Throughout the semester, I learned Korean with Rachel, and I learned a lot about myself as a language learner and a cultural explorer. I learned that I am a visual learner for language learning. I looked back at the assignments and the work I did and which one stuck with me the best. I found Quizlet flashcards and watching grammar or entertainment videos the most helpful, while I found worksheets the least helpful. I also learned a lot of different things about my culture throughout the semester. The cultural artifacts helped, but the suggestions that Rachel gave me to explore my cultural background helped me a lot as well. Watching “2 Days and 1 Night” also gave me the chance to learn more about the background of Korean culture and history. I learned about the different superstitions and proverbs that Koreans follow and believe in, which was really interesting and fun to learn about. My favorite proverb was definitely “고생 끝에 낙이 온다” which means at the end of hardship comes happiness. I related to this proverb as this semester was difficult for me, so this proverb stuck with me throughout the semester. My favorite superstition was dreaming of pigs means that you will become wealthy in the future. In Korean culture, pigs are a symbol of wealth and fertility, so if you dreamt of them, it is a sign that you will have wealth in the future.
Out of everything, I thought that writing was the most difficult. Although I did improve since the beginning of the semester, I still think I need to improve a lot and practice to reach the level I want to reach. Because I had previous knowledge of Korean already, I think it was difficult for me to admit that I did not know something or was not sure about a topic because of the pride I had in Korean. I also found it difficult to write on paper in Korean, so I switched to typing. I know writing on paper helps with writing skills in a new language, so I hope I stop finding writing on paper difficult and uncomfortable in the future. Since I hope to write more fluently outside of diaries, I hope that I can improve my writing a lot more as I continue my Korean language learning journey.
My favorite part of my language learning experience was the proverbs, superstitions, and watching “2 Days and 1 Night”. As I look at all three of these topics, I enjoyed learning more about Korean culture the most. I found it so interesting how random some proverbs were, but their meaning was so deep and meaningful. I also loved learning about the different superstitions Koreans believe in because as I learned about them, I remembered some that my parents used to tell me. I also loved watching 2 Days 1 Night because it helped me practice and learn in many different areas, such as listening and comprehension, vocabulary, culture and food, and history. I also found the Quizlet assessments on my vocabulary very useful. At the beginning of the semester, I originally did not get assessed on the vocabulary terms I learned from my lessons. However, after a class from SDLC 105, I learned how important it is to assess how much I am retaining the information I learned. So, I included Quizlet tests in my learning agenda, and I noticed a big difference and improvement in my ability to remember and retain the vocabulary I learned.
Next semester, I need to continue improving my writing skills. I hope that I will move on from writing diaries and summaries on articles and move onto more complex writing. However, I do know that I still need to improve on my grammar more. So I want to learn more about the Korean style of writing in an educational setting. I also hope to continue learning about Korean culture because I feel more connected with my home culture, and I enjoyed learning about it.
The reading that I found most useful and interesting was “Tribes Revives Language on Verge of Extinction.” “It taught me how fast language evolves and changes every day and that thousands of languages go extinct. I never knew how much effort and time it takes to revive or try to save a dying language. I never realized how important language is in our daily lives until I noticed how much linguists work to try to prevent a language from going extinct. Additionally, out of the learning activities we did in class, I enjoyed learning about phonetics. Learning about phonetics made me realize why I had such difficulty pronouncing some words in English when I first moved to America. It also made me realize that I still have some phonological areas in Korean that I struggle with pronouncing. Learning about phonetics made me realize how important it is in language learning. I also found it fun to do the phonetics practices during class, and I found it so interesting how we all had different ways of writing the IPA because we all pronounce words a little differently. I found phonetics the most interesting but also useful in my language learning journey.
I will definitely love to continue learning more about Korean culture. I also want to continue improving my writing skills and hope to reach the proficiency level by the time I finish the self-directed learning courses.
Comments
I agree with your point about previous knowledge of a language and the pride that is attached. From your entry, I assume Korean is your heritage language? For me, I definitely struggled with learning my heritage language, Bahasa Indonesia, because of my previous knowledge (both correct and incorrect information) that I had internalized. I also enjoyed reading about your motivation to improve your writing skills by moving on to more complex topics. It’s definitely a difficult step to take, but it seems like you have built such a strong foundation so far!
I also really enjoyed learning about phonetics and the IPA activities in class! Although at first I felt so clueless as some of the symbols looked very different from English letters, I thought it was so interesting how you can basically pronounce anything in a different language through the IPA transcription. It also made me realize how many sounds that are shared between all languages, so I think that's such a cool way that brings speakers of different languages and cultures together.
Hi Amy! I also really enjoyed article about reviving extinct languages. It’s so interesting to know that every time we use language, we push its phonetic inventory, morphology, etc. to different places. We are advancing language through basic daily interactions. Best of luck in continuing your study of Korean!
[Edit: Sorry, Amy! I don't know why I wrote Rachel in my original version, clearly the end of the semester is getting to me. Anyways, good luck with the rest of the semester and your studies of Korean!]
Amy, I got so excited seeing you mention the superstitions! Nepali has a ton of superstitions too. As a child, I found them ridiculous. As an adult, I have learnt to look at their history and cultural significance. What’s interesting is that there is so much wisdom behind some superstitions. For example: in Nepali, it is considered bad luck if your comb your hair or sweep your house at night. Sound ridiculous right? However, when I digged in more, I found it was started because most houses in Nepal did not have electricity back then. So, combing hair or sweeping means dirt could fly into food. This makes so much sense. Whenever, I meet someone new, I love to talk about the superstitions in their language. I am glad you share the same enthusiasm!
Amy, I enjoyed reading your final reflection, particularly because I am mostly a visual learner as well and I could connect with a similar Quizlet flashcard methodology for better learning. I previously had a friend very much into K-Pop and he had introduced me to “2 Days 1 Night.” It’s a fun show that showcases Korean and its many cultural aspects. I would recommend it to anyone trying to know more about Korea in general. Best of luck continuing your learning in Korean!