As a language learner, I am really enjoying the opportunity to chart my own course in this journey. Language learning has always been really interesting to me but I always felt so discouraged because I could not keep up with the pace, but it was not the language learning that turned me off. Even just learning about the families that language belongs to is amazing to me because it makes me feel connected to other people that I would think I have no history with.
Our ancestors were closer than I could ever imagine and just thinking about those language families gives me hope for the future. I now have a basis for exploring the empires and civilizations that existed before the modern world as we know it. What I dislike about language learning will always be that there is a learning curve, and a time where you are not sure whether you are learning or your short term memory is just working well. Trying to adjust to another language also comes with different phases where you try to translate everything directly from the language that you already speak. During this process the exchanges are slow and you feel very silly. You try to memorize key phrases like how to use the bathroom and how to say hello and see how far you can get with it. Then you need to ask a question, so you learn the grammar structure of a question, then past and future tenses and vocabulary to help you express yourself. It has taken me my entire life to understand in what order I need to learn a language for it to make sense to me and so even though that process doesn’t seem complex, it has helped me quite a bit. With this course, I am excited to learn an even better process that is backed up with pedagogy and practice.
The language learning activities that best suit me are the ones where I watch a video with subtitles and try to answer questions based on context and the knowledge I have acquired from that language. I think activities that allow me to get thrown into the fire really help me because I
know that naturally, I will want to keep myself safe and in my comfort zone to avoid losing confidence. Studying abroad helped show me that being thrown in the fire is really the only way to develop proficiency once you have passed the elementary level. I also really enjoy activities that allow me to engage with people that are at my proficiency level so I can get an understanding of what I should be able to understand after having practiced and asking my peers what strategies have worked for them. I still have to develop learning strategies that will help me with a language I have no working knowledge of because there are no cognates to help me out this time in the context of Malay. I am really looking for this 105 course to break down for me the building blocks of language and compare it with the way I have studied languages in the past to theorize what would work best for me.
Replies
Jesse, I definitely agree about the best way to learn is being thrown in the fire since those experiences help you to test your skills and see where you have to improve your language skills in retrospect!
Jesse, I agree with the part where you talked about how study abroad helped you realize that being thrown in the fire is the best way to learn. As someone who grew up in Korea, the best way for me to learn English was not through some online classes or whatever, it was hanging out with my friends and having conversations with native speakers. My sister had an English tutor in Korea, but it did not really help her learn.
Hey Jesse. I thought you had a really interesting perspective on the reasons to study different languages. I also am very inclined to study a language's culture and history along with the language itself. It definitely brings more life into your studies and makes the language you are learning more personal and intimate.