Monthly Languae Learning Journal #4: As I am approaching graduation, I’ve tried to make the most of my time with the program and with Jason. He’s unequivocally been paramount in my improvements in Korean, helping me feel more comfortable in unfamiliar territory, particularly in jargon. Although I’m comfortable with conversational Korean, I’ve continued to try to improve my knowledge of terms in my major, cognitive science, as I hope to one day work in a bilingual environment, perhaps going to Korea for work/business where these skills would be vital. To support my learning, I compiled key terms into categorized lists (e.g., memory encoding, machine learning, project management) and created sample sentences using each word. Jason would then review these sentences, suggest more natural phrasing, and quiz me in context-based exercises. I also listened to a business podcast once a week and tried summarizing the main points using the new vocabulary. To be honest, it hasn’t been easy, as these terms typically fly over my head (even in English), but Jason has guided me through some of the connotative nuances between words/phrases. In any business setting, tone is crucial, with a thin line between things like aggressiveness and politeness, and I’ve been seeking to find the proper usage of certain words. The strategy of practicing vocabulary through context rather than rote memorization was highly effective. Creating sample sentences helped me retain terms much better than simply studying flashcards. The podcast summaries challenged me to adapt my language to real-world usage and revealed gaps in my active vocabulary, which Jason helped me address. Seeing how these words were used within their contexts resulted in massive improvements, similar to seeing how words like “touch-base” and “cadence” are used in professional communications in America. However, now that my time at UR is coming to an end, losing Jason is something that I will miss, but, seeing as we have become friends over our time, a simple text would suffice with many of my questions, rather than formal classes. I suppose that I will be a lifelong learner of Korean, which comes with many challenges of their own, but for a shorter, more digestible goal, I hope to go back to Korea, perhaps Yonsei University, and speak to some of my former professors with the new knowledge that I’ve acquired. Although I have spoken to them in the past, academic dialogue was often avoided on my end as I wasn’t yet comfortable enough to discuss at length with my professors. Whenever this may exactly be, I’m not sure, however, Jason and the program have provided me with the skills to approach this head on.