Journal #3

[Logan Motyka]

Currently, it has been going very well with Isaac and I'm very very pleased with the amount of information I've been able to retain based on the short amount of time we've been working on Korean. Some tasks that we are working on now are more reading-based and speech-production concepts. Last class, we worked on reading a short but meaningful story about a tiger and a baby. Isaac wants me to start practicing reading simple sentences in order to start putting some of my pronunciation and reading ability to the test. we completed the first chapter of the book although there were definitely some struggles I feel like my ability to read and pronounce the letters has drastically improved over the past few weeks as I practice more and more. right now we are on track to continue what I want to accomplish this semester which is to build a very basic understanding of the Korean language along with being able to master the alphabet and read simple sentences. That being said I feel like Isaac and I are already crushing those goals and I'm very confident that as I move through the next two semesters of Korean I will just keep checking off boxes. like I said before we've been doing a lot more reading just to build more knowledge and more vocabulary typically I will read the sentence with minor help from Isaac if I cannot figure out how to pronounce something. I feel like reading has been one of the most effective strategies in our time together because it forces you to get out of your comfort zone and push when you don't understand something. Along with reading, we've been doing a lot of review of simple sentences like saying how are you doing and focusing on when to use formal versus informal. In Korean it is somewhat confusing because the use of a formality versus a more laid-back approach can be a very fine line and sometimes it is not explicit when to use one or the other. Even though it can be confusing Isaac has been an amazing teacher and helping whenever I have questions about when to use one or the other. Like I said before I believe our strategies are very effective and I'm eager to keep learning and keep pushing myself. As we go into the next few weeks we are going to focus on my final project which we have some interesting ideas in mind, I am very excited to continue with this process and keep growing my understanding of the Korean language. 

[James Jang]

That is great progress! I am surprised to see you improve quickly as many struggle to do so. I like the strategies that you are using with Isaac and I'm using some of them as well!