Strengthening Bilingual Education and Expanding Opportunities to Experience Diverse Languages and Cultures
Held on the 28th at Gyeongin National University of Education Gyeonggi Campus... Presentations in Korean and Parents' Native Languages
Award Winners: Wonil Elementary Kim Svetlana, Pyeongtaek Cheongdam High School Yusbek
The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Tae-hee) held the "12th Gyeonggi Multicultural Family Students Bilingual Speaking Contest" on the 28th at Gyeongin National University of Education, Gyeonggi Campus.
The bilingual speaking contest was organized to strengthen bilingual education, which is a strength of multicultural students, and to expand opportunities to experience various languages and cultures, thereby enhancing glocal competencies.
This year's speaking contest held preliminary rounds via video in early September. Twenty students who passed the preliminaries (10 elementary, 10 middle school) presented on free topics such as ▲ cultural differences during school meal times ▲ their and their mother's dreams ▲ adapting to life in Korea ▲ Korean food culture.
Participants first presented their prepared topics in Korean, followed by presentations in their parents' native languages, including Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai. Unlike previous contests, some students spoke minority languages such as Akan (Ghanaian), Bangladeshi, and Pakistani (Urdu).
The grand prize winners were Kim Svetlana from Wonil Elementary School (elementary division) and Yusbek from Pyeongtaek Cheongdam High School (middle school division). The gold prize winners were Kim Cheon-seong from Jeonggyo Elementary School (elementary division) and Kim Dong-rim from Wongok High School (middle school division).
The grand prize and gold prize winners will represent Gyeonggi Province at the "National Bilingual Speaking Contest," hosted by the Ministry of Education and LG Corporation, and organized by the National Institute for Lifelong Education and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Winners of the national contest will have the opportunity to participate in the "LG Multicultural School Language Program" to further develop their bilingual abilities.
Hyun Gye-myeong, Director of the Convergence Education Policy Division at the Provincial Office of Education, stated, "Multicultural students have the potential to grow into glocal talents based on their excellent bilingual skills and intercultural understanding. We will wholeheartedly support efforts to bring out the diverse strengths and potential of multicultural students."
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