Let's meet Hanbid Kim from South Korea
1. Could you tell us about yourself, including the languages you know?
Hello everyone, my name is Hanbid Kim and my English name is Jack. My mother tongue is Korean. I have special hobbies such as studying several languages and traveling. I really like to study languages because I think of languages as versatile tools. There are languages like English, Chinese, Cantonese, etc. which are the main languages I can speak fluently. I want to know more languages around the world in my life.
2. Why do you think languages are important to you?
Because languages are the only way to change my life as well as the most important tools for international communication. According to a Czech proverb, if I learn a new language hard, I can get a new soul and change my personality. I strongly believe this proverb and I realized that my personality changes when I speak Chinese.
3. Which language are you learning and how do you learn?
I have studied Chinese for 8 years through Chinese media and tutor, and I’m learning Japanese, Indonesian and Thai at this moment. I need something interesting to learn these languages, for example, firstly, I write a language blog while I am memorizing Japanese words, and compare them with Korean and Chinese. Secondly, I sometimes watch the Japanese media. Lastly, I learn some Indonesian language at an Indonesian language meetup every Friday.
4. Could you tell us which language is the most challenging for you to learn and why?
Someone says that every language is the most challenging, but recently I found the most challenging language is Thai and I am interested in learning Thai letters. Every character is more complicated than that of other languages and there are various spellings in Thai. So, I had to make an effort to learn how to spell these for a few days.
5. Which language is the least challenging for you to learn and why?
Chinese is the least challenging language because there are many chances to speak Chinese and I already passed the Chinese exam.
6. What is the next language for you to learn and why?
The next language will be Spanish because although I was born in Spain, I missed many chances to learn Spanish.
7. What is your advice to other language learners?
If you don’t want to be frustrated by language, set a goal, and read the culture and emotion of the language. Every natural language has its own culture and emotion. If you want to set a goal, distinguish language into four parts: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
8. How would you use your language skills to make this world a better place?
There are many language skills. Firstly, I would try to find my language skills which match my lifestyle. Then, I would try to communicate with various people around the world by using my language skills.
9. Imagine you have a linguistic superpower, what would it be?
To be able to find the unknown world and become a guide to this unknown world for everybody.
10. What could you suggest to encourage more people to learn languages?
I suggest many people travel around the world and find the new world, it will help them set a goal easily.
If you have any questions or opinions for Hanbid Kim, leave your comments below. Share your story with us!