105 Discussion Post #5

[So Myung Kim]

Although my family has lived in America for the past 15 years, my parents still find difficulty communicating in English. Therefore, attending hospital visits, parent teacher conferences, and other types of meetings were a challenge because native speakers talk fast in varying dialects. In all of these cases, we would request for an interpreter which would make all the difference for my parents because they could easily understand and communicate; this also impacted me because I didn’t have to be the one responsible for interpreting. After seeing how one person can impact another just by helping them communicate, I became interested in becoming an interpreter. I also plan on being a doctor in America so I would like to interpret at a hospital. Since the healthcare system greatly differs from each country, I would like to learn Korea’s format along with the medical vocabulary. Knowing what to say and how to say it within the context while being aware of the culture of Korea is not something that I am proficient in because I still have trouble reacting and finding the words for the right occasions. I have basic interpersonal communicative skills in Korean because I am able to exchange conversations with others, but am not proficient beyond that level. In hospitals, doctors say things in a certain way to support the patient. As an interpreter, I would need to analyse the conversations carefully to repeat what the doctor not only said, but how they said it. I plan to gain grammatical competence and become comfortable speaking in more complex situations.