Jeffrey Choi
Professor Scinicariello
SDLC 105-01
29 August 2016
Reflection Paper #1
I learned Spanish for three years in high school and I remember that just being able to understand and speak another language was enjoyable for me. I come from Southern California and there is a large Mexican influence in terms of culture. By learning Spanish I felt as though I was becoming a bigger part of the cultures that surrounded me. What I disliked about my experience, as a language learner, was that I felt as though I did not develop the skills to actually interact comfortably in Spanish. I went on a missions trip to Mexico and I realized how little I actually knew when I was speaking with the locals. When I was put in a non-classroom setting, I realized how difficult it was to speak fluently. I understood the different parts of the Spanish language such as the vocabulary and grammar, but I had trouble when I had to speak it in a conversation. I realized how much trouble I was having when I had to decipher and think about every word the locals were saying. By the time I had figured out what they were saying, the fluidity of the conversation would be nonexistent. The speed of interacting in Spanish was vastly different when compared to speaking in Spanish with my classmates in school. It was frustrating and I felt as though everything I had learned in class was for nothing because I could not apply it to simple conversations with a native speaker.
By reflecting back on my years of learning Spanish in high school, I can conclude that I learned best using a step-by-step process. I am used to the traditional ways of learning so this method is the most comfortable for me. I learn best when I am provided concrete information that I have to memorize. It seems as though I fit in the factual category in the fire model for integrative thinking. The kinds of language learning activities that suit my learning style tend to be worksheets, drills, and task-oriented activities that build skill competency. I learned best when I did group activities as well. I enjoyed having to apply what I learned by interacting with my other classmates. It was great because the classmate and I were learning together and there was no intimidation of not understanding each other. I want to expand my learning activities by placing myself in more practical settings where I am forced to apply what I learn into my daily interactions. I want to be able to speak Korean fluently and not have to constantly think about what I am hearing and what I am going to say. I think that by constantly surrounding myself with the Korean language, I would become more comfortable with the words I hear. One way I could accomplish this is by forcing myself to speak in only Korean with my Korean friends so that the language can come out more freely. With this class, I hope to expand my way of learning through non-traditional methods and become a better speaker of my native language.
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