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Over this past weekend, I received a call from my mother at around 11:00 at night. Due to the unusual lateness of the call, I immediately answered the phone in preparation for unfortunate news. To my surprise, the call was not negative in any manner, but rather, my mom had just finished a 2-hour  movie, “The Sound of Metal”, and she needed to provide me with a raving review as the movie involved American Sign Language (ASL).

After watching a short trailer for the movie, I decided to watch it the following day, and it was one of the best movies I have watched for a very long time. The following description will be a discussion of the movie’s summary to show the complexity of production however, as a disclaimer, there will be some “spoilers” in this synopsis.

The movie follows a  male ex-addict, drummer named Ruben (played by Riz Ahmed) who plays in a rock band with his girlfriend, Lou (played by Olivia Cooke). As the movie begins, you see the love the couple has for their music and lifestyle together and the passion Ruben has for playing the drums. However, Ruben's hearing begins to quickly deteriorate during the film, sending him into a mental spiral that urges him to become a drug user again, despite being four years clean. To prevent that from happening, Lou finds and sends Ruben to a support group in a deaf community specifically for deaf addicts. Throughout the movie, you see Rubin’s struggle to adjust to a non-hearing world as he learns to communicate through a different modality. You see the pain he feels from the loss of his hearing, but you also begin to see the joy Ruben finds in the deaf community, and more importantly, in the silence of it all. Ruben eventually earns enough money to receive cochlear implants; however, it is apparent he is disappointed in the results of the procedure as his hearing is not the same as it was before. Eventually, Rubin learns to find peace with the silence and even comes to treasure it.

The reason why Ruben losses his hearing isn't fully determined, but his hearing becomes almost entirely lost, and the producers of the movie exhibit such a loss by diminishing the movie's sound, thus stimulating the auditory experience of losing one’s hearing. Additionally, in an interview with Ahmed, it was revealed that the actor had a device placed in his ear that would imitate white noise to prevent his own hearing from working. I thought this component of the film was so exquisite as it makes the audience question their own hearing and forces the audience to let go of this seemingly indestructible sense.

When Ruben moves into the support house, ASL is seemingly introduced into the film. As he adapts to his new lifestyle, ASL surrounds him at the dinner table, addiction meetings, ASL classes, and as he develops new friendships throughout the community. What I believe to be even more spectacular is that script for these sections was written by members of the deaf community.  The producer claimed that ASL was not a language he knew, so he had no right to impersonate the language, thus giving free design to those writers in the deaf community.

I also loved that the movie portrayed deaf users, not as handicapped individuals, but rather fully autonomous individuals. The audience gains a sense of the connectedness of a deaf community and the audience sees how a deaf community actually is.  Before this movie, I had only heard of deaf communities, but I had trouble envisioning what they actually looked like. How do people interact? What are the schools like? Is there a deaf grocery store? This movie provides insight into how deaf people go about their lives.

The movie makes me think of my journey with sound and how much I use on my ability to perceive vibrations. I do not just use hearing though, I rely on it. From my class lectures to the music I dance to, the audiobooks that keep me grounded, I rely on my hearing for so much. This movie makes me question how my life would change if I lost this incredible sense.

As you might be able to tell, I thought the movie was incredibly well done both from an acting and producing side, and would highly recommend it.

On Friday, I had a less than competent moment in my tutoring session. Adriana introduced a list of questions that I had to answer on the spot. Some of the questions included “Hovoríš po Slovensky?” (Do you speak Slovak) or “Kde je Bratislava?” (Where is Bratislava), relatively simple questions. The question that really tripped me up was “Kto je Zuzana Čaputová?” (Who is Zuzana Čaputová). We went over some professions our last lesson like “učitelka” (teacher) and “doktor” (doctor). So, when I saw the name, “Zuzana Čaputová”, I immediately thought that I needed to focus on some of the new professional vocabulary from our last lesson. With that thought, I said “Zuzana Čaputová je farmár” (Zuzana Čaputová is a farmer). I knew that the response was completely wrong the moment I finished the sentence. Unfortunately, I had mistaken the first female (and the current) President of Slovakia for a farmer. Adriana was very kind about correcting me, but I was so embarrassed to completely mislabel President Čaputová. Despite listening to Slovak current events podcasts and reading about the President, my brain majorly lapsed as I confused one of the most accomplished Slovaks for a farmer. I am just glad that I made that mistake in front of Adriana and not among strangers.

Despite this unfortunate incident, I really enjoy my Slovak lessons and study sessions. The fast-paced, one-on-one style of my tutoring lessons helps keep me engaged and actively challenges me. Most of these lessons are based around on-the-spot verbal language production as Adriana continually asks me to form sentences and answer questions. This language production allows me to practice my accent with Adriana offering adjustments for any mispronunciation. I really enjoy that these lessons are so engaging and not too focused on lengthy lectures. One of the biggest detriments to my past language experiences was long theory or grammar lectures with the teacher talking the majority of the time. These types of lectures kept me from actually understanding the material and applying it to my language production. I hope to continue to focus on lessons with constant verbal language production and avoid any lessons with too much grammar or theory. 

One of my major tasks at the moment is learning numbers in Slovak. It is pretty humbling to dedicate my time to learning how to count, a task that I consider to be basic, almost child-like. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I am starting from the very beginning with Slovak; I am currently operating at the approximate level of a toddler. Despite the intuitive nature of language, some skills and knowledge come with time and practice such as the ability to properly pronounce “ch” or understanding the complicated declension table. Even though these tasks can feel a little childlike, they are essential to properly speaking Slovak. Additionally, I have the advantage of identifying cognates between English and Slovak numbers while also understanding the relatively abstract concept of numbers, likely a challenging concept for toddlers to grasp.

In my previous language learning post, my goal was to focus on consuming Slovak media. I have mostly listened to two podcasts: “Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio” and “Comprehensible Slovak”. “Slovakia Today” helps me stay informed with the current state of Slovakia (fulfilling my cultural competency goal) and gives me an opportunity to hear citizens speak Slovak with an immediate English translation. Additionally, “Comprehensible Slovak” helps me practice my listening comprehension with the podcast host speaking slowly and clearly. The podcast also comes with a transcript of the episode which helps in better deciphering the words. Listening comprehension is something that I have struggled with throughout my language learning experiences in Spanish, Danish, and Slovak. Due to my struggles with listening comprehension, my goal is to watch or listen to a program (15-30 minutes in length) twice a week in order to practice listening, focus on pronunciation and hopefully, pick up a few familiar words.

President Zuzana Čaputová (and not a farmer)

Spelling seems to be completely arbitrary in relation to the actual pronunciation of a word or a phrase. The letters used to make up a word can make different sounds depending on the language applied. For example, there is the word “auto” in English and in Slovak. In English, “auto” would be pronounced “ah-tow”. In contrast, a Slovak speaker would pronounce “auto” as “ow-tow” with a soft-sounding “t”. It is important to differentiate between spelling and sound in order to recognize the difference in written and spoken language. When a word is spelled incorrectly, the language speaker has a greater ability to determine the target word. However, when a word is pronounced incorrectly, the temporality of speech can make it difficult to determine the target word. Spelling is important but understanding the sounds of your target language will assist in both speech production and comprehension.

There are a lot of new, unfamiliar sounds in Slovak. I have little experience observing accents, tildes, and trills from my Spanish education, but there are also many sounds that prove challenging. There are long vowels/short vowels and long consonants/short consonants. The stress is always placed on the first syllable of the word. Only Slovaks in the East (populations near Poland) place stress on the penultimate syllable. There is a lot of variability between Eastern and Western dialects.

Additionally, Slovak has the largest Slavic and European alphabet with 46 letters. One of my biggest challenges is that the Slovak alphabet involves trills and taps with the letters “r” and “ŕ”. The “r” without an accent creates more of a light tongue tap on the soft palate. The other letter, “ŕ”, indicates additional stress on the soft palate, resulting in a trill. Additionally, the letter, “ch”, challenges my American accent as I imagine myself adopting a Scottish brogue. It’s like creating an “h” noise at the very back of the throat, it focuses more on the throat and less on the expulsion of air. For example, the Slovak word for fridge is “chladnička” (xl̩adnɪt͡ʃka). One of the biggest resources in better comprehending speech is listening to podcasts of Slovak speakers. They help me better observe typical pronunciations while also allowing me to pick out recognizable words. After listening, I try to find the transcript for the podcast episode to better understand its context. I plan on continuing to listen to these podcasts and ask for listening exercises during my tutoring sessions.

In the past weeks, I started to invest more time delving into vietnamese media beyond the typical Vietnamese musical videos, reality tv shows, and games shows. Over the past week, my partner and I have been watching and discussing said Vietnamese filmography. We’ve watched a total of 2 movies, all of which starred Vietnamese actors as well as actresses and produced in Vietnam. We watched each movie twice. Both times the movies are played using their Vietnamese audio track, but the first time we had Vietnamese subtitles (I’m a visual learner, and I typically watch movies with subtitles to aid my understanding), and the second time we watched with English subtitles. So the first watch was supposed to be an immersive Vietnamese experience, whereas the second was to see how much of the dialogue I understood and retained from the first time watch. Afterward, we would discuss the movie in detail (i.e. Logan would ask me specific questions pertaining to the movie and I would have to give a satisfactory answer before we move on). 

The first one we watched was Hai Phượng [haːj˧˧ fɨəŋ˨˩˨]; the film is named after the main character’s name, but the film’s English title is known as Furie. We found the movie off of Netflix and both of us decided to give the movie watch since it is extremely rare that we find any Vietnamese content directly on a mainstream streaming site. The movie was an action and martial arts film that centered around the kidnapping and trafficking of a child (Mai)  from a village in the Mekong. Mai’s mother was a former gang member who decided to settle down in an obscure village by the Mekong region to protect her family. Mai was abducted by an organ trafficking gang and was brought to Hồ Chí Minh city. After we watched the film, we decided to look it up and found that this movie broke the record for highest-grossing Vietnamese film in history and was highly regarded for its martial arts sequence.

Next we watched ‎Mắt Biếc [mak˧˥ ɓiək˧˥], known internationally by its English title, Dreamy Eyes. This was a slice of life, drama, and romance film. It told the story of a young man, Ngân, one sided love for his childhood companion, Hà Lân. It dealt with a lot of heavy and hard to understand topics like longing and loss that comes with unrequited love. The ending was bittersweet when the main character was forced to move on from his decade long crush. This movie was hard to follow mostly because of its poetic language. 

The biggest obstacle I had to deal with while watching these films was verbal comprehension. The moving pictures and plot for both movies were nothing extraordinary or complicated, but some of the actresses and actors use a central dialect or have a northern accent that is almost incomprehensible to me. Luckily, the subtitles were somewhat helpful with my understanding. Whatever I absolutely could not comprehend, my partner was able to step in and help fill in until I completely understood. 

This past month of February, my vocabulary expanded a lot. While listening to the radio or watching any shows that are in Korean, I wrote down any words that I did not understand. In the beginning, it was a little frustrating and tedious to stop every time I did not understand a word or a phrase. However, as time passed, it became easier and a part of my routine when watching Korean shows or listening to radios. Every week, I came up with a new list of vocabulary words that I learned, and I made quizlets to study them throughout the week. I gave the updated lists weekly to Rachel, and she would quiz me using the quizlet test function, which consists of matching, multiple-choice, and writing definitions. During the beginning of our lesson sessions, I did not quiz myself on these vocabulary words, and I would forget about them as I moved on to new words I wanted to learn. However, testing my ability to remember and really learn these words helped me better than just simply writing the words down in my personal dictionary. I utilized the new vocabulary words in my diaries, and I used them when talking to my parents as well. I felt really proud of myself because they were surprised to find out I knew such words, such as 허용 (permission), 버중했어 (it was important), 순한 맛 (mild taste). I don’t think I’ll forget their surprised reaction I witnessed on facetime. It was a small accomplishment of mine in my language learning journey, but it made me feel proud to see how happy they were. I am glad I decided to assess my vocabulary skills because it made me more confident in my speaking and writing skills.  I can see my vocabulary expanding even more in the future if I continue to use this strategy. 

This month, I focused on three grammar aspects. I learned the difference between 돼 vs. 되, 니가 vs. 네가 vs. 내가, and 안 vs. 않. 돼 is the combination of 되 and 어, which means that 되었다 is the equivalent of 됐다. 돼 is the conjugated version of 되. While learning the difference between the two, I learned a trick. If you can replace 되 with 하, then it’s considered correct, and if you can replace 돼 with 해, then it’s correct. I also learned the difference between 니가 vs. 내가 vs. 네가. 네가 and 니가 are the same, but because 네가 (you) pronunciation is too similar to 내가 (I) people write and say 니가 to avoid any confusion in the sentence. Additionally, I learned the difference between 않 and 안. 않 is used as a negation after the verb and comes after adjectives and verbs. 안 comes before adjectives and verbs and is used as negation in front of a verb. One sentence structure to follow would be 안 + verb. With these three grammar rules I learned, I did practice exercises to make sure I understood. Then, I showed my practice to Rachel, and she helped correct my mistakes and explained the grammar concept in more detail. 

One of my main reasons for watching 2 Days 1 Night was to get exposed to different aspects of Korean culture, food, and historical landmarks. Last week, I watched an episode where they went “back in time” to different Korean eras, and the Goryeo Era stood out the most. They went to the Gwanchoksa Temple. Gwanchoksa Temple is located at the Banyasan Mountain in Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do. I  was curious about this Buddha statue, as the members talked about how beautiful it is in April when the cherry blossoms are blooming.  It enshrines the 석조미륵보살입상 (Seokjomireukboksalipsang) Buddha, which was built in 967 due to a legend. The legend was about a lady hearing a baby crying, and when she went to look for the baby, she found a large rock on the ground. After this legend, the government made the Buddha from the rock that was found. When I visit Korea for vacation or study abroad, I hope to visit this temple. 

Additionally, I have been writing my article summaries and diaries about my day. I have been typing them now on the computer, and I have a shared folder with Rachel, where she could fix any grammar or spelling mistakes I make. We also occasionally watch 2 Days and 1 Night together during our learning session. Overall, I think my learning journey in February was a lot better than in January. I feel that I have learned more about grammar, vocabulary, and Korean culture overall.

This month, Farida and I continued meeting three times/week and our topics included family, public places, and animals/pets. I am feeling a lot more comfortable speaking in Indonesian and have noticed a decrease in my usage of English. I also feel that a lot of gaps in terms of vocabulary and grammar have been filled. For example, the words manja and sepi. For manja, I have heard this word being used by my family growing up, though I only had a sense of its meaning and never knew its true meaning/translation. My family often used it when my siblings and I were lazy, or when our pets acted clingy. As a result, I knew the context/when to use it, but could not express it in English. Its actual translation is “spoiled,” which makes sense, though I still feel as if the Indonesian-English translation does not 100% align, as manja mostly refers to childish actions. As for sepi, I had always thought it meant empty or not crowded, though it actually means “quiet” and is used to describe places (not people). Another grammar point I learned, though I am still mastering is the passive form. Since I am a heritage speaker, I have been aware of its usage in Indonesian, but never internalized the fact that it is indeed the passive form. An example is makan, which means “eat” and its passive form is dimakan “eaten.” So passive form is created by adding the prefix di- to a verb. Even though I know its meaning, I still have trouble using this in regards to the appropriate subject/object, though it is something I am working on.

Recently, Farida has also incorporated video assignments as homework. She would give me a few questions or a prompt after our last class on Thursday, which would be my assignment due over the weekend. I would have to film a video with my answers to practice speaking (the first requirement was ~2 minutes, and the most recent one was 3-5 minutes). My first video was about an article I read about Indonesian celebrations and my second one was about an animal I like but cannot keep as a pet. In general, I usually do not film videos for any of my classes and I personally do not like to be in front of the camera, though I found these assignments helpful! Of course, they took several takes as I would either forget what to say, make too many mistakes, etc. but I found that I learned a lot from the process and the videos themselves. I became more conscious of words I tend to repeat/overuse, filler words, and my pronunciation. One example is my use of the word terus which literally means “continue,” though it is often used in the context of “and then…” much like a transition word. I never noticed how much I tend to say this, and I am glad I did, because there are better, more precise words I can use in place of it. Another example is the 'tu' sound found in many Indonesian words such as: satu (one) and itu (it). I realized that when I pronounce these words, I use a harder ‘t’ sound, which makes it sound more like a ‘d’ sound. I never realized this before and was only made aware through listening to my speaking in the videos.

An aspect of the class that I appreciate is Farida’s use of meaningful conversation. I am also taking a Teaching ESL class this semester (which by coincidence, Farida is also taking!) and we went over the importance of meaningful activities. These activities are ones that incorporate aspects of the learners’ lives in order to make lessons engaging and relevant. I found that in most of our speaking classes, Farida tends to center the conversation around our personal lives, so there is more substance to the conversation, and we are able to talk about our own interests, experiences, etc. I definitely enjoy this more than, for example, speaking about general topics that we have little interest in or no opinion about.

Throughout the past month, I have been able to practice all aspects of learning a language: reading, writing (handwriting and typing!), listening, and speaking. For reading, I have begun to read a Korean children’s book called “잘 자요, 달님,” which means “Good night, moon.” I read each line aloud to my language partner, and together we talk about what the line means, its structure, and any words or grammar rules I have not learned yet. I find that this is a great way to learn simple vocabulary words, as well as basic grammar. My language partner and I have also been doing a fun activity to practice listening and writing. Jannette says a word or phrase in Korean and I handwrite or type what I hear. (I got this idea from Talk to Me In Korean, which is a great resource!) This is also a good exercise to learn new vocabulary. It is particularly interesting to learn words that are not spelled the way they are pronounced. For the most part, Korean words are spelled exactly the way they are pronounced (unlike English words). However, there are a few exceptions. It is helpful to have me hear those types of words before seeing them so that I really remember how they are supposed to be pronounced. In all of the exercises I do with my language partner, we practice speaking so that I become more comfortable with pronunciation and sounding like a native speaker. One particularly helpful tip Jannette gave me was to lower my voice at the end of my sentences. Often, new language speakers have an upspeak at the end of their phrases, which makes them sound confused. In some cases, it can change the meaning of the phrase entirely. There are some phrases in Korean which can be spoken as a question or an answer depending on the pitch at the end of the phrase. If I have an upspeak, the person I am talking to may think I am asking a question when I mean to be giving an answer.

I am finding that learning a language is a challenging and humbling experience. I feel proud when I am able to read or spell a word correctly. Learning any new language is certainly challenging, but I am enthusiastic and committed because of how personal the language and culture is to me. In addition, I enjoy learning about connections between the Korean language and culture. One well-known aspect of Korean culture is respect for elders, and this is evident in the language. However, I also find this confusing because I may know a phrase in its informal tense but not the formal version. This is something that I want to build on in the future: learning when and how to use an informal/formal tense.

Overall, I think the activities that my language partner and I are doing are effective and enjoyable. Moving forward, I want to continue to improve my reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. I also hope to learn more about living and working in Korea, as I am interested in doing so one day.

Koreans celebrate Seollal (설날) on the first day of the Korean calendar. Seollal is also known as the Korean Lunar New Year. The first day of the Korean calendar falls on the 1st day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar, and it generally falls around the end of January to the beginning of February. This year, Seollal was recently celebrated on February 12 in South Korea. However,  people generally celebrate for three days: the day before Seollal, the day of Seollal, and the day after. 

The food Koreans generally eat in the morning of Seollal is tteokguk (rice cake soup, 떡국). Tteokguk consists of sliced rice cake, broth (usually beef), dried seaweed, beef, dumplings, egg jidan (sliced egg crepe), and cut-up welsh onions. People eat tteokguk on Seollal because it marks the day that you turn a year older. Younger kids tend to try to eat multiple tteokguk to grow up faster, but there is no actual research done on whether that works or not. Some other common foods are jeon (Korean pancakes with chopped vegetables), japchae (glass noodles with meat and vegetables), fish, galbijjim (braised short ribs),  and many more. 

Koreans play different Korean Lunar New Year traditional games when they gather with their family. There are two popular games to play: yutnori (윷놀이) and Go Stop (고스톱). Yutnori is a traditional Korean board game with four wooden sticks. The wooden sticks are rounded on one side and flat on the other. There are at least two teams, and the goal is to move your team’s piece around the board. The team throws the wooden sticks and moves according to how the wooden sticks landed. Everyone in your team needs to finish the route on the board before the other team. Go Stop is a Korean fishing card game played with a hwatu (화투) deck. The main goal of the game is to score a predetermined number of points (3 or 7) and either call a “go” or “stop.” When you call a “go," the game continues, and the number of points increases. However, calling a “go” has a risk of another player winning the points themselves. If you call a “stop,” the game ends, and the caller collects what they have won. Adults typically play Go Stop while children and adults play yutnori together. Some other popular games are jegichagi (제기차기) and paengi (팽이). 

On Seollal, Koreans gather with their relatives and family members wearing hanbok (한복). Hanbok is traditional two-piece clothing worn for formal occasions. While wearing the hanbok, people deeply bow to their grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts, which is known as 세배 (sebae). There are two different ways of bowing to your elders. The first way is the way that men bow. They put their left hand on top of their right and put their hands on their chest. They bend their left leg and then their right leg and put their palm and elbows to the floor for about five seconds. Then, they stand up with respect. The second way is typically the way that women bow. Women also place their right hand above their left hand. Then, they put their hands on their forehead and bend their left leg and then their right. Then, they sit down on their foot and bend their body about 45 degrees. After about five seconds, they stand up with respect. While bowing down, you have to say 새해 복 많이 받으세요, which is directly translated into “I hope you receive a lot of luck in the new year.” After they bow to their elders and show their respect, the elders give sebae don, also known as pocket money, in silk bags or an envelope. 

To learn more about Seollal, there are links below with more information

Sebae: https://youtu.be/jNK_FAUAsmo 

Dates of Seollal: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/south-korea/seollal-holiday-2 

https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=941952 

https://asiasociety.org/korea/seollal-korean-lunar-new-year

Spelling is the act of forming words through combinations of the language alphabet. Sound is the vibration that we hear through our ears, and it only deals with the oral aspect of the language. Being able to distinguish the different sounds in my target language is just as important as learning how to spell in my target language. Language learners learn their intended language through hearing the language over and over again. Listening to the language allows you to know the sounds that are incorporated into forming the language into what it is, and knowing the difference can improve my language-learning efforts. 

In Korean, there are 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The 14 consonants are ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅎ. The 10 vowels are ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ, ㅗ,ㅛ,ㅜ,ㅠ,ㅡ,ㅣ. There are also double consonants and double vowels. Double consonants are ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅆ,ㅉ and double vowels are ㅔ,ㅖ,ㅐ,ㅒ,ㅘ,ㅝ,ㅟ,ㅢ,ㅚ,ㅙ, and ㅞ.  Korean has 19 phonemes. The phonetic inventory of Korean consists of bilabial, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal. The only phonetic under the glottal is the consonant ㅎ, which would be the [h] in IPA. An example of the bilabial, fricative and aspirated sound would be ㅍ [p]. An example of alveolar, fricative, aspirated sound would be ㅅ[s]. Finally, an example of a palatal and affricate sound would be ㅈ [ts].  The majority of the consonant sounds are affricate and are either lax, glottalized, or aspirated. 

One important aspect of the Korean sound system is voicing. Korean obstruents are voiceless when the word is initial. However, when the consonant is in the middle or the end, it becomes voiced. All vowels and the nasal consonants which are ㅁ,ㅇ (final), ㄴ, ㄹ are voiced. However, the rest of the consonants are voiceless when they are at the beginning of a word. For example, in 바보(babo)[pa̠ːbo̞], the initial ㅂ is voiceless while the final ㅂ becomes voiced since it is in between two vowels. The same goes for the word 안녕 (annyeong) [a̠nɲjʌ̹ŋ]. The initial ㅇ remains voiceless, while the final ㅇ is voiced, and you could hear the 'ng' sound. In the second example, I used the ㅇ consonant, which is pronounced as 'ng' when it is voiced. 

Because my first language was Korean, I think I can already tell the difference between the sounds.  Therefore, I think I can discriminate differentiated segments in my listening and produce these sounds in my speech. I do remember when I was learning English, no sound represented [f] in Korean. I had the most difficult time trying to pronounce words like "farm" or "pharmacy." I pronounced farm as “parm” like the parm in parmesan cheese and pharmacy as “parmacy.”

During the past month I met my language teacher weekly. I wrote my weekly diaries and got corrections. I noticed that I am having trouble with when to space my korean words. So I looked up some rules for spacing korean words and found out that there should be a space between every word except for particles and auxiliary words. Subject particles come in two forms as 이 and 가. For object particles I would add 을 to words ending in a consonant and 를 for words ending in a vowel. For location particles I would add 에서 behind words so for example I had to write “I was sleeping in my dorm” which is 기숙사에서 잤다 I would add the 에서 behind dorm (기숙사). There are also topic particles such as 는 added behind a vowel and 은 added behind a consonant. Another rule is applied to numbers where numbers would be spaced every 4 order magnitudes. Lastly, for writing many single words, they are spaced in succession and are allowed to be grouped semantically. 

In one of my classes this month, my language partner and I went over some proverbs and idioms in korean. The first proverb we learned was (열 길 물속은 알아도 한 길 사람 속은 모른다) This means no matter how deep the water is we know how deep it can be however, we never truly know the heart of a person. The second prover is (동에 번쩍 서에 번쩍) which presents the action of moving just as fast as how the other person is startled. The third one we learned was (사촌이 땅을 사면 배가 아프다) this translates to “when your cousin buys land your stomach hurts” I think this is a popular one used in South Korea daily. The proverbs mean that you are jealous that your cousin or the other person got something. The fourth proverb I learned was (물이 깊어야 고기가 모인다) this means you have to be warm in order for other people to like you or your plate has to be big in order for others to follow you. Lastly, we learned the proverb (개구리 올챙이 적 생각 못 한다) this translates to “a frog can’t think of the time it was a tadpole” it has a meaning where people do not remember the time they were poor after they become rich. 

Out of the idioms we went over, I knew most of them because I heard it when I was living in South Korea. But one idiom that I learned was 눈코 뜰 새 없다 which translates to no time to lift your eyes or nose. This has a meaning that you are so busy in life that you don’t have time to look up. I really like this one because I am currently connected with the literal words. This month I was so busy with my college classes that I did not have time to look up and enjoy the things around me.  I think idioms are so interesting how they are just words or very short sentences that have a deeper meaning to it.

Hello everyone and welcome back. The school year has finally solidified, and schedules have been set. I have continued to work on my ASL education, and every week I can feel my understanding of the language expanding.

Over the past month, I have been working with Reba individually on Friday mornings and, on Tuesday evenings, Reba, Susmita Nibras, and I all meet together. Because I have taken ASL for several semesters now, much of the information that is covered is a review and not entirely challenging. For example, last week we reviewed colors and question words. Although I appreciate the review, this aspect of the Tuesday meetings can feel frustrating as the difference in our ASL comprehension is very clear, and sometimes, it feels as though my ASL education has slowed down. However, this past year has taught me even though the situation may not always be the greatest, one can often find what they are looking for if the perspective is changed. As such, I have changed my perspective to one that looks at this as an opportunity to act as a translator. I have acted as a translator in the past from time to time, but never really constantly. This requires me to clearly articulate the information Reba is conveying to the other students and from the students to Reba at a fast rate. I find that my ASL grammar is still not as strong as I would hope, but during my  Friday sessions with Reba, we often work on grammar and more complex aspects of the language. I then try and use what I have learned from these Friday sessions in my Tuesday sections. Additionally, within the past week, Kaye has begun joining our Tuesday zoom sessions. Acting as a translator was great practice for my ASL, but I feel as though I could not effectively communicate Reba’s instructions and the student’s questions as well as Kaye's. Her presence has decreased the amount of stress placed on me during those Tuesday classes, and for that, I am thankful. Additionally, as Kaye translates for Reba and the other students, I am continuing to improve my vocabulary! If there is a sign I do not recognize Reba using, I can often determine the sign’s meaning as Kaye will verbalize the sentence. Whichever aspect of Reba’s signing I do not understand is then inferred to be the novel word.

I do feel that it is important to discuss some of the issues that have been occurring with the class and meeting. At the start of the month, when all the students and Reba joined together on the zoom, we experienced many technological issues. One of the biggest issues was that Reba was unable to access the “Gallery” view on zoom that allowed her to see all the students at once. In response, she could not get a visual of all the students and their signs. This proved to be extremely challenging as I tried to help her navigate the software, but doing so in another language was extremely difficult. Thankfully, Mary was able to visit Reba one day and guide her through how to operate the program appropriately. Since then, communication during lessons has improved! However, another problem that we had to face was the effects of icy and snowy weather. These conditions resulted in a decrease in internet speed, or even in some cases, the entire rescheduling of lessons due to the loss of power. Sign language is such an interactive and personal language, and the effects of COVID-19 and weather have a clear impact on the ability to learn the language. But, we have to pursue and adapt! So, that is was we did! I am hopeful that most technical issues have been solved and to continue my education in ASL.

Christianity has made significant impacts across the globe through Judeo-Christian ideas such as the concepts of Imago Dei, a concept that all humans are created in the image of God, and the New Commandment, a commandment Jesus gave to his disciples telling them to love one another as he loves them. These ideas have been the foundations of not only the democracy of the United States but also the democracy in South Korea. The first encounters of Christianity in South Korea occurred during the late Joseon Dynasty which was around the 1600s. A diplomatic military official by the name of Yi Gwang Jeong brought many Christian theological books written by an Italian Jesuit named Matteo Ricci who was employed as a missionary in China. Due to the many liberal and democratic ideas within Christianity, the royalty of Korea saw it as dangerous and began to persecute and kill the believers of Christianity. However, during the more tolerant years of the late 19th century, the first Protestant missionaries arrived in Korea in 1884. The first protestant missionary to enter Korea was an American missionary and physician named Horace Newton Allen. Horace and the other protestant missionaries who came after him planted the seeds of Christianity in Korea through the building of churches, hospitals, and translating the Bible into Korean. According to the 2015 South Korean Census, 19.7% of Koreans are Protestant, and 7.9% are Catholic. 

During the Japanese rule and the Korean War, Christianity boomed and rose in numbers. The democratic ideals of Christianity appealed to South Koreans when the opposition was motivated by communist ideals. Foreign missionaries also encouraged the opposition of the communist government hoping for the democratization of Korea would lead to better lives for South Koreans. Christianity has also had huge influences on the development of women’s rights. Before encounters with Christianity, Koreans held dear to Confucian principles which support a patriarchal society. This teaching was fundamentally challenged by imago Dei and the thought that everyone was equal in Christ: Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” These ideas also challenged the divine rights ok kings and emperors and pushed for a more fair society. Christianity also has influenced the lives of many Korean-Americans as well. In fact, a study conducted in 1990 by Won Moo Hurh revealed that almost ¾ of all Korean immigrating to America were either Protestant or Catholic. In fact, there are more than 4,400 Korean churches in America! These Korean churches allow Korean Americans to have fellowship with other Koreans while in America. Korean churches often allow the members to make essential connections to find jobs and find places to live which are important tasks for immigrants. Korean churches in America also allow for the preservation of Korean culture and language in the U.S. I can confirm this as I have attended Korean churches in Ohio and Virginia!

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-returns-9-ancient-korean-artifacts-south-korea

Recently, the 9 of the Joseon Dynasty’s national royal seals were returned by ICE to South Korea. Of the nine, two seals of the Joseon Dynasty, the “Daegunjubo” was created in 1882 by the royal seal was made in 1740 and returned to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA). The emperor’s seal is classified by the CHA as a national treasure of South Korea.

The Daegunjubo is a “guksae”, and official state seal made in King Gojong’s rule. The royal seal is a ceremonial seal created during King Yeongjo’s rule and is called the Royal Seal of Hyojung. 

The Daegunjubo is a relatively small seal, measuring 7.9 centimeters in height, and 12.7 centimeters long and is a silver seal with turtle shape on top. The Daegunjubo is recorded as being called the “Gojung Sillok” (Annals of King Gojung), “Seungjeongwon Ilgi” (Diaries of the Royal Secretariat) and “Ilseongnok” (Daily Records of the Royal Court).

The Royal Seal of King Hyojung is a gold seal whose height is 8.4 centimeters tall and 12.6 centimeters long. King Yeongjo created the eobo, aka the royal seal, to present the title “Bright Righteousness and Correct Virtue” to King Hyojung in 1740 after King Hyojung died. It was used ceremonially for coronations of the king and queen and for something like an act of good deeds or valor. It is said that the eobo is enshrined with the ancestral tablet of the king or queen after their death to symbolize the continuity of the dynasty and the validation of the royal family. The eobo is also used in state affairs such as foreign diplomatic documents and in that case, it was referred to as the “guksae”. 

The eobo in documents was usually used for the king’s written orders of the day, which is called “Hongpae” and ‘Baekpae” and is like a diploma of passing the state exam for high ranking officials and “Yuseo” which was a written command for regional officials and so on and so forth. There were many written commands by the king, but it is rare to find a seal of the crown prince that writes commands in proxy of the king. 

On the Daegunjubo, there was an inscription that had “W B. Tom” on it, but it is theorized that it might have been a foreigner who got the seal somehow and then later inscribed his name on the seal. There was no prior practice of inscribing foreign languages on the seals so it is hypothesized that it was more of a “damage” than a true inscription, but otherwise, the both seals are in good shape.

In total, there were 412 guksae and eobo made in the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire, but there are still 73 missing. A man named Lee Dae-Soo, a Korean-American had the two seals and decided to donate them to the CHA and the Korean government. 

The CHA made a statement saying that they will try to make sure all the missing artifacts of Korea return to Korea. 

The other five are signets of the Joseon Dynasty’s Royal Court. These signets were used to officialize books or paintings using these signets in the Joseon Royal Court.

My Learning Plan

Where are you now?  What can you do?  What do you know?

Use the Levels of Competence document and the LinguaFolio® checklists to assess your current abilities in your language.  For more information, see the SDLAP Wiki.

Interpersonal Communication  - B1

Interpretive Listening - B1

Interpretive Reading - A2

Presentational Speaking - A1

Presentational Writing - A1

What is your ultimate goal?  What is your goal for this semester?

What do you want to be able to do with this language at the end of this semester and in the future?

 I want to be able to write and type and understand professional documents and to understand a higher level of comprehension in Korean (ie political debates, national news).

 I want to learn proper grammar and syntax and more vocabulary and be able to read books of varying difficulty: easy fiction novels to in depth conversations with the author.

 I also want to be able to translate from Korean to English and vice versa in writing, and conversation and understand cultural aspects of Korea as well and certain differences between Korean-Americans and native Koreans.

What tasks will you complete and what activities will you do this semester to meet your goals?  How will you document and evaluate your progress?

Novice learners should consult the ‘Language Tasks’ page of the SDLAP Wiki and incorporate the required tasks in their learning.  Be as specific as possible when planning activities, e.g., “I will watch YouTube videos to learn how to talk about the family.” or “I will consult a grammar text to learn about possessives.”  Make sure you include some tasks that are relevant to your interests, e.g., “I will learn to understand soccer commentary.” or “I will learn to talk about the stock market.”  Culture and language are, of course, inseparable.  It is expected that all your language will be culturally appropriate and that every task will contribute to your cultural competence.

I am currently working with my tutor Somyung Kim and classmate Rachel in learning Korean. I am focusing on the written portion: grammar and syntax. I want to focus on spelling, vocabulary as well as sentence structures. My level of speaking and comprehension is at a B1 level. My writing and reading skills are more at an A2 level. I would like to raise those two things up to B2 and if possible, C1. 

I am currently working on a daily diary in Korean and getting those edited weekly. I also watch a show or movie and write a reflection of that in Korean. I plan on texting Somyung and my parents more in Korean than in English and they already text me in Korean so the reciprocating part is not a problem. I will try to speak only in Korean to my Korean classmates in SDLC and as well as Somyung. I will also write to them in Korean. I will text my Korean friends and family members more often and hopefully can get corrected and learn as a part of my daily life. I will try mock email Somyung an “official” email and letter as if in a company setting. I want to try reading children’s books in Korean, as in fictional books such as Harry Potter and gather new vocabulary words, but perhaps start off a little lower in difficulty. I also want to be able to translate from Korean to English and vice versa. I would also like to get culturally aware of Korea and learn Korean history as well.

I could do other activities as strategies to study language better such as making skits and or making a poem or song to help make it easier to learn or to challenge myself more. I could also try learning proverbs and idioms in Korean as a fun activity and translate the meaning. I could also get a rule to speak in Korean for a full 24 hours excluding sleep of course. 

A way I could see how effective my learning is and how well I am retaining the information and lessons is to assess myself after a week of these activities and challenges. Either done by my tutor or simply done by myself, but the questions provided most likely by my tutor. 

I will build on what I have already learned by reinforcing it by reading these books and then writing my diary and getting them edited and rewriting my diary with the edits and corrections. For my strategies, if I find that these activities don’t work, I will try the more traditional way of worksheets and workbooks and having them corrected by Somyung and redoing them until I get them correct by second nature. 

So far, I’ve felt embarrassment from not being able to just know Korean like the rest of my Korean friends around me. I feel a little frustrated with the lack of knowledge of writing in Korean and how long it takes me and how many repetitions of getting it wrong before I get it correct! I lack patience, I am aware, but I didn’t realize it took me this long to learn something as I am used to picking things up pretty quickly…

I’m so far successful in sounding comfortable in Korean, but in terms of writing and typing and texting I am not so good at it… Which is what I am primarily trying to work on.

As a child, my first formal lessons in language started with phonetics specifically learning the sounds and written expressions of the alphabet. Obviously, there is some informal exposure to vocabulary, phonetics, and syntax before any formal education. This informal exposure allows for an unintentional interdisciplinary approach to language learning. By beginning to learn a language as an infant, there is an emphasis on natural, unproduced speech especially as babies pick up words from their caregivers. However, when approaching a new language later in life, some of that informal and natural exposure disappears as the language learner must rely on more formalized exposure to the language via classroom lessons or lengthy textbooks. My goal is to diagram the language learning exposure of babies and children in order to replicate its methods in my own learning process. Crystal’s method of working through semantics towards grammar seems to align with the language learning exposure of babies and children. Instead of learning conjugation or the purpose of adverbs, the learner can actually begin to acquire the building blocks for grammatical rules. By starting with semantics, the learner can take on a less formal learning process as they can focus on observing language production while not having worry about following grammatical formulas. Additionally, by first focusing on semantics, the learner may be able to inherently pick up certain grammatical rules such as feminine versus masculine words or the general rule for plural nouns. In favoring semantics first, I plan to continue to listen and watch Slovak media in order to note common words and phrases. (As an added bonus, I believe this strategy will also help in culturally competency.)

In my target language, I focus on a lot of semantics, phonology, and syntax. Since I have previous experience with the Korean language, I did not have to focus as much on phonetics. Semantics will help me improve my reading comprehension and spelling skills. Focusing on syntax allows me to know the set of rules that create sentences. Since I struggle with figuring out which vowel/double vowel to use in Korean, focusing on my phonological skills will help me develop my reading and spelling skills. Overall, through the combination of semantics, phonology, and syntax, I believe it formulates a holistic and strong foundation for my understanding of the Korean language. I mainly give preference to semantics over the other disciplinary approaches because this is the area that I want and need to improve on the most. 

Before I read this reading, I thought that grammar was the most important aspect of language learning. However, in “How to Investigate Learning Structure,” the author ends the reading with “begin with meaning as it becomes easier to explain what grammar is all about.” This previous sentence taught me that meaning is the first and basic step of learning a new language because you examine how meaning is expressed and understood within the target language. Then, you can focus on how to structure and create meaningful expressions properly. Finally, through the medium of linguistic transmission, you can figure out how people convey meaningful sentences through communication. I think that my learning plan is on the right track of where it should be. I am focusing on expanding my understanding of vocabulary through radio shows, articles, and blogs, while also finding and learning the specific grammar areas I am struggling in.

The Coreana Cosmetics Museum is located in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul and is the only museum in Korea that traces the history of traditional Korean cosmetic culture (spacec.co.kr). Founded in 2003, the purpose of the museum is to preserve traditional Korean culture and to improve the understanding of the history and trends of Korean cosmetic culture (spacec.co.kr).  The museum displays various cultural and modern artifacts of cosmetic and beauty products such as cosmetic containers, makeup tools, fashion items (spacec.co.kr). In its permanent exhibition, you can learn about the chronological history of Korean cosmetic culture and view traditional cosmetic materials such as cleansers, powders, mirrors, combs, and powder jars from the early United Silla period (668 A.D.) to modern times (spacec.co.kr). It also showcases products from its neighboring countries of Japan and China, which have had early influences on traditional Korean cosmetics (spacec.co.kr). The Coreana Cosmetic Museum also features special exhibitions that change periodically, which display a theme in line with traditional Korean beauty aesthetics. I found it very interesting how these exhibitions were not solely about makeup or other cosmetic products, they also included clothing accessories such as hats (GAT), decorative items (the current exhibition is “The Beauty of Blue and White Porcelain”), exploring the daily lives of working women, the art of paper-making, etc. These exhibitions creatively showcase various perspectives of different values in Korean culture -- such as dignity, respect, labor, youthfulness, etc. -- as well as the values of different groups and social status. 

It was interesting to learn about how much traditional Korean values for beauty have become such a prominent aspect of Korean culture and how that has transformed today’s cosmetic world. I would always hear great things about Korean beauty products on social media, which prompted me to learn more about the traditional values that ignited it all. Although the use of makeup and ideas of beauty have originated early on in various cultures, in traditional Korean society makeup was seen as care for not only the external self, but the internal as well (koreatimes.co.kr). Koreans believed that a good appearance could affect one’s inner self, so Korean men and women cared a great deal about how they looked (koreatimes.co.kr). When makeup was first introduced in Korea during the Three Kingdoms Era, the beauty standard was a round face, thin eyebrows, and hairdressing, which was influenced by Chinese culture (glamourflare.com). Everyone regardless of rich or poor status was absorbed into makeup during this time, with the look of a noblewoman or maid becoming the ideal image for women’s appearance (glamourflare.com). Overtime, face powders made from lead became a groundbreaking invention for cosmetics and used widely throughout the Korean traditional societies (glamourflare.com). As makeup became more widely used, beauty and luxury became sought after ideals for Korean women, which has become a major problem in the present day with hyper-fixation on outward appearance and cosmetic surgery in Korea (medium.com). Today, Korea has been described as a very classist country with extremely high standards of beauty, which some believe is a destructive norm that is further perpetuated by Korean society through celebrities such as K-pop artists and entertainers, and even job and school application processes that ask for a picture of the applicant (medium.com). Learning about this history and present-day values of beauty through the perspective of Korean culture will be helpful in future interactions with native Koreans. It’s important to be informed about things that people value in their culture as one’s outward appearance can really impact someone on a more personal level than what it may appear to be in casual conversation, so it’s important to keep in mind and be mindful of these societal influences when addressing such topics in conversation. 

Sources:

http://www.spacec.co.kr/en/museum/museum1 

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2013/01/135_129776.html

https://glamourflare.com/blogs/reviews/the-history-of-korean-cosmetics#:~:text=Men%20in%20the%20Joseon%20Dynasty,personality%20and%20a%20faithful%20woman.

https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-destructive-effects-of-south-koreas-beauty-standards-65c810b6290f

In learning a new language, it is important to understand the cultural norms regarding communication behaviors for that society. For example, the way people interact with each other in their society can impact their way of communicating and relating with others; such as in individualist societies that focus more on self-interest and live separate lives compared to the rest of society ,as opposed to collectivist societies that function as a part of a larger group and have more shared experiences and therefore more focused on maintaining good relationships (25). Whether a culture is more individualist or collectivist has a great impact on communication, because societies where people have more shared experiences don’t have to rely much on verbal communication to relay a message; therefore there may be nonverbal cues and nondirect messages of communication that may be confusing to those outside of their culture (91-92). I also found it interesting mentioning the cultural values of time, since I don’t typically think about how norms regarding time impact the way we communicate with others. I found the measures of the Hofstede Dimensions of Culture to be interesting, as I’m not sure how exactly you can quantitatively measure how much a certain country demonstrates various attributes/values in their culture such as masculinity, forward-thinking, and uncertainty avoidance. I think this could be unreliable to measure as it does not take into account the multiple cultures within one country, which may have different cultural norms from others. While I agree that all cultures vary on the spectrum of these measures, I’m not sure how accurately this could be quantified. I believe the ideas in the readings are very relevant to learning about Korean Culture as Western Cultures like in the United States are more individualist, and although there may be similarities I know Korean culture emphasizes respecting those older than you, so there are definitely cultural norms of communication that differ greatly from those in the U.S.

Sky Castle or SKY 캐슬 is a South Korean Drama that focuses on the politics and interpersonal relations between several families that live at a luxury neighborhood aptly named Sky Castle. Each parent wants their children to succeed at life and improve their standing and reputation at any costs. The neighborhood is one that is limited even among the higher class citizens and wealth itself is not sufficient to join their ranks. The drama explores how South Korean culture glorifies wealth and encourages cutthroat behavior among the youth in education. I currently have only watched the 1st episode but the drama grasped my attention at nearly every moment. But not every person in the show revolves their life around this wealth/politics; some of the younger kids have shown their discontent with the status quo and have considered running away to escape this overbearing lifestyle. On the contrary, some kids have been shaped by this environment so much that they really do believe in the traditional definitions of success that the parents and the community emanate. This disparity between the young opinions is a reflection of greater conflict in South Korean society. Although this is just a drama, the situations that it depicts are actually reality for many Korean students. Their lives are determined by the education that they receive and the connections they have. Perhaps because of this societal pressure, South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. In the show, parents try to get their kids into Seoul National University, the best university in the country. Although they themselves are wealthy professors and doctors, they also have expectations to raise a family that is successful through numerous generations. We see in the first episode how these unrealistic expectations go back to even before their marriages and creates a tumultuous relationship to watch. Their materialistic mindsets contrast with the people who live out more simple lives albeit less comfortable financially. The drama briefly touches on this satirical nature of the neighborhood in that one of the housewives is confused that someone outside of their community is unwilling to communicate with them despite the assumed benefits of such connections.

I am looking forward to seeing where Sky Castle goes plot wise since the first episode was left on quite the cliffhanger. Additionally my expectations for this drama are quite high because it was recommended by many other people and it is the second highest rated Korean drama in cable television history. As a result of its commercial success, Sky Castle is the recipient of many awards ranging from Best Director to Best Drama Series. Sky Castle is currently a drama that I am watching with my learning partners so that we can dissect the drama and see what parts of relevant and reflective of South Korean culture. I will try to avoid spoilers and justly will not reveal anything significant in this review but I would suggest anyone who is studying Korean or just interested to check out Sky Castle.