Throughout my language learning process, one of the things I have learned about myself is that I am a visual learner. I prefer to see and read things, rather than just hearing them. This has made reading Korean texts and watching Korean TV shows and movies particularly helpful in my language-learning journey, as it was a lot more engaging for me. This also had the benefit of allowing me to fill in the blank, rather than just searching up the translation of words I didn’t know––for instance, there was a type of vase in a Korean Youtube video I was watching, but simply having the person point to the object when they said it created a connection which has lasted far longer than if I had just searched the translation. However, I have also discovered that I struggle with remembering subtle differences between more advanced vocabulary words, especially when it comes to words with similar meanings, as the nuances of language cause these words to have particular uses, even if their translations are poorly representative of those differences. This takes me back to our reading on communicative competence, and so far, I plan to simply continue exposing myself to some of the principles of the CC approach.
Despite these difficulties, learning Korean has continued to be enriching. One of my favorite things about the Korean language is its structure. It is different from the English language in many ways, which has made it a fun challenge to learn, and though part of it feels innate to me as someone who grew up speaking Korean, consciously applying these grammatical rules feels like a live puzzle. I also enjoy the process of learning about Korean culture and history as I improve my language skills. It has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the country in ways that I would’ve never learned, even as a Korean-American.
Moving forward, I plan to continue my learning by incorporating more speaking and writing practice into my daily routine, working on quickly switching between Korean and English fluidly is a big goal of mine for the summer, and I plan to (try to) do just that with my parents. Additionally, I want to immerse myself more in “Korean-Korean,” or the more traditional practices, such as the ancient instruments, making rice cakes, and of course, learning about all the varieties of Kimchi. Though this isn’t necessarily vital for improving my Korean, still having the cultural knowledge to be able to speak on these things would be nice, especially when someone alludes to certain traditions and customs outside of modern Korea.
Regarding the most useful readings and learning activities, I found practicing reading and writing Hangul, the Korean alphabet, to be incredibly helpful, primarily for my substandard handwriting. Continuing, I’ve really enjoyed reading middle school level books, as the language in those texts are about my level, challenging me to learn new vocabulary while still being coherent enough for me that I can still engage with the material, without having to pause at every other sentence. Overall, my experience learning Korean thus far has been both challenging and rewarding. Of course, this comes with the enterprise of learning any new language, but I do think that, at the very least, I’ll continue to use Korean more often now that I’ve improved a bit, even if I stop learning formally.
Comments
Hey Isaac,
It is so cool to hear that learning korean has been interesting to learn because of its different structure. I see language like a puzzle too and the process of piecing it all together is actually pretty entertaining. I have never intensely studied a language with a grammatical structure thats very different to english, so I commend you for learning a whole new grammatical system. I hope that you get to immerse yourself with a trip to Korea to experience more of the "Korean-Korean" practices :)