Reflection paper 2 (500 words)
- Reflect on your language learning so far and the relationship between understanding the target culture and the target language. What do you need to improve your communicative competence?
The relationship between understanding target culture and language is really important in language development. Once I began researching Korean history and watching movies, I slowly began to understand why words are used and how words are used. It’s interesting to note how many English words are used in Korea, and I was very interested in why this was so. I noticed a pattern in that many words they have a English word for-- “elevator” or “orange” or “coffee” is an object rooted in Western culture. I also found out that Korean language also has many words from Chinese and some similar words or roots to Japanese. In fact, 60% of Korean vocabulary is made of Sino-Korean words. Chinese influenced script “Hanja”, was Korea’s main language before modern-day “Hangeul”, this is the reason why so many Sino-Korean words remain today. Chinese is a deep-rooted part of Korean language, and for that reason I believe it will always be a deep-rooted part of Korean culture as well.
Learning about how the culture of China and America influenced the Korean vocabulary was very interesting to me. I have always learned languages in which I assumed the main influences of words and vocabulary came from the root of its origin. But then again, Korean language has a unique history to its development. Korea has always fought for independence and survival against China, North Korea, and Japan. Korea has always been on the brink of fighting for its own nationhood and growth while on the edge of war. I believe that this is why so many Korean words can be so respectful and nationalistic. Many words or sentence structures lend a respectful voice to elders and to the generations who have fought so hard to make Korea as it is today.
To improve my communicative competence I need to talk more in Korean with others. I feel as though I am being a passive communicator currently, reading and speaking directly from text, instead of attempting spontaneous conversation. I want to try to talk more in Korean and get comfortable with using Korean expressions. I will start by talking in class in Korean more, and talking to my Korean friends in Korean. I will also begin talking out loud in Korean more. At this point, I am Korean-shy, I am afraid to talk aloud because I feel as though I sound a bit silly, like an American savagely brutalizing the Korean language. That is something I have always been wary about as a Spanish learner. I always worried that I sounded as though I was mimicking the language I was attempting to speak. I have googled ways to feel more comfortable speaking a foreign language, and many people advise just feeling comfortable with your level of education in Korean and attempting to replicate natural Korean sounds. I think with enough practice and patience that I can soon feel comfortable speaking Korean. All I can do now is work up to that point to the best of my abilities.
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