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I decided to try out Dr. Marsh-Soloway's idea of labelling things around my desk to help me learn.

I put various color tags on objects on my desk. Hopefully it will help me process learning colors faster!

Sixth Cultural Post:  Attitudes about Time in the Target Culture

Time in Korea is more of a loose concept. While in America, when someone says “I’ll meet you at 7:30,” they mean for you to actually meet them at 7:30, Koreans use rough approximations when talking about time. For example they can say “I will meet you around 10 mins,” and that gives them a greater variation of time to meet someone.

In America if you are late consistently, people think you are disrespectful, and they will not think you can be trusted with important tasks. However, Korean time is much more relaxed. It is okay to be tardy in Korea. It is not seen as a sign of disrespect or disregard, but a common behavior of most people. After researching this further, I personally believe it has to do with the culture and what is emphasized in the workplace. In America, responsibility and independence is emphasized. You always have to work hard for yourself, otherwise people will take your spot. No worker is irreplaceable, and people can either choose to work hard or not. However, in Korea, I believe it is a different mentality. I think people in the workforce know they have to provide for those dependent on them. I think it is more of the norm for everyone to work as hard as they can in Korea, because they have greater people relying on them for support. Therefore, they do what they can do the best of their ability. Some responsibilities come before others, and sometimes times have to be malleable. That is my personal take on it. I can definitely wrong about it, just a disclaimer.  

Learning Journal 8:  State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

My goals this week was to learn about vegetables and fruits in Korean, and how they taste. I think this is important for my own knowledge, and for ordering in restaurants. We went over some of the words in class, and on my own time I looked up each word in the Korean dictionaries online and then memorized them using flashcards. It was a pretty fun learning goal. I think if I were to go to a restaurant, I could describe the food I was eating! I also looked up pictures of fruits and tried to say the accompany name of the fruit and the taste of it to practice. It was a fun activity overall, and I will continue this type of work!

I have been writing weekly journals to help improve my comprehension and spelling.

For my second artifact, I have attached a journal entry of what I understood from a TV show. I talked about what happened, what the characters did, and my feelings about what happened. I watched an episode of the drama, Boys Over Flowers and documented what happened. 

Learning Journal 7:  Reflect upon your progress to date, consider the effectiveness of your learning plan and activities, and discuss what changes--if any--you will make to finish the semester.

I definitely overestimated how much I could do by now. While I know how to read, write, and speak Korean, I have trouble typing on the computer in Korean, which makes writing related goals on the computer almost torture like for me (takes me 15 mins to type one sentence). I also have trouble creating sentences, because I forget some of the rules like what endings to add. These are all problems that can be fixed with effort and practice, so I am not too worried. I think I will be able to accomplish most of my learning goals because they are doable with the help of Youngmin and the internet. Some of my goals (like learning a Korean song) I look back and shake my head at thinking...why did I choose that? But I think I picked all my goals with the idea the language and culture are just as important and I need to have a holistic look at the Korean language as a whole.

I don’t think I’ll make any more changes to the plan. I already uploaded a new final draft and replaced my last one, so I think I’m just gonna stick to what I have and try my very best to accomplish them all.

Learning Journal 6:  State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

My learning goal this week was to learn to talk about my personal life in Korean. I wrote down common expressions used about personal life that Youngmin taught us (“Hi my name is” “I am studying Accounting” “I am 21 years old”), and I have been practicing read and writing the sentences. Through constant practice and reading out loud the sentences, I have learned and been able to talk to my Korean friends about my personal life. When I needed help or clarification, I asked Youngmin or I would go on Korean dictionaries online and practicing pronunciations. I think I have succeeded in this goal pretty well! In my Learning Journal I stated that I wanted to be able to write a blog post in Korean on my Learning goal. I have been having trouble writing in Korean on my computer-- I can't find half of the Korean characters on the keyboard-- and it takes me ages to write on the computer. I am going to change my goal to recording myself talking about my life. I think the learning how to type in Korean isn't the most important matter at the moment, and I think I'll shift focus away from that. 

I think I good topic to present on would be the history of Korean immigration and migration. I feel as though it is a pretty unknown topic to most students in our class, and I think it would be interesting to tell them all about about the migration/immigration pattern of Koreans throughout history. Furthermore, I think it would be a good way to understand Korean history and culture from a different perspective-- to see how foreign influences has changed who the Korean people are over decades. I think I will also learn more about the history of Korean language, and how modern Korean has been changed by migration and immigration patterns. My learning goals for this topic is to learn more about Korean foreign influences, learn more about Korean history, and how foreign influences has made an impact on Korean language.

The first writing system in Korea was called “Hanja”, and it used Chinese characters, a system that which only the rich and educated were able to use. King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty wanted to create a language in which everyone-- young, poor, rich, uneducated, educated, old--- could learn easily. So he helped created the Korean writing system called Hangul in 1443. There is only 19 consonants and 21 vowels. The pronunciation of a word uses a combinations of the sounds used for each character in the word. In this way, it can be quite simple to read and say words in Korean once the basics of the alphabet is memorized.

There are three basic strokes: — , | , and ∙. These strokes make up the characters we say in modern Korean writing system. Each character needs a constant and a vowel, it cannot stand otherwise. Some characters sound the exact same-- the only differentiator is the emphasis place on the character. Korean writing system is not hard to learn: with practice and hard work it can be easy to master, and easy to write and read!

Learning Journal 4:  Document (a) your goals and tasks for weeks 4 and 5, (b) the resources and activities you will use to achieve your goals, and (c) how you will evaluate your success.

For weeks 4 and 5 I am really honing down on my reading, writing, and speaking skills pertaining to the Korean Alphabet. I am primarily using Youtube to achieve this goal. I have tried using Duolingo and Mango, but I find that I focus much better when it I can see a video of a person teaching the alphabet loud and clearly on Youtube. Through Youtube and flashcards, I believe I will be able to successfully know how to read, write, and speak the Korean alphabet. I will evaluate my success by taking Korean alphabet tests online, and by starting to write vocabulary words down. I think by attempting to use the Korean alphabet system, I will start to get familiar and comfortable with it in a depth-manner.

Learning Journal 5:  Post (a) an evaluation of your First Artifact conversation, and (b) an assessment of how well you met your learning goals for weeks 4 and 5.

It was difficult to say the introduction. I am still at that point in which Korean words sound weird when I say it out loud, and I cannot read the words fast enough to make it sound like a sentence. By listening to people say the introduction out loud in Youtube and listening to a recording of Youngmin practicing the introduction, I was able to deliver the artifact, something I am really proud of.

At times, it seems impossible that I will be able to read a sentence in Korean properly, or pronounce words as well as Native speakers can. But with perseverance and a lot of practice, I found out that I can deliver a good presentation such as the one I did with my first artifact! That gives me hope for the future. I need to practice, practice, practice! I believe that is the key to becoming a success language learner. If I keep continuing on this path, I believe I will be able to meet all of my learning goals. I certainly believe that because of practicing and hard work I was able to deliver my learning goals for week 4 and 5.

I want to talk about the importance of family in South Korea. The way South Koreans view their family is the polar opposite of how Americans view their families, and as such, I found this an interesting topic to research and talk about. In American culture, independence, both emotionally, physically, and financially are highly stressed upon children. American families wish their children to support themselves at an early age, and live their own lives separate, but still close to their parents. Most Koreans believe that independence from family is cruel, and lonely fate. Koreans are unfamiliar with the idea of autonomy, and a life independent of family. Dependency is a strong virtue in Korean culture. The moment children are born, they are expect to fulfill filial duties. These duties include; treating their parents with respect at all times, doing what is asked of them, and taking care of them in their times of need. Fathers have the say of how the family operates, and what the elder son should be doing to take care of the mother and other siblings. However, I believe that the idea of a traditional Korean family is changing, as technology and a global world allows for different opportunities that weren’t available a few years ago.

Here is the link to my Final Learning Plan:

Korean%20Learning%20plan%20%281%29.docx

My goal this week is to master the Korean alphabet. It has been difficult so far, because I haven’t seen a character system before. When I first the saw Korean alphabet I was unsure if I could memorize it, it seemed so complex and foreign to me. However, I hope that with practice and help from Youtube and my Korean friends, that I can master the language. Everything about the alphabet seems difficult, from the completely different character each letter has, to each different sound that the character makes, and to writing the characters themselves. Something I found trouble with is distinguishing one character from another, since at times some of the characters sound the same to each other. At times I pronounce a character with a different emphasize than what is normal, and then I forget the correct way to say it, and I have to constantly look up the correct pronunciations on Youtube. I am going to master the alphabet with flashcards, help from my language partner, Youtube videos, and the Korean books available in the Global Studio. I will look at the alphabet every day this week, and make sure I am exposed enough to it so that it doesn’t feel as unfamiliar to me as it does now.

In my Learning Goals I had a different goal for this week. I wanted to learn about Korean history. I have also done that concurrently. I have read on wikipedia, watch Youtube videos, and on websites about Korean culture, how the modern Korea has come into power. This has really enabled me to view Korea in a different light, and understand the ties between history and language.

Formality is extremely important in Korean culture. In fact in Korea, there are about six formal speech forms and one informal form in Korean. Depending on status/rank, familiarity, and age, Koreans will choose whether to address one another in informal or formal speech. The standard polite ending uses ““–요” to indicate formality. It is crucial to address one another in the correct manner in Korea. If one were to talk to an elder or stranger in the informal form, it would be seen as odd in Korea, or even as disrespectful of the culture. This is something I am curious to see how much we learn about as an Introductory class. Will we learn all forms of formality? What are the most commonly used versions of formality forms used? Or will we just focus on informality as it is an introductory class? These are just some of the questions I have about formality and informality pertaining to my Korean class.

• First Cultural Post SDLC 110:  What is your interest in 'your' language and what do you hope to accomplish this semester?

If I were to guess the next language I was going to learn after taking Spanish 4 years ago, I would have probably said Chinese or Japanese. For me, those two languages have always been powerhouses in the East, the most impertinent languages to learn if I was going to be a Business student. However, in recent years Korea has became more and more known as a technology giant and known for its cultural explosion into the Western scene. Add to that fact that Korean food is delicious and flavorful (unlike anything anything I have ever tasted), I have been interested in Korean culture and language for a few months now. I decided to take it because I love learning new languages, and I decided if I can learn how to teach myself Korean, I can also teach myself other languages I might be interested in. I am hoping to read, write, and know/speak basic phrases and expressions in Korean. I know this may not seem like much, but I know that language learning is much harder than it is. In order to be a true learner, I need to take time to learn and process the new information that I will gain soon.

Learning Journal 1:  Summarize your assessment and goals in a blog post in your learning journal and on the first page of your learning plan.

My goal is to be able to write in elementary Korean, and understand basic expressions of Korean (“How are you? What time is it? What are you eating?), and to be able to read Korean. I know from previous experience in learning Spanish that slow and steady is better than becoming intermediate right away. I am also the type of learner who takes weeks to learn one topic, so I know expecting myself to be a intermediate speaker at the end of the semester is unlikely. In the future, I would love to travel to Korea so that I can explore the country and learn more of its language and culture!

Reflect on your learning experiences this semester.

(a) What insights have you gained about yourself as a language learner and cultural explorer?  What did you find difficult?  What have you enjoyed?  How will you continue your learning?

(b) Which readings and learning activities did you find most useful?  What would you like to learn more about?

It has been only one semester, but it feel as though I have been learning Korean for years. Learning how to set my own goals, pace, and how to become a successful language learner has been a dance of trial-and-error, but I feel as though I am finally seeing the light. In the first few weeks of Korean I really struggled with how to study and learn what we went over in class. Each class we would learn new vocabulary and a new part of Korean grammatical structure or syntax. Due to the fact I have never had exposure to a language similar to Korean, I had trouble memorizing the words and characters, and understanding the syntax, use of particles, and honorific terms. I take much longer time to read and write than the others in my class, and each class period I could feel myself falling behind, as everyone else excelled, seemingly effortlessly.

This frustrating for me, as personally I am the type of person who is motivated by my own progress.The mindset that really changed my motivation was taking charge of what I was doing to learn. In previous weeks, I would read over the words and sentences I learned previously and then would attempt to create sentences or speak with that knowledge. After trying different methods I realized that I need to create my own textbook that I could fill out and dissect syntax and grammar in. I began working on my textbook each week and adding my own words that I wanted to learn, alongside the material we covered in class. This was a fun project for me to work on while learning Korean, and I feel as though that through trying to re-explain Korean to myself in my textbook, I have sorted through some of the confusion I first felt while trying to learn Korean. When I read the textbooks provided at Global Studio I found that even though I understood what was explained in the book, I forgot quickly and then had to take time to explain concepts to myself. With my personal textbook, I already wrote in depth notes and clarifications to questions that I know I will have, and this has saved much of my own time. I believe that this act has improved my language learning competence vastly. What I regret most is that I did not utilize this practice earlier.

I found all the lessons that we did in class useful. I think that when doing the worksheets, the best method to learn the lessons is doing the worksheet over and over again. Doing that with Youngmin in the private sessions that I had with her really helped me clarify the confusions I had in class. I would like to learn more about Korean culture. I feel as though watching movies and shows would’ve been the best way to do this. Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much time as I thought I would this semester to get involved in Korean culture, but I am hoping over break I get the opportunity to do so.

Reflection paper 2 (500 words)

• Reflect on your language learning so far and the relationship between understanding the target culture and the target language.  What do you need to improve your communicative competence?

The relationship between understanding target culture and language is really important in language development. Once I began researching Korean history and watching movies, I slowly began to understand why words are used and how words are used. It’s interesting to note how many English words are used in Korea, and I was very interested in why this was so. I noticed a pattern in that many words they have a English word for-- “elevator” or “orange” or “coffee” is an object rooted in Western culture. I also found out that Korean language also has many words from Chinese and some similar words or roots to Japanese. In fact, 60% of Korean vocabulary is made of Sino-Korean words. Chinese influenced script “Hanja”, was Korea’s main language before modern-day “Hangeul”, this is the reason why so many Sino-Korean words remain today. Chinese is a deep-rooted part of Korean language, and for that reason I believe it will always be a deep-rooted part of Korean culture as well.

Learning about how the culture of China and America influenced the Korean vocabulary was very interesting to me. I have always learned languages in which I assumed the main influences of words and vocabulary came from the root of its origin. But then again, Korean language has a unique history to its development. Korea has always fought for independence and survival against China, North Korea, and Japan. Korea has always been on the brink of fighting for its own nationhood and growth while on the edge of war. I believe that this is why so many Korean words can be so respectful and nationalistic. Many words or sentence structures lend a respectful voice to elders and to the generations who have fought so hard to make Korea as it is today.

To improve my communicative competence I need to talk more in Korean with others. I feel as though I am being a passive communicator currently, reading and speaking directly from text, instead of attempting spontaneous conversation. I want to try to talk more in Korean and get comfortable with using Korean expressions. I will start by talking in class in Korean more, and talking to my Korean friends in Korean. I will also begin talking out loud in Korean more. At this point, I am Korean-shy, I am afraid to talk aloud because I feel as though I sound a bit silly, like an American savagely brutalizing the Korean language. That is something I have always been wary about as a Spanish learner. I always worried that I sounded as though I was mimicking the language I was attempting to speak. I have googled ways to feel more comfortable speaking a foreign language, and many people advise just feeling comfortable with your level of education in Korean and attempting to replicate natural Korean sounds. I think with enough practice and patience that I can soon feel comfortable speaking Korean. All I can do now is work up to that point to the best of my abilities.

My goals for this semester were to learn vocabulary specifically in the business setting, familiarize myself with trendy sayings in Korea, and to improve my speaking skills in a formal setting. I certainly achieved everything except my learning plan shifted from focusing on business and economics of Korea to studying the politics and its impact on the culture of Korea. I believe this was more relevant to our lives due to the popularity of Korean politics and there was just more to learn about politics than business. My language partner taught us several trendy vocabulary words used in Korea today. These words are not just used in casual conversations but in politics as well. Lastly, after reading so many articles and even watching some business and politics-related movies, I learned small little things Koreans do when they are engaged in a formal conversation. Overall, my skill level in Korean has definitely improved by being exposed to Korean politics every week and speaking to my language partner and classmate in Korean constantly. 

A few weeks ago, my language partner told me a story about the recent earthquake in Korea. This was one of the worst earthquakes in Korea's history and it's even more significant because of the timing of the disaster. The earthquake happened on 11/14 but the day after, 11/15, was supposed to be the national "holiday" for Korea's college entrance exams. Unlike the US, Korean students can only take this test once and everyone in the nation takes the exam at the same time. As a result of the earthquake, the test date was postponed with less than one day notice. This caused outrage among the Korean students because they most likely planned a post-exam relief-party or was looking forward to the test date for months or even years. If this happened in America, students would definitely be happier because of the extra time to study. However, the case was different for the students of Korea.