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My earliest memory of learning language comes back to my primary school, and English was taught in a formal way with strong emphasis on learning the structure and grammar, building up knowledge of new vocabulary and doing a lot of exercises during primary and junior high school, like translating Chinese to English. I paid little attention on speaking and communicating in English with other persons. The learning method is basically provided with theoretical frameworks, logical rationale and rules. During the international high school, I tried to stress on listening and speaking with other people. I realized that communicating with native English speaker is the most efficient way to learn language, and what you studied in classes are applied to the real scenario in the life. For having more practice on English, I got used to watching American drama and listening English song without subtitle so that I can focus on listening. For me, the aim of studying language is to communicate and integrate in local community; it is necessary to get deep understanding about the local culture and custom. For example, through watching drama, people can get the fundamental idea about what the city looks like in different countries, and what the living habit they have and so on.

I am the auditory learner, and I can sound out and spell the strange vocabulary based on the whole sentence. Listening and talking with native speaker is the way to learn different aspects of language. For instance, the raising-falling tones represent the different meaning. Evaluated the learning method before, I dislike instruction which seems rigid and didactic, being told what to do, what to think, how to do it or what do you think. Therefore, self-directed language is what I pursuit. I can establish the learning plan and set the goal for this semester. It will be quite confident and pleasant after achieving the goal. For the goal of this semester, I prefer the part of communicating and listening (novice-medium). Throughout this semester, I am looking forward to handling the basic conversation, and then I am looking forward to travel to Korea with my friends in the future. Getting confidence from speaking Korean can motivate me to continue study the complicate grammar and writing.  

Expanding learning activities is to increase the motivation in foreign language learning. Motivation has traditionally considered an independent variable, which impact the time length of studying language, the expected grade, and whether I will continue to study the language after this semester. I think the interests is the important clue to go deep into high level of Korean, watching fun drama and listening music is the efficient way for me to combine lecture studies in the classes and entertainment in the leisure time. 

“It is crucial to look at different languages. If we restrict our view to just one language--our own--we will never truly understand the distinction between sense and reference, because it is natural to think that ‘our’ way of talking about the world is the only one, or the most natural one. It is only when we study or learn a foreign language, and realize that other people see things differently, that we become aware of how arbitrary the relationship is between words and entities or concepts." 

This quote struck a chord with me because it answers part of this larger, worldly, big picture question I have about the way people function. As a sociology major, I have always been interested in people, specifically, individuals and their role in societies and vice versa. The things people are interested in, why they do the things they do, the social institutions and cultures that shape preferences and opinions-these are all topics that I never thought could connect to language. Language is such a powerful tool that I know I take for granted, and though I've always been interested in learning as many words in as many languages as possible, I know I've never taken real initiative to learning and sticking to one particular language. But in reading the quote above, I discovered that I can incorporate my love for studying societies and people into learning (or re-learning/enhancing) Tagalog. Delving into this goal I've made for myself, I feel, will give me a deeper appreciation for my own culture and really understand where I've come from, and where I am today.

The readings helped understand how to learn a language for myself and how to succeed in creating a system for my brain to process languages. Vocabulary is an important part to learning a language; it gives the sense of other words in that language and helps to understand motions and actions. Putting vocabulary into sentences allows me to "make sense" of the vocabulary word. So when I am learning Hindi, I should try learning through vocabulary first and then start working on grammar. I am going to learn by categorizing different words, which allows me to make connections between words, enabling me to learn Hindi faster because I am analyzing these words as one category. 

I found out I am a reading/writing type of learner, so by compartmentalizing words written by category, my sense of vocabulary in Hindi is bound to grow tremendously. Reading about the dominant part of the brain, I realized that I am a left hemisphere dominant person; I categorize well and process information well, one of the things needed for language learning. 

There seem to be two parts of learning languages that I enjoy - the first is simply the ability to communicate with others in a way that can at times feel more "personal". I think this is because of use of words, phrases or even full conversations in a language that the other person can speak as a way of experiencing a commonality between us, and the acknowledgment that this commonality is not universal for all people. The second reason I enjoy learning languages is due to the theoretical aspect - learning the rules and methods of conjugation, sentence structure etc. From doing the multiple intelligence survey and looking at the FIRE model, this second reason makes a lot of sense. I had verbal/linguistic and logical and as my top two "intelligences", which relates directly to the structural and methodical approach to learning grammatical rules. Though I felt that I associated with all four of the categories, I always associated strongly with boxes in any category that related to the enjoyment of learning as well as boxes regarding systematic, graphical, structural and logical thinking.

I have used this sort of approach every time I begin learning a new language. For me, to begin to feel confident in the language, I want to know the grammar rules very well, such as sentence structure and verb conjugation. However this approach has only proven successful for me to reach a very specific type of "proficiency" in any language, being that I can create/say basic sentences with extreme ease but cannot use the variety of linguistic abilities necessary to even mimic more nuanced ways of speaking in the language. For example, aside from English, I speak Spanish the best. I can have long conversations discussing many topics with minimal hesitation when forming sentences etc., but the way I form sentences do not necessarily mimic the way a native speaker word phrase the same thing - my phrasing is very rudimentary and rigid in structure - I will almost always use the exact same sentence structure for any phrase of the given tense I am using. Though I am happy that I am able to easily create basic sentences in most of the languages I can speak, I feel that this approach to language learning has limited the ability to speak more "naturally" (except for those cases where it is natural to use rudimentary sentence structures.) I think a way to improve upon this while accommodating for my learning style (reading/writing and audio) would be to make more of a conscious effort in not only understanding the logical meaning what a native speaker is saying/has written, but to make a conscious effort in analyzing how they said what they said, and become familiar with the different ways the same meaning can be expressed.

I started learning English when I was in the first grade of Elementary School. By the time of my third grade, I was way behind most of my classmates in English class. This triggered my mother to order a series of English tapes and CDs so that she could play them for me every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed. After two months of constantly listening to English tapes, my English listening skills improved dramatically. I was also able to pick up words and sentences, as well as memorizing vocabularies more easily. From this experience, I realize that in order to learn Korean efficiently, I have to expose myself into the Korean-language environment. Thus, I will listen to Korean radio or watch Korean drama for at least an hour a day.  

I have been identified as a visual learner by the Learning Style Test in which suggests me to use symbols, charts, and arrangements to organize learning notes, draw and redraw images in different ways to enhance learning, and eventually practice turning visuals back to words. In addition, I dislike strict instructions on how to learn languages, thus, I will also take the Rational model of the FIRE model. I will learn the big picture concepts and work towards particular application, pursue “what-if” questions and answers to expand exploration and understanding, and explore interesting topics that inspire systematic and cause-and-effect thinking. I will also provide myself “open-ended tests which requires reflection on what I have learned.

In expanding learning activities, I will take useful advises from “12 Rules for Learning Foreign Languages in Record Time.” First, I will learn 300 most common words from memrise.com because as Tim Feriss wrote that “20% of effort” can help language learner achieve “80% comprehension in a language”. Then, I will learn the most common conversations from language partner and from YouTube. I will also search for the common words that was imported and transformed from China to ease my learning. Next, I will constantly listen to Tuneln.com radios, watch Korean drama, and cultural television shows to put myself in a correct circumstance. I will also practice speaking with Korean-study partner, with other Korean learning classmates, as well as practicing in italki.com.

In addition, I will create concrete goals for every week and set specific deadlines so that I can realize my study progress and evaluate effectively and decide on what else I should do to promote my Korean learning. My ultimate goal for this semester is to be able to communicate with a random Korean for at least five minutes.

In sum, I will take suggestions from the learning Style Test result, the FIRE Model, and the “12 Rules for Learning a Foreign Language in Recorded Time.” I will try to learn the most common words, conversations, put myself into a right circumstance, and keep practicing speaking.

Learning Journal #1

The readings helped me begin to try and construct an efficient way of learning for myself. Learning about the brain and its dominant sides helped me realize that I might be better at categorizing and creating logical organizations instead of possibly recognizing global patterns (which I think I need for learning a foreign language). The most important thing I learned was that one of the best ways of learning is by experiencing the activity through several ways-- through giving my body different feedbacks that can be received through different senses. I should not only hear the language, but I should try and speak the language for myself switching back and forth-- thus switching between senses of action and listening. This constant feedback loop will help me learn.  

When in the Global studio I mostly looked for online resources; this way I would be able to use them while in my room as well. I was able to find MANY interactive videos that taught basic Urdu greetings and conversational language (which is exactly what I am hoping to achieve as my end goal). One of my favorites was an online cite that asked questions and gave quizzes in between "lessons." I tried out the first Chapter, which was all about introductions. Another was a video which reviewed common Urdu phrases and greetings. They repeated their pronunciation and also showed their spelling. This was the most helpful because seeing how they were spelled helped me create a mental visualization, which in turn helps me learn seeing that I have found that I am mostly a visual learner. 

Cultural Post #2

This week I was able to meet with my Language partner twice, in which we were able to discuss formality and informality in the Urdu language. I found out that, according to him, Urdu for the most part is not so formal WHEN SPOKEN. However, in writing it is extremely formal. Seeing that my goal for this course will not be to learn how to write, or the alphabet, I chose to focus on the differences found when speaking the language. We mostly spoke about Pronouns, and how pronouns change depending on who is being addressed.Unlike in English, but similar to my native language Spanish, pronouns hold different formalities. "You" in urdu can be either "tum" "tu" or "ap." Tu would only be used when talking to a close friend, as it would be considered offensive to refer to an elder, or person of higher rank as "tu." Tum is neutral, and then "ap" is the most formal. It is interesting that in Urdu, three different levels exist-- all increasing in rank/authority. 

I am a native speak in Chinese and can speak fluent English and basic German. Now I want to expand to my 4th language-Korean. What I find most interesting about learning a language is the feeling of accumulation. You start from zero and by practice, you are surprised with what you gained. I had two study abroad experiences which was quite useful for me to learn a language. When I was placed into the environment, I was able to push myself to learn more to communicate with others. I found myself learn things quickly when I talk and listen. Admittedly, writing and reading formalized my language learning systematically. 

Tasks to complete after this semester:

1. Master the basic alphabet and basic greetings ans self-introduction.

2. Learn enough vocabulary so that I can communicate with people when I travel to Korea.

3. Learn from the Korean dramas and films to understand more about the culture.

4. Be able to write simple articles

As a speaker of Tamil, English and basic Spanish, the thing I enjoy most about learning a language is being able to playfully banter with another speaker. I feel like once you have reached that point in language learning, you are fluent. That is where I want to be when speaking Hindi. Expressions are the hardest thing to master in a language, in my opinion. I disliked learning long lists of vocabulary words in Spanish. While this is necessary to learning a language, I felt it was tedious. However, I am a reading/writing type of learner, so vocabulary words are one type of way that I learn well. By writing things down and memorizing them, I learn much easier. I want to expand my learning skills with my speaking partner by being able to hold good conversations and understanding expressions and language concepts through dictation and talking. 

Learning new languages has always been an interest of mine. I have taken French, Latin, and Spanish lessons/classes, and even attempted to learn Russian but didn't feel the same spark as I did with the other three. Having been born and raised for half my life in Manila, I grew up learning English and Tagalog simultaneously.  However, since it has been about 13 years since I lived in Manila, I've found myself slowly losing grip of my Tagalog, and often mix words and the language structure up while talking to my family. As someone who's attempted to learn a variety of languages over the years, I've learned that I like writing new words down and doing this repetitively. On the Learning Styles survey, I learned that I am a Reading/Writing learner, which comes to no surprise as I do very much enjoy reading and writing.  With this in mind, the survey suggested I make lists, and make good use of the dictionary, another thing I will enjoy doing because I tend to be a nerd and do that already with unfamiliar words I come across with. On the Multiple Intelligences Survey, I scored the highest with an 80% for Verbal/Linguistic, a 75% for Musical, and a 70% for Intrapersonal. From these surveys, I can improve my Tagalog, which is the language I have chosen for this class. Although I already know how to speak it, reading and writing it is a pretty difficult task for me, and I would like be able to understand its grammatical structure better. To be able to do this, I must look up the words' definition, and write them down as often as I can. Perhaps I can make grocery/to-do lists in this language as well. To make use of my musical and intrapersonal qualities, I can listen to Tagalog songs, as sappy as they are. Furthermore, re-learning Tagalog would force me to spend more time talking to my parents in straight Tagalog, rather than in Taglish (Tagalog-English) which is what I've done for the past 21 years of my life. I can also watch Filipino dramas centered on love stories between two people placed in very unfortunate circumstances, which tend to be unintentionally hilarious. The four things I want to be able to accomplish are: 1.) ease in reading and writing Tagalog, 2.) expanding more of my vocabulary that does not revolve around light, conversational words, 3.) learning the complex grammatical structure, and 4.) reading Filipino/Tagalog literature. 

I became interested in learning Urdu once I suddenly became surrounded by friends, of which are fluent speakers here at U of R. Hearing them converse was what first interested me in this language. I constantly found myself asking them, "What are you saying" or "how do you say [ ]?" knowing that there was no official Urdu class offered at this University. Once I found that this course existed, I immediately became interested in the possibility of finally being able to achieve a goal: Finally being able to understand what they are talking about! I want to be able to have simple conversations with a native speaker and have them properly understand me. I enjoy the challenge of having to learn another language that is completely different than that of my native languages. This means that I will have to make different sounds, as well as try to hear the differences in sounds of 'my new language'. I have discovered that I am a K/V learner, meaning that I have to be verbal and act in order to learn. I think that this is perfect for language because it is essentially the basis of all language. I will have to speak and engage in the act of creating dialogue in order to achieve my goal. For this reason, I am concentrating in only learning how to have a novice conversation and not how to read/write in Urdu. I think that I can expand my learning activities by continuing to surround myself by native speakers and this time, engaging them in conversation as well.