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While we haven't been assigned to language partners yet, I have tried to expose myself to more Korean recently than in the past to make the transition into Korean easier. I've tried to watch a few Korean shows on Netflix to see how much of it I could understand. With my background in Korean, I am generally pretty good on understanding everyday language, and I feel that with the help of my language partner, I will soon be able to know most things that are going on. 

My plan is to soon start practicing reading in order to understand more difficult material, get quicker, and also to hopefully introduce myself to start writing in Korean eventually this semester.

At all levels of Korean, I am probably at a high beginner stage. I can understand about half of the words in a given sentence, and likely understand the meaning somewhat in a written sentence. I have learned about 1500 words, but some of these are more official/archaic and not used in everyday speech. Also, I am often not able to connect these words, as I have no practical experience needing to form sentences that are past a basic level. For Korean, I plan on not necessarily learning a lot of new words, but using the ones I know and learning how to manipulate them to convey what I want. 

My end goal is being able to communicate with people at a relatively good level should I go to Korea again in the distant future. This would include being able to manage daily tasks, correctly interpret and get myself out of stressful situations, and possibly make friends, although I recognize that it would take years of learning to be comfortably at that level.

Interpersonal communication: I would like to be able to hold a basic conversation for a few minutes with someone. This includes being able to understand almost everything that they say, be able to relay what I have done during the day or tell a small story, and be able to express how I feel about something. The conversation does not have to have a certain topic, but should use everyday vocabulary. I will measure this in reflecting my level of confidence during the conversation, such as how often I stuttered or had to ask the other person to repeat a sentence, or whether or not I felt I accurately said everything I wanted to in Korean. I will also record some conversations so that I can measure how well I spoke and re-listen to anything I was not able to understand during the conversation. I think that I will be able to accomplish this at the basic level, although I know it will be difficult for me to understand someone speaking at a natural pace.

Interpretive listening: I would like to be able to understand the main idea of an intermediate conversation, such as in a Korean show, as well as be able to understand what someone is telling me at a basic level. This may not mean understanding every word, but, given the context of the conversation, being able to pick out key words and make sense of them. I will measure this in listening to small conversations and giving a summary of what was said, then looking at a transcript of the conversation and seeing how close I was to fully understanding it. I think that if I have learned the relevant vocabulary in advance and as I get used to a native speaker's pace, I will be able to build up to understanding an exchange between two or more people.

Interpretive reading: I would like to be able to understand written passages at the intermediate level, such as being able to relay the main idea of the passage and being able to pick parts of the passage to give my thoughts on (in English or Korean). Since I am stronger at reading, this requires learning about how the words I already know are used in sentences, and learning more verb endings and what tones certain verb endings convey. I can measure this in giving summaries of written passages, as well as being able to pick in the passage where I see certain points, and comparing my interpretation of it with a translation. As I am already somewhat good at reading Korean, I think this will be the easiest task for me to achieve. 

Presentational speaking: Just as with interpersonal communication, I would like to be able to present a beginner topic for a few minutes fluidly. This would include telling small stories, which would be very subjective, or talking about something basic in a more factual manner. I would use this area of speaking to try to improve my pace of speaking Korean, and work toward speaking more quickly. I would measure this in recording small presentations I did and analyzing how well I was able to convey what I wanted to say, how well I spoke, and how my grammar was. I think this will be the hardest for me to work on. I tend to not say something unless I am absolutely sure of the grammar, meaning I can get stuck presenting something at a lower level than what I could actually say, and thus would not grow as much as I want to.

Presentational writing: I would like to be able to write passages at the beginner/intermediate level discussing various topics with few grammar mistakes. I would also like to learn how to use slang/words that are popular among young people in a text conversation. This would also include both subjective and objective passages. I would measure this in writing a passage, then analyzing it for fluidity and grammar mistakes, as well as whether or not I used relevant vocabulary. I think this will be easy for me to achieve given my wide vocabulary knowledge, and because I will be able to use a translator for word usage in written passages.

After having read these readings, I think that they can help me in my times of tension with my other language. By tension, I mean the situations where I would encounter confusion. In these times, I can recall on the readings when I do not understand why a particular word is being used or described in the way that it is. I have learned that not everyone expresses meaning in the same way or sees the world in the same way. What is normal to me in English may be abnormal in Korean. In addition to this, I have also gained the knowledge that words by themselves do not contribute a “sense” of meaning. One needs to also know the grammatical structures and vocabulary of a language. Thus, I will keep in my mind the readings when I am studying my language.

The Siriaki People are from Southern Punjab. The different peoples of Punjab share a relatively common history. This is because throughout its history, Punjab, for the most part, remained a single unit. Therefore, the different cultures and people that Punjab is home to, share some common aspects.

Much like the people of Northern Punjab, the Siriaki people tend to be more direct. Unlike North American culture, where there exists the concept of passive aggression, Siriaiki culture revolves around direct confrontation when needed. One can expect Siraiki’s to spell things out rather than imply leave it to the understanding of others.

Also, Siraiki people tend to be deeply polychromic. This, again, is exhibited by those in Norther Punjab. A good example is time at which attendees are expected to arrive at a wedding. For a wedding that is due to begin a round 9pm, it would be normal for attendees to arrive no sooner than 11pm. This is because to the Siriaki’s time is a limitless entity. They are more concerned with relationships than tasks or time. To add to that, one can expect Siraiki people to talk about time rather vaguely than North Americans. Schedules are malleable and one can expect Siraikis to not plan too much. One can expect things to be done at the spur of the moment than with great planning.

I thought the reading did a really good job of explaining that language is not just a set of verbs, but also heavily depends on context and on certain grammar structures. Since most words are bound by a certain grammar and by accompanying words, this can create a level of predictability in learning foreign languages. By that, which Crystal talks about, I mean when you hear a certain word, you create a certain vocabulary set in your head that is used with the word, and makes it easier to guess which word will come after another. I like that Crystal explains that concepts such as these connect words together in a language, and that not only are words understood to have certain definitions individually, but they also have meanings in their different combinations. This can explain why some words can be used in situations that are not similar at all, which is frustrating for foreign language learners, as sometimes you are unable to exactly translate a word, or the translation you do choose cannot encompass all the different meanings and applications that the word has in another language.

I think by learning about which brain structures are associated with which aspects of learning a language, it can make my goals about which styles of learning to target more clear. For example, spoken comprehension and actually speaking are processed in two different areas of the brain, meaning that experience in one aspect in a foreign language does not directly translate to being equally skilled in another. Overall, I found the readings very informational.

Formalities are an integral part of the Korean language. Multiple levels of formalities exist depending on one's relationship with another person, including difference in age, company position, and familiarity. There exist different levels, including what you would say to someone who is only slightly older to you, what you would say to people who are much older or to a group, and even a more archaic form that was used to speak with royals. These formalities can also manifest themselves in different forms depending on the type of sentence used: declarative, imperative, and interrogative. Most often, formalities are displayed as verb endings, but some basic nouns and verbs also have formal versions. As a rule of thumb, I have noticed that the longer word/ending will often be more formal one, and I have found it relatively difficult to distinguish between formal versions of verbs in my limited experience with learning them.

One other thing I thought was interesting was that as a form of formality, people are often referred to as their title, such as job position or relationship to another person, and overall, the words "you, she/her, he/him" are not used nearly as often as they are in English, for this and other grammatical reasons.

In cultures such as these, establishing one's relationship with another person is a crucial part of interactions because that then dictates which formalities are acceptable to be used. From a foreigner's perspective, not using the correct verb ending might not seem like a big deal, but it can be seen as rude in Korea. Many celebrities have been under criticism for making mistakes like this, and have been accused of being disrespectful. It can be taxing for many to be bound under this culture of respect, and having to analyze which set of verb endings to use depending on who you are talking to, especially for foreigners, who may not understand this idea culturally, and who have not grown up surrounded by the language.

Like many other people, I started studying Korean after developing an interest in Korean pop culture, and have found it to be a language that I really enjoy, and one that inspired me to continue learning other languages. I love the ease of a phonetic written language, being able to explore a grammar system that is completely unlike that of English, and learning root words that I can then connect to my knowledge of Chinese through hanja. 

I visited Korea for two weeks this summer, and stayed with a Korean friend who translated for me 90 percent of time, meaning I seldom used the language past the basics, nor was I capable of it in a real-world situation. Having really enjoyed my time there, I would like to better my Korean skills so that I can navigate Korea by myself and be able to hold conversations with people should I go back in the future. I am also very interested in the structure itself of the Korean language, and would like to deepen my existing knowledge through a formal education.

Having already learned Korean on my own for about three years, along with experience formally learning French and Chinese, I think I am accurately able to assess my own strengths and weaknesses with learning languages, and what steps to take in the classroom to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn a language more fully. I learn best by reading and writing (after all, the best way to get better at Chinese characters is to practice writing them), as I find I am more easily able to memorize something after having written it down. The act of writing something, even if it is rote copying something in a textbook, forces me to slow down my reading and give me the opportunity to make sense of it while writing. I am also better at learning concrete facts. This manifests itself in languages in that I am best at reading and writing a language, and my stronger skills are memorizing vocabulary and grammar points. 

Learning Korean on my own time, I am definitely stronger in vocabulary than any other aspect. This is why I want to have a formal education, where I can be encouraged to speak to others and rely not just on written recognition of words in communicating, but also on spoken recognition. I am good at reviewing flash cards, and can learn a grammar point as applied to multiple example sentences pretty quickly, and I have done those activities in the past. What I have not done is listen to Korean media with the goal of using it to learn, nor have I sought out practicing speaking Korean with others. Despite having this background learning Korean, where I know a lot of words and my pronunciation is pretty fluid, when I visited Korea over the summer, I was barely able to communicate because I had no real-world application of the grammar I have learned, and thus found it difficult to both speak in complex sentences and understand Koreans speaking. I know this is one area I have to improve to overall become a better learner of Korean.

            There were a few things in these readings that I didn’t relate to because ASL isn’t a spoken language, but I really enjoyed the “How we mean” section. Crystal mentions the relationship between words and things, naturalist vs. conventionalist. The naturalist theory typically doesn’t make sense, because words rarely “sound” like the thing they refer to, but this makes a lot more sense in ASL. The signs for words are typically related to how something looks or what you do with it. For example, the sign for bird is putting your thumb and forefinger together in front of your mouth, like you have a beak. This is not true for every word, but it certainly helps remembering things much easier.

            I was also interested in the quote, “Sentences exist to enable us to ‘make sense’ of words,” because ASL is not a language that is spoken in complete sentences. You combine signs to make a sentence, but you need to “fill in” some of the words yourself, because they will not be explicitly signed. ASL does not use “to be” words or articles.

            Learning ASL may also be easier in some ways, because it is based on English, which I already know. I will not have to learn new idioms or new customs, except for those explicitly related to the deaf community. There are also signs for common English idioms (like “on the fence). This is not true for all idioms, but it will be easier to learn because I already know the idioms and what they mean.

Goals for the semester:

• Interpersonal Communication
  • This is what I am most interested in this semester. I want to be able to hold a conversation with someone for a relatively long period of time and be able to talk about different topics, including music, books, religion, family, school, travel, etc…
  • Interpretive
    • Listening
      • Because ASL speakers only use their hands to speak, “listening” is really “seeing.” When I was learning Spanish, my teachers often spoke slower than normal, because we wouldn’t be able to catch all the words otherwise. The same principal applies to ASL. The people I am interacting with, specifically my language partner, will probably need to sign slower than normal so I will be able to see all the different signs.
• Reading
  • You can’t read ASL, so this does not apply.
  • Presentational
    • Speaking
      • I don’t think there is a high change of there being a situation in which I would need to speak ASL in front of a group of people, but I would like to reach the level where I could do so, if needed. I want to be comfortable enough where I could speak for a few minutes by myself and just have other people watch.
• Writing
  • ASL is not a written language, so this does not apply either.
  • Because ASL is not a written or spoken language, everything that I learn will need to be documented with a video.

Tasks:

• Greetings/Farewells
  • I can say “Hello” and “Goodbye”
  • Introducing yourself
    • I can say my name and spell the name of the town I am from.
    • I want to learn to ask questions (What is your name? Where are you from? Etc…) and answer them.
    • Identifying and talking about family members
      • I can say mother and father.
      • Telling time/asking the time
      • Asking/saying the date
      • Talking about school, college, fields of study, etc…
      • Talking about my home and pets
        • I have two dogs and I really love them, so I would like to be able to talk about them and say what kind of dogs they are.
        • Talking about hobbies (music, books, outdoors)
          • People who are completely deaf cannot hear music, but many people who speak sign language can hear music (if they are not entirely deaf) and can even feel the bass of a song, if the music is loud enough. It would be difficult to have an in-depth discussion about music, but I would like to learn some signs that relate to music.
          • I also love to read novels, especially historical fiction and sci-fi, so I want to be able to talk about that.
          • Talking about religion
          • Talking about the past and future

How will I learn?

My language partner told me that many deaf people think in pictures. She told me that if you can “speak” using pictures the deaf will be able to understand you better.

There are a lot of great websites that are “dictionaries” of hundreds of ASL signs. The only way to really learn is to practice and use the language whenever I can.

At the Global Studio, in regards to the Korean language I'm able to use SCOLA and watch Korean TV from their World TV Program.  I think these two resources from the Global Studio will be ones that I use often.  There is also Mango that I can use and am using so that is really helpful.  

I bookmarked two websites that do a lot grammar and alphabet work.  Since I'm an introductory learner this is really helpful for me.  I do really good with language learning when I can logically make sense of language and these sites are very much similar to online textbooks with how they are laid out.  So I'm really pumped up for that.  I feel they lack visual and auditory elements to learning, but I have seen on the Diigo page that there is plenty of videos for Korean to reference.  So I'm glad about that.  

I feel that the combination of all these resources along with my language partner will help me greatly to achieve all the goals I have for Korean this semester.  I'm really excited!!! 

The Korean language has many different cultural linguistic aspects.  Most of them are very new to me even though I'm Asian.  My cultural customs differ from the Korean ones so it was really nice to learn something different.  

I guess we can start with introductions.  Formality is taken very seriously in the Korean culture and that speaks directly to how they greet one another.  The lower person of the two greeters bows first and says "pleased to meet you" while it is the senior of the two who extends their hand for a handshake.  If you are not classmates or very close friends, Koreans address each other by position titles such as "professor," "director," and such.  Speaking formal is the default until you are given permission to speak informally if you are the lower person.  

 I read about how Koreans in public don't interact much with strangers and this can cause a misunderstanding of Koreans being rude.  Say for instance, someone accidentally pushes me, Koreans won't say a word about it and just move on with their way.  This "indifference" is not because Koreans aren't nice, this kind of behavior stems from the traditional Confucian teaching of the propriety in the five sets of human relationships- which strangers is not a part of.  I'm glad I cam across this because the American culture is so much the opposite that I'm sure this will be a culture shock when I go to South Korea.  

The Korean sense of time is that you are able to arrive 30 minutes late without giving offense (in an informal setting).  I find this very difficult to fathom because I really love and appreciate timeliness.  Hopefully when I go abroad I won't have to encounter this ever hahaha.  

Also, in my research communication in a business setting is more apt to be "less is more" and they appreciate directness and conciseness.  Business wise, being on time is a must as it shows respect to who you are meeting with.

Those are some of the key points to the linguistics in Korean.   

In the reading from this week that discusses the brain, I realize that I have to cater my learning to my own personality and mindset. By doing this, I will most effectively be able to process and pick-up a new language. Another reading talks about "meaning" in language and it highlights the need to explore different kinds of languages. This passage gave me more of a desire to set out and learn Italian because it explores so many different reasons to expand your language knowledge. These readings gave me a solid understanding of how the human brain processes information and how to use this to my advantage as a language learner. Also, I was able to garnish more of an understanding about the semantics and meaning of languages.

Over the course of this semester, I would like to be able to 1) Learn Italian greetings/basic conversation 2) Have a better understanding of Italian geography 3) Learn Italian cuisine/dining vocabulary 4) Be able to order for myself in Italian (over the course of an entire meal).

I know very little ASL at this moment. I can sign the alphabet and I can tell someone what my name is. I can probably understand someone's name if they moved their hands slightly slower than normal. I know all the signs, but I don't know if I would be able to recognize them if their hands were moving very quickly. 

By the end of this semester, I want to be able to: 1) have a normal conversation with someone, including asking them questions and knowing how to answer in return, 2) talk about my religion, 3) talk about the past and the future, not just the present, and 4) talk about music. 

            I have always been interested in American Sign Language. I find it very intriguing that there is a whole community of people who are able to effectively communicate without using their voices. I know five people who know ASL, but surprisingly, none of them are deaf.

            The culture of ASL is different because there is still a slight bias between those who are deaf and those who are hearing, even if those who can hear can speak and understand ASL. I have a friend who recently took a trip to DC to visit with the deaf community there and she said it was really great because it gave the hearing community and the deaf community a chance to be together and possibly overcome some of the boundaries that are always there.

            I just want to be able to communicate in another way. I know Spanish and I’m currently learning Portuguese, but ASL is so different from all of the languages I know and I’m very excited about that. I have four main goals this semester: 1) Be able to have a basic conversation with someone: ask them about their family, interests, etc…and be able to answer in return. 2) Be able to talk about my religion. 3) Be able to talk about the past and the future, not just the present. 4) Be able to music.

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