During the last month spent with my language partner I was able to finish up some of my lesson plans and reflect upon my progress over the semester. We had weekly meetings with Ariana and Somyung where we would watch the short films of “XX” . During some of the videos I was very engaged because it got very dramatic and interesting. I made a reflection as I was watching these films because my brain was processing on how to act and how to not act when similar situations come. I realized that people gain knowledge from watching kdrama and I did not know how much influence it was giving me on how I behave with others. But I was amazed at how I was able to learn more about the culture of Korea.
Last week my group recorded our podcast. I think I was able to reflect well as I was talking to my language partner about what we did over the semester. I achieved my goals in improving my writing and as I look back to my diaries I noticed how in the beginning of the semester I had a lot of errors and red marks but towards the end I barely had any marks to fix. I also reflected on how it is not just learning about the language because in order to engage in society or with the people you need to know their culture. A lot of teenagers in Korea would slang words and idioms in their daily conversations but these aren’t taught when you are learning about the language. I feel like just because you know the language and you visit Korea does not always mean you can blend in with the people. Since you know the language you can communicate with people in general but to be a deeper part of society you need to know the flow of the fast changing language.
These days a lot of people shorten the words to where it would once be 응응 “yes, yes” in proper form people now just use letters “ㅇㅇ” It is even crazier how they would shorten not only words but sentences or groups of words “ㅇㅈㄲㄲㅂㄹ” that would be like “왜 자꾸 까불어” which is a word I heard from one of the korean dramas I saw it could be translated to “why are you messing around”. I am sometimes afraid because I am also falling behind with the language even though I lived in Korea for 4 years. It is fascinating how the language continuously changes and I need to keep checking in with the culture so that I do not fall behind.
This semester my main goal was to improve on my writing skills and I saw clear evidence of my improvement so I am proud of my accomplishments. I would really like to thank my language partner for achieving my goals. I think if I were to continue taking Korean class next year, I would now want to write harder essays instead of short writing prompts and diaries to master the language.
Comments
I also use K-dramas as tools for me to not only practice my Korean listening skills, but also use it to better understand Korean culture! I like how you said that just because you know Korean does not mean you can blend in with the people. Language is not just learning grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary. It's about learning all of that plus the culture!