This semester, I have become a much better Korean speaker and writer. My student teacher has helped me so much in directing me towards the right direction. Jenna has guided me with topics I should practice and focus on in order to improve my Korean reading and writing. I have gained many insights about myself as a language learner and cultural explorer. On the language learning side, I have learned that I am a really tactile learner, as in I learn really well through hands on activities. My favorite parts of the lesson with Jenna would be where I actively read and write Korean myself instead of Jenna teaching me. On the cultural side, I have learned about myself as an explorer, especially on the final cultural presentation on music. Just like myself as a language learner, I found out that I am a active learner. Listening to Korean music and watching the music videos were the most exciting parts of the final cultural presentation. I think the most difficult part about learning Korean reading and writing was becoming more efficient. I was confident at identifying words and phrases, but was not as fast as I wished I could. I found through weeks of learning, that setting my own time to practice reading and writing was the best way to boost my efficiency. It was hard at first for sure, but now I am reading and writing Korean at a much more faster pace than before. I have enjoyed many parts of this semester. I loved writing random Korean sentences and reading random Korean show subtitles. I have also began to text in Korean to my parents and they have been impressed with my improvement with Korean. They correct me when I misspell a word and correct my grammar. I will continue to practice reading and writing Korean by reading articles and watching Korean shows. I will also continue to text my parents in Korean and occasionally listen to Korean radio shows.
During class, I think the most useful activity/topics we have learned is the IPA transcription of phonetic sounds. It has helped me articulate and pronounce Korean characters with more ease. For the readings, Crystal D.’s papers about how the brain processes language was the most useful article from this semester. It helped me understand how my brain works and how it processes new sounds, languages, and words. I hope to learn more about the biology/psychology behind the human brain in the future. Because I am a chemistry major, I have an interest in the science of things. I also hope to learn more about the deeper cultural ideals of Korean. Although I have learned a lot about Korean culture, such as music and history, I hope to learn more about the country’s traditions and ideals.
In conclusion, I have learned so much about myself as a learner. Practicing Korean has been something that I really enjoyed doing during my free time. Being able to achieve my goals have been exciting and I hope to continue to set new goals in learning Korean next semester and become more efficient in writing and reading.
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