First, I have learned a great deal about myself as a language learner. I did not have a great grasp on the most effective ways I can pick up on a new language because I had never really tried before this course. Throughout the semester, I have come to learn that I retain a new language most effectively when I hear another person speaking. As an example, I found the Italian talk shows and soap operas to be incredibly useful during my language learning process. One aspect of language learning I found difficult is simply starting out on this journey. It is an extremely daunting task to begin to learn a language and I was somewhat intimidated when I began. As far learning a new culture, I loved studying Italian history and geography. I have always been fascinated with Italy and this course has given me the opportunity to explore a new part of the world. Another piece of information I gathered throughout this semester is the fact that I make far less judgments about different cultural practices. By listening to my classmates present on their countries, I began to realize how there is no right way to behave and that every country has their own unique way of going about life. I plan to continue my learning by practicing my Italian and learning new vocabulary in a more casual sense. Although I have already been to three major cities in Italy, I really want to visit the Amalfi Coast and several other parts of Italy, so I hope to travel back one day and implement some of what I have studied in this course.
I enjoyed many of the readings we have completed throughout the semester; however, two, in particular, really sparked my interest. The first reading I thoroughly enjoyed was the New York Times piece on languages becoming extinct and one tribe’s goal to keep their language alive. I found this article incredibly interesting because I had never heard of this kind of action occurring. Also, it is incredibly impressive for a few individuals to dedicate so much time to building out an entire online dictionary of their dying language. The second article I particularly enjoyed was on how the brain handles learning a language. Not only was this a relevant topic for our studies, but I found It riveting to learn about the ways in which the brain processes and retains new language it comes to learn. As I mentioned, I found the in-class presentations to be some of the most useful activities we did as a class because it gave me insight into cultures and practices I had never even considered. If I were to pick a topic to have learned more about in the class, it would be the subject of bilingualism. I found the class on bilingual speakers to be very interesting because I have always wanted to fully master my second language of Spanish. With more information and education on the process, I feel I could have a better plan of attack to go about doing this.
Comments