I remember wanting to learn Korean during my first semester at Richmond, but as a transfer student, it was not yet feasible to take classes that did not fulfill either general education or major requirements. I am really glad that I was finally able to fit it into my schedule because I really enjoyed returning to formal language learning. It was obviously not ideal since we had to complete the second half of the semester remotely and I regret that I was unable to complete my lessons with Jimin. Regardless, it was an interesting experience and I think that I was still able to continue learning at home, albeit in a limited capacity.
One of the main things that I learned this semester is that language learning is a continuous process. Even if one becomes fluent in their target language, there is always something new to learn to keep adding to their knowledge. Even though I consider myself fluent in English, I realize that I am always improving and learning new things. I am going to be completely honest and say that I was unable to fully accomplish any of my goals but I was definitely able to make progress towards all of them. And surprisingly, I was able to achieve better understanding in some other areas that were not originally part of my focus.
Partially related to that point, I also realized that there are a variety of ways to effectively learn a language. I initially thought that the best way to learn a language is by the traditional textbook. After being forced to improvise my language learning at home, I realize that I can continue to learn even though I did not have complete access to my language learning partner. In fact, the best way to build knowledge of a language is to learn by different methods because of the different things you can learn by each. For example, being immersed into a primarily Korean-speaking environment at home has allowed me to actually implement what I had learned in my structured lessons.
In SDLC 105, the lessons that I enjoyed the most were those that talked about the origin of languages. I really liked learning about language trees and seeing how all languages are connected to each other in one way or another. It was especially interesting to learn about Korean specifically because its language family is still being contended, even though there is some consensus. I also enjoyed what we learned in the first few weeks of class, about the different characteristics of each language. This really put into perspective the cultural aspect of language, which I did not realize had such a significant impact on language.
During the summer, I plan on continuing my language learning the best I can. I will be able to keep practicing speaking with my family and also keep learning more about Korean culture. I know that there are also countless free and readily accessible resources for learning a language like YouTube videos, so I plan on relying on the Internet heavily to aid me. In general, I am excited to continue the lifelong process of learning a language.
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