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?
Since taking the SDLC 105 and 110 courses, I have learned that I learn best when I have a specific interest or goal in mind. Pursuing topics that held my curiosity felt easy to study, whereas things that seemed boring or tedious took longer to understand and were forgotten quickly. I also realized that I am a very impatient learner, meaning that I become frustrated or discouraged if I feel as though I’m not progressing fast enough or cannot jump right into something more intriguing because I must work on the basics first. This impatience popped up frequently because I had no previous knowledge about Korean, but I had been studying higher level foreign language for the past two years. Having to take a step back into a novice’s role was frustrating and having to study such basic material so thoroughly and slowly felt foreign in a way. Besides having to slowing down, establishing a whole new vocabulary and learning how to pronounce those words somewhat correctly was difficult. The Korean language has several sounds that do not exist in standard American English and depends on an ear that can distinguish between tense letters and their relaxed counterparts. This was particularly difficult during the first few weeks of study, but working with a Korean language partner was critical in getting me past the pronunciation and listening hurdle.
Although it may sound boring, I really enjoyed learning grammar. Because I have a background in a language with a similar grammar system, I could simply place Korean words into grammar structures that I already understood and communicate effectively, something which satisfied my impatience as a language learner. On top of studying grammar, I enjoyed looking into Korean culture as well. For 105, I looked into Korean Hanbok (traditional dress from the Jeosan Dynasty), surasang (royal court cuisine), views on time, and much more. I feel like I gained more exposure to aspects of Korean culture that I had encountered in passing, but had never stopped to dig deeper into the subject.
From this point, I don’t know how I will continue my learning. I’m still interested in the Korean language and Korean culture, but my studies of it will probably decrease in intensity. I won’t stop all together, but I will probably continue my studies more as a hobby rather than as a course.
I found that the readings that gave insight into how language has evolved and adapted, like “Family Tree of Language Has Roots in Anatolia, Biologists Say,” were helpful in explaining the interconnectedness of language. I also think that the short presentations were very useful. They gave me a crash course in an eclectic mix of culture topics that I knew nothing about and enhanced my understanding of several cultures. In addition to what we covered in class, it would be interesting to learn more about what similarities most languages have and why those similarities exist. I’m curious about why most languages can be broken down into verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. and I want to know more about languages that may defy that system of categorization.
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