How well did you achieve your goals? What were the stumbling blocks you encountered? How were you able to overcome them? What was most/least interesting to you? What would you like to do next?
To the question, “How well did you achieve your goals?” I would say that I haven’t achieved them very well. But that depends on what my ‘goals’ were to begin with, because at the beginning of the semester I had wildly ambitious goals and I hadn’t tamed them enough. The learning plan I started with—like all plans—didn’t take into account the kind of language learner I was or the times when my attention would be led astray. I was sort of able to reorient myself by reformulating my learning plan with consideration to the external factors.
However, there was another main roadblock: despite having a language learning partner, we met on set two-hour blocks once a week and I wish I had instead made the structure less rigid. I say that because I felt that I hadn’t utilized my language partner effectively. The times when we would meet still felt like a ‘classroom’ setting when it shouldn’t be. What I should’ve done was keep it informal, so whenever we chanced to meet throughout the week, passing by the library or in dhall for example, we could greet each other in Korean, ask questions about each other’s day in Korean, etc. Just something that would incorporate the Korean into my daily life because the lack of Korean students on campus (my own lack of knowledge about the few who are on campus) impeded my motivation to learn the language because I was using it daily.
In fact, meeting with a language partner was probably the least interesting thing to me. If I ever came across something I didn’t know, my immediate reaction was to go online because there is a plethora of sources, be it online curriculums, formal and informal blogs, video lessons, or forums. My language partner couldn’t really explain certain concepts to me in a way I found satisfactory so in the end I would search for answers myself anyway.
Exploring the Talk to Me in Korean site I found midway through the semester was easily the most interesting thing. They have a curriculum with accompanying podcasts and pdf files and at the end of each ‘Level’ there would be multiple dialogues entirely in Korean utilizing the topics covered in the lessons within the levels. I found the website to be very organized and incredibly accessible to students no matter what they’re proficiency level was, something perfect for me since I am in the elementary level in most areas but in the intermediate level in terms of listening. The site also has a K-drama and K-Pop section where they would identify words or grammar points in an episode or a song.
I would like to continue studying Korean over the summer in preparation for a trip to Korea in the Fall, where I will be teaching English for a year. I have a friend who will also be teaching English in Korea so having a study partner will keep both of us on track.
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