Reflection Paper #2

[Melale Hailu]

This has been such an amazing experience. I’ve never had a language experience like this one before. In my podcast interview, I express immense happiness for taking a class like this. I had never heard of it until last semester and it wasn’t until I had extra space in my schedule that I went searching for a class like this. To my delight, I came across a course that would allow me to learn a language outside of the often-taught romance languages while simultaneously working at my own pace and tending to my own needs. One of my favorite aspects of the class was definitely the final cultural presentations and generally, the classes focus on the integral relationship between culture and language. Our final presentations made that vigorously discussed topics come to life in different parts of the world. On the other hand, I wished the class incorporated our individual languages more seamlessly into the topics we discussed. Rather than summarizing what the articles we read argued, it would have been both helpful and insightful to relate them to one another personal language journey. This experience has in some ways reinforced what I knew about myself as a language learner while awakening me to others. For instance, as I predicted I learn language best when it is personalized to me. Unfortunately, learning language in a classroom at school doesn’t allow for this, and obviously, it would be silly to expect it to. However, this class facilitated a semester-long interaction between a native speaker and a student which allowed for this personalized language learning to take place. As I’ve mentioned in my language journals, my classes with my teacher were personalized to me; for instance, the sentences and vocabulary I learned were seldom random, they reflected my life, the people in it, what things constitute my days, etc. The most challenging aspect for me was, although cliche, overcoming the fear of making mistakes and feeling self-conscious. It can be uncomfortable to speak a language you're not completely fluent in, and it's easy to feel embarrassed or frustrated when you don't understand something. However, I've found that the more I practice and make mistakes, the more confident and comfortable I become. This class has granted me the opportunity to practice, informally and without pressure. Frankly, I feel a little discouraged with the prospects of my language journey after the completion of this class and more importantly after my time with my language partner ends. Although I have native Oromo speakers literally in my household, I am scared that my practice with the language will stop when my time with her does because I have garnered the confidence throughout the semester to actually speak in Oromo despite countless mistakes. I am unsure if I can develop this confidence and discipline independently of my language partner. But on the bright side, I know that my genuine innate motivation for acquiring fluency in Afaan Oromo will push me past this difficulty and unsureness.