Reflect on your experiences as a language learner. What did you enjoy? What did you dislike? Think about the FIRE model and the surveys you have just completed. What kind of learner are you? What kinds of language learning activities suit your learning style? How do you think you should expand your learning activities?
Much of my experience with studying language, namely foreign language, has been done through school. I’ve studied a fairly wide array of languages, each to varying degrees of success. It is when I began to study Asian languages that I really began to enjoy the study of language. Through languages such as Japanese, the world of non-western culture was opened up to me, and I felt as though I could create a genuine connection to the other side of the world. I enjoy learning and becoming better, but I have never liked memorizing obscure words just for the sake of a quiz. I want to focus on common, frequently used vocabulary that I can use to describe more complex concepts or words I don’t know.
As for the surveys, I learned that I am predominantly a visual and auditory learner. This means that it would be helpful for me to focus on visualization and connect language to sound when possible. I’ll mostly likely use a lot of visual aids such as flash cards, and I’ll speak aloud or listen to things in Korean. When it comes to expanding my learning activities, I know I need to practice with native speakers whenever possible. This will be a challenge because I know I won’t feel very confident or comfortable speaking a new language, but speaking as much as possible will definitely help with grammar, vocabulary, and fluency.
Comments
Interesting post, Carson. I agree that it's extremely important to learn vocabulary in context, as opposed to memorizing individual words for the sake of a quiz. Have you thought about the ways in which your visual and auditory learning aptitudes could be used to focus on aspects of Korean that could help you to negotiate real-world situations?