Stills’ tours of duty with the Air Force took her to Seoul, South Korea, where she attended the university and continued to learn about the language and the culture.
“I went through their intensive Korean program for International students,” she said. “I graduated with honors and when I wasn’t working in intelligence I was offering free tutoring lessons to anyone who wanted to learn English.”
Stills had never heard of South Korea before living there for a year and said what really intrigued her about the country was that it was divided. “I couldn’t understand the reason for the deprivation of opportunities,” she said. “How could people live in such a broken nation?”
She worked hard to teach herself more about the language and culture while she lived in the country in order to read the posters, fliers and propaganda she saw and used an online course to enhance her writing skills.
“I had a pretty good command of the language before I left the United States because of how great Language Institute is,” Stills said. “A lot of undergraduate study programs in language aren’t as effective because a lot of times they just meet a foreign language requirement. Your skill and command of a language is dependent on how you are being taught.”
Stills left the Air Force when she left Korea and came to Dayton to pursue a degree in engineering at Wright State. “I wanted to get into building biomechanical devices for veterans suffering from loss of limbs and Wright State has a highly competitive program,” she said.
And with her command of languages and her ability to teach, she has started a tutoring business, helping others learn not only Korean but also native Korean language speakers learn English.
“I start out by gauging where someone is with the language and design a personalized plan,” Stills said. “I encourage people to use textbooks if they choose but my approach is to gather a list of vocabulary words they would need to know if they would go to Korea — day-to-day practical words like boarding a plane, getting a taxi or a bus, getting your tickets and navigating an airport.”
Stills said she sets her students up with words they can use and she looks up Korean videos on YouTube and then works with students on syntax and grammar.
“I try not to use static materials while teaching,” she said. “That’s not how you can build a command of the language. It’s less about memorizing things then about getting used to how to use certain vocabulary words in a particular context.”
Stills is working with a Wright State student who is interested in a career in international relations and possibly getting a job in South Korea. She also works with students from Northeast and Southeast Asia as well as students that come to the United States from South Korea and helps them develop their English skills.
“I have another client who is a musician interested in the Korean music industry,” Stills said. “It’s becoming fairly popular wherever you go. He wants to get his foot in the door as a music director or a producer.”
As for the written Korean language itself, Stills said it does intimidate most people, especially when they are just learning. “I think people want to see something that looks like a picture and not like a letter,” she said. “But between the three top Southeast Asian languages, Korean is the easiest compared to Chinese and Japanese. You are basically piecing together syllables to create one. What makes it difficult for people to learn another language is they try to learn to read first. I have them listen to what they say first and match the sound with the letter.”
Interested in language tutoring services? Call Stills at 937-789-3296.
About the Author