At the start of the semester, to create a learning plan for myself, I took the Multiple Intelligence Assessment test. It turned out that I learned fast by listening. Since then, I started to notice that I learn faster by listening to others rather than reading on my own. As a result, when I watch TV programs, listen to music, and communicate with my language partner, I learn the words faster than just reading them. I’ve also gained confidence in my Korean learning experience when we did conversation practice in class. I could understand most of the daily conversation if I know the rough meaning of the words. I enjoyed this kind of practice and thus found the language partner the right choice for me. On the other side, when I first started to read paragraphs about paragraphs, I was not familiar with most of the vocabulary and phrases, and hence I was frustrated for a while. I want to practice reading more as I feel more confident in daily conversations.
Other than conversation practices, I also found watching Korean videos helpful too. In class, we would watch some YouTube videos by Koreans. I would listen to Korean music and watch Korean variety shows in my spare time. By watching the videos after learning the related vocabulary, I could identify how people use them in sentences or with phrases. I could also become more familiar with the pronunciation and the tone of the phrases or sentences. After going through the videos with English or Chinese subtitles, it also allows me to practice my listening by turning off the subtitles or only having the Korean one on. A short video can provide me sources of practice for vocabulary, phrases, listening, and even reading, which I found efficient and useful.
Meanwhile, I gained knowledge about South Korean culture by discussing with my language partner and learning partner and also writing the cultural posts. In class, we talked about different aspects of the culture of South Korea, such as the 개천절 (National Foundation Day), 세종대왕 (Sejong the Great), and 교복 (school uniform). By doing the cultural posts, I researched on Korean food, clothing, and festivals as well. The discussion of various topics not only taught us how to speak certain sentences but also provided us an insight into the life of people in South Korea. They are all very interesting to learn, and I’m excited about the new topics I’m going to learn next semester.
Now at the end of the semester, when I looked at my learning plan, I’m surprised that I accomplished most of my goals. The goal of understanding a Korean TV show is still not easy for me, but now I can understand most of a Korean YouTube video for kids. The voiceover is slower and more stable. I’m also learning a Korean song right now. I’m able to identify some animals, colors, and holidays. I can also try to order food in a Korean restaurant. I’m also more confident in reading short sentences or phrases on Instagram. I’m very satisfied with the progress that I have this semester.
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