Through the self-directed language learning program this semester, I have learned that learning a language takes persistence and constant effort. I came into this program with a good deal of knowledge about Korean. Although I have never received proper Hangul education, I have still spoken Korean with my family and friends in our daily conversations. As a result, I set one of my goals this semester to go beyond simply learning vocabulary words and basic phrases. I wanted to push myself to be a better, all-rounded Korean speaker.
Specifically, one of my goals this semester was to be able to read analytically and fully comprehend Korean news articles and broadcasting channels. Since I plan to be a business major and work in the business field in Korea in the near future, I wanted to be able to learn technical vocabulary words that pertain to business and the economy. This is why Jenna and I worked persistently to try and read different news articles to improve my linguistic knowledge. At first, we started off with simply reading the weather forecast in Korea. Initially, I thought it was going to be a breeze reading this article because in my mind, “it was a weather forecast, how hard can it be.” However, the moment I finished reading the first sentence, I had no idea what it said or meant at all. I don’t know why but I believed that it would come to me very easily and quickly. Therefore, I decided to slow down and read sentence by sentence, word by word out loud to make sure I grasp exactly what I was reading in my head. All in all, it took me almost 30 minutes to read a 2 page weather forecast article. From this moment, I realized that learning a language takes time and patience. I think I need to stop having the mindset that learning will come gradually and naturally. I need to make a conscious effort to try and improve my Korean skills everyday whether it be through reading more weather forecasts or challenging myself to listen to Korean news.
The most interesting reading from SDLC 105 was the reading about collectivism vs. individualism. I always knew that Korean and American culture were vastly different, but I could never actually point to what was the main difference. However, when I read that article, it really resonated with me because the way in which the entire culture thinks is almost polar opposite. And, I think that also reflected back into how different cultures reacted to COVID-19 pandemic. In Korea, since it is a collectivist society, every member worked unitedly to quarantine themselves out of their own will (without the government having to push them) to stop the spread of coronavirus as fast as possible. However, the United States, which is an individualist society, acted in the mindset of “every man for themselves” in the beginning. In the future, I would definitely want to explore more about the underlying cultural differences between the U.S. and South Korea.
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