The task that I am currently working on is to finish mastering the Korean alphabet. I have managed to memorize the stroke order of each character as well as being able to recognize the characters themselves. My main focus after learning the most basic vowels and consonants was to master the more complex characters that are frequently used in the phrases and words that I learned during the last session. In addition to learning the Korean alphabet, I was also assigned to memorize some simple expressions such as 안녕하세요, which is hello in formal language. This is an interesting property of Hangul; there are different expressions that one would use to converse with someone older than them. We do not really have this situation in English for most expressions. Rather, we just avoid using obtuse slang when speaking professionally. While learning some new expressions in Korean, I struggled with the pronunciation of some characters. Although Korean does not have tones like Mandarin Chinese, some characters in their alphabet do sound particularly similar. One example of this is the letter ㅈ(pronounced j) and the letter ㅊ(pronounced ch). In English, these are pretty different to pronounce, but in Korean, these sounds are nearly identical, at least to me. For example, 잘가, or goodbye, is difficult to pronounce but 자동차 is easy to pronounce since both characters are present.
Since I am learning these phrases, I have to learn to apply them as well. Since it was my roommate's birthday last week, I learned the phrase 생일 축하해, which is Happy Birthday! Since it was applicable, I learned it much quicker than the other phrases. Another phrase that I learned was 감사합니다, or Thank you. These simple phrases that can be used at any time so I will not forget them as easily. Frequent practice of Korean will ensure that my memory of it stays fresh. This leads into my strategy of deliberate practice of the language. By spending more time on the things that I struggle with, I can learn very more efficiently. Since i struggle with pronunciation, I frequently practice it. Each time I learn something, I will write it down constantly and also voice it aloud as I practice. So far this strategy has worked pretty well with learning the basics of the Korean alphabet so I believe with sufficient practice and dedication, I will be able to learn these Korean phrases as well. I do believe that I can spend more time practicing these phrases once I have finished mastering the alphabet. I am really enjoying this learning process and I am now starting to get back into watching Korean entertainment. I had taken a slight break and jumped into Japanese culture and American media during summer and the start of the semester but now I have more time to watch some Korean variety shows and Korean music. There has been a drought of entertainment at least for me since the virus took over everyone's idle minds.
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