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#Improved English presentation and listening skills #Dorm life, friends from various nationalities #Welcoming a grand and vibrant New Year
The most enjoyable experience during the gap year project was wandering around the city with the new friends I met.It was (a city trip). Walking together, sharing each other’s stories, and buying gifts,also taking a Grab (the ride-hailing service) hailing one and riding it, and talking inside about things we liked, our work, etc. — those memories stayed with me the most. - Shall I go to Malaysia to study English and experience the culture with foreign friends? / Song Na-kyung, Gap Year Tribe Gapper / A 4-week gap year |
# Malaysia, where English is used as a common language
Hello, I’m 24 years old and a student on leave after finishing my third year of university.
Originally I planned to visit Southeast Asian countries for a long trip, but after discussing it with my parents,I thought it would be much better to spend the time doing a language study abroad, sothat uses English as a common language I looked for a gap year project I could do in Malaysia.
# It had long been my wish to stay for an extended time in a Southeast Asian country.
From January 2017 last year I did a three-month gap year project (language study in Canada) and experienced living alone abroad, so I had almost no worries about long-term stays overseas. Before departure I prepared the necessary luggage and documents and made plans for what life there would be like. I wanted to take nearby trips, so I looked up places I wanted to visit and planned accordingly.
Living for a long time in a Southeast Asian country had been my long-standing wish, and so this gap year project was focused on language study and travel.
# A typical day in Malaysia
Classes started at 9:30 AM and there were three types of classes: regular classes, elective classes, and integrated classes. The regular class lasted about three hours (including breaks), and after lunch the elective classes included Presentation, Academic Writing, and Reading (I think).
As for me,I took a Presentation classwhich involved receiving a topic each week and giving a presentation. We were never allowed to read from a script; we had to look our classmates in the eye and speak our thoughts on the topic, soit was a huge help for language practice.
Finally there was the integrated class where students from the regular classes gathered together. After classes ended, I would meet my friends to talk, eat, and go out. On weekends we sometimes went to nearby areas a bit further from the city; I visited a place called Cameron Highlands.
# It was my first time experiencing such a huge and energetic New Year celebration.
What I liked was being able to live in a dorm for the first time and spend a lot of time with friends of different nationalities, and the moving moment was that on the last day of 2017, after finishing the Cameron Highlands trip, I visited the KL Twin Towers with a friend, and Kuala Lumpur was absolutely packed with people who had come out to count down to 2018.
Everyone was holding some kind of noisemaker, making sounds while waiting for the clock to strike midnight, and for me it wasmy first-ever experience of such a huge and energetic New Year’s celebration. The sight of diverse people (various nationalities, ages, etc.) gathering together to welcome Happy 2018 was really impressive and moving. And at the stroke of 2018, fireworks went off in front of the Twin Towers for a while, and it was truly beautiful.
What I learned were the ability to present in English and the ability to listen to others. MalayWhile staying in Malaysia, I found the presentation classes at the language school particularly impressive compared to other things, and through several presentations I was able to greatly reduce my fear of presenting.Once, while successfully leading a presentation, I felt that I could present in English really naturally and with quality.
When I say I learned the ability to listen to others, I mean that when I was there there was a friend in the dormitory suffering from depression, and I learned this by helping that friend a lot. By spending a lot of time talking together I was able to empathize with that friend''s feelings and lighten the weight on their heart even a little,I think it was a time when I learned how to comfort someone when they are having a hard time.
# I met many friends, and the teachers and staff were all really kind.
The most enjoyable experience during the gap year project was wandering around the city with the friends I had newly met
It was (a city trip). Walking around together, sharing stories, buying souvenirs, and also taking Grab (the ride-hailing service) hailing one and riding in it, talking about things we like and our own work inside it — those are the memories that stand out most.
The people I spent the most time with were my dormmates. I lived in the dorm with two other friends: one was an older sister named Chiaki from Japan, and the other was an 18-year-old younger sibling from Thailand.
The person from Japan had finished working and come for language study; she said she had worked in the broadcasting industry. Since my major is also related to broadcasting, we mainly talked about work, but we also had common interests like comics and animation, so we talked about those a lot too. She was very considerate and a cool older sister, so I learned a lot from her, and talking with her always made me happy — we had many good times together.
The other was a younger sibling from Thailand named Mo, who (as mentioned above) was suffering from depression. Chiaki and I lived together and had to listen to a lot of Mo''s stories and take care of Mo when they were having a hard time, and it wasn''t always easy.
There were parts I could understand, and usually Mo was really cheerful and doing well, so mostly it was fine. However, sometimes the depression would become severe, and we took good care of Mo during those times.Besides that, there were many friends I met while attending the language school, and the teachers and staff were all really kind.
Continue Song Na-kyung''s Malaysia story < click
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