A big thing I learned about myself as a language learner is that I can get easily discouraged when I set too many expectations for myself. I found the discouragement would, more often than not, negatively affect my interest in learning the language. Despite this upsetting experience, it allowed me to realize the importance in setting attainable goals so you don’t end up burning yourself out along your language learning journey. Personally, the goals I had set for myself weren’t that incredulous. The goals I had were: (1) learn the Korean alphabet, (2) learn how to read, (3) learn how to write. It was when we entered the territory of particles where it felt like I wouldn’t be able to get the concept down. There’s a lot of information about the different circumstances of when to use certain particles. Luckily, I knew my language partner very well to which I felt comfortable expressing the frustrations I was feeling. In doing so, we were able to take a break from the concept of particles and move onto other information as a breather from the content-loaded topic.
My language instructor definitely made it an enjoyable learning experience because she was very supportive and encouraging during our lessons and explained concepts very clearly. I believe she factored into the reason why I was able to accomplish the three goals I had set for myself which was another enjoyable aspect in my language journey this semester. If you were to tell me a year ago that I would know how to read and write Korean, I wouldn’t believe you. I’ve come a long way in improving my Korean linguistic abilities, thus, motivating me to continue on my journey and sign up for SDLC again next semester. I still have a long way to go before I can be proficient, but I’m excited for my future progress and will continue to practice the new knowledge I have acquired throughout winter break.
For class material, my language instructor usually prepared some document that she would teach off of which I found to be helpful. I don’t enjoy learning from videos all that much due to the fact that I get distracted easily. So, I enjoy being taught material by an actual person because it’s a lot more engaging and I can ask any questions I have on the spot. I definitely would like to learn more about how to phrase certain questions or answers to certain questions. This touches upon the conversational aspect, which is my main goal, so I know it’ll take some time before I can reach that level of proficiency. Additionally, I’m excited to learn about honorifics and how to use them properly. I still struggle in understanding where to attach the different honorific particles to what word and in which context, so I look forward in gaining some clarity in that aspect.
Aside from the language learning experience with my instructor, it was nice having additional assignments that allowed us to explore different cultural interests we had about our language. Since I had to start from the very beginning with Korean, I didn’t really have the chance to learn Korean culture all that much. Therefore, with the “Cultural Post” assignments, I was able to get a chance to learn more about the culture of the language I was learning which I deeply appreciated. Overall, I’d say my language journey was pretty successful this semester and I look forward on continuing my journey in the next coming year.
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