My interest in the Czech language and the Czech Republic in general arose when I went abroad last semester. I did not know much about the Czech Republic before I went, but I had heard amazing things about it. When I was abroad, I was in awe of the people, the food, the buildings, and especially the language. I quickly realized that not many people spoke English and so I took a Czech class and it was very enjoyable. My professor went very fast, but made sure we were all on track. I was extremely happy with my performance in the class, a little less so about my inability to speak in the right accent, so I decided to continue with the language.
This semester, I hope to learn more about the culture as well as learn more advanced Czech. I want to focus on the future tense, specific vocabulary for business and politics, and about daily life conversations. This year, I hope to gain proficiency in Czech, focusing on my listening skills and reading skills. My writing I hope to gain along with my reading and my speaking skills should be fine as long as I remember the vocabulary and the grammar. In the future, I hope to go back to Prague and the Czech Republic and hopefully, work with a company that will allow me to interact with Czech people and/or Czech culture.
What kind of learner am I?
I currently know four languages: English, Korean, Spanish, and now Czech. I would say my Spanish is probably the lowest even thought I have studied it for six years. I realized that I learn best when I am extremely interested in the culture and country. Because Korean and English are part of my identity, they come naturally to me. With Czech, I loved my time there and really connected to the people which is why I find it more interesting than Spanish. Whenever I learn a new language, I like the fact I can communicate with someone and flip between languages. To me, it represents who I am as a person; someone who cannot be categorized by one identity or one ethnicity. One thing I dislike is the lack of resources. For well-known languages, such as spanish, french, and german, there is a plethora of resources, but for less-used languages such as central European languages, there is not. For my learning activities, I need to be able to look at an object or an action and think the word or phrase in my head using my knowledge of English, Korean, and Czech. For the FIRE model, I learn best by memorizing facts and words, then applying it to real-life situations. I like to be in a safe environment where I can make mistakes and ask a lot of questions. I also value What-If questions heavily. In the future, after gaining proficiency in my three languages, I hope to pick up Mandarin Chinese as many of my friends are Chinese and I relate a lot to Chinese culture.
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