When I had to learn English when I was young, I remember I was frustrated when I couldn’t express my ideas or articulate myself correctly when I knew in my head what to say. Another struggle was when I was able to read and understand written information in English but couldn’t understand if someone verbally said it to me. To fix that problem, I watched various American TV shows in English with English subtitles at first and gradually took out the subtitles as my listening skills got better. I enjoyed doing this since I could pick up on conversational language or culture as well. I still remember that excitement when I was finally able to watch something without the subtitles and understood most of the content.
When I was learning Spanish, I enjoyed practicing by talking to friends about my day or my interests in Spanish but I disliked taking quizzes on vocabulary because I just memorized a bunch of words in short term and easily forgot most of them in the long run.
Through the assessments I took, I had already known that I’m a visual learner, but I was surprised to see that I learn best from interacting with people. Being more introverted than extroverted, I would have thought that I would learn best by myself but the results showed me that social interactions enhance my learning skills. It was also interesting though to see how FIRE model revealed that I’m factual when it comes to integrative thinking which means I like learning step by step in a thoroughly thought-out plan.
Based on the assessments and past experiences of language learning, I think I would learn advanced Korean best by watching shows or reading books and articles that use such level of vocabulary and language. I also think it would be very helpful for me to talk to someone using the advanced vocabulary or phrases that I plan on learning. One area that is out of my comfort zone and something I didn’t do much especially in learning Korean is practicing writing in Korean more often. This could be something that I can expand on in my learning experience of Korean.
Comments
Mary- your post touches upon many interesting points. First, I agree that it's much easier to remember words from a specific context, as opposed to memorizing words in isolation for a quiz. I believe this remark relates, as well, to your surprise that you learn effectively in interpersonal interactions. While people may be introverts or extroverts, human existence relies on contact with others, and your observations during direct or indirect social exchanges leave a greater imprint on your memory than other stimuli. No person is an island. These occasions provide an important frame of reference for you to evaluate and adapt to new learning.
Second, I completely agree that you would be wise to watch Korean shows, and to read associated books and articles at an appropriate level. Just of curiosity, when you were learning English, did you ever watch English TV shows with subtitles in your first language? I've always thought it better to experience video content with the subtitles in the target language. This allows you to see the relationship between the sound and spelling of a given language, and makes you more sensitive to prosodies and the nuances of meaning. We should look into this option for Korean media sources. Have you given any thought as to what kinds of TV programs and texts you would like to engage? If so, see if you can find these sources with Korean subtitles. Also, are there any prominent Korean stories you'd like to read that have been adapted in popular media?