Reflections from Week 6

[Taylor Napier-Runnels]

Last week was a difficult week because it was the week before spring break and it was hard to concentrate on my week objectives. I also had an artifact due at the end of the week which was another thing that I think distracted me from my studies. I feel like last week because of these two factors I didn't thoroughly learn the material I set out to learn, which means that for week 7 I will have more to cover and so I think I will cut back on my learning objectives for week 7. I also looked back on all of the things that I have learned over these past weeks and have realized I have learned a variety of things, especially vocabulary. However, I found that my ability to recall all of the vocabulary was not as strong as I would like it to be. I found myself several times having to look back through my notes to figure out how to say certain words or phrases because I couldn't remember them. Over the next couple of weeks I am planning on devoting more time to review the things I have learned, especially since my midterm evaluation is coming up soon.We only had one language partner sessions last week because of the snow day on Monday, which was nice because instead of going to class I worked on my artifact that was due at the end of the week. When Mona reviewed it I realized there were still some grammatical nuances that I haven't fully mastered when speaking the language. For example, when using adjectives you add an e sound onto the object being described. Sometimes I feel like the textbook I am using leaves these things out so it is nice to have Mona there to correct my mistakes. Also, during our language session we each read our artifacts to the class. This was extremely helpful because it was nice being able to hear and understand what was being said. I think that my listening comprehension is improving because of sessions like this. The listening sessions that I do on my own through BBC farsi and songs are more frustrating because I don't understand most of the vocabulary so I find myself getting frustrated. When I listen to what the others are preparing I'm less frustrated because I grasp most of the vocabulary being used and can generally understand what is being said.Last week was a little frustrating because I was having a hard time concentrating so I hope this upcoming week will prove to be more productive.