This semester was the first time I learned a language with a self-directed program. In the past I have learned both Spanish and Japanese in a more formal classroom environment. There are very distinguishable differences between these two methods of learning. For starters, trying to make a weekly schedule. Each week I was expected to have my own lesson plans, with the help of language partner. This responsibility is more challenging when one has to do it themselves. In a formal classroom, our language schedules are made for us by our instructors. This gives an essence of expectations from both the instructors and ourselves. While in the self-directed program, although we do have help from our language partners, the basis of our expectations is from ourselves. Another difference I realized between the two learning methods is the speed of learning a language was significantly different. In a classroom, I was able to identify my mistakes quickly. But when studying on my own, because I was not tested as intensively, I did not realize my mistakes until I had the opportunity to speak to my language partner again, Mitsuo. During these sessions he would correct my mistakes, but unfortunately this only occurred twice a week in comparison to my Japanese class which I had four times a week.

When I first started learning to write in Korean, Mitsuo refused to write anything out for me. He would teach me and repeat himself, for me to understand what he was talking about. But in the end I had to take notes down in Korean on my own. This was particularly annoying because my efficiency writing in Korean was very slow. It would take me about 15 minutes to write one sentence he spoke out-loud. And due to the fact many of the letters sound similar to non-Korean speaker, that added more to my struggles. He continued with every class, and with every class I got better. There was finally a moment I realized he stopped fixing my mistakes, and I was writing the notes on my own. If there was ever a mistake, it was quiet small, such as the wrong “O” sound. Although I personally hated this in the beginning, it certainly has helped me with my reading and writing. I feel more confident in reading and writing in Korean when comparing it to my speaking. I believe this is a very efficient method which should be done initially when starting to learn any language. If one continues to write the words pronunciation in English, it will take a longer time to learn how to read and write.

Though I am proud of my writing and reading, I can not say the same for my speaking. Speaking is particularly difficult because I did not get enough practice. Although watching YouTube videos, and listening to music did help me recognize words, I could not remember all of them when trying to speak. Mitsuo and I did try to learn new phrases and words on a daily basis, but many of this was not always practice. For instance, the word “grandfather” is unluckily to come up in a conversation between the two of us, so I at times forgot that word. But the phrase “Do you have water?” or “Where are you?” were used more frequently, therefore I can say those confidently. For me, the hardest part of this program was learning how to speak Korean.

 In the future, I can see myself improving in the reading and writing portion in Korean if I were to study alone. This is particularly due to the fact I gained the skills from the program. And with this, I might possibly improve in my speaking. If I am able to have the time, I can improve my grammar and learn new vocabulary on my own. But, like before, the hardest part and my weakest point will probably continue to be speaking in Korean. If I were to change this part of the program, I would try to have the language partners trying to constantly contact the person/people they are teaching. This is probably one of those things that look better on paper, and will probably not happen realistically. But overall, I am still proud of accomplishments in Korean because I started without absolutely any knowledge.

Final%20Reaction%20Paper.docx

I made a dialogue between two friends for artifact four. 

A: You hungry?

B: Yeah, a bit. 

A: Whatya want for lunch? Pizza okay?

B: I hate pizza...

A: What...

B: Is a sandwich okay? (^_^)/

A: Okay.... -.-'

Students that came from abroad to study in the University of Richmond have various culture shocks. These range from everyday speech to classes. One of the more common things I have heard from the international students is the concept of saying “how you are doing?” or “what’s up?” when one truly is never interested in someone else’s life. As an American, I know this has been embedded in many of us to say to one another without actually being concerned about what the respected person actually has to say. It is what we call here as common courtesy, although it is essential rude in the end because we at times have no true interest in someone else’s life.

Another common culture shock for many international students is the workload. In University of Richmond (not sure about other universities in America), we are given a lot of work to do outside of class so we can either be prepared for the following class for either discussion or as a base for more information to be taught. The workload is a lot to some universities abroad. From what I have heard from my international friends, many of them work endless hours preparing for the college exam and in high school, so they can be admitted into college. After they are admitted, many state it becomes easier. Not that universities abroad are easier, but they usually have less frequent exams and are given work that is a good percentage of their grade towards the end of the semester. But UR has facilities that try to help these students (and others) with things such as the writing center and academic skill center.

Another more important culture shock is trying to leave one’s identity and culture and adjusting to American standards. This can range from the everyday environment, to one’s meal. Many will be taken back by the fact that they are no longer surrounded by their common language, and feel homesick. This is very natural because they are literally surrounded by many foreign and new things (and people). It takes many international students to adjust at times. And at times some international students spend time mostly with people from their respected countries to keep themselves in the comfort zone. But if one is willing to share what their interests are, they might be able to find something similar here as well. For instance, a Japanese student once unconsciously stated she liked baseball. Fellow faculty members then took her to a baseball game in Richmond so that her stay and adjustment can be easier. And to a happy surprise, she was able to adjust quickly in comparison to other international students. 

Korean Presentation - HB and Han

Here is the link for my cultural presentation. 

The New York Times article, "Why Bilinguals are Smarter" is about why people knowing more than one language are apparently smarter. This is due to the cognitive ability for these individuals to switch back and forth between two languages. According to the article, because these people are able to do this from a young age, they are able to use the similar skills in their other aspects of life and academia. These individuals are thought to use their brains more due to this fact.

This is quiet interesting because America has been more interest in teaching languages in comparison to the past. The initial reason was due to globalization, but recently with this article there are other beneficial factors. With the growth of the nation alongside the growth of more immigrants coming to America with their culture, this might influence many educational systems to start teaching languages from a young age. I personally see this beneficial for a person’s future, in the sense of working, but there is also an apparent chance to stimulate a person’s mind to be more intellectual. 

Reading the article “Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction” was highly interesting. There are various languages in this world that are potentially dying out. The one mentioned in the article was known was Silentz, a Native American language that have severely died out. Currently there are about only five speakers left in the world. This was historically due to the reason, past America wished to eliminate the language. With American history knowledge, many of us know that many perceived Native Americans to be savages.

In a more current day situation, there are barely any people that speak Pidgin. Pidgin is the language that is spoken in Hawaii. Here is a video revolving around the language.

Hawaiian Pidgin traces back to Creole. Although the words are spoken in English, the usage is highly different. Current day Hawaii many people are speaking English, and the school system does not teach Pidgin any longer. It is interesting how the school system, and the decision of the government can influence the cultural aspect of a location. If places truly do wish to keep their identity, education is the best way to do so. 

Although the article was fairly difficult to read, it had important ideas when learning a language. The concept is revolved around the fact within certain moments or contexts allow people to say what we want. During this moment of speech we can interpret the messages, which can be pertained to certain contexts. One of the more interesting things from the article was gendering influencing how one learns a language. Although I have learned Japanese myself, I never did realize this. There are certainly words which are used more frequently with females, while others are more used with males. Some of these words are

うまい      美味しい    Delicious

すげー      すごい      Amazing

かっけー    かっこい    Cool

The words on the left are more used by males, and females use the words on the right more. Although I am currently studying Korean, I have yet to learn the words that are used more by females. 

Hangul was created for both social and linguistic reasons. For social reason, it was easier for common people to learn and become more literate only people in the government and upper class were able to learn Chinese. And anyone that knew Chinese was automatically assumed to be in the upper class, especially due to the fact common were not able to learn Chinese. Classical Chinese was known as Hancha. During this time period, Chiense characters was common amount all of North East Asia. The creation of a easier language would make an equal status for everyone.

The other reason were linguistic based. The two languages during the period were both Chinese and Korean. Chinese characters were not able to express the language of the difficult of the translating form Korean to Chinese. The separation between the languages was not appreciated either. And the most relatable for the people was that common people did not have the resources to learn Chinese. Like mentioned in the Turkish presentation, only the upper class was able to learn Chinese.

So who created Hangul. The person that created Hangul was King Sejong. He was the only king was that was given the title “the great king” except for two other kings that were given the title of being “great”. He was also famous for his influence in technology, military and humanitarian work. During the creation of Hangul he made a 28-letter alphabet for the Korean people. Each shape of the letter resembles from the olden-day Tenji, which is a style of writing when brush was used.

Hangul was created in the secret because of the resistance from the aristocrats. Each of the letters in Hangul is a shape that is based on the configuration of the articulators in the making of the sound. Although this is more then the original version of Hangul, there has been changes made since Hangul was first created.

Hangul was first designed for the reader to easily to distinguish and for the writer to have a simple writing system. The designers were familiar with the Chinese phonological theory, and to some had an understanding of Tibetan, Mongolian, Japanese and Jurchen. Another set of knowledge that was used was Buddhist scriptures. All of this knowledge led to the creation of Humminjeongeum, which means instructing the people in the correct sound. 

Humminjeongeum is the explanation of the completion of creation alphabet. The word means to teach the correct sounds to people. This meaning was given because Hangul was made to replace Chinese character that were used to point of period. Scholars during the period had to learn classified Chinese first to order to write. It was made to make education easier for everybody. But initially it was not accepted by scholars, therefore did not become effect until after World War II. There are two versions of Humminjeongeum, one is a seven page manuscript in the Hancha and Chinese. And the other is a 36 manuscript that has both Hancha and Hangul.

Knowing all of this information and much more gives me knowledge about Korean culture and the reason behind their pride. For anyone that is Korean, I can now understand not only is their spoken language an important part of their identity but their written one has more history behind it. Koreans scarified so much so they can have a system that gave themselves identity, and not use the language of another country. They truly fought for their language after the Japanese occupied Korea, where many started to gain nationalist pride with Hangul. This pride stuck around until current day because only very few places actually use and teach Chinese or Hancha. 

For my artifacts, I have already posted a picture of me writing out Korean letters and proceeding to outlining them in photoshop. I wish to do two videos in iMovie, and another picture of me writing in Korean. I have not yet decided what I want these three last things to be, but I hope to make them very entertaining. I might have some difficulty in doing so because I am not able to learn Korean quickly. But in the future I know I will learn more.

아자 아자! (Hwaiting!) 

(This means I will do my best in Korean) 

One of the interesting aspect about Korean is its level of being polite. Korean has different expressions for the same word, but depending on the person you are speaking with can change the appropriate word. For example, when speaking with a friend you can use the Korean words “Na-Yi (age)” and “Bab (meal)” with your friend. But would use the words “Yeon-Sae (age)” and “Jin-ji (meal)” with someone older such as your grandparent. There is also a range of politeness from simple polite to extreme polite.

Korean body language is also different from American lifestyle. In America to signify one has come up with a good idea, many snap their fingers. Koreans apparently slap their knees for the same accomplishment. Another interesting fact, although  when arguing Koreans will not point their index finger towards a person. Regardless of the fact they are arguing, and probably angered with the person they are upset with, they will point to the sky rather than at the other point. Pointing one’s finger at someone is considered extremely rude. This also incorporates the idea of politeness of being important, because regardless of the fact situation might be a heated argument, a Korean in general still will not point their index finger. Incorporating the collectivist mind state found in Korea, Koreans consider it a personal violation if someone who is not a relative or close friend touches them. Here is a short view of some differences between American and Korean body language. 

 Language is the gathering of thinking, such as philosophy, culture and lifestyle of the respected speakers. Learning a language you can learn many things about a country’s belief and way of life.

Currently I am studying Korean with my language partner. As mentioned before, Korean is not the first foreign language I have studied. Regardless how many languages I have studied until this point, there are certain things I make myself aware of when learning a new language. One of these things is the cultural aspect of it. For one reason why the cultural dimension is an important concept to study is because there is always associated vocabulary with the language. One of the cultural aspects Korea is the idea of collectivism. While in America, we refer to things as ‘my’ when describing their possessions. While in Korea people refer to things and people as ‘our. In the same way, Koreans share their food together in a collectively manner. 

Korean Dinner

In Korean culture, everyone individually have their own bowl of rice but that is only personal aspect of the meal. Throughout the meal everyone share the food from the table and share the food equally. While in western culture is normal to have a personal plate while we gather our food from the table and proceed to eat from our own personal eating space. There is less concept of a personal space in Korea. Korea has less of an individualist approach to everyday situations and more collectivist. 

American Dinner

Culture is very important to understand when studying a language because both are directly correlated. For example, I have already described the differences between a typical Korean meal setting versus an American dinner but what if a Korean immigrated to America? It can be assumed regardless of the foreign surroundings, the Korean would try their best to preserve their culture. Another understanding between language and culture is culture supports and defines the language. 

One of the biggest difficulties I have had in Korean is reading and writing. This has been my target goal to be able to do both without any issues. I have tried reading various things in Korean. The previous Korean language partner, Joon Kim, provided my current language partner with an ebook which he gave his students last semester. Although it basic and probably does not go past grade-school level in the grammar and writing, it still takes me sufficient amount of time to read it.

This difficulty can be traced back to the first day of class when we all discussed the idea of learning a language. Although I do not clearly remember who stated this, but learning a new language when you already have knowledge about a language which is somewhat similar might make it more difficult for the student. For instance, if someone already knows Spanish and wants to learn Italian. Well I am in the same boat right now. I have taken and have engraved Japanese in my brain that I can not seem to pick up Korean as fast. (Shout out to the Japanese department aka Suzuki Sensei and Kadekawa Sensei. They have definitely have taught me so much since my freshmen year. Anyone reading my blog posts and wish to learn an Asian language more formally, I highly recommend Japanese.) In Japanese each letter represents a sound. While in Korean you combine letters to make a sound.

Switching between the two languages is a struggle for me. But, I might have found the solution. Well, my language partner actually did. He took my cell phone and without my permission changed the language settings from English to Korean. Now I am forced to read in Korean. Also I have picked up vocabulary words randomly as well. This is almost similar to being in a foreign country because at first I was taken back by all the new words that I have never seen before. But slowly and constantly seeing these words has eased me into learning them and remembering them. But due to the fact the semester is about to end, my goal is still simply to read more swiftly with confidence.  

Reading these articles were very enjoyable because it spoke about many aspects of the brain and language. One of the articles that my sciencey and nerdy self enjoyed was the one that discussed Broca’s area due to the fact I have some previous knowledge. The ability to speak a language is a very unique and important function. It has been argued by many that language is an instinct, even being compared to by scientist it is similar to the upright posture. It is not know if the emergence of language arose slowly with the adaption of primate abilities, such as the ability to use tools. Language itself has man hierarchical structure of set rules, such as grammar. The portion of the brain that is associated with language is Broca’s area. Going more into the nerdy science aspect of Broca’s area, there still is currently research that is done. One aspect of research is aphasia. Aphasia is the disability in language. This disorder has different ranges of impairment which can range form having issues from slight issues such remembering the proper word, to greater issues such as not being able to speak, read, or write. The study of chronic aphasia has proved that there is an important role for Broca's area in different speech and language functions. And I currently am aware of the fact that my language learning days are mostly based on this part of the brain.

Another aspect of this article that I thought was equally interesting was the idea of slip of tongue.  This is when a person makes the mistake of saying a word that rhymes with their intentional word. After listening to some Korean online by watching videos, I could tell the difference between some of the words. But after reviewing the alphabet, I think there will a great chance of many tongue slips for me. For instance, the Hangul for ㅈ (j) and ㅊ(ch) sound somewhat similar. I believe I’ll say the incorrect word if there are any similar words that separately uses these letters. 

My biggest worry for learning Korean is the pronunciation. After listening to some videos in Korean and trying to repeat some common phrases I’ve heard here and there, I realized it is not easy. But with the BYKI program I can learn the essential Korean vocabulary words, alongside repeatedly listen to them. Like mentioned in one of my previous journal entries, one of more useful skill in learning languages is that I am pretty good with listening. Another aspect that helps me learn language is visual aid. If I am watching an education video and hear the associated with vocabulary with it, I’m positive I will be more likely to remember it. This is why I posted the two videos from YouTube on the Diigo “Asian Language” forum. One of the videos slowly teaches the pronounces each of the letters. She slowly repeats herself after each letter, and then talks about the common misconceptions with one of them. Unfortunately, unlike Spanish you can simply read the Romanized letters of each letter directly. The other link that I posted was a link to a YouTube channel for “Korean Language 101”. What I really liked about this link was the fact it has videos both for the language and culture. I personally believe you can never fully grasp a language without learning about the respected culture as well. This is why learning Spanish and Japanese was somewhat not too brutal learning. 

Out of all the resources that are present for Korean, my favorite is the TALK NOW! Learn Korean. One thing I know am confident about language learning is that I have a good ear for it. During the summer of my junior year, I decided to study abroad in Japan regardless of the fact I was not in a Japanese class for over a year. But due to the fact I picked up everything by listening to people’s speech, I am confident that this program will help me in a similar manner. Also, I believe the reason I have gained the skill to speak Japanese is because we had drill class frequently, therefore my speaking and listening were constantly being practiced. Fortunately, this program allows me to practice both for Korean as well. Alongside that it has various games I can play to practice and learn Korean vocabulary and the alphabet.

The other resource I believe I will use is the Integrated Korean book. This consist of both English and Korean questions, therefore I can practice my reading as well. It also has some questions I can answer. Answering these questions will force me to practice any future grammar I will learn. One of my weakest points in any language is grammar, so I hope this book will somehow help with Korean grammar. Having constant practice for writing will help my speaking in Korean to get better as well. With utilizing these resources on a weekly basis, I believe I will definitely have a better grasp in Korean than where I am right now.