The first task of a self-directed learner is to set goals. Your goals will probably be related to your reasons for choosing this particular language. What is your interest in 'your' language? What do you hope to accomplish this semester? What are your long-term goals?
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I have dedicated this semester to learning Korean instead of my choice of Farsi (Persian) last semester. Since high school I have adopted a genuine interest not only the language but Korean culture especially popular culture. As an added benefit I went to a high school in New York with a large Chinese and Korean population. The friends I made there introduced me to different Korean cultural aspects within the city that I was not aware of initially and learning to say hello and thank you from my friends inspired me all the more to pursue the language.
This semester I hope to accomplish being completely familiar with the alphabet and number system as well as mastering common phrases. I also want to use this as an opportunity to familiarize myself more with the culture and learn about topics particular to pop culture so that I may converse about them with my language partner or other Korean speakers.
In the long term I would like to continue Korean because I am particularly interested in Asian languages (Japanese being my first). Since I plan to travel to Japan often in my future I would like to add Korea as a destination point. I wouldn't only want to visit but I would like to get to mingle with the people and be knowledgable of both the language and the culture.
I must admit that Norwegian was a somewhat random choice for me. I've had quite a bit of exposure to the romance languages, particularly French, which complement my IS: Modern Europe major nicely. I quite enjoy learning new languages so originally I considered learning German, but the intense nature of the introductory German course was a little off-putting, especially for my final semester of college. When I discovered the self-guided language program, it seemed like a great alternative and also a way for me to try learning a not-so-common language. I was reminded of my senior year of high school when I made a Norwegian friend who was studying abroad in my home town. We became fairly close friends and while I was tutoring her in French, she taught me a few phrases in Norwegian.
In any case I kind of have an arbitrary interest in learning Norwegian. I've heard great things about Norway, indeed about the whole of Scandinavia, and absolutely want to visit some day, at least to visit my friend from high school! From my limited exposure to Norwegian, it's quite different from any romance language, but because of its germanic roots, has quite a few similarities, at least written, to English. I've had very little exposure to the language other than the phrases my friend taught me. Ideally I'm hoping to master the basics--primarily vocabulary. I don't expect any advanced level of fluency, but hopefully by the end of the semester I can make my way around Norway without sounding totally lost! My expectations are minimally realistic, but I really hope to learn as much as I can. I'm also excited to reconnect with my friend who will be skyping me from Norway as my language partner!
I am interested in learning Kannada to speak with Bethany's sister in Karnataka, India and to truly be able to communicate with her and her family, as well as some of her friends and their children. When you are going to a different country for any period of time, I find that basic knowledge of the language and culture is essential and polite in order to interact with those who live in a culture different than you. I hope to learn some Kannada in order to be able to hear Indians speak to me of their lives in their own language, to understand and to speak into their lives as well.
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I'm interested in Kannada because my two older sisters married men from Karnataka, India. My older sister Mary lives in India w/ her husband and her two kids <3 and I've visited her there once and am going back this summer. She lives in rural India so there is basically no one who speaks English there so I want to be able to communicate there when I visit her. Also want to be able to tell stories to my niece and nephew who speak Kannada. =)
This semester I will be studying Swedish as part of a 6 year affair with Scandinavia. My interest in Swedish began with the two years I spent studying in Norway. While there I studied Norwegian, specifically Nynorsk, and began picking up on both Danish and Swedish. At some point my Norwegian had transformed itself into 'Scandinavian' which interestingly enough reflects the unique commonalities shared by Scandinavian languages. Native speakers can easily read the other language and learn the other languages with relative ease. Coming back to my point, my best friend and boyfriend is Swedish and after 5 years of traveling back and forth to Sweden I finally decided to officially study Swedish and expand my vocabulary. The memories I have from studying in Norway, and traveling throughout Scandinavia have greatly affected me and motivated me to study Swedish, but also to learn more about a region in the world I feel greatly attached to. My goals for the semester are to develop my conversational skills in certain popular subjects so that I can participate in dinner conversations about contemporary affairs and culture. I hope that by the end of the semester I will be much more confident in speaking in order that I may one day return to Scandinavia for an extended period of time.
I want to study the Korean language for several reasons. I've always been interested in different Asian languages and cultures. For that reason, I will be study abroad all next year in South Korea so that I can truly immerse myself in its cultural environment. As a student studying journalism and anthropology, I think studying abroad for a good period of time is necessary (plus anthropology majors are required to study abroad for at least six weeks). I am also planning to spend time doing research for my senior thesis that I will have to do for anthropology once I return to the University of Richmond. Since I will be studying abroad in South Korea, I thought knowing basic Korean was a must.
I hope to accomplish a basic understanding of the language before I head off abroad. I would really like to improve my speaking and communication skills more than anything. Secondly, I would like to be able to read and write well. I'm looking forward to expanding my vocabulary and working on pronunciation. I will continue taking Korean classes once abroad in order to complete my COM2 requirement this way. My future goal is fluency. I'd love to be fluent in this language because I'm passionate and have a naturally curiosity to understand everything about it.
Where in South Korea will you be studying?
I will be studying at Yonsei University in Seoul! :)
Growing up in a Hebrew speaking home has strengthened my confidence and knowledge of conversational Hebrew, which I still use regularly to communicate with family. I spent four years in elementary school living in Israel, which was a difficult transition as I had no knowledge of writing or comprehension in the language. By the end of 6th grade, when I moved back to the U.S., I was reading and writing at the level of my peers. However, since then I have not dedicated time to reading in Hebrew, and almost never write.
I have joined the self directed study in Modern Hebrew for a number of reasons. I would like to raise my confidence and proficiency in reading. I feel that I lack certain vocabularies for more advanced conversations, especially those that have to do with international relations and politics, which are the focus of my university studies. Such vocabulary would also open doors for me to be able to read the news in Hebrew and gain insights to perspectives that may only be offered in the native language.
This semester, I hope to create vocabulary lists that will advance my reading and writing abilities from that of a 6th grader to the level of reading experienced by a college student. This is a large gap of years to cover and difficult to gauge, but I plan to measure my ability to read through news articles on Israeli websites, and journals offered on international relations to Israeli university students.
My long term goals include the possibility of taking on a job in Hebrew when I graduate next December or in the next few years. I had been accepted to work at the NYC Israeli Consulate two years ago and realized that everyone on my floor was Israeli and a native Hebrew speaker. Being able to communicate with them was not an issue when it came to my interview process, however, I would like to improve the ability to have some deeper conversation as well as improve the efficiency of my comprehension of work related documents.
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