Final Paper:
Reflect on your learning experiences this semester.
(a) What insights have you gained about yourself as a language learner and cultural explorer? What did you find difficult?
What have you enjoyed? How will you continue your learning?
(b) Which readings and learning activities did you find most useful? What would you like to learn more about?
This semester, I have had a great experience with self directed language learning. Even though I actually ended up controlling less of the subject material, I was able to be lead in a very flexible way by my language partner. I didn’t expect my teacher to have as big of a role that he ended up having and to be honest, that was a great advantage for me. I was able to craft my own study habits and applications of the lessons we learned and that flexibility enhanced how I used this program. I really appreciated the fact that my language partner would compile just the right of information I needed to delve into the topic of the week. Consequently, I spent the week drilling that material on a schedule that worked best for me and I also homework assignments from my language partner that I could use as a basis of my work. I didn’t spend as much time translating as a part of this class as I expected I would in the beginning. However, I did continue that in my personal endeavors.
Through this experience I learned that I like having structure when learning and I wouldn’t have been as successful without the guidance of a regular class period. If I was “self taught” I would have not had as much motivation to continue. My language partner constantly encouraged me and invited me to look at the world of Ge’ez not only as a personal spiritual endeavor but one that could benefit the academic research world and the legacy of ethiopic people. He informed me about research endeavors and showed me that if I worked hard I would have the tools to explore those.
The part of the class activities that I liked the most was when we were given a chance to share what we have been learning with our classmates and they did the same. These were simple lessons that helped me test my understanding of them when I practiced and eventually shared with others. I also really enjoyed crafting the last research project because it really reflected what I wanted to learn.
I will definitely continue where I left off with the last bits of content that my language partner has shared with me. I will aim to spend my winter break reading more in Ge’ez and also creating sentences now that I have the tools to do so. Additionally, I am hoping to enroll in a Ge’ez class with other students this upcoming summer after graduation so I can have a similar classroom style feedback as I received while learning this semester. These sessions will also be held online rather than in person, but I think it will still be helpful.
Overall, this experience gave me a great introduction to what self directed learning looks like and though I required more guidance this time around, I think I will eventually be able to propel my learning individually.
Comments
The interactions that everyone seemed to have had with their language partners has made me really look forward to taking the second part of SDLC when my schedule allows. I think that I would have greatly benefitted from having a language partner and I think that given how specific my goals are when it comes to Hebrew and how it relates to my religious journey it would be even that much more helpful for me. I would love to be able to study with my Rabbi because I know it would help a lot to have a dedicated teacher and also give my skills to further my independent study.