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My interest in learning Korean language stems from me being Korean American in the US. As a child, I grew up learning basic conversational dialogues from my parents and was given children books in Korean. In the back of my mind, I always thought about diving deeper into the language and culture, but did not have the time/chance to teach myself. I think that SDLC 110 is an amazing way for me to learn about everything I want to without having a set curriculum of what I have to learn.

This semester I hope to learn how to speak eloquently, read at a faster pace, write faster/better, and learn about the current events in Korea. I am not expecting to reach all of my goals but I hope that I will be able to see my progress. Furthermore, I want my parents to notice the difference of my Korean skills when I have longer conversations with them during winter break.

The self-directed language learning was a great experience for me. I was able to learn more about my family’s country, South Korea, and immerse myself into the culture and language. I did not expect to learn so much about the country, thinking that I had the basic knowledge about it. I realized that there was more to learn than what my parents would talk to me about once in awhile. I exposed myself to various social cues and prominent current events (news articles). In addition, I widened my vocabulary and strengthened my writing skills.

As a language learner and cultural explorer, I gained insight on how Korea was different in the ways that people communicated. There were basic set of rules to keep in mind like bowing, knowing honorific terms, and being mindful of the rank of others (as in age, status, experience). Because the content was enjoyable, I was able to keep myself in track of constantly learning new material.  Learning was straightforward but actually applying what I learned in real-life settings was hard. I felt awkward and did not feel comfortable talking in Korean to people other than my parents. When I went to Grand Mart and could not find a certain product, I went up to a worker and purposely talked in Korean to practice. Despite feeling out of place when talking to others in Korean, I really enjoyed seeing the progress that I made throughout the semester. I was able to retain so many new words and was up-to-date with the current events in Korea. When I would call my parents, I would talk to them about what was going on in Korea and they were really fond to hear that I knew what was happening. Thus, I feel as though that I made good progress overall.

I will continue learning Korean next semester by taking SDLC 111. This will allow me to practice my Korean continuously until I go to Korea during the summer. I want to be able to talk and read as fluently as possible so that my Grandma is proud of me. Alongside increasing my knowledge of vocabulary words and reading skills, I want to learn anatomical and medical terms. I know that I want to get into the healthcare setting after I graduate so I think that knowing those words in Korean is helpful.

I think that the readings from the first week of class was very helpful because it set of realistic goals for me when thinking about how to structure my learning plan. Learning a new language is easy and going step by step at one’s own pace is the best way to progress. In addition, the “Communicative Competence” readings were useful because it gave detailed information on different characteristics of communication that I did not know about. It shed light on a different perspective on language. During class, I personally enjoyed watching videos because they were very informational in way that I was able to comprehend. Also, some videos, like the one about how language affects how colors are perceived, were very interesting. Overall I learned a lot about language and communication in class and was able to connect the class to my process of learning Korean. Next semester, I would like to go more indepth on the communicative competence in specific settings like schools, restaurants, work, etc. in Korea.    

Trying to read and write in my target language was no easy task. Speaking my target language in basic day to day conversation is simpler because both my parents speak my target language and I am constantly immersed in Korean culture when I am home. However, trying to read and write was a bit challenging. When learning how to read, it was frustrating because I was not able to read as fast as I wanted to and was not able to comprehend a lot of the words, especially when reading news articles. The past summer, I tried to start reading Korean webtoons but was not able to continue because I did not like how I took so long to read one chapter. Thankfully, I can read faster than before but would like to eventually read as fast as how I read in English.

Writing in Korean was also tough because some letters sound the same but are spelled in different ways and some pronunciations are not the same as how it is written. Thus, it was hard to get the spellings correct and there were no rules pertaining to what consonants/vowels to use. However, I learned how to spell certain words and am able to write a little bit faster.

In the past, I thought that bilinguals were smarter because they used “more” of their brain to process and speak two languages. My middle school biology professor told the class that bilinguals were able to learn better because the brain was using more “power”. However, now I believe that there is no evidence proving that bilinguals are necessarily smarter than monolinguals. The studies showing that bilinguals are smarter focus on a small subset of people and does not exactly have information as to why bilinguals are supposedly smarter. Furthermore, one cannot generalize that bilinguals are smarter because there are many people who only speak one language but can retain and process information quickly.

I believe that there are cognitive benefits in a sense that bilinguals are constantly learning new words, which stimulates the brain. However, this does not translate to being smarter...

When languages die, not only do the languages themselves disappear, but also the culture tied to the languages dissipate. For instance, the author of the article writes about government boarding schools that forced native children to speak only English in order to have them forget their native language. It is important to note that this tactic was also a means of eradicating native people’s culture over time. Because language is so inherently linked to culture, forcing an entire population to forget their language is also a horrid policing of one’s way of life.

Likewise, when thinking of language in a more ontological way, it is clear that there is a direct correlation to language systems and one’s way of navigating and understanding the world. Certain words in native languages, for instance, have certain connotations that cannot directly be translated to English. Meaning may be lost in translation. Thus, something more than language itself is lost when it dies; as language is essential to culture and one’s way of life, the dissipation of language causes the destruction of that very society.

Learning the origin and gradual development of and changes in a language helps you understand the overall structural components of a language and consequently, helps you learn it with more ease. Language changes over time and learning the different changes allows you to get a better perspective of how certain words, phrases, and expressions came to be.

Though it is possible to learn a language without knowledge of its in-depth history, knowing the history ultimately allows you to deeply delve into various aspects of the language.

The process of learning Korean has been going at a stable pace. I started off by asking my language teacher, Joo Hyunwoo, how my Korean was to see what I needed improvements on. I knew I was able to speak basic conversations with people because that was what I was exposed to at home. However, I did not learn how to speak past dialogues, write, and read in Korean. My language teacher did not exactly know my level and told me to watch a video but the words were too hard for me to understand. Afterwards, I began watching simpler clips to match my level and focused on pinpointing words I did not understand. I would write the words over multiple of times until I was able to recall it and memorized the definitions. I then tried to use the words in sentences to see if I really understood the meaning of the words. I did not want to purely memorize things, but wanted to apply my knowledge. Overall, I was able to learn a lot of new words and new that the self-learning was paying off because my parents noticed that I was using “different” vocabularies.

When connecting Korean to the culture of Korea, I realized the importance of respecting elders in various ways. For example, I did not know that I had to speak in honorific forms with elders. Because I speak to my parents in banmal (informal form of speech), I did not know that I had to speak to all elders, even those I did not know, in honorific forms. In addition, I was not used to bowing to other people while saying anyounghasaeyo (hello). I began enforcing this into my head so when I went to New Grand Mart to get food, I remembered to bow my head to the older woman behind the cashier.  Furthermore, I learned about other body language gestures that pertained to the Korean culture. For example, when pouring an alcoholic drink to elders, two hands have to be used to show respect. When drinking the alcohol, I need to move my head to the slide and not make direct eye contact with my elder. I do not know as to why I have to do this, but it is a form of reverence.  

To improve my communicative competence (utilizing language in the appropriate setting), I need to learn more about Korean culture and how language is molded to fit the society’s ideals/beliefs. To do so, I need to delve into more information about Korea through searching about it in websites like Google and Naver. I also need to watch videos, whether it is documentaries, interviews, or reality shows. Reality shows would show me how people act and talk in different settings and watching multiple videos would hopefully instill the social cues into my head. Also, I would learn how people talk in general in interviews and documentaries and allow me to get used to the honorific form. I am hoping that improving my communicative competence will help me with social interactions and conversations when I go to Korea in the summer to visit my relatives.

Culture shock is an experience that has different effects on various people. Some are able to overcome the “culture shock” quickly while others have a harder time adjusting to the new place and may not even move past the culture shock itself. When I went came to the University of Richmond for the first time, I was so shocked to see how different the people were from Californians. People dressed in a similar fashions where they wore bright colored shirts/pants and mainly talked about fraternities/sororities. I felt very out of place and thought that I was different from most of the people on this campus. In addition, I thought that Richmond lacked the diversity that LA had so at first I had a difficult time finding my friend group. I had many thoughts about transferring back to California and it took me the whole freshman year to really enjoy going to the school.

I thought that culture shock was going to be easy to overcome and did not know that it was going to be a long process for me. I was able to find various coping mechanisms that were useful for me when I went to Australia for abroad afterwards. Moreover, I was able to grow stronger as a person and now, I do not feel as afraid of traveling to new places alone.

Watching the videos of my classmates was informing in a sense that I was able to learn about different topics in various countries. I watched all of the videos and decided to talk about the ones that were intrigued me the most.

I thought that Zach’s presentation was interesting because he focused on Turkish cuisine and I did not know anything about what their food staples were. He talked about some dishes like sucuklu yumurta (eggs), menemen (eggs), meze, pide (similar to a pizza), kebab, and gozleme (lamb, spinach, feta cheese). The pictures that were on the slides looked very delicious and it made me think about how different it was compared to Korean food. Korean food is predominantly composed of rice, soup, and meat/vegetable side dishes as opposed to Turkish food that seems to have be more hearty with lots of carbs.

Tana’s presentation on the Israeli defense force was informational and allowed me to make connections with the culture of Korea’s army. For both countries, the army is mandatory for all males between certain ages. I think that the men see it as a passage of rite because most people around them have gone. There is a negative emphasis on people try to avoid going despite being able to. I thought that Korea was the only country that was mandatory and did not know that it was the same for Israel.

Unlike other presentations that focused on one topic, I liked how Brenda covered the basic culture of Korea by briefing touching on the economic aspect, Korean wave in other countries, and Korean cuisine. It is a good information video for people who do not know about Korea at all.

Overall, the presentations were pleasing to see and I was able to learn about different aspects of some countries that I did not really know about.

One of the major differences between the structure of my target language from my native language is the difference in syntax. For instance, whereas my native language follows the structural rule, ‘subject + verb + object,’ my target language abides by the ‘subject + object + verb’ rule. This is important to note as novice language learners often translate their native language to the target language when first learning to speak and write a new language. Recognizing the differences in syntax ultimately assists the learner in his or her endeavor.

I will acquire the knowledge I need by studying a sheet of reference grammar. Reference grammar is useful when learning a new language, as its prose-like description of important grammatical constructions of the target language provides extensive examples and pinpoints major differences in syntax between one’s target and native language. Likewise, because learning a new language requires extensive knowledge in major grammatical changes, the examples of such changes that a sheet of reference grammar provides is helpful when navigating a new language.

Based on the premise of your question, it seems as if the term ‘linguistic aspects’ refer to the social/cultural components of linguistics and not only the language itself. Body language, the conception of time, etc. are all socio-cultural markers of linguistics. For instance, Koreans exhibit a high level of respect for the elderly, which show in both the Korean language itself and certain body language. Some cultural acts of respect manifest themselves in different forms of greeting and during social occasions. When younger Koreans greet the elderly, they must bow while greeting them to show respect. When younger Koreans also drink during social occasions when the elderly is present, they must look away to one side and drink with two hands. Such particular sociocultural manifestations of body linguistics to heed respect to the elderly   

Moreover, the Korean language itself, just like the Spanish language, uses honorifics; when a younger individual speaks to someone older, he or she utilizes a slightly different grammatical form to establish respect. Both the Korean and the Spanish language conjugates verb tenses differently to address the elderly (or to anyone else to establish respect).

The readings basically narrow down to how to learn a language as efficiently and quickly as possible. I think the most important aspect is to form goals that are reachable. Some people tend to make unrealistic goals and get frustrated as to why they are not learning as fast as they thought they would. This makes it harder to learn because the learning process is not as enjoyable. Thus, people are more easily prone to giving up. I have been looking at the study plan chart and filling out realistic goals for me. I think that once I start learning the target language and see the process of achieving my goals, I will be able to positively continue on my language learning process.  

In addition, it was very informational to learn how the different resources that would allow me to speak better. I did not know that there were so many resources where I can speak to native speakers and learn my target language. I will definitely be looking more into the resources so that I learn as much as possible.

I have learned around 15 words a week in my target language this past semester. I learned them by reading a short list of Korean vocabulary words and defining them in English afterwards. I looked up the words in a Korean-English dictionary and made sure I was pronouncing them correctly by looking up the phonetics online through the dictionary voice feature on Google.

Moreover, I believe I do have realistic goals for my acquisition of vocabulary. Though vocabulary lists are quite useful and straightforward to use, I also have two parents that both speak Korean and expose me to Korean culture. I learn not only through more academic means, but also through my parents. When I am back home during break, I am immersed in Korean culture and language, rendering it easier for me to acquire new vocabulary terms without much endeavor at times. Thus, I naturally set and achieve realistic goals for my acquisition of vocabulary.

The article reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of being a bilingual speaker and how bilingual speakers could potential be smarter. Different languages have different ways of perceiving the world; therefore, being a bilingual speakers helps people to perceive world around us in more diverse ways than a monolingual speakers. As bilingual speakers have broader spectrum of word choices, bilingual speakers are more creative in a way and possibly even smarter. However, there are some disadvantages of being a bilingual speaker. Having a knowledge of many different languages could intervene the flow of thoughts. For example, one could forget what the word was in another language. This happens to me a lot when I start to think in English and try to say a particular word in Korean. It also happens in vise versa, then I end up speaking with a mixture of two languages in one sentence since I could not finish my thoughts with only one language. Although there are disadvantages of being a bilingual speaker, I believe knowing more languages helps one to gain a wider view.

This semester, my biggest goal was to read news articles and to listen to news freely. Therefore I worked on this with Evelyn by reading and discussing about particular news topics. I am glad that my experience of trying to read news articles got gradually better as I gained more confidence and speed in reading. As I moved to the states, I was still able to have a daily conversation in Korean with friends, but I was not exposed to any Korean books or articles. Evelyn and I focused on reading this semester, and it got better as I spend more time on it. Some of the phrases and wordings are still difficult for me to understand, but I could make sense out of it by looking the relationship of sentence before and after.

Evelyn and I didn't practice much for writing. If I get a chance to take this class again, I definitely would like to focus on writing more. When I had an internship at Korea over the summer, I was surprised as I figured that I could not write easily in Korean anymore. I struggled to write a progress report and simple emails. I sometimes have to check my grammar even when I text my friends. I acknowledged that I am very rusty on grammar rules as I stopped to write in Korean for long time. As I think writing is the hardest part in perfecting the language, I would like to practice more on my writing skills in the future.

I have not counted how many exact words that I learned this semester, but I definitely got to learn more sophisticated vocabulary words so far. By reading the news articles and books, I had to look up many words that I could not understand as it affected the way to comprehend the sentence. It became way more clear after looking up the words, and the sentence made much more sense. Sometimes I had to look up extra words as I could not understand the part of the definition from the dictionary, and I learned more by doing this. Therefore, I always read news articles with a online dictionary. Before taking this class, I just assumed that most of the sentence from news articles would not make sense to me at all, and gave up on reading advanced journals. However, now I have a confident in myself that I am able to understand intermediate readings if I look up vocabulary words. As it benefits me to do in depth reading, I am going to continue to utilize the online dictionary when needed.

Angella Lee's Final Learning Plan

1. Slides + Sources: 

Angella Lee's Cultural Presentation

2. Summary of Presentation: 

My cultural presentation was about the education system in South Korea. I chose this as my topic because my main learning goal for this semester was to prepare for my study abroad experience at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Therefore, I want to learn about how education is shaped in South Korea.

I briefly talked about the common structure of elementary schools and high schools, but I focused on college life, especially with Yonsei University. Your major in South Korea is quite important because college students are known to primarily associate with those within their major, which is different from how it is here in the United States, at least for me. At the end, I applied what I learned this semester by talking in Korean about my first day at Yonsei University. I also spoke a brief intro and outro in Korean as well.  

Summarize your work this semester, the progress you made and the difficulties you encountered.

Because I just began studying Korean this semester, I had to start from the most basic of the basics and establish a solid foundation first. While making my learning plan at the beginning of the semester, I underestimated how difficult it would be to start learning a language of which I had almost no prior knowledge. The pacing of the schedule that I initially outlined was much too fast, especially for the early phases of the semester. For instance, because I haven’t had to learn a radically different writing system since beginning Japanese in my junior year of high school, I had forgotten how long it takes to become adequately familiar with a new alphabet. I spent more time working on identification, writing, and pronunciation of the alphabet than I would have wanted to, but once I had a firm foundation in reading and writing the alphabet, I was able to learn more quickly.

In terms of grammar, I had a leg up coming into Korean with a background in Japanese. Because of my understanding of the Japanese language, I already understood fundamental elements of the Korean language, like different types of particles or basic sentence structure. For instance, both Japanese and Korean use a particle to denote an objects location (‘O’ in Japanese and “ae” in Korean) and both function in a similar way, so it was easy for me to learn how to describe location because it was just a matter of swapping out Japanese words for Korean ones while the grammar structure remained the same.

I also already knew some Korean vocabulary thanks to cognates between the two languages; however, I found learning vocabulary very difficult. I had to build a completely new vocabulary, and I also had to resist my involuntary reflex to use Japanese words in place of Korean ones. Sometimes, I would unconsciously use a Japanese word when I didn’t know the word in Korean, or I would use Japanese pronunciation when speaking. For example, for ‘coffee’ I would say the Japanese ‘ko-hee’ instead of the Korean ‘keopee.’

Overall, I think I learned a good amount this semester. I started off knowing very little about Korean and finished being able to read, write, and converse in basic ways.

My relationship with the Korean language has been a love-hate relationship ever since I was a child. Initially, I grew up speaking French and English. However, family friends began trying to force the Korean language onto me and my siblings, emphasizing the importance of embracing our roots. Because I had no interest in Korean culture or the language as a child, I dreaded the “home-school” type of Korean classes. It wasn’t long after that I quit and was back to being distant with my Korean roots. While I could speak some basic Korean to my parents and siblings, I did not begin speaking Korean to other students until my freshman year of college. At UC Irvine, I was surrounded with many Korean students who lived in the same dorm as me. My desire to properly learn Korean stemmed around this time when I kept failing to express myself or even fully understand the Koreans around me.

Up until this semester, I had no such learning plan or schedule to improve my Korean. I would just watch a few Korean shows or movies every once in a while and pick up some words. It wasn’t until going through SDLC that I realized how slow my learning process up to this point. I decided to take SDLC because I figured if I combined my desire to learn with Korean school work, I would be forced to progress faster. Creating a learning plan gave me goals to chase, and I believe that was the biggest factor in my fast learning progress this semester.

I enjoyed meeting with language partners because it gave me a chance to speak Korean in a natural way and practice expressing myself. I realized that practicing and consistently speaking the target language was truly the only way to improve. I began texting in Korean as well as reading in Korean. Reflecting back to September, my reading and writing has improved dramatically as well- consistency was key.

I found myself relating my Korean learning process to lifting weights at the gym. In order to get bigger and stronger, one needs to set realistic goals and stay consistent. The same method applies to learning a new language- set visible goals and keep at it. Sooner or later, one looks back and realizes how far they’ve come.

I’ve discussed a lot of cultural differences and history with my language partner, making me realize the fact that I lack quite the knowledge on Korean history. We have discussed the general ideas and barely cracked the surface, always running out of time. Therefore, for the next few semesters I hope to go more in depth on Korean history and culture, preparing myself for a possible study abroad trip to Yonsei University.