I started the semester with very little knowledge about Korean: I was able read the alphabet and also to introduce myself when meeting someone for the first time. Along with that I knew few phrases and words related to gaming.
My objectives for this semester are very high since I included the following goals in my learning plan:
-Being able to read fluently, understand the signs (combination of characters) and their pronunciations
-Being able to handle a conversation when meeting someone for the first time (advanced questions)
-Furthermore I would like to be able to express my emotions and my background
-Which also means being able to understand basic conversation
-Being able to make transactions (buy/sell items) which means being familiar with numbers
-Being able to read the date and time (days, month, hours, minutes) to be able to set up meetings
My instructor and I started the semester with by reading and pronouncing the most common signs use in Korea, the difficulty remained in the combination of characters and in the originality of the sounds. In order to be successful in that task I would do many reading exercises with my instructor until the suitable pronunciation was reached. Listening many times to the correct pronunciation in online vocal exercises helped me a lot getting ready for my Korean meetings.
Then we focused on phrases and word to use when meeting someone for the first time in different settings. Additionally, I learned how talk about my background: my nationality, the languages I speak, my age and what do I do in life. By repeating the exercise during several meetings, I started to become more familiar with these phrases and other common korean expressions which ultimately increase my understanding of korean conversations.
Lastly, we worked on numbers. In korean, it is important to notice that there are two types of numbers: the ones used to talk about time and age and the ones used to talk about money and other math problems. Each type is distinct and have different symbols and pronunciation for each number. It took me a while to learn both set of numbers and to become capable of using them in the appropriate context.
I just started to become familiar with the dates and hours so the goal for the next few meetings is to be able to set up a meeting when talking to someone (on the phone, by email or in person) which can be extremely useful in real life.
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