My second interview
Preparations for the
interview
For my second interview, I searched a lot of information to help me to do a good interview, especially for the ways to make interviewee feel comfortable. First, I choose another people who are from America to be my interviewee; second, I rewrote my questions for my second interview; third, I went back to my first interview, and I found my advantages and disadvantages in my first interview. I want to make some progress for my second interview. Finally, I printed two copies of my questions, and one is for my interviewee, and one is for me.
How did I approach people
I have a good friend, her
name is Yuhwa, she is an exchange student in Saint Cloud, although we don’t have the same
major, we took the same ESL classes together before. She is from South Korea.
This Tuesday, when I finished my class, I gave her a call and asked her to help
me with my interview. She agreed it with no hesitation.
When, where and how did I
conduct and record my interview
On Tuesday, when we finished
our dinner together, we went to the library and reserved a study room for our
interview. At almost 7 am, we began our interview. First, we talked something
about our classes. Then, I gave her a copy of my question, and gave her a few
minutes to have a look for the questions. Final, we pay attention to our
conversations. During our interview, we talked a lot of issues about the life
in South Korea, such as: The education systems in the South Korea, the geography in South Korea,
the language in South
Korea and the religions in South Korea. We also exchanged our opinions about different
issues.
Who did you interview?
My interviewee is my best
friend, who is from South Korea She is an exchange student here
and this is the last semester for her in this school, and her major is education. We
took the same class together before, and we also met in the international student dinner. When I met her in the international
student, I found we had the same class together. Although we didn’t have much
talk before, we had a very nice talk during the dinner, and we exchanged our
contact information. Day after day, we built a very deep relationship between
each other.
Interview report
This is my second interview,
I was more careful when I was doing this interview. I think we indeed have done
a good job, because both of the interviewee and I are from Asian countries, we
shared a lot of differences and similarities between our countries. And both of
us as an international student, we exchanged our feelings and opinions about
SCSU. Otherwise, this also gives us a good chance to know more about each other
and know more about our different countries, and it will help us have a deeper
relationship between each other.
Country report
Korea,
a country which was built in the Middle Age. In the west, its neighbor is
China, in the East, its neighbor is Japan and in the North, North Korea is its
neighbor. The area in South Korea is 99392 square kilometers and its population
is 50 million. Seoul is the capital of South Korea, whose population is 9794304
[1].
Education is one of the most
important parts in South Korea. Education can be classified into Kindergarten,
Elementary school, middle school, high school and secondary education.
Kindergarten
is not a public administered program. Most children are sent to private
schools, and some schools are taught in Korean while some taught in English.
From the age of three to seven, children will attend Kindergarten and most
children don’t attend preschool [2].
When
children reach 6 or 7 years old, they will be moved to the first grade of
elementary school, but 8 years old is the calendar system in Korea. From
kindergarten to high school, students are not admitted by their grade level,
instead, it is according to their age.
In
general, the school year is divided into two semesters. From the beginning of
March to mid-July, it is the first semester; and the second begins in late
August and ends in mid-February. The summer vacation is from mid-July to late
August, and they also have a Winter break from late-December to early February.
Then they come back to school for a week and take another vacation from
mid-February to early March [2].
Culture in South Korea is similar
to that in China. According to the traditional culture of Korea, South Korea
has developed a culture which is different from that in North Korea. The
effects of economy and lifestyles make population concentrated in main cities,
which is similar to China [3].
South
Korea is affected by foreign counties. At the beginning, America and Japan have
big effects on it. Many people in Korea enjoy watching American movies, and it
also changed people’s diet habits. Many people prefer to Western food and other
Asian food instead of traditional Korean food. Such as, Pizza, hamburger,
chicken, coffee and ice cream become very popular in Korea.
Images of traditional
Korean food.
Holidays in Korea. There are a lot
of holidays in Korea, they are:
New
Year’s Day: it is a day to celebrate New Year.
Korean
New Year’s Day: The first day of Korean lunar calendar, it is regarded as the
most important holiday in the tradition of Korea.
Independence
Day: It is memory of March 1st Movement in 1919.
Children’s
Day: The day for children to share their happiness.
Buddha’s
birthday: Bucheonnim Osinnal.
Mid-autumn
Festival: Korean traditional harvest day.
Christmas
day: The day for Christmas [5].
Audio record:
Transcript
X:
xianping
T:
Yuhwa
X:
Hello, Yuhwa, thanks for helping me with my interview. How is your day going?
Y:
You are welcome! I’m glad to help you. I have a nice day, because I’m prepared
for my wedding, and everything goes well with us.
X:
Great! I’m glad to hear that. Are you ready for our interview?
Y:
Sure. Let’s begin.
X:
Where are you from?
Y:
I am from South Korea.
X:
Sounds nice! Why did you choose this school?
Y:
Ok, I am an exchange student here. When I decided to attend this school, I
heard many suggestions from my friends who studied here before, and they said
this is a good place for studying. Besides, my school in South Korea has cooperation
with this school.
X:
Good, what’s your major?
Y:
My major is Education.
X:
Great, I have many friends who have the same major with you, it is indeed a
good major and teacher is an excellent career. Would you want to talk something
about your family?
Y:
Sure, please.
X:
Thanks. What’s the value of family in your country?
Y:
Family plays an important role in my country, and people usually want to stay
with their family, because it always brings a lot of laughter when we stay with
family.
X:
Good, it sounds similar with my country. Yuhwa, I am a little curious about one
thing: Both of us are from Asian countries, and then I guess we should have a
lot of things which are similar. Such as, when children are over 18 years old
in your country, do the children find part-time jobs to support themselves or
their family will continue support them?
Y:
In my family, I did not find part-time job even when I was 18, and my parents
support me. But I knew some of my friends found part-time jobs when they
entered college. They thought this could a good chance to get some experience,
and they can also help their family reduce the financial stress. I agreed with
their opinions. I did not do as well as them because my major has much stress
and I need to pay attention to my study.
X:
Good, it is similar to that in China. Compared with the children in western
countries, there are fewer students who will find part-time jobs when they are
studying. But I think both of them have the advantages and disadvantages.
Thanks for talking so much about family. Could you talk something about
education?
Y:
Yes, what do you want to learn about education?
X:
What do you think of the education system in South Korea?
Y:
Nice, I like the education system in my country. Because we can have a lot of
freedom to choose our professor and class, and the class schedule is very
flexible. Then, we can have a chance to get what we need.
X:
Sounds attractive. Do you find some differences between high school study and
college study?
Y:
Yes, they are very different. In high school, we have more class than college,
and if we want to apply for a famous school, we need to get higher score in a
very important exam. But when we enter college, we can have more activities, we
can choose the majors we are interested in, and we can also join a lot of
interesting clubs.
X:
Good, what do you think of the college you attended now?
Y:
Good, I like everything here, and the education program is awesome, and the
professors are very nice and patient here.
X:
I’m glad to hear that. Do you know how many people can have a chance to attend
college in your country?
Y:
South Korea has wonderful education system; we can get free education from
elementary school to high school. And if we have satisfied score, we can also
apply for the scholarship when we are in college. Then, most people can have
the chance to go to college if they like.
X:
Excellent! Education is very important to everyone. Thanks for talking so much
about education! Can we move to culture? I know, there must be a lot of
differences between Asian countries and Western countries. As an international
student in America, do you find some differences between America and your home
country?
Y:
great! I’m glad to help you. Yes, you are right; cultures between Korea and
America are so different. Such as, when we hang out with our friends, we
usually keep a little space between each other, but in Korea, we can hang out
hand by hand.
X:
Yes, China has similar situation with Korea. Which points of culture make you
be proud of your country?
Y:
Korea as the developing country in the world, it has its unique economy
development. And it has inclusionary culture; we can have many chances to
contact with diverse people.
X:
Sounds interesting! It will be really helpful to get on well with diverse
people. Yuhwa, I knew Korea is also famous of food; could you give me some
introductions of food in your country?
Y:
Of course. We can different taste restaurants in Korea, such as Asian food restaurants,
Indian food restaurants, and American food restaurants.
X:
Nice. It will give us a satisfied feeling when we taste different delicious
food. What is your favorite food? Do you taste other countries’ food, such as
American food?
Y:
Of course! I think Pizza is my favorite American food. Maybe most people will
think Pizza is a common food in America, but it is very delicious and
convenient, especially when we have a lot of classes. When I lived on-campus, I
met a lot of students who were from different countries, and they made
different tastes of food for me. But I think Asian food is my favorite food,
such as tofu, noodles. They are indeed spicy and delicious.
X:
Yuhwa, I am glad to hear that. Yes, I love Asian food too; they are very spicy
and delicious. Religion will be another important issue in Korea. Do you have
any religions? What do you think of them?
Y:
Yes, I am a Christian. When I was in high school, I chose to be a Christian.
God is always awesome person. Every time, when we need any help, he always
stays with us, and give us support. And you don’t need to care how well you
did. Sometimes, when you were in plight, you don’t need to give up, you just
need to talk with him, and he always has a plan for you.
X:
Good, do you know how many people is Christian in Korea? Is it the dominant
religion in Korea?
Y:
Yes, many people are Christian in Korea, and I think it is the dominant one.
X:
Thanks, what kinds of activities do you have as a Christian?
Y:
Well, we need to go to church every Sunday, and we sit together and study Bible
together. We share our opinions about Jesus. And sometimes, we also bring some
snacks to church and share them together.
X:
Sounds good! Do you have your favorite holiday in your country?
Y:
Yes, I think Christmas Day is my favorite holiday in my country. Because it is
connected with Christian, and we will have many activities to celebrate.
X:
sounds nice, could you give me some examples of the activities you will do on
that day?
Y:
Sure. At first, we will sing Christian songs, and then we will read bible
together. Final, we will go boating, and we will have dinner together.
X:
sounds attractive! I can image the joy when you celebrate it. Tracey, thanks
for your sharing, it is indeed helpful. We have done an excellent job!
Y:
You are welcome! I’m glad to help you, and I also have fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment