This semester, I studied the Korean language and some of the Korean culture. Initially when starting this adventure, I was quite ambitious about what I wanted to learn before the semester ended. As the semester progressed, I realized that my learning plan involved more than I could accomplish within this semester so I had to scale back my goals. Thus I decided to learn greetings, ordering food, important shopping words and phrases, and question phrases such as “what is this?”, “what is that?”, etc. Throughout the semester, I’ve learned many words and phrases some that were new to me, but others were old to me because of my years of listening to Korean pop music and watching Korean dramas. I have had the chance to get to know my peers better who were also studying Korean. By doing the learning journals, I was able to reflect on my progress this semester, which was a bit slow at first, but I slowly progressed. Now I can read hangul, as well as a basic introduction and asking questions, so I think if I keep up with Korean for years to come, I’ll be able to write it without looking at the writing of others.

The difficulty that I encountered was not having a language partner to help me or to converse with because I, along with some others who have been studying Korean, was never assigned a language partner. Despite asking our professor many times for the language partner, we were not assigned a language partner at all. However, even though I did not have a language partner, I was able to find some free online resources that helped me with my Korean, but sometimes it is helpful to have a native speaker who can help you with pronunciation. Other than that slight difficulty, everything else with studying my target language of Korean went well.

Overall insights that I have gained as a language learner and a cultural explorer is that learning a language can be fun if you have good resources. I had the chance to to find a Korean language app called Eggbun that was helpful as well as a few Korean websites. After leaving this class, I plan to continue learning Korean by going to South Korea for two weeks after my graduation next month. After undergrad, I want to continue exposing myself to the Korean language and the Korean culture.

Throughout this semester, I had the chance to read numerous articles and readings about languages that would sometimes ignite my interest.  One particular article was Why Bilinguals Are Smarter? the writer mentioned how people who were bilingual tend to be smarter and he even used the example of the children who were asked to sort blue circles and red squares into bins on the computer. At the end of this task, it seems that the bilingual students did better. What the writer also mentioned was that those who are bilingual are able to concentrate more on tasks and ignore distractions. They also have the ability to switch their attention from one thing to another, like driving while memorizing directions. This made me reflect a lot on my own language learning experiences and I thought that if I had continued learning French then I would be quite fluent right now and I think I would consider myself to be bilingual.

Taking this self-directing language class has made me realize that I do better learning a language when I am in the classroom as opposed to just learning it on my own. When you learn the language on your own it can be difficult because there is no one there to guide you properly or to help you when you need it. Overall, if I had to the self-directed language experience all over again, I do not think that I would do it, but I would prefer learning the language in a classroom setting.

This semester, I studied the Korean language and some of the Korean culture. Initially when starting this adventure, I was quite ambitious about what I wanted to learn before the semester ended. As the semester progressed, I realized that my learning plan involved more than I could accomplish within this semester so I had to scale back my goals. Thus I decided to learn greetings, ordering food, important shopping words and phrases, and question phrases such as “what is this?”, “what is that?”, etc. Throughout the semester, I’ve learned many words and phrases some that were new to me, but others were old to me because of my years of listening to Korean pop music and watching Korean dramas. I have had the chance to get to know my peers better who were also studying Korean. By doing the learning journals, I was able to reflect on my progress this semester, which was a bit slow at first, but I slowly progressed. Now I can read hangul, as well as a basic introduction and asking questions, so I think if I keep up with Korean for years to come, I’ll be able to write it without looking at the writing of others.

The difficulty that I encountered was not having a language partner to help me or to converse with because I, along with some others who have been studying Korean, was never assigned a language partner. Despite asking our professor many times for the language partner, we were not assigned a language partner at all. However, even though I did not have a language partner, I was able to find some free online resources that helped me with my Korean, but sometimes it is helpful to have a native speaker who can help you with pronunciation. Other than that slight difficulty, everything else with studying my target language of Korean went well.

In the cultural presentations presented by some of my classmates during that last class session, I had the opportunity to learn about different aspects of different cultures and languages. Personally, I enjoyed learning about cultures and languages outside of Korea because since it is the culture that I am studying. In Omer’s presentation, I had the chance to learn about Israeli holidays and how they celebrate them. What I enjoyed most about his presentation is seeing how Hebrew is written because for me when looking at different languages, the written system, if it is not one that uses the English alphabet is intriguing, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.

Ann’s presentation om Korean plastic surgery was also interesting because I was aware of how big the plastic surgery industry was in Korea, but I did not think that it started at such a young age like 12 years old. Many of those in Asia who have monolids commonly seek double eyelid surgery because it makes the eyes seem bigger and may make you look more attractive. However, everyone has their own standards of beauty so sometimes to achieve that beauty, people sometimes decide to get more and more surgery until they look the way that they want to. In my opinion, everyone should accept themselves the way that they are, but if getting plastic surgery makes them seem more confident and accept themselves, then that is fine as well.

With Shayna’s presentation, two of my close friends would have thoroughly enjoyed it because she talked about Turkish coffee. She also bought in props and showed us the process of how the coffee is brewed and how it is served. Costa’s presentation was quite impressive because he spoke in Greek for a good portion of the presentation and it sounded so cool. I’ve never really heard Greek spoken before, outside of the movies, but it was a nice experience. Also to learn about how many Greeks were abroad and the various countries that they currently live in was a nice experience to learn about too.

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For my cultural project, I discussed the drinking culture in South Korea. I was quite curious about this because I watch many Korean dramas and usually in offices and in the workplace in order for co-workers to get to know each other better, they may go out for drinks. I had the chance to find out the history of drinking in South Korea and how it initially started out as only drinking for special occasions, such as the time for harvest or to celebrate the new year. For me, since I do not drink, I wondered what if there are people similar to me who do not drink, what do they do in these types of situations. I found out that there are many alternatives to drinking with coworkers. One alternative is to accept a drink if you are offered one and just take sips from it throughout the entire night or just let it sit to the side. The good thing about drinking with coworkers is that you all can discuss problems that you may be having at work and just find a sense of relief when talking to others who can relate to what you’re going through.

My learning goals for this week are to keep learning my survival language because I will be going to Korea next month from May 9th until May 25th, so I would like to use as much of the language that I know. I do not want to go there and speak English all the time, but I want to be not ashamed if I pronounce something incorrectly, but as long as I know that I’m trying, that’s all that matters to me. By survival, I mean asking for directions, asking about prices, operating the subway system, and ordering food.

I like to sing a lot, especially sad songs. Since I am a big fan of Korean ballads, which are usually sad songs about love, but they can be happy sometimes, I decided to do a cover of the song "It's Okay, That's Love", by Davichi, from the Korean drama "It's Okay, That's Love". Davichi is a Korean ballad duo comprised of Lee Haeri and Kang Minkyung. 

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For the third artifact, I decided to write about my family! They are just simple sentences, but I did my best

저는 엄마와 오빠가 있습니다. 제 오빠는 29살입니다. 우리는 7살 차이가 납니다. 제 할아버지와 할머니는 두 분다 돌아가셨습니다. 저희 가족 구성원은 많지 않지만 서로 정말 사랑합니다.

This basically translates into the following

I have a mom and an older brother. My older brother is 29 years old. We have a 7 year age difference. My grandfather and grandmother have both died. My family may be small, but we really love each other.

My learning goals for this week are to learn about the Korean drinking culture project presentation and learn about basic survival skills when visiting Korea. For learning about the Korean drinking culture I will read articles, as well as watch various videos about the culture of drinking there. In regards to basic survival skills I will have to consult videos for that, my Korean peers, and if I get a language partner, then my language partner as well.

During last class, my partner Ann and I decided to come up with a Korean language lesson about the different body parts. There is the English song that goes "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes", so we decided to incorporate that, but by using Korean instead. So the English song goes as follows:

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

The way that Ann and I did it was

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

눈과 귀와 입과 코

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

I think that it was fun to do, but the rhythm was at times difficult to catch

My experience trying to read and write Korean has been difficult because since I do not have a language partner, it is rather hard to know if I am pronouncing certain words correctly. I do my best to study on my own, but with reading I am often slow and saying that words because I am still getting used to the characters. There are only two names that I know how to write properly which are Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Soo Hyun. The only reason why I know these two is because one is my favorite Korean pop idol and the other is my favorite actor. I think that if I keep trying and immersing myself into the language, I will eventually be able to read at a decent pace. I changed my phone to Korean in order to get one step closer to that goal.

This week I read two articles about bilinguals and how scientist consider them to be smarter than monolinguals, whereas others questioned, what exactly made bilinguals smarter than monolinguals. I do not consider myself to be bilingual because even though I studied French for around 6 years, I am not fluent in the language, in fact as the years of study went on, I started to lose interest in it. In the article, “Why Bilinguals are Smarter”, the writer mentioned how people who were bilingual tend to be smarter and he even used the example of the children who were asked to sort blue circles and red squares into bins on the computer. At the end of this task, it seems that the bilingual students did better. What the writer also mentioned was that those who are bilingual are able to concentrate more on tasks and ignore distractions. They also have the ability to switch their attention from one thing to another, like driving while memorizing directions.

However, in the second article, “Are bilinguals really smart?”, the writer questioned whether what science said about bilinguals being smart was true or not. He also wondered if those who may have learned a second language growing up could be considered about of this smart club of bilinguals, but in my opinion I think it depends on how well you know that second language. He did admit that bilinguals would know more vocabulary words because they know 2 languages, but the amount of vocabulary words that they may know in the individual languages tends to differ from each other. I wonder if the “smartness level” increases with the more languages that you know or does it stay about the same for whether you are bilingual or trilingual, etc.

My learning goals for this week is to try to put post its up around my room and my suite so that I can learn more vocabulary words as I keep going with my journey of learning Korean. Although this process has not been the easiest it has been quite enjoyable because now I can read hangul. However, it does sometimes take me a bit of time to read it because I read slowly, I’m glad that I have gotten the hang of it.

In Korea, just as in many other Asian countries, family is important because it can define your entire life. Family is the single-entity that is passed on from generation to generation besides customs, languages, etc. Family not only includes your living relatives, but also the ancestors that have come before you, who you should still honor and pay your respects to. There is the the duty to obey your parents even when you become an adult. This goes along with the Confucian concept of filial piety, which is about family being at the center and respecting one’s elders. In some cases, one must subordinate personal interests if it is not good for the family. This is not always the case because each family is different. Some families may be more traditional while others may have embraced the modern era.

My learning goals for this week is to continue learning hangul and learn how to say the numbers and dates (i.e. months and days of the week) in Korean. I will accomplish this by using my Korean from Zero book, resources that I found online for vocabulary words, and just constant review.  I find that the Korean number system and the Sino-Korean number system are quite difficult, but I will keep practicing

I have learned many words in Korean, but a lot of them I already knew from music, watching Korean dramas, and going to eat at Korean restaurants. Thus, I know a lot of food words and words if I were to get angry at someone and start yelling or if I were falling in love. I do want to learn more practical words though, so words that I can use daily to get through life or at least be able to survive for a couple of days in Korea.

My learning goals for this week is to continue learning hangul and learn how to say the numbers and dates (i.e. months and days of the week) in Korean. I will accomplish this by using my Korean from Zero book, resources that I found online for vocabulary words, and just constant review.  

In the Culture Shock video, some of the student reflected on what it was like to first step on the university’s campus because it was an unfamiliar place. At times I could tell that it was perhaps difficult for them because they’re in a new environment with people they do not know, so it would take some time to get used to. Also, sometimes things that other students would say, especially the American students, they would not understand because it may be a joke that only Americans would understand or people who are more Westernized would. That is one thing about culture shock is that a lot of the language, including jokes or metaphors, a person may not understand, but also mannerisms. For me I do not recall experience culture shock prior to my class trip to Russia in January 2014. One thing that surprised me about the Russian culture is that they do not smile in their photos, which coming from America where it seems as though everyone smiles, this through me off guard. However, just as in America, people are quite proud to be Russian and they take great pride in their arts. One of the expectations that I have for those experience culture shock is that there would be other people who would be willing to help those dealing with culture shock get adjusted to the society better, by befriending them or providing resources for them.

To Koreans, the concept of time is closely related to human communication, especially having an influence on a society’s lifestyle. The time that we use to work and the time that we use to play has increased significantly over time. In the Western culture, we have certain hours of the day when we work, which is usually known as 9am-5pm or “working the 9-5”. However, in the Korean society, students and workers tend to work longer hours, especially high school students who sometimes stay in school from 8am until 10:45pm. Since Korea is presently Westernized, they are more aware about punctuality and the English phrase “The early bird catches the worm”. However, in the traditional Korea, there was no concept of punctuality, so due to the current Western influence, Koreans concept of time has changed. Koreans and those of Western society tend to be past-oriented people, meaning that they “place high regard on the past, the reliving of past events, and cherishing past happenings”.

Second Artifact

The article discusses the revival of the Siletz language and culture over a period of time. I think that when a language and/or culture is lost then a part of a person’s identity is also lost because language and culture can tell us a lot about history. Just like many other American Indian tribes, the Siletz tribe has lost a piece of their identity as generations continue to follow and more children and adults start to assimilate into American culture and society. However, this started back when the US government started displacing American Indians and mixing tribes with one another though they did not speak the same language or have anything in common. The goal was to make them assimilate or become nonexistent, but the Siletz tribe prevail and eventually their language, songs, and dances were adopted by other tribes, whose traditions had started to fade out. Despite the Siletz tribe’s language being lost temporarily after the US government declared it nonexistent, they were able to gain it back and even create an online dictionary, which I think is cool, especially for languages that are not common such as English, French, Spanish, Chinese, etc.

So far my language learning so far has been different from how I have learned languages in the past. In the past when I learned languages, it was in a classroom setting with the teacher or professor helping us along and teaching us the proper way to say words and the grammar behind the language. However, in this language class, it seems as though I am completely on my own without any guidance. What I mean by that is that we do not have a teacher or a professor helping us with the language because we have not been assigned our language partners yet for Korean. Personally, when I’m learning a new language, I need someone who I can go to for guidance and ask certain questions, but since we have not been assigned our language partners, I have been relying on Google and Korean apps for assistance.

My relationship with understanding the target language has not changed since I started learning it, except now when I hear it, I instinctively start to translate in my head the few words that I do know. In this way, I find myself picking up the speed of the language and the way that the language flows, this is also what I observe when I watch Korean dramas. Although sometimes in the dramas some of the ways that words are said can be a bit dramatic and not realistic, i.e. you would not always pout if your boyfriend makes you upset and storm off. A few weeks ago, I celebrated Lunar New Year with my Chinese, which is also a holiday that is celebrated in many Asian cultures including Korea. Through many of my peers presentations on Lunar New Year in Korea, I had the chance to learn more about how Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year, such as the foods that they eat, the games that they play, and the traditions of greeting the elders, etc. This was different in some ways from how the Chinese celebrate, but in some cases, it was also similar.

In addition to my relationship to the Korean culture, I learned a lot more about filial piety and how it is greatly rooted in the Korean culture. Filial piety comes from Confucianism where one should respect their parents and care for them. It is based on obedience, honor, and duty to one’s family even as one gets older and leaves the house. In other words, everything that you do is a reflection of you and your family.

There is much that I need to improve on within learning the Korean language and my communication skills. I learn best through reading and writing, so writing words out over and over again can help me that way I can recognize them so I can use them to communicate with my peers. Also, speaking the language more to native speakers will help out a lot because I can practice more. The more that I speak the language, I think that more that I will become comfortable with it, that way I can get over the fear of messing up when I speak.