It was a great experience working my language partner Sun this semester. In our first meeting, I listed all the goals I wanted to achieve by the end of this semester. Then, we made a very detailed plan and assigned all tasks for each week and each meeting. Actually, meeting with Sun twice a week is very helpful. In the second meetings I usually would recall all the words I learned in the first meeting, and Sun could correct me every time I have wrong pronunciations.
In the first two weeks, we learned greetings, self-introductions, ordering foods in restaurants, shopping cosmetics. In the second half of this semester, we focused more on learning some Korean words, such as body, face, clothes, colors, and etc. The biggest problem I met was that I might read the romantization of words in the way I read Chinese Pinyin. Because I am so used to read Pinyin, it interrupts my conception in learning Korean and I might make the same mistake in pronouncing. One way I solved this problem is that I asked Sun to record the correct pronunciation for me using my phone. I listened to the recording in my spare time and tried to pronounce right after she said those words. This method helped me to successfully memorize many vocabularies that were difficult to me at first. Another method I used to remember the correct pronunciation was taking notes in Chinese and English. Just as the note and weekly reflection I uploaded, I actually wrote down some Chinese and English words next to Korean romantization if they share the similar pronunciation. Nevertheless, I do not think this method is good for long run. I should not rely on using other languages to learn Korean.
Also, my language partner has lived in Korea, the US and China for many years. Her experience in living in these three countries always inspires me. For example, she compared how she wear clothes in Korea and in the US. She told me that she could wear very casual clothes in the US, but her Korean friends would judge her if she does not dress up or make up one day. These interesting stories helped me to better understand the Korean culture and prepare for my presentation.
Comments