Reflection #2
This semester has a very enriching and transformative time in terms of my language learning journey. As someone who grew up speaking Korean at home, I initially believed I had a strong foundation, but after talking with Jason I quickly realized how much more there was to learn, especially when it came to expressing myself fluently, confidently, and naturally in a range of real-life contexts. But I think with effort and engagement with my community partner and course materials, I’ve gained important insights about myself as both a language learner. Also, I found the time learning about language and the roots very helpful as well. It was cool to learn not just about Korean, my target language but also to learn about how generally languages and speech works. I found the topic about what parts of our mouth are used for certain words particularly interesting and also I was able to apply and consider it when I learned Korea.
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that fluency is not just about vocabulary size or perfect grammar. We talked about this in class but it’s about flow. For instance, someone can be a native speaker but not fluent. Being fluent meant knowing the nuances, the humor, and the finer details to a language. I think I realized that I was not as fluent or as expressive with my language speaking. I found that having weekly conversations with my community language partner, Jason, challenged me to be more expressive and spontaneous. At first, I hesitated often, translating mentally from English and second-guessing my verb endings or honorifics. But over time, those pauses grew shorter. I began trusting myself more, thinking in Korean, and taking risks with new expressions. I even recorded our conversations and compared them over time, noticing clear improvements in pronunciation and sentence complexity. Sometimes I had trouble since Korean has multiple speech levels and contextual nuances, and I worried about sounding too casual or too formal. However, this challenge also deepened my understanding of Korean social dynamics. For instance, how language reflects respect, hierarchy, and emotion. Watching Korean dramas and variety shows, especially Culinary Class Wars, helped me understand these dynamics better. I picked up casual slang, food vocabulary, and expressions tied to encouragement or politeness. These insights made me feel more connected to Korean culture and more knowledgable to how language works beyond just the standard rules. What I most enjoyed was learning through kcontent since it was a fun and easy way to learn. While watching, I would often take mental notes or note new phrases and end up quizzing myself later, which made learning active and engaging. Among the readings and activities we did, the most useful were the reflection-based journals and language learning strategy discussions. Writing bi-weekly reflections made me more conscious of what worked and what didn’t. I began tailoring my study methods to my own strengths like listening repetition and context-based vocabulary learning. I also appreciated the emphasis on community-based learning. The experience of learning from someone my own age, with shared cultural interests, was far more dynamic and rewarding than isolated studying.Going forward, I want to continue deepening my fluency in Korean.
This semester has a very enriching and transformative time in terms of my language learning journey. As someone who grew up speaking Korean at home, I initially believed I had a strong foundation, but after talking with Jason I quickly realized how much more there was to learn, especially when it came to expressing myself fluently, confidently, and naturally in a range of real-life contexts. But I think with effort and engagement with my community partner and course materials, I’ve gained important insights about myself as both a language learner. Also, I found the time learning about language and the roots very helpful as well. It was cool to learn not just about Korean, my target language but also to learn about how generally languages and speech works. I found the topic about what parts of our mouth are used for certain words particularly interesting and also I was able to apply and consider it when I learned Korea.
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that fluency is not just about vocabulary size or perfect grammar. We talked about this in class but it’s about flow. For instance, someone can be a native speaker but not fluent. Being fluent meant knowing the nuances, the humor, and the finer details to a language. I think I realized that I was not as fluent or as expressive with my language speaking. I found that having weekly conversations with my community language partner, Jason, challenged me to be more expressive and spontaneous. At first, I hesitated often, translating mentally from English and second-guessing my verb endings or honorifics. But over time, those pauses grew shorter. I began trusting myself more, thinking in Korean, and taking risks with new expressions. I even recorded our conversations and compared them over time, noticing clear improvements in pronunciation and sentence complexity. Sometimes I had trouble since Korean has multiple speech levels and contextual nuances, and I worried about sounding too casual or too formal. However, this challenge also deepened my understanding of Korean social dynamics. For instance, how language reflects respect, hierarchy, and emotion. Watching Korean dramas and variety shows, especially Culinary Class Wars, helped me understand these dynamics better. I picked up casual slang, food vocabulary, and expressions tied to encouragement or politeness. These insights made me feel more connected to Korean culture and more knowledgable to how language works beyond just the standard rules. What I most enjoyed was learning through kcontent since it was a fun and easy way to learn. While watching, I would often take mental notes or note new phrases and end up quizzing myself later, which made learning active and engaging. Among the readings and activities we did, the most useful were the reflection-based journals and language learning strategy discussions. Writing bi-weekly reflections made me more conscious of what worked and what didn’t. I began tailoring my study methods to my own strengths like listening repetition and context-based vocabulary learning. I also appreciated the emphasis on community-based learning. The experience of learning from someone my own age, with shared cultural interests, was far more dynamic and rewarding than isolated studying.Going forward, I want to continue deepening my fluency in Korean.
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