Throughout this semester I have learned a lot about linguistics and about the value of learning languages beyond just furthering communication. I had understood some of the parts of grammar from learning French, and I was aware of how some languages used different aspects of grammar which weren’t present in another language because of learning Korean particles. I’ve also learned about the cognitive and neuroscience behind the acquisition of foreign languages. The videos on color recognition and the sound associations with children and adults demonstrated how languages shape our understanding and perception of the world. I have to admit though that my personal progress hasn’t been significant in the last semester. I think I benefit from the organized environment of a traditional language classroom because I have always enjoyed in-class learning and I tend to absorb the textbook vocabulary. I also realized that I really enjoyed mixing in the cultural aspects of language learning. Whether it was through the esports presentations me and Logan did in class, or simply responding to questions about Korean that were posed by Dr. Marsh-Soloway, and having that prompt a discussion between the class about how something works in Korea.
When looking at the future I see my language learning journey being centered around immersion. I plan to move to Korea in the coming winter to teach English at a public school or 학원. I know that I work best when I am forced to do something and be in a working environment, as opposed to asynchronous studying, and having to keep myself to a schedule. By being in Korea I will be forced to speak Korean every day, listen to it all the time, and I will learn new words constantly. I would also like to enroll in language classes while I am there to propel my language learning, and target my writing skills. I think after the class I am actually looking forward to trying to learn more languages than just French and Korean, and maybe claiming that polyglot title. If I go down the history academia route then I would learn Polish or Russian because I am interested in the history of Slavic Europe in the early 20th century. My learning here would targeted around reading, writing, and historical cultural study, whereas Korean I want to be conversationally fluent because I want to be able to communicate freely with my Korean friends and effectively live and work in Korea.
In class I found the dialect discussion particularly interesting, and I enjoyed taking the New York Times dialect quiz. It was interesting how it was sort of accurate to my current location, but it also had a strong presence from the Southwest where my dad and his family are from. On a similar geographic note I thought the concept of a sprachbund was really interesting, and I liked learning about the language families and visualizing them on the various tree diagrams. One thing I would want to do more of was our grammar exercise where we tried to break down various languages’ structures. I find that comparing the grammar structures of languages is one, fun, but also very helpful for understanding what methods you can use in understanding your target language. It is also a really good way to understand how grammar works structurally, and can demonstrate how the way a language is structured can affect your understanding of the world because you construct sentences in a very different way.
Thank you for the class Dr. Marsh-Soloway, I looked forward to class every Tuesday, and I found our learning consistently fun and enjoyable.
Sincerely,
Ben Reilman
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