Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been at home for about three weeks now. Since everyone has been attempting to adjust to their new reality as the University has moved online, I have not been engaging in Korean lessons with my language learning partner. But I recently got in touch with her a few days ago and we have made our plans to meet weekly for the rest of the semester. Regardless of the situation, there have been a few ways I have been attempting to practice my language learning while at home. Although not as great as face-to-face instruction, I have tried to make the most of what I have available and in some ways, I have been able to uniquely supplement my studies.
For starters, I have been able to practice my speaking on a daily basis since I am now home with my family. This was one of the goals that I had established in the beginning of the semester and since it was not easy for me to speak outside of my lessons with Jimin, it has been great to practice my speaking. I speak some Korean with my sister but mostly with my mom. She speaks to me almost entirely in Korean, and will just translate afterwards if she happens to use any words that I do not know.
Another thing that has been helpful is watching Korean dramas. My mom loves to watch a few episodes every night after dinner and I started joining her out of boredom. The three dramas that we have been into are Itaewon Class 이태원 클라쓰, Memorist 메모리스트, and Eccentric! Chef Moon 유별나! 문셰프. Outside of serving as pure entertainment, watching K-dramas has helped me witness language use in reality-like situations and I have also learned some new vocabulary.
The last thing that I have implemented is switching my iPhone Siri from American English to Korean. I initially wanted to change the entire system in my phone to Korean, but it ended up being really difficult to use my phone. However, that is something I want to do in the future so I am hoping to become better at my target language soon. When I first changed my Siri, I had forgotten I had done it until I tried to use the Maps app on my phone. I was so shocked when the GPS started speaking in Korean to me and I honestly could not understand a lot of what she was saying. Luckily, my mom was in the car with me and she was able to translate everything. I never really used Siri but after that experience, I decided to make more use of it so that I could practice speaking and listening to Korean. I now use her to send texts, make phone calls, and check the weather. These are definitely tasks that I could complete with my own hands but I think that it has helped with my articulation and in general, has provided a way for me to continue speaking.
Comments
Hi Anabelle, I think it was awesome that you took the initiative to speak Korean at home with your family during this hard time. I agree as well Korean dramas are a great way to improve korean comprehension and speaking as it helps you to pick up on some new vocabulary and also hear the correct enunciation for words that you previously were unsure of or what not before!