JEJU WEEKLY

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Expats, immigrants and native Jeju residents celebrate their diversityA true cultural exchange at the third annual Jeju foreign language festival
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¡ã Left: English teachers set the mood through music during a capoeira performance, a combination of Brazilian folk dance and improvised fighting, to the delight of the audience. Right: Students have their geographical and cultural knowledge tested at international booths representing English speaking countries around the globe. Photos courtesy Jeju Provincial Govt.

The Halla Sports Complex and Gymnasium [HSCG] is no stranger to large numbers of visitors, but this last Saturday, its grounds were filled with hundreds of Jeju natives and foreigners participating in events that had little to do with sports. This year, October 31 was not only marked by the popular holiday, Halloween, but it was also the 3rd annual Jeju Foreign Language Festival, hosted in collaboration with KCTV, the Provincial Government and Jeju's Office of Education.

To create both a local and international cultural atmosphere, the 2009 International Language Festival hosted a number of events in and around HSCG in the hopes of fostering an international mindset among local residents with the purpose of encouraging people to learn a foreign language. The organizers created an interesting dynamic, where Jeju natives had the opportunity to experience elements of a foreign culture, while many foreigners living on Jeju were treated to a little taste of home.

Upon first arriving at the HSCG the international atmosphere of the festival was not immediately apparent. Organizers expected approximately 10,000 attendees this year and they could not have been more accurate. As hundreds of young people walked into the stadium, organizers kept health and safety a priority with volunteers waiting at the doors dispensing hand sanitizer to each individual that entered in order to help with the prevention of the ongoing flu epidemic.

Having entered into the main sports complex, which had been turned into an auditorium, the international nature of the event had begun to unfold. There was a sea of people seated in the audience watching the pre-opening ceremonies that included a children’s English play about a farmer and her animals, English teachers who performed a K-Pop song ,“Give me a call” while wearing colorful sunglasses and bright polka dotted outfits and a Korean girl who performed a Hawaiian Hoola dance.

¡ã A cultural smorgasbord with students and adults from alldifferent walks of life relishing in the opportunity to meet and learn about the diverse and unique cultures of the people they share the island with. Photos courtesy Jeju Provincial Govt.

These performances were a prelude to the opening remarks by the President and the Superintendent of the Jeju Provincial Office of Education, who welcomed visitors and explained the impetus behind the event. The officials highlighted the importance of foreign language education in the competitive markets of a globalized world. It was indicated that by 2020 the Provincial Government hopes to increase the number of Jeju residents who speak a foreign language to at least 600,000 people. The role of the festival was to help accomplish this goal by encouraging students, teachers and local residents of all backgrounds to take an interest in learning a foreign language and to highlight the presence and influence of foreigners already on the island. Through these means, officials of the event expected that the festival would help aid in developing Jeju into both “Asia's top Free International City” and a “Jeju Global Education City.”

Outside of the complex the secondary goal of this year’s festival of trying to unite Jeju natives, expats and immigrants alike became evident. Through participation in an array of competitions, games, events, and by visiting a variety of pavilions, an environment was established that enticed strangers to not only interact with one another, but to bond through competition and cooperation. More than 50 pavilions were set up where visitors had the opportunity to meet people from several different countries, play games, eat international foods and learn a little bit about foreign cultures. Some of the pavilions included booths from America, Canada, Australia, South Africa and even several booths where students could participate in Halloween activities to ring in the weekend's big North American holiday.

There were also other booths that represented non-English speaking cultures, like the Chinese Cultural Center and Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants, as well as pavilions representing the island of Jeju, which included Pyoseon High school’s traditional drumming and the stand for Wimi Middle School and the English newspaper they produce. In order to encourage participation, Language Festival Passports were distributed and were signed of stamped by a representative from their respective booths when a particular task or game was completed.

To accompany the festivities, competitions were held such as English and Japanese speech contests, Chinese song contests, and theater and martial arts performances. The dedication and enthusiasm of the participants, as they battled through many difficult questions, really captivated the audience, often rousing cheers of encouragement from the spectators.

The 2009 Jeju Foreign Language Festival offered a friendly environment for both local residents and foreigners alike to learn about the importance of language acquisition and to have some fun in the process. While many foreigners may have learned more about how delicious Vietnamese food tastes than improved their Korean skills, it was certainly an interesting experience and a different approach to bring people together and get them interested in international languages and cultures.
¨Ï Jeju Weekly 2009 (http://www.jejuweekly.com)
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