Learn and Play in ‘Norito’
(Source: Norito Facebook Page)
If you want to learn the Korean language in a fun way and meeting new friends, then this is the place to be. Norito, means ‘playground’ in Korean, main goal is to connect Korean and people from different countries and culture. Their main activities are providing entertainment through filming, photography, artistic activities, and holding events including the language exchange.
Last Friday, I went to the Southbank Centre to see how the language exchange is organized. The language exchange is held every Friday at the same place. Each week has a different concept: (1) reading, (2) writing, (3) grammar, and (4) speaking. Members will be split into groups which are led by the leaders. Materials are provided for them to get them started with the lessons. The first hour will be teaching others in English and the last hour will be teaching in Korean.
I like the idea of how the lessons is being taught within a small groups. The materials have information which can come in handy when striking some conversations in both languages. With a leader in each group, he or she guides and monitors the members accordingly within the hour. At the same time, members are given the opportunity to help each other out. The main advantage is to meet new friends. Not only the members will learn the language, but they also have interactive conversations about various topics. A fun way in sharing laughter and interesting topics among a group of new friends while improving in learning new languages.
However, the only major problem is handling big groups of members. Although it is a good thing to meeting new people, but it is hard to learn the languages when your group is next to the other group due to loud chattering and laughter. So, it might distract others from learning. Also, since Southbank Centre is a public place with music halls, the noise could cause disturbance to the visitors and audiences. Last week was the Classical Music event. Due to so much noises, one of the staffs told us to keep our voices down. My suggestion is to split the group of members in different places of Southbank Centre/Queen Elizabeth Hall. They will be less distracted by so much noises while learning Korean and English. Also, when it comes to big groups, it is important to manage them appropriately without causing a lot of disruptions.
Still, it is a fun way to learn languages and meeting new friends while you are in London. The Norito website will be launched soon to provide creative entertainment content, including media and art events in the UK, to you. In the mean time, follow their updates through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and Instagram.
