Fall 2023 Events at the Applied Language Institute

ALI's Fall 2023 Event Highlight Reel!

Weston Orchard

It may have been overcast and chilly, but this didn't stop us from apple-pickin'.

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Korea Day

Korea Day took place on November 13th at the Student Union Theater. People gathered to celebrate what we love about Korean culture, including posters representing our students' home universities, a Mukbang station, Kimbap, and a K-Pop performance.

University Posters

ALI students share what their home universities are like during Korea Day.

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What is Mukbang?

A mukbang or meokbang, also known as an eating show, is an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience. The genre became popular in South Korea in the early 2010s, and has become a global trend since the mid-2010s. Varieties of foods ranging from pizza to noodles are consumed in large quantities in front of a camera. The purpose of mukbang is also sometimes educational, introducing viewers to regional specialties or gourmet spots.

Two ALI instructors, Kate and Clint, record their first show with snacks both savory and sweet.

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Gimbap Station & Korean Student Association Presentation

Korea's most popular on-the-go meal, gimbap is a dish made from cooked rice, vegetables, fish, and meat rolled in gim (dried sheets of seaweed) and served in bite-sized slices.

Want to make gimbap yourself? Check out this recipe!

Cool kids always sit in the back.

Daniel from UMKC's KSA giving a presentation on South Korea's rise from a third to first-world country in just one generation.

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Brkthrough KC!

Perhaps the highlight of the fall semester's events, Brkthrough features 40 unique and immersive high-technology challenge rooms that are a fast-paced combination of physical, mental, and skill-based challenges. It’s Team vs Room on an epic level.

Stay tuned for more announcements and posts to come, and Happy Holidays from ALI!

A Warm Welcome to Our Fall 2023 Cohort

Orientation

This semester’s group of 17 students joined us on a very early Thursday morning to tour the UMKC campus and learn what the next few months at the Applied Language Institute will look like. While long orientations for any new program aren’t exactly synonymous with adjectives like fun or exciting, these students approached the day with a sense of curiosity and took advantage of all the information thrown their way.

New ALI students during a tour of the Miller Nichols Learning Center

Everyone actively listened to presenters, faculty, and international student ambassadors in the Pierson Auditorium. Later, when offered guidance on how to be successful in an American classroom, the ALI students were eager to partake in discussions and promptly answered questions. Only one student fell asleep before lunch, but jet lag can be brutal, so we were more than happy to let him slumber.

During tours, students connected with one another and inquired about things to do around Kansas City. The grad students informed them of districts like Westport, 39th Street, and the River Market where locals can purchase fresh produce, herbs, artwork, floral bouquets, and other exciting finds. There was also talk of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, popular shopping centers such as The Plaza, and the 75-acre Loose Park near campus—the perfect spot to lounge on a blanket under a canopy of trees, walk along various pathways, or even try a hand at Tennis.

Afternoon exploration

Welcome Party

One week after orientation, faculty and students gathered in Scofield Hall to celebrate the new ALI students’ arrival and first week on campus with games, snacks, and conversations about their experiences so far.

Students trying their hand at Slapzi

The Fall ALI Welcome Party was attended by new and returning students, as well as teachers and staff. There was an array of fruit, veggies, soda, and other sugary snacks lining the tables as students arrived. A faculty member put on some funk music to get the event started, but this kind gesture was quickly overridden by more contemporary tunes. Nadege, ALI’s activity coordinator, rallied students together for a round of KC Bingo in which students crossed out boxes if they’d tried local barbeque, exercised at the Swinney Recreation Center, or visited any of Kansas City’s 200 fountains.

Kansas City Themed Bingo

After two students tied for Bingo, everyone separated into three different groups for games like Conversation Jenga, Slapzi, and On the Dot, a brainteaser that requires both creative and analytical thinking. Students and faculty at this table frequently sported scrunched foreheads and puzzled looks. Meanwhile Slapzi required quick-thinking skills and even quicker reflexes. After a player drew a card with a description from the deck, students would race to slap down a card that matched that description. Far-reaching laughter could be heard when someone slapped down a card suggesting that garden saws are mostly used for safety, or that a camel can be carried in a back pocket. While it sometimes appeared that the game was partially a “luck of the draw” sort of situation, this didn’t stop one student from accumulating a three-time winning streak. She claimed she didn’t have a secret strategy but not everyone was convinced.

So far, the ALI semester is off to a great start. The laughter, fun, and newly-formed connections wouldn’t be possible without so many students eager not only to learn another language, but to explore all of the possibilities (and opportunities) that the institute, university, and Kansas City have to offer.

Group photo op at the Fall 2023 Welcome Party!

Welcome and congrats to our newest cohort of students! We’re so fortunate to have you study with us at the Applied Language Institute, and we can’t wait to see the progress you all make in the coming months.

—The Faculty at ALI

Similarities between Kansas City and Kuwait City

Please enjoy the third in our series of Comparison and Contrast essays created by our Level 3 Writing & Grammar students during the Spring 2023 term.

What places are different between Kansas City and Kuwait City? Visiting Kansas City, and Kuwait City can be fascinating, such as malls. There are many places to travel in Kansas City and Kuwait City, such as coffee shops. This essay addresses the similarities, and differences between Kansas City and Kuwait City, such as weather, growth in population, and tourist attractions.

Firstly, Kansas City is hot in the summer; however, Kuwait City even is hotter. Kuwait City is extremely hot.  Kuwait is beneficial place for swimming in the pool and tanning. Also, Kansas City has activities to enjoy in the summer, such as swimming in Longview Lake, and tanning at apartment complexes, since many apartment complexes have pools. Kansas City can reach 120 Fahrenheit. However, Kuwait City has reached almost 140 Fahrenheit. These are the first comparisons between Kansas City and Kuwait City.

Secondly, the population grew “between 2010 and 2017” (Huth) in Kansas City compared to Kuwait City. The population in Kuwait City was nearly 3 million in 2010. However, Kansas City had “2 million” (Huth). The population grew in Kuwait City by nearly 1,250,000 residents. Nevertheless, Kansas City “grew nearly by 120,000 between 2010 and 2017” (Huth). On the one hand, 83 percent of individuals live in Kuwait City are Kuwaitis. On the other hand, 89 percent of individuals who live in the Kansas City area (both Missouri and Kansas) are from the United States. These are the second comparison between Kuwait City and Kansas City.

Furthermore, Kansas City has many tourist attractions compared to Kuwait City. Kansas City has beneficial tourist attractions, such as the Plaza and Legends. In comparison, Kuwait City has places of entertainment to visit for tourists, such as the Avenues Mall, and 360 Mall. Kansas City and Kuwait City both have fascinating places to visit. However, these places are different in Kansas City and Kuwait City, such as the sizes of malls, and stores sells different products from each other, such as Rolex watches. These are the last comparison between Kuwait City and Kansas City.

In conclusion, these are the three similarities, and differences between Kuwait City and Kansas City. Some individuals are not fascinated visiting Kuwait City in the summer due to boiling temperatures. Differently, some tourists are not fascinated visiting Kansas City in the winter due to freezing temperatures. I highly recommend tourists to visit both cities, and compare the differences.

The right image of Kuwait City’s skyline, created by Maryam, was downloaded through the Creative Commons and was resized and cropped to fit this format.

#Level3 #UMKC #WritingampGrammar