Eleven students from Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions’ Society (APSWREIS), all of them girls, have cleared the first level of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK).
A total of 40 students drawn from four social welfare schools in Anantapur and one school in Chittoor district appeared for the test, conducted in Hyderabad on October 20 last after undergoing a basic language training in September.
“The society, with the help of the staff of the Korean Consulate in Hyderabad, engaged proficient and dedicated tutors to help the students prepare well for the test,” said Col. V. Ramulu, secretary of the society, which recently received the score cards (memos) from the Consulate.
He said 11 of the 40 students, who made an attempt, cleared the test which required a minimum score of 80 out of 200 marks in both listening and reading components of the certificate exam.
Meenuga Keerthi Sree, a 9th standard girl from Social Welfare Residential School, Kurugunta, emerged topper among the 11 girls by scoring 124 out of 200 marks. When the students visited Hyderabad in October to write their exam, they were invited for an exposure visit to the honorary Consulate of the Republic of South Korea at Film Nagar. The students learnt all about Korea and its culture through a presentation on its history, food, music, and the Indo-Korean ties in an interactive session with the honorary Consul-General Suresh Chukkapalli.
Book presented
The Consulate staff also presented to the teachers ‘Korean from Zero’, a popular book that has tips on how to learn the language fast. One of the students also wore a traditional Korean attire during the session.
“In a recent board meeting, we passed a resolution to encourage students to learn foreign languages and this Korean project is a good start,” said Col. Ramulu.
