110: Bi-Weekly 110 Journal #1

[Ellie Yoon]

My experience with the Korean language is one of confusion. Growing up, I lived with my parents who were both bilingual and grandparents who speak purely Korean. It is important to note that I was born and raised until the age of sixteen in the capital of South Korea. The content I encountered on a day-to-day basis were in Korean. I’ve been a fan of Korean dramas ever since I can remember and I enjoy Korean music more than I do songs in English. Up to this point, it seems like my childhood and upbringing are consumed with Korean media and language. However, the confusion in my relationship with Korean stems from the fact that I attended an international school that utilized the American school system. Students from a hundred different nationalities were prohibited to use any language other than English and academic material was entirely American. In addition, my parents were comfortable speaking more English than Korean at home. All of these factors lead to a nineteen-year-old Korean American who speaks two languages but fails to be fully confident in one because of a lack of formal education.
With the help of my language partner, Jimin, I hope to conquer my confusing relationship with the Korean language through SDLAP. On our first meeting last week, Jimin and I went over a list of goals I want to set for my SDLAP experience. Because I would like the option of working in Korea, or in affiliation with Korea, I hope to learn advanced vocabulary that are related to professional settings in addition to a deeper understanding of young, vernacular terms (aka slang). I also wish to improve writing, including spelling and grammar (specifically 맞춤법 and 뜨어쓰기). When picking up a language, there are certain phrases that are not clearly translatable to other languages, such as idioms and proverbs. So, I hope to learn Korean phrases that are widely used. Lastly, there are cultural aspects that a student should learn while diving into the language. I also plan on studying abroad in South Korea. So, I hope to learn and review Korean history and modern-day day college-life.
Learning a language involves a lot of perseverance, interest, and appreciation. I have experienced learning a new language in two different settings and understand the different strategies that worked and didn’t work in assisting my learning. Being able to craft my very own language learning curriculum allows me to specialize in certain academic strategies and language topics. I know I retain new content when I can interact with others and the content. I hope to create a learning space for myself that allows room for visual and kinesthetic learning. Luckily, SDLAP gives students the opportunity to interact and learn from community language partners. I am fortunate to have Jimin as my language partner because I have already spent time with her in a non-academic setting. In learning something new and most likely difficult, having a learning space that is open to mistakes and comfortable contributes to better learning. Therefore, I believe that being comfortable around my language partner will provide a better learning environment for myself as well as adding fun.