Go back and watch the recording of your presentation of your learning plan on the class PanOpto collection on Blackboard. Comment briefly on how things are going. What has changed? How have you incorporated materials and insights from class into your efforts? Have discussions regarding language structures and learning strategies helped you to understand the target language and culture? If so, how?
Reflect on your language learning so far. How would you describe the relationship between language and culture? What do you need to do to improve your communicative competence? Based on the readings by H.D. Brown, what kinds of competence are emphasized in your plan?
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As I am only enrolled in SDLC 105 at this time, I have the privilege of being in the development phase of my language learning plan for basically the whole semester. I now recognize why it was recommended that we take this class (SDLC 105) separately (from 110), as it allowed me to be more flexible with developing my language learning plan. While I do enjoy the two-prong approach I brought up initially, I feel I learn best through being able to actively engage with content instead of learning through textbooks. As such, I would rather focus on working with specific elements of the languages that may not be found in a language learning book. Things like how different words are pronounced, how things change through context, and so forth. Our discussions on language structures and learning strategies helped me gain a better understanding of how languages are formed and as such allowed me to develop new ways to approach Malay. Based on the readings, I want to focus on my sociolinguistic and communicative competence, but things like grammatical competence would be important in developing big-picture language understanding.
At this point in the semester, I have stayed consistent with my learning plan by reading Korean books and writing in journals a little bit each day. Additionally, in my discussions with my language partner, we’ve explored topics like Korea’s holidays, historical events, and culturally significant vocabulary. One interesting insight I’ve gained is how many of Korea’s holidays are closely tied to its history. For instance, Korea celebrates babies’ 100th day birthdays (baek-il), because many children did not survive past their 100th days in the past. This tradition reflects the resilience of Korean culture and its emphasis on family milestones. Through these discussions, I’ve realized how interconnected the Korean language is with its cultural values and history. Discourse competence and sociolinguistic competence are emphasized in my plan. Throughout this semester, my growing understanding of how language reflects Korean culture has enhanced my ability to understand the nuances of Korean communication.
I believe language and culture are deeply intertwined and that language is not only a carrier of culture, but also a reflection of it. Idioms and slang are a perfect example of this relationship. A word’s meaning is derived from culture but its daily use perpetuates the mindset and belief systems of the culture from which it originated.
I like what Brown pointed out with how communicative competence is interpersonal rather than intrapersonal. This has been my experience. My ability to communicate with native speakers varies wildly (especially with listening comprehension) depending on whether or not they're an obliging conversation partner. For example, when I was speaking to my girlfriend’s parents over Facetime, the mother spoke slowly and deliberately while the father didn't. Although I have the same intrapersonal language skills, I had high understanding with the mother and low understanding with the father.
Looking back at my language learning plan, it presupposed a high degree of long-term motivation and organization that perhaps wasn’t realistic to the vicissitudes of an academic semester at university. For example, I was very specific regarding where and when I was going to do each of the weekly activities. While this worked well during the first half of the semester, as time went on, it became increasingly hard to stick to such a precise plan. For example, I would have weeks where I’m volunteering, doing a presentation for my job, submitting a big application for a summer opportunity while simultaneously trying to keep up with classwork. Sometimes all my resources would need to be sallied on a particular day to meet an important deadline militating overplanned wheres and whens. What I’ve found to be more successful is better integrating language learning opportunities into my ordinary life.
For example, by changing the settings on my computer and phone to be Portuguese I’ve been able to wildly increase my exposure to the language. Watching shows in Portuguese and scrolling on Kwai.com instead of Instagram has also helped.
Discussions regarding learning strategies have exposed me to a wide variety of learning strategies helping me narrow in on which work best for me. Learning about language structures hasn’t helped me learn Portuguese, but it has helped me better describe the language to others. I see value in that as a teacher and also as a classmate or friend trying to explain a linguistic difference.
That's such a great idea to integrate the language into your daily life! I might actually take from this. My learning plan for this semester was to journal in Korean a little bit every day but I would have really busy days where writing even a short paragraph felt tedious. This provides a natural way for you to immerse yourself and save time!
It’s smart that you’re adjusting your language learning plan to fit your busy life. Changing your phone and computer settings to Portuguese sounds like a fun way to increase exposure. I also think it’s valuable that you’re learning about language structures.
I think I found myself in a similar situation concerning my expectations and what I was able to put together in a semester. I substantially overestimated the amount of sit-down study time I would have to develop my vocabulary, but I believe I was able to compensate for this through C-LAC and choosing to listen to Turkish music while I was driving. I think taking actions like yours, where you immersed your daily life in Portugese, are extremely beneficial to succeeding at language acquisition.
Throughout my language learning journey, I've shifted my focus from honorifics to a more comprehensive study of Korean grammar, particularly through the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which has improved my pronunciation and understanding of sound. This structural approach helps me build a stronger foundation in the language. My understanding of the relationship between language and culture has deepened throughout this process. In my view, language is a major manifestation of culture, with cultural norms embedded within its structure. For instance, the Korean honorific system reflects societal values, particularly the importance of respecting seniors and superiors. This cultural aspect is not only linguistic but also a reflection of social hierarchies, making it an essential part of language learning. The discussions around language structure and learning strategies have been instrumental in helping me understand Korean more thoroughly. By analyzing the various components of the language, I have been able to piece together a clearer understanding of how it works from a foundational level. This approach allows me to better frame sentences and understand language patterns holistically. To improve my communicative competence, my current focus is on enhancing my grammatical competence, particularly with tense usage. Strengthening my grasp of tense will allow me to express myself more accurately in Korean, which is a key step toward improving overall fluency.
I like how flexible you are with your language learning plans. I know we struggled a lot with understanding pronunciation through the international phonetic alphabet but I also recognize how it has been very helpful with tonal languages like Korean. I'm interested to see what other aspects of Korean culture you explore through your language learning program. Especially with the growing relevance of Korean culture in today's media and the ever-changing nature of Korean culture, I will be interested in knowing more about how that shapes your language learning journey. All the best in learning Korean!
Throughout this semester, I have been specifically targeting communicative and sociolinguistic competence. One of my goals was to engage in more conversations in Korean and break out of my comfort zone, in hopes of further developing my vocabulary and ways of self-expression. I have definitely broadened the range of topics I have been talking about with my Korean friends and have learned a lot of new vocabulary that has been helpful in more context-specific situations. Additionally, I have become more comfortable with asking questions about words and phrases that I may not be familiar with, which has expedited my understanding of the context, as I am better able to piece things together. I have incorporated materials and insights from class into my efforts by splitting topics up into categories, which has made learning new vocabulary easier and less overwhelming. I have found that in doing so, I am also able to retain more of the words and use them correctly on my own the following times the conversation topic resurfaces. Having discussions regarding language structures and learning strategies has also helped me to understand Korean and Korean culture better, as I am significantly more aware of all of the moving parts, and can narrow my focus onto more specific goals. For example, instead of focusing on learning new vocabulary broadly, it has helped me to learn what specific roots of words mean, which is more widely applicable to other words with similar meanings and origins. Something I can do to improve my communicative competence is watch more K-dramas or videos in general, as I have not been making enough time to be intentional about immersing myself in the media. I believe that this will help me to strengthen my communicative and sociolinguistic competence in Korean.
I really connect with your approach to learning Korean, especially your focus on breaking vocabulary into categories and understanding word roots—it’s a method I’ve found effective in my own language studies too. Incorporating more media like K-dramas sounds like a great way to immerse yourself further and continue building your communicative skills, something I’m also trying to prioritize in my own language-learning journey.
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