REFLECTION 2:
I really enjoyed this semester learning Hindi with Ananya! I have been wanting to learn the Hindi script since a long time, and though I have learned it on and off just from being a bit more intentional during a trip to India or Nepal—paying attention to road signs and things like that—I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down and try to learn in a more traditional, classroom environment even though it was still with a friend. Though it took a while for me to get started, once I did, no matter how busy I was, Ananya and I always made time to meet each other regularly, sometimes up to three hour-long meetings a week! I do not feel like I really followed my learning plan as much as intended, but I am happy with the progress I made. As of our last meeting a week or two ago, I was able to read and write sentences in Hindi with relative ease! I really want to follow through on my plan to read a short book, so I think I am going to purchase the book that Ananya shared with you and work on it over the summer. Maybe soon I will be able to read short news articles online, in line with my goals of learning Hindi for research and academic purposes beyond just my own self-satisfaction.
I don’t feel like I learned that much about myself as a cultural explorer since this language is part of a culture that I grew up with and took intentional steps to connect with when I entered college four years ago. While conducting research for my final cultural presentation was interesting and I gained knowledge I am glad to now have, I don’t necessarily feel like I learned things I didn’t already know. I learned a little bit more about myself as a language learner, and particularly how I much prefer more hands-on activities. For example, I better enjoy (and better learn from!) reading rather than writing. Early on in my lessons with Ananya, I grew tired of just reading and we transitioned to writing instead, with some reading sprinkled throughout. I also think in general it is best to learn languages with a focus on speaking and writing because those require more active brain engagement.
I’m going to learn from this more traditional classroom experience and schedule in weekly time to work on my Hindi over the summer. Ananya and I mostly just followed a book that I had laying around my family house, so I think it should be easy to keep up with at home. However, not having to set aside time with someone, and particularly with a friend, will make it difficult to keep myself accountable and the process of language learning will definitely be less enjoyable. I also think I will struggle to progress as quickly, or atleast to notice my progress, without a secondary teacher with me. I might try those online free tutorials that we talked about in the seminar, but I don’t usually enjoy virtual learning.
I really enjoyed this semester learning Hindi with Ananya! I have been wanting to learn the Hindi script since a long time, and though I have learned it on and off just from being a bit more intentional during a trip to India or Nepal—paying attention to road signs and things like that—I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down and try to learn in a more traditional, classroom environment even though it was still with a friend. Though it took a while for me to get started, once I did, no matter how busy I was, Ananya and I always made time to meet each other regularly, sometimes up to three hour-long meetings a week! I do not feel like I really followed my learning plan as much as intended, but I am happy with the progress I made. As of our last meeting a week or two ago, I was able to read and write sentences in Hindi with relative ease! I really want to follow through on my plan to read a short book, so I think I am going to purchase the book that Ananya shared with you and work on it over the summer. Maybe soon I will be able to read short news articles online, in line with my goals of learning Hindi for research and academic purposes beyond just my own self-satisfaction.
I don’t feel like I learned that much about myself as a cultural explorer since this language is part of a culture that I grew up with and took intentional steps to connect with when I entered college four years ago. While conducting research for my final cultural presentation was interesting and I gained knowledge I am glad to now have, I don’t necessarily feel like I learned things I didn’t already know. I learned a little bit more about myself as a language learner, and particularly how I much prefer more hands-on activities. For example, I better enjoy (and better learn from!) reading rather than writing. Early on in my lessons with Ananya, I grew tired of just reading and we transitioned to writing instead, with some reading sprinkled throughout. I also think in general it is best to learn languages with a focus on speaking and writing because those require more active brain engagement.
I’m going to learn from this more traditional classroom experience and schedule in weekly time to work on my Hindi over the summer. Ananya and I mostly just followed a book that I had laying around my family house, so I think it should be easy to keep up with at home. However, not having to set aside time with someone, and particularly with a friend, will make it difficult to keep myself accountable and the process of language learning will definitely be less enjoyable. I also think I will struggle to progress as quickly, or atleast to notice my progress, without a secondary teacher with me. I might try those online free tutorials that we talked about in the seminar, but I don’t usually enjoy virtual learning.
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