My goal this week is to understand the writing system and start memorizing the alphabet. I realized the complexity of this goal because the Korean writing system, Hangul, is much different than ours. Consonants and vowels combine to form something that looks like one character. This would be my initial step into starting to memorize more complex vocabulary and phrases. I made note cards of each letter on one side and the pronunciation on the other. Several characters have different sounds depending on the placement in a word. This was a complication I was not expecting at first. The note cards helped a lot, but I wanted to mix things up to ensure that I recognized the letters when they weren't in my own handwriting. I downloaded an application on my iPhone to practice writing letters. It's a program made for young children to practice, but I found it very effective.
After reviewing the levels of competence, I concluded that I am at the Beginning 0 Novice level. Although my mother and her side of the family speaks Korean fluently, I have never understood any of it. Even the words and greetings I thought I knew, I soon realized I was pronouncing wrong. I studied the alphabet frequently this week to memorize all the characters. I understand how the writing combines consonants and vowels together, but need more practice in writing each letter. I recognize some characters more easily, but it takes me a while to translate and pronounce the words.
The small phrases I thought I knew were only off by a couple characters, but I can understand why native Korean speakers would not comprehend what I was attempting to say. After reading the levels of competence and studying the alphabet this week, I decided another goal by the end of the semester is to be able to read and pronounce words with faster recognition so that I could read words out loud immediately after looking at it. I think that being able to read the words faster will also help me memorize common words and phrases much faster.
The readings from this week were interesting. The vocabulary was complex in learning how the brain functions, but it gave me a better understanding of the biological and scientific aspect of learning a language.The chapter on investigating language structure helped me to realize that studying language is beyond memorization. It involves growing intellectually through new vocabulary, grammar, and phonology. I look forward to not simply memorizing words through learning Korean, but also to have a new understanding of a culture my family is so intertwined in.
Comments