Final Reflection Paper

[Mary Chang]

During this semester of taking 105, I learned the structure of a language and how important it is to understand the culture of a target language just as well as learning the language itself. I have realized through this class that I learn language best by learning the use of various words in context instead of simply memorizing a list of new vocabulary. As a cultural explorer, I realized I am very interested in learning what I’m most unfamiliar with such as politics and history of Korea. Although I haven’t taken 110 yet, I can predict that learning politics and history of Korea or just professional and academic topics in general will be difficult because Korean language and its roots in Chinese characters which is often used in more advanced writing and topics. Also, the words used in news about politics are very difficult for me to understand even in the context of it. However, constantly watching news on a regular basis and exposing myself to these unfamiliar topics to gain knowledge gradually will help me in learning both the history and current events of Korea. Since I have not taken 110 yet, I can’t speak to which readings and learning activities I find most useful actually but in my learning plan, I wrote that I plan on watching a lot of news channels, reading business articles and novels to see and learn Korean in context of the show and the writing. This is because I know I learn best by actually practicing the use of a language in context. In terms of the readings and learning activities in 105, readings about how our brain works in terms of language and also readings about bilingualism were most useful to me because they were both very interesting but relatable topics. Understanding how our brain is engaged when using a language was a new insight to me and learning about how bilinguals differ from others helped me reflect on what I’m competent at as a bilingual and what may be the limitations and weaknesses that I can work on to improve. Cultural presentations were actually the most interesting activity because I could learn about other cultures other than Korean from others as well. And even if they were about Korean culture, I was able to learn a new thing from every presentation because there were things even I had not known as a Korean that others presented on and gave me new insight on. The discussions Professor Soloway led and the questions he posed in every lecture were all very helpful activity because he asked a lot of intriguing and reflective questions about each of our target language and culture. I would like to learn more about what are the tips in going from intermediary speaker of one language to very advanced. I’m assuming that the approaches to improve may be different depending on the level of a language. I also want to learn more about the origins of Korean language and its history because I know Korea has a long history. Also, I would like to learn more about the changes that came about in Korea in recent history and how the changes were started and what are the effects of those on the language itself.