Unitha Cherry
SDLC: Final Reflection
Dr. Solloway
The biggest insight I gained about myself as a language learner is that I didn’t understand the nuances of language learning but also that I need a better understanding of language in order to retain any real information. Language means so much more to me when I can see all the possibilities that come with the new communication form. That is what motivates me to study other languages, the idea of new friends, experiences and opportunities. It’s that aspect of language that makes it exciting. The biggest difficulties for me came with figuring out how to structure my studies. Anything that was too ridged made it harder for me to connect to the material while at the same time I did not have the basis that I felt I needed to make watching Israeli shows or listening to music to be a productive activity.
When I think about where I want to be with my Hebrew studies and how the language as a whole play into my future goals, I see myself without a doubt continuing with my instruction. I do however think that I will need to get a formal basis before I am able to further enrich my knowledge on my own. When I looked at my personal studies with Spanish and compared them to Hebrew, I realized I was having issues because in Hebrew I did not have the same foundation. I have been studying Spanish since I was in third grade or so and while that was not always as thorough or detailed as I would have wished I have known how to read, write and sound things out even if I didn’t always completely understand. When it comes to Hebrew, I have none of that foundation. Learning to read and write was extremely difficult and even now is something I still struggle with. Because I don’t have that foundation, I don’t have the liberty of following my language passions. With Spanish watching shows or listening to music is productive for me because it doesn’t just feel like white noise as it does with Hebrew. I think without a doubt I will have to draft a new plan that will, much to my disappointment, include some formal education at least to help me learn to read and write. At the very least I would like to have the skills of a 5th grader.
My favorite exercises were the ones that looked at how language impacts the brain and all the nuances of it all. I especially loved the articles that looked at languages, especially ones that are disappearing, are vital to culture. I think that especially in my case they are beyond interconnected. While you can have Hebrew without Judaism and vice versa in my personal language and religious journey they are tied together. I want to learn more about the actual phonetics of Hebrew. I think understand that would not only help me understand how the language forms in the mouth but would also make it easier to connect each of these sounds to their English equivalents. Something I also enjoyed were all of the chances I had to share knowledge about my language and its culture. It was a fun way to learn more outside of important but otherwise monotonous aspects of language learning. Overall I would say that the class set up the foundation I needed to be able to pursue language studies on my own in a way that will be enjoy and most effective for me so for that I must thank Dr.Solloway.
