SDLC 111 Learning Journal 1

Because I have the same language partner as I did last semester, it has fortunately been an easy transition into this semester. Last semester, the focus was for me to be able to improve on my speaking ability and my confidence level while speaking Korean, my vocabulary so that I can comprehend more difficult conversations/readings, as well as my writing level. While I made progress last semester, my goals were not something that can be achieved on a period of 4 months. Therefore, for the most part my goals have stayed consistent from last semester. Because it took a few weeks to get assigned to our language partner, I have only met with my language partner once. An area we decided to discuss more this semester compared to the last is culture. Because I took SDLC 105 in the fall along with 110, I was able to get both without really having to discuss it with my language partner. However, now that I am only taking 111, I feel like discussing culture as well as learning the language will be beneficial. 

During our first meeting, the main topic we discussed was Korean superstitions. Growing up, I remember my grandma telling me about a few of them such as that if you slept with a fan on you would die, or that if you dreamt about a pig, it means that you will get money. With my language partner, I was able to learn about a few more of them like if there is a bird in your home, it means somebody in your family will die, or that the number 4, shaking your legs, or writing your name in red is bad luck. I know from experience that many Koreans strongly believe in superstitions, as well as fortune telling. I thought this was an interesting insight into the Korean culture, and enjoyed learning more about them.

In addition to learning more about the culture, I also read a news article with my language partner. The article we read was about depression and its symptoms and what you can do to overcome it. The vocabulary in the article was difficult, therefore it took quite a while to read out loud and get through. However, it was a good chance for me to learn some vocabulary - especially some medical terminology, and read about a heavier topic. Getting immediate response from my language partner on vocabulary I didn't know was very helpful. In addition, just reading Korean out loud helps me in that Korean can sometimes be hard to read out loud because it is so different from English. This is something we plan to continue for the rest of the semester, and I think it will be extremely helpful in getting me towards my goal.

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