Taking the SDLC 105 course this semester has been an incredibly enriching and fun experience that will help me a lot in the hard task that is acquiring new languages. During the last 14 weeks or so, I have developed basic skills in recognizing linguistic and cultural patterns in different languages that the whole experience of learning a new language more holistic, fun, and easy.

One of these concepts that I have learned during the semester is morphology. While I interact with words all the time, I did not know how to understand them in terms of their composition with affixes in all their variations. This concept came to me pretty naturally because I can recognize these patterns in the English, Spanish and even the Korean language. As such, visualizing how words are constructed in Korean or Hebrew (my target languages) is going to make learning vocabulary much easier.

Also, understanding the connection between language and culture has been extremely interesting to look into. Not only is it important to understand this relationship to better understand how a language formed its particularities, but also to get a better experience of learning said language. To put this idea briefly, it is much more effective and engaging to learn Korean while interacting with locals, their customs and history, rather than just by reading from a textbook. I definitely plan to apply this framework with my future journey with the Korean language, as I have already done it before when studying abroad in Seoul, and it was one of the best learning experiences of my life.

One particular activity that I really liked doing this semester was when we had to identify verbs, pronouns, and tenses by analyzing a group of words in several languages like Turkish and Swahili. I felt really good when identifying these patterns and even more when I made my own sentences with the words I recognized. Hopefully I will be able to replicate this to some extent with Hebrew, a language that has patterns such as suffixes that change depending on the gender.

In terms of readings we covered this semester, “Communicate Competence” from Principles of Language Learning and Teaching by H.D. Brown was probably the one that had the biggest impact this semester. In the chapter, H.D Brown proposes the complexities of acquiring language competence. More specifically, there are two main branches that conform language competency, those being organizational competency – which includes elements such as vocabulary, syntax, and morphology – and pragmatic competency – which undermines more cultural aspects like recognition of dialects and of figures of speech. This made complete sense to me since one can handle the basic structure of a language (vocabulary and syntax) without actually being able to engage in a conversation with a native of the target language, a situation that in my eyes would not entail competency of any language. This shows that languages are more than just structures that one has to systematically learn in order to communicate. Learning a language up to a point where one is competent requires a holistic approach that involves direct interactions with fluent speakers, as well as an immersion into the culture to fully grasp the context in which the language one is learning lives in.

I truly hope to take all these lessons and the ones not mentioned here and use them to make the best of my journey in learning the Korean and Hebrew Language, and I thank everyone in my SDLC 105 class that made this process as enjoyable as it could be.

Main Objectives:

• To be proficient in Korean up to a level where I can have a basic conversation with a Korean speaker at a semi-fluent pace.

• To be able to understand Korean so I will not be completely lost at watching Korean media without any subtitles.

Topics of Korean Language:

• Vocabulary
  • Day-to-day
  • Sports
  • Business
  • "Slang"

• Grammar
  • Complex sentences ("but…", "however…", "nevertheless…")
  • Formal speech
  • Sentences with more than one verb ("I think eating here is a better option")

Resources to use

• Korean Sports Broadcasting (Preferably Live)
• Korean shows and movies
• Language exchange platforms
• Acquaintances that know Korean (1-on-1 conversations)

I have had the privilege and pleasure to learn multiple languages throughout my life, those being English as a second, language, Hebrew when I was in high school, and Korean when I went to Seoul to study abroad in the Spring of 2023. Each one of these experiences were for different periods of time and using different tools and resources, resulting in contrasting progress in understanding those languages. For example, I learned English both through formal education, from elementary school throughout high school, and popular media such as YouTube videos and movies. Such a thorough learning of the English language, both in formal and colloquial contexts made it possible to be fluent, making it possible to study in the United States as an international student. While learning English growing up, I really liked using terminology I learned through the internet and movies in academic settings or showing my family what I learned. However, I remember struggling a little bit with learning some of the more boring and inconsistent rules of the English language.

A different experience happened much more recently, when I went to South Korea to study abroad for a semester in Yonsei University. While in Korea, I took a basic Korean class, the lowest level possible at Yonsei, made exclusively for foreigners like me. I really enjoyed taking that class since it was the first time I learned a new language from scratch since Hebrew in middle school. Also, the professor did a great job in teaching the basics of reading and writing the alphabet, as well as simple words and phrases. However, my absolute favorite element of learning Korean that semester was whenever I went to the city and saw signs written in Korean and I could read and understand it completely, although most times they were saying simple things like 'coffee' or 'pork belly,' it made me incredibly happy to know I was progressing in being able to understand my new home, at the time. The same satisfaction arose when I spoke to people in Korean, especially to locals, usually doing simple things like introducing myself or ordering food. Oftentimes, these locals would be surprised that I, a foreigner, could speak Korean, even if it was extremely basic. However, even to this day, I really struggle to master the spelling of the few words and phrases that I know, making it really difficult to write or text someone in Korean, especially to those friends I made in Korea.

Looking at the surveys I took, it appears I am a tactile learner, meaning that I learn by touching and doing, rather than by listening or seeing. As such, learning activities that would suit my style include hands-on activities like completing art projects, taking walks, or acting out stories. This last one in particular would be a great technique to practice my understanding of vocabulary words, sentence construction, and storytelling. Furthermore, using the FIRE—Feedback, Individualization, Reflection, and Engagement—model, specifically for my experience in Korean when talking to classmates or other locals, was something that worked particularly well in learning the basics, as well as igniting my interest to keep learning on my own. As my journey in further expanding my horizons when it comes to learning new languages, I will do my best to use all the resources available and link them with my personal learning strengths evidenced in past experiences and recent survey results.