By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korea's figure skating phenomenon Kim Yu-na has recently been assigned another mission, other than perfecting her triple axel. She is to embark on an English study program.
Kim began studying English to improve her communication skills at international events.
The 16-year-old now learns English twice for two hours during practice-free weekends.
Her management agency said, ``To step into the world figure skating limelight, it is essential to acquire the ability to communicate fluently in English.''
It added, ``As Yu-na has participated in many international competitions, her understanding of English is quite good. However, it is true that she is weak in speaking and writing English due to a relative lack of systematic learning. So her English studies are focused on expressing herself.''
``The purpose of this study program is to enable Yu-na to cope with English interviews with foreign media without difficulty,'' said Park Bo-mi, who teaches the Korean figure skater and is president of an English academy.
Park, who is offering her services free of charge, added, ``I want to help Kim become a big name figure skater.''
A Canadian named Kathy, who teaches Kim along with Park said, ``As Yu-na is smart, she follows the curriculum well. Originally we aimed at enabling her to attain a good command of English before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics but with her enthusiasm and intelligence she is likely to reach her objective earlier than expected.''
``I had difficulty memorizing English vocabulary but I am glad to learn English systemically,'' Kim said last Sunday after her third English class.