more about each other.   

Plan: We’re planning to meet November 6th around 7:00am on Microsoft Teams again. I am going to prepare more questions and try to ask more about Korean college life.

o Meeting Length 

57 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

10/30 10:50 ~ 11: 47  (KST)

o Link to the meeting 

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

9:00 ~ 14:00

2) Language use and topic coverage: 

What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

how have you been 잘 지냈어요 ?

“drive/driven” to kill them, I’m hooked on something 무언가에 꽂혔다

phobias 공포증

little side track 이야기에서 벗어나다

express ways, high ways 고속도로

shocked 놀라다, 충격받다

dutiful 충실한

bias 최애

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

Brooklyn is the youngest among five siblings. If she had $100,000, she would open a big dance studio since she loves dancing and wants to teach students. Her parents run a large art mall and store, and her father is an artist. She wants to help grow their business and give her grandmother money to buy a house.

Brooklyn enjoys shopping and wants to buy shirts and rings, dye her hair brown, and travel to Korea or Japan. She loves concerts - she has been to six this year - and her favorite group is RIZE, especially her bias, Sohee, who she thinks is handsome and sings well.

If I had $100,000, I would save half in the bank for stability and emergencies, and use the rest of for long-term investment, housing fund, self-development, travel, and even opening a small takoyaki store. I also want to buy a car even though I don’t have a license yet, and I think donating money would be meaningful.

While talking about the house, Brooklyn prefers living in smaller, quieter cities and wants to live in a house rather than an apartment because apartments are too noisy. She and I both dislike bugs, especially mosquitoes and spiders that appear during the summer to fall season.

Brooklyn knows a lot about Korea, especially the subway system, and understands why many Koreans don’t get driver’s licenses. She got her license at 16 and has been driving for three years. In Georgia, where she lives, there are many accidents because of high-speed highways and a lack of real CCTV coverage.

o Plan: 11/5 wednesday 9am (KST)

Meeting Length: about 35minutes

Meeting time and date

10/30 10:40~11:15(KST)

2) Time frames for your best speaking sample

18:00~23:00

3) Topic: About midterm exam, Final exam, school festival, Halloween

4)Language use information

comprehesive:포괄적인

criterion:기준 , 평가 항목

proficiency: 숙련도, 능숙함

Interpretation:해석, 이해

Assessment:평가

Retention: 기억 유지

derive: 얻다, 도출하다

evaluate:평가하다

5)Meeting Summary

During our Zoom class, we talked about our midterm exams.
She told me that her midterms had ended a week earlier, while mine had just finished that week.
She said the exams were not easy, but she was satisfied with her results.
I told her that I reached my target scores in most subjects, except one course where I got a B since I scored 15.6 out of the 16-point cutoff.
After that, I shared some stories about my university festival, which I had attended three days earlier.
I watched a beautiful fireworks show, listened to several singers performing on stage, and participated in different booths where I won some prizes.
She mentioned that her school held its festival during the first semester, so there wasn’t one this time.
Since it was Halloween Day, she said she was planning to go to a party and have fun with her friends.
I learned that Halloween is a big event in the United States, with many parties and celebrations.
In contrast, I told her that in Korea, not everyone goes out for Halloween, so I just spent the day studying and working out as usual.

6)plan: We decided to meet again next week, but she said she had many assignments and presentations coming up.
So, she told me that she would send me the detailed schedule through Instagram direct message.

• Length: 38:21

• 10/30 7:00 am EST

• Best speaking 15:00-22:00

2) Topic: Pets, Likes and dislikes, School life

3) New Words:

• 애완동물 - pet

• 강아지랑 -puppy/dog

• 염소 - goat

4) Meeting Summary: This week we discussed how school has been going as usual. Then I told him that my roommate got a cat recently and that created a long conversation about our opinions of pets. I learned he has a pet fish which I also have a fish, so it was cool to find a similarity between us. We also discussed what pets we'd like to have in the future. By finding simple similarities such as the kinds of pets we like or have it has been easy to create conversation and learn from each other.

5) plan: We plan to meet 11/12

• Meeting Length: 25 minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 10/25 10am (EST)

• Time Frames for your best speaking sample: 0:15~7:05

2.) Topic: Social issues and mental health within young adults.

3.) Language use information

• New words/expressions:우울증-depression, 전신 건강- mental health, 외로움-loneliness, 약한다고-to be weak, 상담 받다- Get Counseling.

4.) Meeting Summary: In our meeting me and Sehee talked about Social Issues and Depression within young adults. The main reason American young adults get depressed or stressed is because of school, work, or social life. Comparing to Korea, young adults get depressed or stressed because of excess of competition, homework, and exams. Now a days, society in influenced by technology so there are a lot of controversy there between young adults. Both countries suffer with mental illness because of cyber bullying or competitions and education entrances. In Korea, there is a high rate in depression than America because counceling is still a taboo there. In America, is more comfortable and bigger awareness on Mental Health that it offers counceling anywhere. In Korea, the government is now trying their best to give awareness on mental health and offering counceling for people of any age. In Sehee's experience, I ask her if she gets stressed or depressed lately and she responded that she mostly gets stressed with school assignments and exams. In my experience, I responded that I also get stressed or depressed with school assignments and exams. We also express our feelings mostly with friends too because is more comfortable for us. Most of the stress also comes from social media of women being criticized from being pretty and men being handsome.Finally, we both realized that is not okay to keep our stress and our feeling to ourselves and is okay to talk to someone close if we have a social issue or know someone with a mental illness too.

5.) Plan: Our next meeting we will talk about the topic: "What would you do if you have $100,000?" next Saturday Nov 8 at 10am (EST).

1. Meeting Length: 40:43

2. Meeting Time: 10/25/2025, 10pm EST

3. Time Frame: 30:45 - 35:45

Topic: The usage and context of 존댓말 and 반말

New Words:

1. 부르다: to call out

2. 응: yes (in 반말)

3. 줄다: to decrease

4. 사용하다: to use

5. 궁금하다: to be curious

Summary: For our meeting, we talked about when to use honorifics in both Korean and in English. I told her about how it differs from region to region in the US and spoke mainly about Southern honorifics like "ma'am" and "sir". We spoke about using nicknames with friends, and I mentioned to her that it's pretty common to have nicknames for friends in the US. One interesting thing I learned was that nicknames aren't common in Korean language. 이지민 mentioned that she called her friends and siblings by their name when I mentioned nicknames my friends and co-workers use for me. Another interesting thing I learned is that 존댓말 and 반말 are used interchangeably with families depending on the family. 이지민 mentioned she uses 존댓말 more with her parents and 반말 with her younger sister, but there are families that are comfortable with using 반말 with their parents as well. We later tried speaking in 반말 with each other. It was a little difficult at first since we both kept switching back to polite speech, but we eventually switched a bit more to 반말. I know I struggled a bit more with it since it didn't feel natural to me just yet, but I hope to get better with more practice. Unfortunately, I did have to cut our meeting short at the end since I started to become ill, so I'm hoping to be able to practice it more in our next meeting together.

Plan: We plan to meet on 11/09 at the same time and go over social issues in each country. I also plan to continue utilizing the chat function and studying vocab before the meeting to help with recall during conversation.

Meeting length: 37 minutes

Time & date: 10/31 ~ 9:40am

Speaking sample: 23:10~28:10

2) Topic: Halloween, midterms and finals, and what we did last week/weekend

3) Language use information

New words:

detection: 탐지

important: 중요한

rooftop: 지붕

4) Meeting summary

We talked about our midterms and final exams that will be coming up soon. He told me about his scores on his midterms and told me what he did for Halloween. We also discussed how Halloween isn't a very celebrated holiday in Korea, but it's very popular in the U.S.

5) Plan: We agreed that we will try to meet next week. We will discuss the time and date soon.

• Length: 33:34

• Date: October 10th, 7:00 PM EST

• Best speaking samples: 1:32-2:26, 3:34-3:58, 4:36-5:25, 7:28-9:10, 12:40-14:43

Topics: daily life, likes/dislikes,

New Words:

학원: study academy

옛날에: long ago/in the past

인터뷰: interview

관련: related

위해서: for

Summary:

In this meeting, 태경 and I spoke about quite a few different things. We started with how our weeks had been, and a few likes and dislikes. I learned that he had a restful week, and while he doesn't drink coffee much now, he used to drink it a lot in the past. Instead, he prefers tea. I asked him what the most fun thing he'd learned in English was, and while he hadn't had his class that week, he said the most fun thing was doing a fully-english interview. While that was easy for him, he said that free-talking was the hardest (which I agreed). We also spoke briefly about some of our favorite things; he mentioned Pink Pantheress for music and his favorite book was one about music. The latter caused a little confusion as I had asked his favorite color, but it became a funny moment for us. I learned that he learned a lot about music from reading books, his favorite season is summer, and we both enjoy watching Stranger Things.

In this meeting, I think I improved a bit more at remembering to ask follow up questions in Korean and doing it much more frequently. I still stumbled and over-explained myself in english, but I found that I would start asking a question in english and figure out how to switch over to Korean quickly. I've been feeling more comfortable switching between them lately, and I think it's mainly due to practicing randomly with friends outside of class.

Plan:

We planed to meet next on October 25th with prepared questions. Next time, I really want to have more prepared questions and speak strictly in Korean. I may have to use a translator to supplement this, but I really need to complete more sessions speaking only in Korean.

meeting length: 39:48

meeting time/date: 8pm EST 10/26

time frame: 0:25-5:25

topic: what we did last week, and if we could go back to the past

new words:

장르- genre

돌아갈- go back

슬픈- sad

나가- out

조용하다 - quiet

summery: We began talking about how our week was and the things we did. We both watched movies. He watched chainsaw man, so I found out he likes anime. We brought up the weather and how its fall in both the U.S. and Korea, but he said in Korea it feels as cold as winter. Similarly, I agreed and said I recently bought a hoodie because of it, and a book just for fun. Later we turned our discussion to if we could go back in time we would both go to our high school days. We had similar experiences with not going out much and not having many friends. He then told me he started going out after he got into fashion, and I mentioned I try to go out now and experience whatever I can more so with the many friends I made in college. In terms of personality, we're both I's so it checks out. Through this I found out we were more in common than we realized.

plan: We plan to discuss over dm for our next meet and time.

Length: 34:45

Time & Date: 10/26 @ 10:00 PM EST (10/27 @ 11:00 AM KST)

Best Speaking Sample:

0:55~5:55

2) Topic: Societal expectations of college students

3) This meeting we spoke about the societal pressures students face in Korea and America. Both countries face harsh pressures and expectations, but Korea seems to be more intense. I learned that the students have to pass many exams in order to continue their education. Korean High school students must pass the 수능, which is a college entrance exam. I always thought that this exam was the equivalent to America's SAT or ACT exams. However, these students start their preparations for the 수능 very early on. In addition, this exam only happens once a year, unlike the SAT or ACT. It was very interesting learning about how the education system in Korea is so intense. I felt like both cultures had some similarities pertaining to exams that give certifications. However, Korea seemed to be more daunting. All in all, I have always been curious on the education system in Korea and the expectations the students face.

4) New Words:

학문적- Academics

사회적- Society/social

압력- Pressure

요구된- Required

느끼시나요- "Do you feel"

5) Plan: For the next meeting, we plan to meet on Mon/Tues around the same time. Again, I will make sure to prepare more questions in both Korean and English. Overall, I feel like this meeting went pretty well. I was able to understand some of what Junhyeok was telling me, but I definitely need to keep looking a vocab.

Length: 40 Minutes  

Time & Date: 10/30 @ 10:00 PM – 11:40 PM  

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample: 

KOREAN EXAMPLES USED IN MEETING:  

한국어가 먼저면 괜찮나요? 

is Korean first okay?  

모르겠어요 

I DON’T UNDERSTAND  

지난 주말에 뭐 했어요?  

What did you do last weekend?  

책이 읽어 좋아해요?  

Do you like reading books?  

개를 좋아해요?  

Do you like dogs  

고양이들이 좋아해요?  

Do you like Cats?  

뭐 가장 좋아하는 영화를 좋아해요?  

What’s your favorite movie?  

졸업하고 뭐하고 싶어? 

what do you want to do when you graduate? 

ANSWERS:  

당신은요? 

반말- 

느낌 좋은 옷을 사고싶어요 그런데 박에 추워서 sweatshirt을 샀어요!  

I wanted to buy cute clothes but it’s cold outside so I bought a sweatshirt  

집에 갔어요 그리고 제 언니가 하고 어머니가 영화를 봤어요!   

I went home and watched a movie with my mom and sister.  

Twilight을 알아요? 

2) Topic: Weekend activities, Difference in class type in South Korea vs. America College, Academic calendar comparison, favorite movies/books, pets (cats or dogs?), Age comparsion in Elementary School, Middle School, Highschool, and College between both countries, birthday parties, winter break vs. summer break, and a little Banmal practice  

3) Meeting Summary: Unfortunately, we were not able to film our 4^th meeting, but we still found it was really great! We started in Korean this time and I asked what she had done last weekend and told her what I did as well! We discussed many topics, and I had prepared some questions beforehand to ask her about things like if she liked cats or dogs or if she liked reading books. We then talked about our favorite movies, and she said she loved Pride and Prejudice, and I asked her if she knew the film Twilight which I said I loved. Then we talked in English, and she had some questions prepared regarding her curiosity of America and its differences to South Korea in certain components. These components we discussed were Military mandatory attendance, ages when in Elementary School all the way up to college and academic calendars. I was really intrigued to find out that in South Korea, their winter break is like our summer break in the United States where they start a new year of school in March and then their second semester would start in August or September so summer is just in between  their two semesters. In contrast in America, our academic year begins in August, and our second semester begins in January after a winter break between semesters. So, she is about to become a junior after this semester ends in mid-December!  

New Words/Phrases: 

고양이 -Cat 

비례 -Scale (of something, proportion) 

공상과학 -Sci-Fi  

Plan: We will meet again next Tuesday and bring questions we prepared. This upcoming meeting I would really like to challenge myself and go deeper with the richness of my questions and be able to expand more on my answers with my language partner.  I also want to see how she is feeling with this whole experience so far and what our plans are for the future!  

Time and Date: 10/26/25 8 am EST

Meeting Length: 29:29

Talking Frame Time: 1:21 - 1:31, 7:20 - 7:33, 9:05 - 9:20, 10:55-11:17

Topic: We spoke about social issues in the United States and Korea.

New words:

Depression: 우울증

Rich and poor gap: 빈부격차

Social Issue: 사회 문제

Meeting Summary:

We spoke about social issues in both Korea and the United States. I came to find out that some issues are the gap between the rich and the poor, young people being unemployed, and the increase in suicide. I also found out that house prices are getting higher in Korea. And due to that, young people in Korea find it hard to get married since they can't buy a house. Something I found interesting is that she said there is an obsession with age, where at certain ages one should already have a career/job, kids, etc. I did mention that here in the U.S., having children is more of an option and not seen as a requirement. I did notice some of the issues we mentioned in the meeting were also issues we have here in the U.S, which I found interesting!

Plan: We will be meeting soon for our next meeting. I need to practice more on my listening skills and vocabulary. I need to expand my vocabulary more! I will say I was unprepared for this meeting since it was decided very last minute, so I was not too confident in this meeting. Regardless, I am looking forward to learning more about the culture and language!

Meeting length: 30:15 minutes

Time frame for best specking: 14:14-19:26

Topic: 3 places you want to visit in South Korea and 3 places you want to visit in the U.S. college life, everyday life, and Halloween.

Meeting summary: the first 15 minutes was specking in English and the last 15 minutes was in Korean. We talked about were we would like to visit in both Korea and the U.S. I stated that I would like to visit Seoul to go to Lotte World, Namhae, and Jeju Island because from picture and research those places looked like pretty places to visit. Woosung stated that he would like to visit New York and California for baseball and to visit Disneyland. And to a stadium for baseball. I said the place I would visit in the U.S. would be Colorado because that’s were my father side of the family was from. California to compare Disneyland and Disney world. I also told home about tourist places in Tennessee like the grand ole opera and Elvis house and Dollywood. We talked about what we do when we are stressed. I stated I like to listen to music and watch TV. Woosung stated he like to exercise and play baseball. He also talked about pets, because he heard my family’s dog barking from outside. He state he doesn’t have a pet right now but hopes to get a dog in the future.

New Words:

야구 baseball

룻데워드 lotte world

Plans: next meeting is for 11/10/25 at 1pm Korea time.

Meeting time and date: 10/13/25 at 12am.

Time frame: 16:29-21:44

Topics: what would you do if you had $100,000. Daily and college life and the weather.

Meeting Summary: we talked about what we would do if we had $100,000. I stated I would travel to Japan, South Korea, Germany, France. I would like to buy a house and or take my parent on a cruise. Woosung state that he would like to buy a car and take his parents to an expensive restaurant. We talked about going to the beach and mountains. Wooyoung said he liked Haeundae beach. He said that the mountains was ruff and off-roading to get to them. I stated that I like Daytona beach in Florida and that in the U.S. we have raids that go up and in the mountains.

New words:

십만 달러 $100,000

비오는 rainy

Plan: we decided that the fourth meeting would be on October 27

length; 33:11

New words: 

집착하다- to be obsessed with 

경쟁하다- to compete 

공공장소- public place 

기도- prayer

개봉 - release

My Best speaking sample: 17:00-22:00 

Meeting summary:

In this meeting, Minji and I caught up and talked about how we spent our Chuseok. Minji told me that she didn’t do anything special but she ate together with her family. I told Minji that I had a Chuseok event at my school where we made traditional Korean art crafts and danced together. We told each other about what we do during the holidays and Minji told me that her and her parents will usually buy a cake and have a small celebration the day before. Sometimes they go out to eat together for Christmas. I learned that in Korean culture, Christmas isn’t a big family holiday like it is in America. It is more a day for couples to go on dates. In this meeting I felt that both Minji and I improved in our confidence in speaking our target language to each other and in the process I have gotten to know really interesting and fun facts. I think that it was cool that even though we are in two different countries, we both celebrated the Chuseok holiday. In the next meeting, I hope to work on my pronunciation of Hangul because I did struggle with speaking at some points.

Meeting 10/29, 8:15-8:45 am (EST)

Meeting length: 33:00

Best speaking sample: 16:22-21:00

Topic: Controverial issue

New Words:

걱정하다 - to worry, be concerned

일자리 - employment
생활비 - Living expenses

의상 - costume, clothes

충분하다- to be sufficient

Minji and I talked this week about what we did last week, what we will do on Halloween, and also some concerns and issues that people are going through in both of our countries. Minji told me that last week she went to a board game cafe in Hongdae and took pictures with her friends. I told Minji about a Halloween party that I have with my friends where we eat pizza, bake cookies, and watch a movie together. Minji told me that she doesn’t really do much on Halloween but other people usually go to Itaewon and that there is a lot of people. When talking about issues and concerns amongst the younger generation, Minji and I both stated that people have trouble with depression and struggle with the stress of getting a good job. We asked each other about the expectations that parents have in our cultures and I told Minji that parents are typically supportive of any job field. We also talked about gender roles and I found out that the gender roles for Korean society are that men will usually be expected to go to the military while women do not. The expectations of women in both cultures are very similar.

Plan: In our next meeting, we will meet on Friday to talk about What will we do if we had $100,000

• meeting length: 41:55

• meeting time / date : 10/28, 8am est

• time frame: ~20:30-25:43

Topics

• Social issues 

Meeting Summary

• During this meeting me and my partner talked about social issues. During the english segment we talked about mental health and pressure on students. She seemed surprised when I told her that these days Americans are more open with talking about their issues casually and seek professional help. It was interesting to learn how in Korea people are more conservative with talking about stuff like that and Universities offer less resources to their students. She also told me how young adults will often borrow money so they can show off owning expensive things like foreign cars or handbags. During the Korean segment we talked about marriage. I learned that marriage culture and expectations are fairly similar in Korea and the US with people getting married in their 30’s and a lot of people not getting married at all. We then had time to talk about what we did over the past few days and planned our next meeting. 

New words 

• 남편- husband 

• 캐념- concept 

• 주제 - topic 

• 인어공주 - Mermaid 

Plan 

• We plan to meet again on November 11 at 9pm kst. I want to talk about what I would do if I had $100,000. 

Meeting time and date: 11/31 11:00(KST)

Meeting length: 40:00

Best speaking point: we couldn’t record the viedo

Topic

: college life, difference between semester in US and Korea,

Home work

New word/expressions

semester: 학기

in regard to: ~에 관해

sibling: 형제자매

Summary

: We talked about the midterms first. We talked about each other’s assignments or test because they were both in exam period. And we talked about school life in the US and Korea. I found out that ages of entering college in the US were different, and realized why the semester stared in different months.

Plan

: The next meeting will be at 11o’clock on Wednesday the 12th, and i would like to talk about my daily life and year-end plans.

• Length 50:13

• November 6th 6:30am Microsoft Teams

• Best Speaking: 1:50 - 2:50 & 6:00 - 6:50

Topics: Korean and American Culture, what would he do with 10 million won, cooking and food, more likes and dislikes. 

New Words

• 쇠고기 - Beef

• 오미자 - Five berry tea

• 포에니 전쟁 - Punic Wars

• 악기 - instrument

Meeting Summary: In this meeting we decided to do 10 minutes in Korean then English again. I also came up with some new questions but first asked how his day was and what he ate for dinner. I started going down my list and asked if he has been camping before and if it was popular in Korea. He has been and it is popular there. Then I asked about cooking and if he cooks which he does. I also found out we both like beef and would eat it if we could only eat one thing. Throughout this meeting I made some pronunciation errors and it created some funny mis-interpretations but then I said it again and he was able to understand it. I also thought 호원 is very thoughtful since I asked if he has 10 million won, he said he would donate it. He also is learning architecture to build churches in the future. Later on he asked me if I had questions about Korea. I then asked about how the subway was and life. He then asked me a few questions about America. I did find it difficult to think of topics to talk about after I went through my questions, so it led me to looking at my phone a lot. I also still struggle to understand his responses and think of ones back quickly but I think I am slowly improving.

Plan: We plan to meet Thursday November 13th around 6:30am on Microsoft Teams again. 

- Meeting Length: 34:23

- Time and Date: 11/3 12:00pm (KST)

- Time frames for best speaking: 10:43~15:43

2) Topic

- Societal expectations for college students.

3) Language use information

Technically: 제도적으로 certificate: 자격증 studying abroad: 유학 goal-oriented: 목표 지향적인

4) Meeting Summary

• In the United States, college students are expected to decide on their career paths early, often starting from high school. There is pressure from families and teachers to be successful and to know what you want to do after graduation. If a sibling does not finish college or does not get a good job, the family may see them as a failure, which increases pressure on younger siblings to succeed.

  
  

• There is a general timeline: students are expected to enter college at 18, start a career by 22-25, get married around 25, and have children by 30. If someone does not follow this timeline, people may ask questions or judge them.

  
  

• Taking a break from college (a gap year) is sometimes viewed negatively, as some people think students may not return. However, some families and professors are supportive if the break is for self-discovery or mental health.

  
  

• Students are encouraged to gain practical experience through internships in their third and fourth years, as most employers require experience for hiring.

• Regardless of major or year, most students feel anxiety and pressure about their future and success. Even with support from parents, professors, or counselors, the pressure remains.

I thought the U.S. would be a bit more relaxed when it comes to college admission or getting a job, but it wasn’t like that at all. I was surprised to see that, no matter the country, people have really high expectations for college students.

5) Plan

We will meet again on Zoom next week this time.

Meeting Lengths: 38 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 11/10 9am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 28:00~31:00

2) Topic: personal interests, like music, movies/shows, fav foods/places

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: claw machine game, band, halloween, Daylight Saving Time

Meeting Summary

We had a conversation about our personal favorite music, movies, food and places. Before that, I talked about my favorite holiday while talking about Halloween, and she said that she likes Christmas the most. So she said she also bought a Christmas tree this time. Also, this Halloween, she watched the movie Conjuring, and it was the same as me that I can't watch horror movies very well. She also likes steak the most out of all the food and usually eats it on weekends. I usually like to go to fashion brand shops and cafes, but she also likes to go to cafes. Lastly, we recommended songs to each other. I recommended Blanche from Damons Year to her, and she recommended Sweet from Cigarettes After Sex to me. I listened to Cigarettes After Sex's Sweet right away and it was good.

Plan

The schedule for next week's meeting was decided to check each other's schedule and talk on instagram. So, we decided to contact instagram to decide the topic of the next meeting.

Meeting Length: 34:23

Time and date: 11/2 10 pm (EST)

Timeframe: 0:50- 5:50

Topic:

Societal expectations for college students.

Meeting summary:

In Korea there is an expectation to go to a good college, get good employment/ good job, and make a lot of money. The main focus is to get a job after graduation. Employment is seen as a must and if you do not have a job you are seen as a failure. In Korea there is this idea of the best age. It is basically the best age for something. For instance, in Korea, it is believed that the best age to start college is 20 and the best age to start your career is 25. If you pass a certain age people will begin to ask questions. There is a pressure put on people to do things at a certain time and if you fail or begin to fall behind you tend to feel guilty and compare yourself to others. It is difficult to take breaks from college as it is recorded and, in the future, it could affect your employment process if they see you take a break for what they feel is an invalid reason. The pressure from the expectations can be very heavy on students and can drive them to try and change themselves to fit other’s standards. It has a big effect on students, and many tend to feel like failures before their lives even begin.

New Words:

적정이-the best age

휴하- to take a break from college

사회- society

실패자- failure

비교하다- to compare

Plan:

We will meet again sometime this week.

Meeting Lengths: about 50minutes

(I forgot to start recording for the first 15 minutes, so the video is only 32 minutes long. Thank you for your understanding.)

Meeting Time and Date 11/5 10.pm (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample 1;40~6;40

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?, About daylight saving time, Pets, over the weekend? How’s school life?

3) Language use information

New words: daylight saving time, acquired

4) Meeting summary

At first, we agreed to start at 9 o’clock Korean time, but I forgot to consider the daylight saving time shift. So I was waiting from 9 o’clock, wondering why there was no message, and then around 10 o’clock I finally got a message. That’s when I realized the time had been pushed back because of daylight saving time.

I forgot to start recording during the first 15 minutes, so there’s no video of that part, but we talked about daylight saving time. Since it’s not something we have in Korea, it was unfamiliar to me, but the explanation was clear and easy to understand. I had always thought the time moved forward, but I learned for the first time that it actually moves back.

We also talked about what we would do if we had 100,000 dollars. They said they would buy a car. Since the U.S. is such a large country, having a car is almost essential. We talked about cars, including Korean brands like Kia and Hyundai, and I told them my dream car is the Hyundai Ioniq.

When I said I was planning to visit the U.S. next year, they told me that renting a car is a must when traveling there, which I appreciated. They also told me they have a cat and introduced their cat to me. I only saw it through the screen, but it looked really cute.

5) Plan

I plan to get back in touch and arrange a day that works for both of us.

-Meeting Lengths: 34 minutes 9 seconds

-Meeting Time and Date: 11/10 1 p.m(KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample: 6:15-10:00

2) Topic: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

-New words/ Expressions:

redirection: 전향, 방향전향, 전송

informal: 허물없는, 격식 없는, 일상의

teenager: 십대

academic: 학업의, 학교의

formula: 공식

4) Meeting summary: Today, we talked about the usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech). In the United States, it is said that they usually use informal speech. She says that she always uses informal speech except for her grandfather, conference, or speech. There was a big difference from Korea in this respect. I told her that in our country, 존댓말 is mainly used. I said that I always use 존댓말 when I see people who are new to me or to people who are older than me. I said that it was like a difference in culture. Even at the moment we were having language exchange, I said that we were using 존댓말 in Korean. After we finished talking about the topic, we had a time to talk about each other's recent updates.

5) Plan: We decided to have our last language exchange on November 24 at 1 p.m.

o Meeting Length 39:49

o Meeting Time and Date 11/9 21:00

o Link to the meeting 

I used ZOOM

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 00:38-5 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o Choose a controversial social issue to discuss (e.g., depression among young adults, gender roles, societal expectations for college students, whether marriage or having children should be a requirement, etc.)

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

: taboo 금기 사항

depression 우울증

fraudulent job 사기 일자리

o Meeting Summary

- First, I think Social pressure is the biggest cause of depression in young adults.

- Reason 1: Constant comparison on social media makes people feel not good enough.

- Reason 2: In Korea, high expectations for jobs and exams cause extreme stress.

- Reason 3: Many young adults hide their feelings because talking about mental health is still taboo.

-She said it's easy to talk about depression in the United States.

- I ask Do you think social media helps or hurts mental health? > she agree social media hurts mental health

- She told the United States about gun laws. I said that I couldn't have a gun in Korea, so I only heard about it on the news. She thought she needed it to protect herself.

- I think Society expects too much from college students—it’s unrealistic.

- Reason 1: Must get perfect grades, internships, and part-time jobs all at once.

- Reason 2: In Korea, “SKY 대학” or big company job = success. Everything else = failure.

- She was very dexterous. She showed me the clothes she made herself, and I was amazed.

- She said she prioritizes experienced people when she gets a job after graduation. And he said that there are not many times when looking for a job after getting a job.

o Plan

We decided to have our Sixth meeting on Sunday 9:00 in korea time and the topic is Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans.

• Meeting Length: 39:34

  
  

• Meeting Time and Date: 11/7 9am (KST)

  
  

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 29:00-33:30, 35:00-37:00

  
  

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: split it up(나누다), taste(취향), be substituted(대체되다), stability(안정성), rely on(~에 의존하다), no choice(이 방법 밖에 없다=어쩔 수 없이), someday(언젠가)

  
  

• What she learned from me: 자본주의(capitalism), 관대한(generous)

  
  

• Meeting Summary

  Isabella said that if she had $100,000, she would like to split the money, save some, give some to her parents and donate some.

  It's because she's been working for the first time in the last month in 19 years and 8 months, and I want to pay her back for everything she's paid for me, and I also feel it's very urgent to help others now that many people are suffering from the recent U.S. government shutdown.

  
  

  <How important is money to you in life?>

  Among values such as happiness, stability, love, peace and freedom, money is a relatively less important factor for Isabella, she said

  Isabella said her happiness had nothing to do with the existence of money

  
  

  <How does your spending compare to your friends'?>

  Most of Isabella's friends are staying out of their parents' house, but since she now lives at her parents' house, most of her living expenses have been saved, so she seems to spend less than her friends around her

  
  

  <How much does salary influence your career choice?>

  Isabella said the level of pay doesn't matter much because what she wants to do is help others, and the main purpose is the experience she gets from the work

  
  

  <What about the American people's greed for money?>

  Basically, because it's a capitalist society, I think people are a little greedy for money, but there are also a lot of generous people

  
  

• Plan: 11/21 9am (KST)

-Meeting Time and  Date : 11/07 11:30 am (KST)

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/_cGML3iHWao?si=hNJNCCMPTg2QCxGg

-Time frames for my best speaking sample:

13:20-16:50, 22:10-24:00

-Topic: What if we have $100,000?

-Word and expressions:

1million 100만

billion 10억

sentimental 감성적인

invest 투자하다

lottery ticket 복권

-Meeting Summary and Plan :

We talked about how we would use it if we had a lot of money. She said she would save and invest rather than spend it all at once. And replied that she would rather use it for her future and career than buy something.

Also, there are lotto or lottery tickets in the U.S. and there are people who live for fun. Still, most of them work and save money stably.

And she said, 'Are you happy if you have a lot of money? When asked, "If you have a lot of money, you can be happy because your life is more stable, but you can't achieve real happiness only with money."

And we also had casual conversations. She said she has two older sisters and one older brother. Speaking of overseas travel, we also talked about the countries we want to go to. She said she wants to visit Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Switzerland, and she loves to travel.

-Plan: We’ll meet on the same day in two week.

• Meeting Length: 1 hour 1 minutes 31 seconds

• Meeting Time and Date: 11/09 11am (KST)

  
  

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 5:45~6:55, 30:15~30:50, 44:45~46:00

  
  

2) Topic: societal expectations for college students

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

unfortunately 불행하게도

core classes 핵심 수업

regardless 개의치 않는

religious 종교의

associated 연관된

• Meeting Summary:

At the moment, everyone is in the mood to go to college. Even if you haven't decided what you want to do, yes. You go to college, see if you're looking for something that interests you, and then you start following that career path. It is said that American college students have some time to explore and do fun extracurricular activities. This is to get a sense of what you really want to do now. There are some students who have a lot of debt, and others who don't really know what they want to do after graduation. He said that because he decides that after going to college and getting a degree in a certain field, it is not something he wants to do for the rest of his life, eventually he gets caught up in student loan debt because of a degree he doesn't even use. Victoria wanted to teach music but had to quit school because she had to choose between working full time and attending school. And she said she had to quit because she had to pay for living. When Victoria tried to major in music education, there was something called a core subject in the United States, so there were set classes that everyone had to take regardless of what major they majored in. It seems that this was due to regulations from the Ministry of Education.

• Plan: We will deal with the last subject on 11/16

Language Exchange Log – Meeting 4 (2025-11-12, Zoom)

1) Meeting details

Meeting Length: 38 minutes 15 seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 2025.11.12 (Tue) 9:00 PM KST

Link to the meeting: Zoom

Best 5-minute speaking samples: 6:48-9:48, 14:48-16:48 (5 mins total)

2) Language use and topic coverage

English: about 17 minutes

Korean: about 20 minutes

Main topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

- New Words / Expressions

daylight saving – 여름철에는 해가 길기 때문에 시계를 한 시간 앞으로 돌리는 제도 (서머타임)

trend-hopper – 유행을 빨리 따라가고 자주 바꾸는 사람

grew out of – 성장해서 안 맞게 되다

typically – 일반적으로, 보통

oversharer – 사적인 이야기를 너무 많이 말하는 사람

- Meeting Summary:

We began by talking about daylight saving in the U.S., which changes the time difference between Korea and America. My partner explained how it started for farmers, and I was surprised because Korea doesn’t have such a system. Then, we moved on to the main topic about what we would do with $100,000. My partner said she would pay for school and save for graduate school, and she explained that money means “freedom” for her since it helps her live independently. I shared that I would use around $7,000 for myself to buy clothes or travel, donate some, give a large portion to my family, and save the rest for my future home and family. We also compared how people in each country would react to suddenly getting money — she said she would probably tell her friends and even post it online, while I said Koreans usually keep it private.

After that, we talked about our spending habits. She usually spends money on food and sometimes on shoes, especially cowboy boots, while I often buy clothes and makeup, but these days I spend it more on food, snacks and drinks like the white Monster energy drink. In Korean, we continued the conversation with lighter topics such as Halloween, traveling to Thailand, and movies or anime we like. The conversation flowed naturally, and both of us used paraphrasing and examples to explain our ideas clearly.

- Plan

Next meeting: 2025.11.23 (Sun) 9:00 PM KST. Next topic, is ‘Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you'd like to visit in the USA. Providing specific details about plans.’

Meeting Length

: 32 minutes 54 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 11.4 11AM (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 09:01~10:42, 11:09~15:35, 21:57~23:00

Topic

: What would you do if you had $100,000?

New words and expressions I learned

: probably(아마), open up(마음을 터놓다), over there(저쪽에서,유럽에서는), specific(구체적인), kind of(약간, 어느 정도)

Meeting Summary

: We both said we would go on a trip for $100,000. I said I wanted to go to Switzerland or the United States, and Ashley said I wanted to go to Europe. Among Europe, she said she would go to Germany. Among the United States, she wants to go to San Francisco and New York, but Ashley said that she went to San Francisco this summer. We talked about not spending all my money on travel, and I also want to invest, such as buying stocks or buying bitcoin, and Ashley said that she would donate. She said she would look into charities and be careful about donating.

Plan

: We're supposed to have a meeting this Sunday at 11 o'clock.

o Meeting Length: 35:54

o Meeting Time and Date: 11/7 9pm

o Time frames for your best speaking sample : 3:30 ~ 8:00

2) Language use and topic coverage:

o Choose a controversial social issue to discuss (Whether you're for or against human euthanasia)

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

death penalty: 사형

Euthanasia: 안락사

Depression: 우울증

Coma: 혼수상태

terminal patient: 시한부 환자

medical: 의료

4) Meeting Summary:

Today, we talked about social issues. I asked a question about what you think of human euthanasia, which I was curious about. Currently, many countries do not allow it even if they want it.
I wondered if this was reasonable.
She said human euthanasia shouldn't be allowed, so I put certain preconditions on it.
It asked what would happen if the person in question was time-limited and constantly suffering.
She said that if the person is in a coma and cannot occur forever due to the doctor's opinion, it would be okay to carry it out with the consent of the family. And even if he is not in a coma, if he or she is a time-limited patient who is not depressed or mentally ill, he or she would be allowed to shorten his or her life by his or her choice.
I was surprised to have a conversation and have the same opinion as me.

And she asked me questions about LGBTQ people. I asked if there are many LGBTQ people in Korea and if they have such friends around them, but I only spoke about my opinion because there are no LGBTQ people around and LGBTQ people are very rare in Korea.

5) Plan: We are scheduled to have our last meeting on November 14th.

1. Meeting Length: 01:01:31

2. Meeting Time: 11/08/2025, 9pm EST

3. Time Frame:

Topic: Controversial Social Issues - societal expectations for college students and whether marriage or having children should be a requirement

New Words:

1. 약혼하다 - engage/promise to marry someone

2. 갖다 - own or possess

3. 대출 - a loan

4. 완벽하다 - perfect

5. 후회하다 - to regret

Summary: 이지민 and I talked about two different social issues starting with talking about college expectations. We both mentioned how college is expensive in both countries and that it's common to either apply for scholarships or take out loans to go to school. However, one difference we mentioned was that it's common for students to switch majors whereas isn't not typically something students do in South Korea. It seems to be more difficult for them to be able to explore what they want to do and switch majors if they decide what they're currently doing isn't what they want. 이지민 mentioned that she wished she could switch her major to art instead, but the school she's going to doesn't offer it anyways. I mentioned how I originally started in Music Education but had to drop out due to my job at the time, but I was able to switch majors when I came back to school later on. We also talked about general classes everyone has to take regardless of religion. I told her that for the US, we have core classes like math, science, and English that everyone has to take with their major. Since 이지민 attends a Christian college, she has to take religious classes with her major. We then talked about the tests high school students have to take in order to attend college. In South Korea, their college exams determine which schools they can go to, and the hope is to score well enough to attend the best college. I mentioned that it sounded similar to the SAT/ACT tests we take here. We also talked about students taking breaks for internships and moving out of the house for school. I mentioned how internships in the US can be included in our curriculum so there is no need to take a break, and it's pretty common for students to move out for college, even if the school is within their hometown. 이지민 mentioned that it's common for them to take a break for internships, but it's not common for students to move out to go to college if they attend a school in their hometown. We later switched to talking about the expectation of getting married and having kids. 이지민 mentioned her family allows her to make the decision on if she wants to get married or not, which I mentioned was the same for my family. We lastly talked about kids, and we both agreed that neither of us wanted to have kids and neither of our families expected us to have kids. Overall, I think this meeting was one of our better meetings. We were doing a better job of understanding each other and the chat function helped us keep the conversation moving as well. There is still some improvement on my part needed, and that will come with more studying more.

Plan: We will discuss our next meeting date and time through Instagram to talk about our final topic, places we want to visit.

- Meeting Length : 51:00

- Meeting Time and date : 11/12 10 P.M

- Time frames for your best speaking sample :

2) Topic : What would you do if you have $100,000?

3) Language use information

• New words and expressions :

  ghosting - 연락 잠수 타다 (casual word)

- Meeting Summary :

We tried not to save money so that this topic would be enjoyable. She said that she would use some money to buy her own instruments, building her own library and filling with some rare books that would not be easy to see. Also, she would invest some money to great companies, and spend for traveling various countries.

If I had $100,000, I think I would buy a bicycle, some clothings, and use it for investing and traveling. We had a same opinion about investing because we wanted to make more money for us to use.

- Plan : Next time we will meet at 11/19 at 10 P.M because of the time change, and have a final meeting.

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 29 minutes 27seconds

Meeting time and date : 10/28 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe : 10:34~ 15:02(4minutes 28 seconds)

2)topic: Choose a controversial social issue to discuss (e.g., depression among young adults, gender roles, societal expectations for college students, whether marriage or having children should be a requirement, etc.)

3)Language use information

New words/expressions:

cloudy – 흐린, 그림이 잔뜩 낀

temperature – 온도, 기온

department – 부서, 학과

bias – 최애, 편향

expectation – 예상, 기대

controversial – 논란이 많은

pressure – 압박, 압력

represent – 대표하다,

invest – 투자하다

tutor – 가정교사, 개인 지도 교사

struggling – 발버둥이 치는, 분투하는

a life hack – 꿀팁

a charter fraud – 전세사기

insufficient, lack – 부족하다

Meeting summary:

The weather has gotten chilly in the U.S. too. Today was our school festival, so I told Ayana about it. We also talked about the topic “Choose a controversial social issue to discuss.” It seemed like the U.S. has social issues similar to those in our country. She said that, as a woman, there’s a lot of pressure to get married and have children, to meet her family’s expectations, and to think carefully about where she goes and what kind of job she has. She also mentioned that people in the U.S. want to have high level or prestigious jobs. Another thing we talked about was how the concept of private academies is different between our countries. In the U.S., “academies” are often seen as places for kids who misbehave, while in our country, they’re for students who want to study more or improve their grades, which we both found interesting. Since it was our last video call, we told each other we’d done a good job and said we could keep in touch comfortably.

Plan:

I’m going to look for ways to video chat or text with other friends from different countries. Through this activity, I was able to learn more about English speaking cultures and learn many new expressions I didn’t known before. I also realized that in order to communicate better with people from different countries, I need to improve my English skills. From now on, I’ll focus on studying vocabulary and practicing conversation, and I’ll also watch a lot of pop songs and English dramas to help me learn more naturally.

: 39 minutes 27 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 11.10

Topic

: What would you do if you had 100,000?

new words

waste money on ~에 돈을 낭비하다

depends on the person 사람마다 달라

money will last me 돈으로 ~기간 버티다

live simply 검소하게 살다

sava some and travel abroad 저축도 하고 여행도 가다

gambling 도박

Meeting Summary

I talked with Aubri about what we would do if we had $100,000.

Aubri said she would share the money with her family. When I asked how long she could live on that money without working, she said maybe about three years.

When I asked if she would give some to her family or friends, she said she would give it to her family but not to her friends. She explained that in the U.S., giving money to friends can sometimes be seen as a bit disrespectful. I found that interesting because I thought I would at least treat my friends to an expensive meal.

When I asked what she would buy for herself, she said she wanted to go to a BTS concert. She mentioned that the tickets are quite expensive, but since they’re going on tour next year, she really wants to see them. I thought that was really cute.

Plan

November 16 at 9:00 (KST).

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 32 minutes 34seconds (There was a problem recording the video, so it only took about 16 minutes.)

Meeting time and date :10/14 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe : 1:30~ 5:25(3minutes 55 seconds)

2)topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3)Language use information

New words/expressions:

Scenery - 풍경

Slang - 속어 or 은어

standard language - 표준어

ample, plentiful - 두둑하다

keep one‘s hair long - 머리 길이를 유지하다

hair Curly - 곱슬머리

puffy – 뭉게뭉게 피어 오른

statue – 조각상

teleport - 순간이동

slang – 속어, 은어

Meeting summary:

She has curly hair and keeps it short. I once heard that Americans often wear wigs, so I was surprised when I actually saw Ayana wearing one. If she had $100,000, she said she would want to travel to other countries first especially Germany, Korea, Italy, and Japan. She enjoys learning different languages and loves shopping. She also likes seeing buildings and sculptures. When we talked about what kind of superpower we’d want if there were no limits, I said I’d like to have a lot of money, and she said she’d want the ability to teleport. We also talked about Korean dialects and compared them to American ones. She said that when she talks with her friends, she uses the Atlanta accent.

Plan : Before our final video call, I want to study vocabulary hard and practice various expressions so that I can show Ayana how much I’ve improved.

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 31 minutes 28seconds

Meeting time and date : 10/10 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe :7:00-16:15(9minutes 15 seconds)

2)topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans

3)Language use information

New words/expressions:

중간고사 - midterm

학기 - semester

장점 - advantages

단점 - disadvantages

갈비 - rib

호박전 - pumpkin pancake

꼬치전 - sanjeok skwewers

쥐 났다 - cramp

Meeting summary:

ayana recommends Disneyland, six Flags, Los Angeles and New York as tourist attractions. She likes the sea more than the mountains, so I recommended the sea of Busan to her when she come to Korea. There is a holiday in the U.S. It is Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 27. Americans eat delicious food such as chitjos, bread, and pies.

Plan: I realized that I should buy an English vocabulary book and study more words. I also want to learn more about American culture, so I’m going to look it up and do some research.

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 31 minutes

Meeting time and date : 9/30 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe : 11:25-16:37 (about 5 minutes )

2)topic: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3)Language use information

New words/expressions:

Hangover - 숙취

Informal - 반말

Formal - 존댓말

Favor - 부탁

Difficult - 힘들다/ 어렵다

beg - 빌다

disrespectful - 무례한/실례되는

siblings - 형제

Meeting summary:

In the U.S., honorifics are not used separately. Instead, they are divided into formal words and informal words. When you ask a question to a teacher, use Mr. or Mrs. before you. Use the word plz to make polite sentences. The word "begging you" is used to really need something.

Plan: I had learned about English speaking cultures in a liberal arts class before, so I already knew a few things, but I couldn’t remember them very well. However, talking about them again helped me remember more clearly, which I really liked. Even though some of the manners and customs are different from ours, I hope I can remember and apply them if I ever go abroad in the future.

1)Meeitng details

Meeting length - 31 minutes 43 seconds

Meeting time and date : 9/23 8:30 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking samlpe : 11:00~ 15:50 (about 5 minutes )

2)topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs

3)Language use information

New words/expressions:

difficult - 곤란한/어려운

pimple - 여드름/뾰루지

packet - 한 다발/한 묶음

tickle - 간질이다/ 따끔거리다

represent - 대표하다/ 나타내다

Meeting summary:

She had a hard time because she had many exams. She likes spicy food and especially spicy snacks. She likes scott takis. she recommended it to me. she was wearing necklaces. The necklace varies from season to season and some are made of stone. Her school mascot is an owl and she said she had never seen it before. While talking about my part-time job, I talked about rude people. Her parents run a clothing store and when ayana was there, rude people came and she was scared.

plan: This is my second video call, and I realized that I still have many weaknesses when it comes to English conversation. I think I should study harder to remember more English, so I’m going to watch lots of English dramas and study vocabulary again.

• Meeting Length: 22minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 11/8 11pm (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 4:50 ~ 9:42

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: quiet area 조용한 지역 / donate to ~ 에게 기부하다 / school fund학교 자금 / debt 부채

• Meeting Summary: We talked about what we would do if we had $100,000 this time. Jenny said that if she had $100,000, she would want to open an academy because she thinks it would be really enjoyable to teach students while learning at the same time. She said she wanted to create an academy that teaches English and Spanish together, and she added that it would be nice if students could experience other cultures while learning the languages.

Jenny also said that if she had $100,000, she would want to buy a house in Korea because she wants to live there with her future family. She said she wanted to live in a quiet neighborhood in Seoul, and if she had some money left, she wanted to travel to Europe or Australia. She added that when she travels, she wants to meet new people, learn new things, and spend an enjoyable time.

In addition, Jenny said she wanted to create her own cosmetic brand because she wants to help people look naturally beautiful. She also said that even if she gets money, she doesn’t want to spend it all but wants to save most of it for her kids’ school funds, or donate to sick people or hungry children. Jenny said that she wants to help others and live happily. I thought Jenny has a very warm heart.

Meanwhile, I said that if I had $100,000, I would want to give half of it to my parents. I said I would spend the other half on food because I love eating the most. I also said that I want to spend money on buying pretty clothes or beauty-related things because I’ve recently become more interested in taking care of myself. And just like Jenny, I also want to donate to help sick people or children who need help. But I also said that I think $100,000 is actually a bit not enough.

As we talked, we agreed that even if we have a lot of money, happiness ultimately comes from the heart, not from money.

• Plan: We’re going to talk about 'Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA.' at this time next Saturday.

37:55

Meeting Date

2025.11.11

Meeting Frame for your best speaking sample

: 13:00 - 16:58, 20:36 - 22:20

Topic

a college entrance examination in Korea and USA

New Word

test taker (수험생), elective subject (선택과목)

perfect score (만점)

Meeting Summary

On the third week of November, there is a special day in Korea. The day of the meeting was Pepero Day, so I briefly talked about it. It is a day for lovers and friends to express their gratitude and fondness by exchanging them. And this Thursday, there is the college entrance exam called the College Scholastic Ability Test. He told me about Korea's enthusiasm for education in terms of test subjects and superstitions. He also told me about the SAT, which is a college entrance exam in the United States. It is a very difficult test and I take many subjects. An American friend told me that I have a perfect score of 1500 or 1,600 points. And the U.S., like Korea, is studying hard since I was young to go to a good university.

Plan

2025.11.18 9 P.M (KSU)

- Meeting Length : 30 minutes 32 seconds

- Meeting Time and date : 11/13

- Time frams for your best speaking sample : 10:00 ~ 15:00

2) Topic : Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs, Piercing, day of the week

3) Language use information

- New Words/Expressions : 미국에서는 아르바이트 돈을 2주에 한 번씩 받는다는 것

- Meeting Summary : In the U.S, they say they give between $7 and $15 per hour. Kayla worked a part-time drive-thru job when she was 15. We talked about part-time jobs that we wanted to do, but each other said they didn't want to work. I was surprised to learn that part-time jobs are paid every two weeks in the U.S. Kayla was surprised to learn that she was paid every month in Korea. It was amazing because we didn't know each other for the first time. She said she got three more piercings between the last meeting and the next two weeks. Kayla had a navel piercing and said it looked sick, and it was okay because it was cute.

- Plan : We decided to have our next meeting next Thursday at 10:30 p.m. The topic is Choose a controller social issue to discuss.

Meeting Length: 36 minutes 10seconds

Meeting Time and Date: 11/12 10:10 am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample:00:10~05:10

2) Topic:whether marriage or having children should be a requirement, about my favorite anime

3) Language use information:

envy 선망, 부러움

envious부러워하는, 선망하는

4) Meeting summary:We talked about when we want to get married and whether we want to have children during this meeting. She said she wants to have four kids, and I thought that was an amazing mindset. She also mentioned that she wants to get married in her thirties. Through this conversation, we were able to understand each other’s values regarding marriage.

We also shared our favorite anime, and we were both surprised to find out that we like similar ones. Thanks to that, we were able to have a really fun and engaging conversation.

5) Plan: We will meet on the same day in a week.

• Meeting Lenghth: 39:48 minutes

• Meeting Time and date: 11/11 23:00 (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 21:26-23:46

2)Topic

•About Slang

•About Pepero Day

•About favorite places on the school campus

•About relieving stress

•ect••

3)Language use information

•New Words/Expressions

: come up with, hang out, pass the way, touch grass

•Meeting Summary and Plan

: I told you to listen to Kelly and each other's slurry."Touch grass" is meaningful that it is too much when you do so many online.And I talked about Day.Kelly said that Professor Ken said, and it was said that it was found to remove data through social ideas.Kerry says the highest building in school campus.In addition, Kelly said that he's going to shopping with my friends when I relieve stress or play with my friends.I talked about reading books because I don't like reading books.It was beneficial because you can know the information.

•Plan

: Her words were more catchy than last time. Also, now the natural answers are much better than before. Now I'm less nervous, and if there's a sentence I don't understand, I'm proud to ask for your understanding and ask you to speak more slowly one more time.

The next meeting will be 11.18 23:00 (KST)

-Meeting Length: 30 minutes

-Meeting dates: 11/13

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 10:00~17:00

2)Topic: How many classes do you take in college to ask questions and discussions

3) Langeage use information

debate:토론하다

discussion: 논의

depress: 우울한

accident: 사고

freight train: 화물 차량(기차)

expectation:기대

4) Meeting summary: We talking about in most Korean universities, classes are mainly lecture-based, where professors deliver knowledge and students listen. Because of this, asking questions or engaging in discussions is not a common part of classroom culture. On the other hand, in American universities, students are encouraged to express their thoughts, ask questions, and participate in open discussions.

This difference reveals an important educational insight. In discussion-based classes, students do more than simply acquire knowledge—they learn how to think. Instead of passively accepting information, they are encouraged to question why something is true, explore multiple perspectives, and develop their own opinions. Through this process, students naturally enhance their critical thinking and communication skills.

Such an approach transforms students from passive receivers of knowledge into active creators of ideas. It also helps them build teamwork and respect for diverse viewpoints through interactive communication. These abilities are essential in today’s global business environment, where logical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration are highly valued.

Therefore, a discussion-oriented learning style is not merely a different teaching method—it represents a shift toward deeper understanding, creative thinking, and effective communication, all of which are core components of successful business communication.

Plan: There is no perfect time next week, so we plan to check and adjust each other's timetables again later

Length: 32:54

Time & Date: 11/3/2025 @ 9:00 PM EST (11/4 @ 11:00 AM KST)

Best Speaking Sample:

0:57~5:57

2)Topic: What would you do with $100,000

3) This meeting we spoke about what we would do if we had $100,000. I mentioned that I would donate to charity or research. Also, both of us mentioned how we would use it to go traveling. Junhyeok also mentioned how he would invest some of it. When asked about who he would tell first, Junhyeok said that he would tell his family first. Additionally, when asked if he would give any of the money to family, he said he would. I also had asked if he would stay in school, and he mentioned that he would. This topic did not allow for much conversation, so we shifted to other places we would want to go to. I also had mentioned something about legos. Junhyeok mentioned that he liked legos, so he wants to visit Denmark. In addition, he mentioned how he would want to go to Switzerland. All in all, this meeting went pretty smoothly. It was fun talking about places we would like to travel to.

4) New Words:

기부하시겠습니까? - would you like to donate?

꿈의 구매는- dream purchase

저축하시겠습니까?- do you want to save?

이사하시겠습니까?- do you want to move?

계속 다닐 건가요? - will you keep going?

5) Plan:

We have already had our last language exchange meeting.

- Duration: 52 minutes 58 seconds

- Date and Time: November 13, 8:30

- Best discussion period: 45–50 minutes

2) Topic: Not decided

3) Language focus: Culture, Health, Hobbies

● Meeting Summary:

She was very interested in Korean culture. She often visits Korea and asked when the best time to travel in Korea is, and which destinations are worth visiting.

The topic then shifted to health. She asked me how much interest I have in health and whether I’ve ever taken care of someone before. I told her that I hold seven health-related certifications, that I’ve managed to treat over 90% of my grandmother’s 14 medical conditions, and that her health has been well maintained ever since. I also mentioned that I’ve helped many others abroad as well. Surprised, she asked, “Did you study health for your grandmother?” and I said yes. She then asked how I came to travel abroad, and I explained that I wanted to help others too. Even though I don’t speak English well, I can speak freely in Italian, German, and French thanks to my background in vocal music, so I mainly visit those three countries to volunteer and help people in need. I’ve been doing this for about a year and a half.

Later, the topic moved to hobbies. Brianne said she doesn’t have any particular hobbies, while I shared that I have around fifty active ones.

That marked the end of our sixth and final meeting.

- Plan: None in particular

- 회의 시간: 52분 58초

- 회의 시간 및 날짜: 11/13, 8시 30분

- 최고의 발언 시간대: 45분~ 50분

2) 주제: 정해지지 않음

3) 언어 사용 정보: 문화, 건강, 취미

● 회의 요약:

그녀는 한국의 문화에 굉장히 관심이 많았습니다. 한국에 여행을 종종 오곤 하는데, 한국에서 여행하기 가장 좋은 달은 언제이며, 또 여행은 어디로 가면 좋을 지 물어봤습니다.

그리고 주제가 건강 쪽으로 바뀌어 대화를 나눴는데, 그녀는 제게 건강에 얼마나 관심이 있으며, 또 누군가를 간호해준 경험이 있는 지 물어봐서 건강 관련 전문 자격이 7개가 있을 정도로 관심이 많고, 친할머니의 14 가지 병들도 모두 90% 이상 치료 해드리고 지금은 유지 중이며, 할머니 뿐만 아니라 해외에 나가서도 치료를 많이 해 드린다고 했습니다. 그녀가 놀라며, "그럼 혹시 할머니를 위해서 건강에 공부한 건가요?" 물어봐서 그렇다고 했습니다. 이에 또 그녀가 해외에는 어떻게 가게 되었는지 물어봤습니다. 그래서 다른 분들께도 도움을 드리고 싶은 마음에 영어는 안 되지만, 성악을 통해 이태리어, 독일어, 프랑스어 프리토킹이 되어서 위 세 국가의 사람들과는 대화가 되기에 주로 세 국가로 가서 열심히 각종 봉사에 참여하며, 아프고 힘든 사람들을 도와드리게 되었고, 1년 반 동안 해오고 있다는 걸 말했습니다.

그리고 주제가 또 바뀌어 취미에 대해 이야기를 나눴는데, 브리앤은 특별한 취미가 없다고 말했고, 저는 50여 가지의 활동적인 취미가 있다고 했습니다.

이렇게 6번째의 마지막 회의가 끝났습니다.

- 계획: 딱히 없음

• Meeting Length: 22min.

• Meeting Time and Date: 11.8 at 10am (EST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 4:50 ~ 9:42

2) Topic: What would you do if you had $100,000?

3) Language use information:

• New words/expressions: 화장품-cosmetics, 자연스럽게- Naturally, 보이도록- easy to see, 도와주고- to help, 대부분-most, 기부하다- donate.

4) Meeting Summary: We talked about variety of things we would do with $100,000. We both agreed that it was not a lot of money but we would still enjoy it. Some of the things Sehee wants to do with the money is give most of the money to her parents, spend it with food, spend it with clothes, and donate some of the money to the sick kids and people. I believed that Sehee has great ideas and she has a warm heart. She told me that the reason she would give most of the money to her parents is because she feels that they would take care of it better than her. I thought it was cute and funny her response. We enjoyed talking about our plans too. My plans on using the $100,000 are opening an academy, create a beauty cosmetic, buy a house in Korea,pay my debt, and donate money to the hungry kids. We both had the same idea of donating money which is very sweet and kind. I love that Sehee mentioned that she started taking care of herself and was going to buy herself pretty clothes and beauty stuff. I believed that's very important and nice. Lastly, we both believe that even though we have so much money, money doesn't give us true happiness but our warm heart and empathy does.

5) Plan: We will talk about the topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places to visit in the USA. Next Saturday at 10am (EST).

Meeting time: 11/9/25 at 11pm Eastern and 11/10/25 at 1pm KST

Meeting length: 34 minutes and 9 seconds

Time frame: 16:32-21:21 and 23:32-24:57

Topic: the usage and context of polite or deferential speech and informal speech.

Meeting summary: We talked about 존댓말 and 반말. I talked about how in the United States we don’t have like an honorific speech like they have in Korean. The only informal speech we have is slang words like over yonder for over there. Can’t, fixin too for fixing to. We spoke in 존댓말 during the language exchange. 반말 confuses me because in Korean class we only learn 존댓말. I have not learned how to turn my Korean sentences into a 반말 sentence, so I didn’t try to speck 반말. When we were done taking about the topic we made plans for our final meeting.

New words:

존댓말 polite or deferential speech

반말 informal speech

학업의, 학교의 academic

Plan: we plan our final meeting for 11/24 at 1pm KST.

• 36 Minutes

• 11/12 8 p.m. EST

• 8:30-13:00

2) Topic: opinions on marriage, recent life, common interest

3) Meeting Summary: In the English portion we talked about our thoughts on marriage and having children in the future. It was interesting to hear our different opinions and how culture can affect our viewpoints on such things. Then, in Korean I told him that the past week I have been very busy with school, so I was unable to prepare questions, so we began talking about what I've been up to. I told him I went to Koreatown (Duluth) with a couple of my friends, and we talked about that for a bit. Then he mentioned how he saw my Instagram story about my Halloween costume which was from an anime he had watched. We then talked about our favorite animes and it was a very fun conversation hearing our similarities.

3) New words:

• 진격의 거인 - Attack on Titan (anime show)

• 매운 - spicy

• 이 혼한 - Divorced

• 목사님 - pastor

• 부러하다 - envious

4) We plan to meet in one week

Length: 43:38

Time & Date: 11/13 @ 8:00 PM

Time Frames for Best Speaking Sample:

27:24-28:24, 30:12-31:48, 34:06-43:38

2) Topic: Matcha, Tiktok vs. Snapchat vs. Instagram, What we learned that week, Weekend activities, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Famous Places in Georgia, Generation names

3) Meeting Summary: I had a lot of fun during our 5th meeting and I feel like we connected on a lot of different topics. We discussed Thanksgiving traditions and Halloween compared to South Korea in the English section. I learned a bunch of new things like my partner mentioned that Koreans really do not eat Turkey so she wondered what it would taste like. She also informed me of the tragic event that happened during Halloween season in Itaewon in 2022 that caused 159 people to die due to a crowd surge and how ever since then, Itaewon does not celebrate Halloween in the same way and does not hold festivities. I had not known about this and brought to our discussion the issue of overcrowding in cities in South Korea and sometimes Atlanta. She also asked me if there were any famous places in Georgia and I said the Georgia Aquarium and she said she knew about it because of it's fame in being so big. During our Korean section, we discussed our past weekend activities, younger generations and social media, and what we had learned this past week in our Language classes. I told her about the two grammar points we just learned this past week involving because and counting units for bigger numbers. I got to say an example sentence for both grammar points for her and she also told me about wanting to have an english name after I asked if they all made one in class and I responded saying I would like to have a Korean name as well for class!!

New Words/Phrases:

미성숙한-Immature/Childish

춤을 추다- To dance 

세대- Generation 

문법- Grammar 

Plan: We will meet again next Tuesday for our 6th and final meeting which is bittersweet! I would really like to prepare something to say at the end of our meeting to thank my partner for helping me practice and meeting with me this semester! I also think it would be cool to discuss some reflection on our semester and how we think we are doing in our language journey. I also want to make sure we have discussed all of the required points!

Time and Date: 11/16/25 9:30 PM EST

Meeting Length: 34:03

Talking Frame Time: 1:37-3:30 and 4:51-5:32

Topic: What would you do with $100,000

New words:

투자하다 - Invest

동기부여 - Motivation

브이로그 - Vlog

Meeting Summary:

We discussed what we would do with $100,000. She mentioned she would use it for the cost of living as well as food. She would also travel, save, or invest it. She also mentioned she would split the money with herself and her parents. And if asked who she would tell first, she would tell her parents. We also talked about traveling abroad, and she mentioned she would like to go to the United States, so like, Los Angeles or New York. She'd also like to go to Canada and Europe. She also mentioned Japan's scenery is beautiful and like art! But, her #1 place would be Sydney, Australia! We also talked about siblings; she said she's an only child, and when asked if she liked that, she said it can get lonely.

Plan: We plan to meet this upcoming week!

-Length: 43:00

-date and time: 11/14, 11:00(KST)

-best talking point: 4:00-8:00

Topic

: daily life stories, each other’s country’s Halloween culture, and famous things in Georgia, mid-term exams, social media culture

New words or expressions:

immature/미성숙한

Mature/성숙한

Childish/유치한

Summary

:We talked about each other's daily lives. Also, last week was Halloween season, so we talked about each country's Halloween culture. American college students were able to find out what Halloween they were having and found out that what I knew was the culture of children! Also, I found out that Georgia is famous for its aquariums! Lastly, it was an interesting time to learn that the culture of social media in the U.S. and Korea is different, and that the U.S. uses more kinds of social media than Korea and has different perceptions of TikTok!

Plan

: we will meet next Wednesday 11:00 And it’s our last meeting, so I’d like to talk about what i’ve felt so far .

Meeting Length: about 30minutes
Meeting Time and Date: 10/31 9:00~9:30(KST)

Time Frames for My Best Speaking Sample

Topic

Differences between Christmas and Halloween in the U.S. and Korea, recent cold weather, daily life

4) Language Use Information (Revised)

• distinguish: 구별하다

• significance: 중요성

• perspective: 관점

• cultural context: 문화적 맥락

• compare: 비교하다

• contrast: 대비하다

• impression: 인상, 느낌

• interaction: 상호작용

Meeting Summary

During our Zoom meeting, we talked first about the recent weather.
We agreed that the temperature had dropped a lot, especially in the morning and evening, and she said it was also getting colder in the U.S. where she lives. She mentioned that she likes cold weather because it reminds her that the holiday season is coming.

After that, we discussed the differences between Christmas and Halloween in the U.S. and Korea.
She explained that in the U.S., Christmas is one of the biggest holidays of the year, and families usually gather, exchange gifts, decorate Christmas trees, and spend time together. I told her that in Korea, Christmas is more like a couple’s holiday, and people often spend the day going out with friends or partners rather than having a big family gathering.

We also talked about Halloween. She said Halloween in the U.S. is a major cultural event where people dress up, go to parties, and children go trick-or-treating. I compared that to Korea, where only some people celebrate Halloween, mostly in popular areas like Itaewon or 홍대, while many others treat it like a regular day. I also mentioned that due to past incidents, many people in Korea prefer quieter celebrations.

We continued by sharing some daily updates. She said she was preparing for upcoming assignments and projects, so her schedule had been packed. I told her that I had been busy as well with schoolwork but was trying to stay consistent with studying and exercising despite the cold weather.

Overall, it was a comprehensive conversation where I learned more about cultural differences and the holiday atmosphere in the U.S., while also sharing what winter and holiday seasons feel like in Korea.

Plan

We decided to meet again next week.
However, she mentioned that she might need to adjust the time because she has several assignments and presentations coming up. She said she would send me the detailed meeting schedule through Instagram direct message.

Meeting Lengths: 38 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 11/17 9am (KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 30:30~33:00

2) Topic: If we switched lives where would we do

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions: matcha, semester, pharmacy

Meeting Summary

Before we talk about today's topic, we talked about the current situation first. She said she was going to take a Korean test at school last week and did well on both the writing and speaking tests. And I and she both finish this semester in three weeks. She says she will work at a pharmacy as she is now to make money during the vacation. She usually likes shopping at the department store, so she spends a lot of money and I usually spend money on clothes. And if she becomes me, she said she wants to eat the matcha cookies I posted on my Instagram story last time. She and I had a good taste for food, such as liking meat and matcha. She also said that if I were to become her, she would like to go to a cafe with a good atmosphere, travel to Jeju Island, and eat ramen at the Han River. She also said that if she comes to Korea and sees me, she wants to feed me food and make me gain weight. Since this is the last meeting, I talked about my feelings for the last time, and she said that she and I had a lot of similarities, so we seemed to communicate well with each other.

length: 30 minutes

date: 11/12

speaking sample: 3:25~8:26

Topic: classes and last weekend

Language use

new words/expressions:

certificate: 자견증

debate: 토론하다

Meeting summary: At first we talked about what we did over the weekend and last week. I asked him how his morning was going so far and he told me about the freight train breaking down. At this point I was just getting over a bad cold and gaining my voice back, so I didn't have many questions. He brought up that many students in Korea don't pay much attention to the professor since a lot of courses are lecture-based. I compared this to U.S. college culture by telling him that it's the same here. While there are a handful of students that pay attention to the professor, there are many who don't usually pay attention to lecture as they work on other classes or play on their devices.

Plan: We don't have a planned time to meet yet, but we check with each other's schedules to meet.

-Meeting Lengths: 34 minutes 46 seconds

-Meeting Time and Date: 11/17 13:00(KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample: 1:08~5:08

2) Topic: controversial social issue to discuss( whether marriage or having children should be a requirement )

3) Language use information

New Words / Expressions:

controversial: 논란이 많은

rely: 의지하다, 믿다

average: 평균을 내다, 평균이 되다

in case: ~에 대비하여, ..한 경우에는

get the worst of: 지다

4) Meeting Summary

Today we had a time to talk about social controversies. Among them, we talked the most about whether marriage and having children are obligatory. She said she thinks marriage and having children are freedom. She said she would like to get married if she had a partner who wanted to get married, but she didn't have that person yet. I felt the same way as her. He said that the average age of marriage in the United States is about 26 now. In Korea, the average age of marriage is getting older, but there was a difference in this area. We said that giving birth and raising children costs a lot of money, so careful decisions are needed. Also, she said that she was curious about social controversies in Korea, so I said that military conscription is one of the big debates in Korea. Finally, we said that we have been grateful for the last language exchange today. I promised to buy her a meal when she comes to Korea.

o Meeting Length: 41:47

o Meeting Time and Date: 11/17

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 7:30 ~ 12:30

2) Topics:

o The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

3) Language use information

new words / Expressions:

Student studying abroad: 유학생

English dictionary: 영어사전

difficult: 어려운

informal: 비공식적

4) Meeting summary:

Today, we had our last meeting. As for the last meeting topic, we discussed talking down and honorifics. In the U.S., there is no concept of talking down or honorifics, so it is very different from the conversation in Korea. So, in the U.S., I asked what form of speech you use when you have an official presentation or an event. For example, people like the professor use formal words to the other person, such as honorifics such as Mr. or Mrs. But when you treat your friends, they call them by their first names or nicknames, similar to Korea.
I said that it's really nice to have no honorific culture in the U.S. during this conversation.
In Korea, sometimes when an elder gives an opinion, he or she has to follow what is right or wrong. He said that such honorifics seem to strengthen the hierarchy and reduce the opportunity for his or her subordinates to express their opinions.
In the past, there was a situation in which there was a hierarchical order in Korean sports culture, so there was a situation where people were wary of their seniors.
In that sense, we discussed that the absence of honorifics in the United States seems to be better for creating a horizontal relationship.

5) Plan:

We have completed the last meeting.
The plan is to support each other and have a happy day.

-Meeting Time and  Date : 11/19 11:30 am (KST)

-Link to the meeting: https://youtu.be/OcTOj-hDyK4?si=xAe9m_waLK3JMFTY

-Time frames for my best speaking sample:

08:00~13:25

-Topic: Where do we want to visit in the U.S. and Korea

-Word and expressions:

간판 signboard

은행나무 maidenhair tree

눈천사 snow angel

분위기 mood

육회 Korean-style raw beef

-Meeting Summary and Plan :

We talked about places we want to visit in Korea and the U.S. She said she would like to visit Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island in Korea. When She go to Seoul, She want to go to cafes and see the sea in Busan or Jeju Island. And we recommended travel destinations to each other.

And She said that the best time to travel to the United States is spring and autumn. I also wanted to go to New York, but she also recommended New York as a recommended destination. She introduced New York's Central Park, Brooklyn, and recommended restaurants and dessert shops.

And I recommended Jongno, where you can feel Korean traditional culture, and she seemed to be very interested in Korean traditional culture. And she was curious about when it snows, and I think she like snowy weather.

I'm glad that the more I have a meeting, the more confidence I have in English. I finished my 6th meeting, and I had so much fun that I didn't know the time went by every time I had a meeting, and I felt sorry that it was the last time. I want to meet her in person later and I hope I can keep in touch with her!

-Plan: We’ll keep in touch by direct message.

Meeting Lengths: 35 minutes

Meeting Time and Date: 11/20 9am(KST)

Time frames for your best speaking sample: 00;47~06;00

2) Topic: About 반말 and 존댓말

3) Language use information

Confucianism, prepare, permission

4) Meeting summary

Today, we talked about Korea’s ‘반말’ and ‘존댓말’.

Unlike Western cultures, Korea has been greatly influenced by Confucian traditions, which emphasize respecting elders and people older than oneself. Since my Western friends don’t really have concepts equivalent to ‘반말’ and ‘존댓말’, I tried to explain them using simple examples such as “안녕” vs. “안녕하세요” and “예뻐” vs. “예뻐요.” It seems that the explanation was clearer than I expected.

I also learned that although English doesn’t have a level of formality quite like Korean 존댓말, Americans do have certain ways of speaking more politely depending on the situation. Explaining all of this in English was harder than I thought, but I think I did well.

• Meeting Length: 1 hour 3 minutes 4 seconds

• Meeting Time and Date: 11/16 11am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample:

1:55~2:15, 6:55~7:30, 9:10~9:36

2) Topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans.

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions:

definitely 명확히, 확실히

overwhelming 압도적인

leisurely 느긋한

poncho 판초(외투)

• Meeting Summary: Victoria said that the first place she wants to visit when she comes to Korea is the Han River. The park on the Han River is pretty and she wants to have a picnic with her friends. And she likes K-pop, so she wants to visit Hallyu star streets and shops. Especially Gangnam or Hongdae. Next is COEX. Victoria said that she likes to read books, so she likes mystery novels. Victoria also liked the genre of mystery novels, so she recommended American mystery novels that I enjoyed the most. It was a novel by Agatha Christie, and Victoria also shared a consensus with each other that Agatha Christie had a mystery book. The title of Agatha Christie's book recommended by Victoria is The Mystery Affair at Styles by Bye Agatha Christie. The last place Victoria wants to visit is Skycat Cafe, which is called Cat Cafe. She loves cats so much and is raising two cats now. I asked if she could show me, and she gladly said yes and showed me the cat herself. It was such a cute and huge cat. It is said to weigh as much as 9kg. I also showed a picture of my cat I was raising before and my dog now. Victoria loves Korean food and can eat spicy food. Among Korean food, I like kimchi, so I usually eat it with rice. I also like tteokbokki, so I recommended you to try Yupdduk, a favorite tteokbokki brand among Koreans, when you come to Korea. I introduced places I want to go in the U.S. and asked if you have any tips, but in the U.S., I heard that it's better to always go with friends rather than to go alone.

• Plan:

- Meeting Length : 50:26

- Meeting Time and date : 11/20 10 P.M

- Time frames for your best speaking sample : 00:30 ~ 05:30

2) Topic : Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans.

3) Language use information

- Meeting Summary :

For the last topic, we discussed about where would we like to visit and recommend one place to each other.

I wanted to go to New York, and the Pan - American highway. Since I like riding my bike, I wanted to go somewhere that I could ride. However, I could not choose the other one, so Phoebe told me about California. California was a wonderful place to take a look at the environment of the U.S.A. So I chose California, especially the Los Angeles and San Diego to visit.

Phoebe had some planes to go on the Southern part of Korea, which she could see more environments about here. She specifically chose 우포늪, 가로수길. I also recommended 전주 한옥마을, so that she could be able to see some ancient architectures of Korea.

o Meeting Time and Date - 2025. 10. 29 6:05 am KST

o Time frames for best speaking sample: 7m 40s~

o New Words/Expressions

학기 - semester

july 4 - america independence day 독립기념일

envy - 부러워하다

과제 - task 

o Meeting Summary - We talked about family, tradition and holiday and school life. 

I asked her what her favorite holiday was, and what food she likes to eat during Thanksgiving. 

and we also talked about school life, and I was surprised that their school only has one month of winter vacation. It was like my high school year. I told her that our vacation is almost three months, and she was envious. 

and we talked about difference between 과제 and 숙제.

The next meeting will be next Wednesday, the same time as this week.

o Meeting Time and Date - 2025. 11.20 11:00PM KST

o Time frames for best speaking sample: 15m 30s~

o New Words/Expressions

• daylight saving time 서머타임

• chill 놀다,쉬다  

• turn back the time (clock) 시간을 거꾸로 돌리다

o Meeting Summary - 

We talked about small things, like small talk. It was about school life, what we do in a week, and so on. 

It was a good time to get to know each other. 

Asha drives to school in the early morning and studies. I thought I should do it like her too. 

And I told her my weekly schedule. While briefing it, I knew I was having busy days. 

It was my first time knowing about daylight saving time. She said it was in March and November, twice a year. 

This was last exchange, but we promised to keep in touch. 

We made an appointment about when she comes to Korea, we are going to hang out. I’m looking forward to do it.

o Meeting Length 

36 minutes

o Meeting Time and Date 

11/19 10:00 ~ 10:36 (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample (about 5 minutes): 

15~20 minutes

2) Language use and topic coverage: 

o Weather in USA and Korea, Health & Doctor visits, Brooklyn’s Dog, Brooklyn’s interests

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

immune system 면역 체계

runny nose 콧물

compared to ~와 비교해서

bother to go 가기가 귀찮다

inject 주사하다

it’s a shame 아쉽다

o Meeting Summary and Plan 

In today’s language exchange meeting, we talked about the weather in both the USA and Korea. In the USA, the weather changes a lot - some days are hot and other days are cold - so Brooklyn said she has to check the weather every day. Meanwhile, I shared that Korea is getting colder overall as winter approaches.

We also talked about health. Brooklyn gets sick whenever the seasons change because she has a weak immune system. She told me she went to see a doctor about a month ago, but the hospital keeps sending her letters asking her to pay for the visit, which is expensive in the U.S. I shared that when I visited the doctor on Tuesday, it only cost me $3.41, and she said that was really cheap compared to the U.S. We also realized we both have something in common : we don’t listen to our moms when they tell us to take vitamins, immune gummies, or pills.

: 32 minutes 37 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 11.20

Topic

: The usage and context of 존댓말(polite or deferential speech) and 반말 (informal speech)

new words

honorifics 존댓말

hierarchical structure 위계 구조

navigate 다루다

comfort level 상대가 느끼는 편안함의 정도

switch to ~ ~로 전환하다

Meeting Summary

I had my final Zoom meeting with Aubri. Since she previously studied in Korea as an exchange student, she was already very familiar with the concept of honorifics. She even understood how to use endings like “-요” and “-다” without needing any explanation. She also told me that she once tried speaking in casual speech to a friend when she first arrived in Korea, although she still doesn’t feel completely comfortable using it. However, she mentioned that using casual speech can feel more friendly and relaxed.

When I asked how Americans express politeness without an honorific system, she explained that they use clear and formal language depending on the situation. She also mentioned that using joking expressions or slang in the wrong context can be seen as rude. She even brought up a recent case where the U.S. president used a playful expression that received negative reactions.

Even though I wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t prepare as much as I wanted, Aubri was very understanding, and I really appreciated her kindness. Overall, I’m grateful for the past six weeks of Zoom meetings with her. It was a meaningful and enjoyable experience.

• Meeting Length: 24minutes

• Meeting Time and Date: 11/18 12am (KST)

• Time frames for your best speaking sample: 04:50 ~ 10:11

2) Topic: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans.

3) Language use information

• New Words/Expressions: traditional culture 전통문화 / cultural 문화적인 / someday 언젠가 / worldwide 세계적인

• Meeting Summary: Today, we talked about three places we want to visit in each other’s countries.

Jenny said she wants to visit Andong, Jeonju, and Tongyeong. I said that I would like to visit New York City, the Grand Canyon, and Chicago.

Jenny wants to go to Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, and she said it is a place where many hanoks remain and Korean traditional culture is well preserved. She wants to walk around the alleys, take photos, and watch the Hahoe mask dance performance. She also wants to try Andong’s traditional foods, such as Andong Jjimdak and salted mackerel.

Next, she wants to visit Jeonju Hanok Village. She said she wants to stroll through the alleys, take pictures, and eat Jeonju bibimbap. Jenny said she likes Jeonju because it has a sentimental and traditional atmosphere.

Lastly, she wants to visit Tongyeong, especially Mireuksan Mountain. She wants to see the ocean, ride the Skyline Luge, and try fresh seafood. I felt warm inside because Jenny seemed to really love Korea and showed a lot of interest in Korean culture.

As for me, I said I want to visit Times Square and Central Park in New York City, because I love seeing city lights at night. I also want to try Crumbl Cookies, which are popular in New York. After that, I want to go to the Grand Canyon to go hiking and take beautiful photos. Since it is a world-famous place, it’s one of the destinations I really want to visit.

Lastly, I said I want to visit Chicago. I went there once when I was younger and have good memories of it, but I haven’t been back since. So, I would love to visit again someday, especially when it’s snowing.

Since this was our last language exchange meeting, we both felt sad about it, but we promised to meet each other someday. Jenny and I also decided to stay in touch and keep talking!

• Plan:

-Meeting Length: 35:51

-Meeting Time and date: 11/20 9 pm~9:30pm (KST)

-Time frames for your best speaking sample: 17:00~20:00

Topic: About our future and daily life

Language use information

New word/Expression

immune: 면역의

preparation: 준비

debate competition: 토론 대회

double major: 복수 전공

internship: 인턴(실습)

significantly: 상당한

amount: 양

millitary service: 군복무

Meeting Summary

I told her that I have been feeling stressed due to preparing for a debate competition, presenting a portfolio report, and handling many assignments, and that I recently caught a cold, which weakened my immune system. She genuinely worried about me. She is now in her exam preparation period, so she is also studying hard, just like me. I also mentioned that the amount and time I spend studying has increased significantly compared to before. I told her that after completing my military service, I plan to enter the Global Management major and pursue a double major in Data Science. She said that she doesn’t have concrete plans for the future yet, but she will probably start an internship from next year.

o Meeting Length: 34:08

o Meeting Time and Date: 11/15 10:30 pm (KST)

o Time frames for your best speaking sample: 12:22~17:22

2) Topic: Job applications and work experiences including part-time jobs.

3) Language use information

o New Words/Expressions

résumé: 이력서 cracked (게임 시스템에 문제가 있을때 쓰는 말) nerfing (게임 캐릭터 성능을 낮추는 것) downgrade: 격하시키다 transcript: 성적 증명서

4) Summary

First of all, I said about what we did last week and what I did this week.TJ has been busy doing homework and Saturday and Saturday, saying that it's busy working on Friday and Saturday.I had to have a short-term job, and said to TJ.And I asked about TJ's task and TJ is a task of drawing.And TJ has asked what did in Halloween, and I did horror games with my friends when Halloween.And TJ is saying that he did Halloween party for Halloween party until 3 a.m.m.And I talked about the resumeI said about self-introduction and resume history, TJ has asked the difference between his introduction and resume, but I think I don't write a resume.And next Wednesday

5) Plan

We'll meet Wednesday 10:30 p.m. (KST)

Meeting Length

: 34 minutes 42 seconds

Meeting Time and Date

: 11.10 11AM (KST)

Time frames for my best speaking sample

: 15:18~17:16, 19:17~23:01

Topic

: Top 3 places to visit in South Korea and places you’d like to visit in the USA. Provide specific details about your plans.

New words and expressions I learned

: a couple of times(몇 번,2번), have trouble(~을 앓다), long slip(슬며시 지나가다),

  get used to(~에 익숙해지다), appreciate(인정하다)