Thinking about SMaP

  When I first came across SMaP, I felt burdened by a tight schedule and English-only classes. By  a tight schedule and English-only system, for the first week of the program, I was burned out after classes. But, after a week, I was able to adapt to the course and enjoy the classes completely.

  I think there are two advantages of SMaP.

  The first is having no hesitation about speaking English. You may think that SMaP is a program made up of Korean students and Korean professors, so it will be difficult to improve your English skills. Since most of the students are Korean, between friends, we sometimes speak Korean, of course. However, students at SMaP are not reluctant to talk in English as well as Korean. Also, it is natural to keep talking in English even when they don’t have to use it. In case of professors, they never use Korean during or after classes. They encourage students to use English and try to create an atmosphere that suits speaking English. To introduce my case briefly, I like English and have confidence in English, but I was always shy of speaking in English. But after joining SMaP, I naturally started to use English as if it were a part of my life. So even when I met friends outside of the program, I used English and I was embarrassing them. SMaP will help you to use English as much as possible. I think what you get from SMaP can be different depending on how much you try to use English in that environment.

  The second is meeting various friends. Of course, I knew that we Ewhaians were good at English, but I didn’t know that there were so many students who were good at English. However, rather than putting pressure on me, I developed a passion to be fluent in English like those students, and gave me an opportunity to look at myself objectively and think about how to use English like my native language. I was able to develop myself comparing with my superior friends. Also, the departments varied. I was able to learn about new fields and develop as a good friend by meeting students of various majors, from engineering college to college of Art & Design, etc. When I asked another friend who joined SMaP with me ‘What was the best thing about doing this program?’, then she said, ‘It is that we could make many friends who have different majors from mine.’ I would like to recommend SMaP to those who like people and prefer to have various relationships with them and also there is the benefit that by relationships with friends, you can grow yourself.

  Although the fact that we cannot take a rest after the end of the semester can easily prevent you from choosing SMaP, participating in SMaP can guarantee that you can improve yourself during the vacation without being lazy. I hope many people can participate in SMaP and enjoy speaking English with confidence.