I have learned a lot about myself as a language learner when attempting to learn Korean. I have tried to learn languages before, such as German, Spanish, and French, but always in a structured environment. It is one thing to listen to a teacher lecture about grammar, and totally another to learn on one’s own. I think that structuring my own program had some benefits, but also some drawbacks. It was nice in that I was able to learn whatever phrases and words I thought were important. It was unusual to me to be able to learn something completely outside of a structured lesson plan, where I normally would have to learn 20 words a week as well as so many grammar rules. By being able to learn goal-focused terms and phrases, I was able to speak instantly with others without having to tick off the boxes before being able to speak. With that being said, the reason that grammar is emphasized in formal classes is because it is completely necessary in order to extend knowledge of a language. For instance, you may learn the phrase “what do you mean?”, but you will not be able to extend that to “what does he mean?” if you do not understand the grammatical rules in place. I ran into that problem when learning Korean. I would learn a phrase, but because I had no idea about the grammar rules of the language, I would have to memorize another phrase in order to say something even slightly different. By following a goal-oriented form of language learning, you get instant rewards, but you also make it harder to develop a deep understanding of the language in the long run.
Overall, I found learning Korean to be a lot of fun. It was cool being able to talk to my Korean friends, even if it meant only being able to pick out words here and there, and only being able to say fragmented phrases. I found exploring the culture of Korea particularly interesting, because Korean culture is completely unlike western culture. Not only did I get a better understanding of Confucian values and how they contributed to modern Korean culture, but I also was able to better understand the beliefs and temperaments of my own Korean friends. My friends place a huge emphasis on respect and family, and these values are directly attributional to Confucian ideology.
I struggled with learning long phrases from nothing but memory. It was one thing for me to read the alphabet and learn numbers and isolated words, but it was completely different to cold memorize phrases. I think if I were to do it again, I would have focused more on language foundations, like the alphabet and basic grammar. Because of that, I am going to continue learning Korean by focusing on grammar and thoroughly learning the alphabet. Besides that, I would also like to learn more about nonverbal communication in Korea. Koreans have a complex system of nonverbal communication to show respect and bond with others, and I would like to learn the cultural ways that Koreans act nonverbally. I would also like to expand my knowledge of the Korean language by further broadening my knowledge of conversational topics.
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