In this week’s class, we reviewed consonants and vowels and practiced combining them together to spell out different words. Ms. Kim wrote the vowels in a row and showed us how they would sound like when combined with different consonants. We learned the double vowels as well, but I had a little trouble when using the ㅊ (chi) sound with another consonant. We also learned the Korean folk song 아리랑 (Arirang) this week. It’s interesting because last semester I did a presentation on the traditional version of Arirang and its traditional dance. But I later found Arirang has over 50 different versions across regions. The version we learned in class was sung by the boy group BTS. We also watched their performance and the lyrics music video, trying to follow each word. Since there are many simple words that were repeated in the lyrics such as “아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요” (Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo), it was easier for us to learn and pronounce. We also used the song to practice how to pronounce combined vowels and consonants. Arirang tells the story of a woman singing goodbye to her lover, and the song is included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
I plan to keep learning and memorizing the Hangul and be able to pronounce words accordingly. I think learning song lyrics is a fun and effective way to learn the language and getting to know the culture. In the past, I watched more of the Korean variety shows but not many Korean dramas. So it would also be helpful to watch Korean movies and dramas. It’s also important to take note of Korean words when watching. I was able to identify some loanwords through the episodes of “Crash Landing on You,” and remember those words. Ms. Kim said it is important for us to immerse ourselves in a Korean-speaking environment, so she hopes that we can talk to each other in Korean during class. We started from daily greets such as “안녕하세요” (Hi) and “안녕히 가세요” (Goodbye), and moved to questions such as “재미있어요” (having fun?) At first I tend to respond to her in English as it takes time for me to convey my response in Korean. But I realized I should get into the habit of responding to her in Korean, especially during day-to-day greetings because my goal is becoming conversational in Korean. This could improve my Korean speaking skills and ensure I’m pronouncing the words correctly.
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Hi Haley!
I am also learning Korean but I am working with my language partner Jannette instead of Ms. Kim. I'm learning Hangul too but it was really great to read about the different ways we have gone about learning the same thing. I had a decent amount of trouble learning the double vowels too so you're definitely not alone! I like that Ms. Kim includes cultural aspects too like Arirang. I agree that learning songs is a great tool for learning a language! Have you heard the Korean alphabet song? It was one of the first things I learned this semester and I still sing it to myself sometimes. You sound like you're making great progress though. Thanks for sharing, Haley!