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My goal for this week was to learn personal pronouns and possessive pronouns. There are three singular pronouns (first, second, and third) and two plural pronouns (first and third). When using possessive and personal pronouns, there are corresponding suffixes that are linked onto nouns. The vowel in the suffix will change to harmonize with the preceding vowel. I find that the less I think about it, the better I do with vowel harmony. The correct way flows better and just sounds right.

At this point in the semester, I have come a long way as far as pronunciation goes. I struggled with the vowels a bit. My pronunciation improves every time I practice speaking. I’ve also begun listening to Turkish news to work on my accent. Perfecting the accent is my favorite part of learning a language. I am starting to learn the rules of suffixes and vowel harmony. I think I will be able to master the rules of vowel harmony by the end of the semester. I know I need to study everyday. I do way better in my tutoring sessions when I prepare. I need to continue to be disciplined throughout the semester.

This week I have been focusing on recording my artifacts so I have been working closely with Bishan to master my pronunciation. We have been practicing short conversations using the vocab that I have picked up. This week specifically we are talking about the weather. I have learned how to say it is hot and cold and that it is nice out. I have also learned how to say it is raining. I still notice that it is difficult for me to differentiate between certain Hindi phonemes that are allophones of the same phoneme in English. ठ tha and ट ta as well as ड da and  ढ dha  are very hard to differentiate. My friend Adil is very interested in the fact that I cannot differentiate these sounds and I'll spend minutes at a time just trying to copy him with little success. I have noticed that native Hindi speakers have difficulty pronouncing the English "th" it comes out more like a "d" sound.

  My learning goal for this week will focus on telling time and asking about time. 

  I borrowed a Korean teaching book from my friend and there is a chapter teaching beginners about asking time and answering questions about time. So I will work with the book in formal expressions. 

  Also, in Korean dramas, there are more daily dialogues about time between friends or same-aged people, and this is another way to know the informal expressions of time in Korean. 

  And I'd like to work with my friend such as Becky Chen, since we need to create a learning activity to teach someone else something we have learned in Korean. It is a great time to practice in Korean. We can have a dialogue in Korean and pretend we are asking time and something else. It will be fun! 

   So far, I've learnt the vocabulary from two artifacts. I know some descriptive words to introduce someone's genders, ages, and some common job positions. Also, I'm able to talk about family members and introduce parents and siblings, and all of those sentences involve the vocabularies. Now, I'm working on the vocabularies to describe specific time and time period. For example, 1 am and 1 hour are different and they have different expressions, so I'd like to distinguish them and be able to talk more about time and time period better. 

  Besides that, when I watch Korean dramas and listen to learning lectures from Youtube, I can learn new vocabularies in daily life such as milk, cinema, movie, star, celebrity and so forth. I didn't count how many new words I learnt, but every time watching lectures, there will be less than ten words for beginners to remember. 

  Therefore, as a beginner, I set my goal to review the words I already seen and also continue know more new words. But I find that sometimes one vocabulary needs several times to memorize and I need to keep seeing it in order to have a deeper impression. So my progress of learning new words is not fast. 

My learning goals for this week are to learn about the Korean drinking culture project presentation and learn about basic survival skills when visiting Korea. For learning about the Korean drinking culture I will read articles, as well as watch various videos about the culture of drinking there. In regards to basic survival skills I will have to consult videos for that, my Korean peers, and if I get a language partner, then my language partner as well.

During last class, my partner Ann and I decided to come up with a Korean language lesson about the different body parts. There is the English song that goes "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes", so we decided to incorporate that, but by using Korean instead. So the English song goes as follows:

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose

Head, shoulders, knees and toes; knees and toes

The way that Ann and I did it was

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

눈과 귀와 입과 코

머리, 어깨, 무릎과 발가락; 무릎과 발가락

I think that it was fun to do, but the rhythm was at times difficult to catch

My experience trying to read and write Korean has been difficult because since I do not have a language partner, it is rather hard to know if I am pronouncing certain words correctly. I do my best to study on my own, but with reading I am often slow and saying that words because I am still getting used to the characters. There are only two names that I know how to write properly which are Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Soo Hyun. The only reason why I know these two is because one is my favorite Korean pop idol and the other is my favorite actor. I think that if I keep trying and immersing myself into the language, I will eventually be able to read at a decent pace. I changed my phone to Korean in order to get one step closer to that goal.

My learning goals for this week are to work on asking for direction and giving directions. I am just going to look it up on Talk to me in Korean. I am also going to start on some vocabulary for transportation using Korean from zero and talk to me in korean. I will brush up on the rest of the grammar that I have been working on in Korean from zero so I can continue on to how to order food in restaurants. So mainly this week will be focused more on the how to say specific phrases rather than focusing too much on the steps of the grammar. 

I am not sure how related this is to culture, but I think this would be the best forum for me to talk about it. 

There are tons and tons of apps, websites, programs, etc...to help people learn ASL. Some of these are sub par, but some of these are amazing and I would not know near as many words in ASL if I did not have them. However, there is one issue I have and I have not yet found any way to remedy this. Because ASL is not a written language (and because it relies entirely on sight), there are plenty of English to ASL translators, but there are no ASL to English translation devices. I would love to be able to sign into the camera on my laptop or phone and have some application that will tell me what that sign means. 

I am able to ask the meaning of signs when I am speaking with someone, but there are many instances in which asking someone is not possible, like if I am watching a video with no subtitles or if I am at church watching someone sign. 

I think it would be really helpful for those learning ASL if there was some way for us to ask the Internet what sign we are using. It could also potentially prevent some embarrassing situations. 

Growing up in my Korean household, I had the opportunity to learn a lot of vocabulary that was used in daily life. Unfortunately, I never learned some of the more specialized vocabulary. During my Korean assessment a few weeks ago, I was asked to read an article that dealt with international soccer and I realized that I was unfamiliar with the terms used to describe countries. I did not realize that names of countries in Korea were different. My recent goal has been to learn some of the European countries. I've been using flashcards to learn the various countries. As I continue to study various forms of vocabulary, I've recognized that I need to learn specialized vocabulary for the topics I'm interested in discussing with my family when I visit South Korea this summer. The best strategy has been utilizing flashcards with the English term on the front. I hope to continue to expand my vocabulary so I can have more in-depth and specific conversations with my family and so I can interpret various the news when I'm in Korea.

When languages die, cultures die (although, it's hard to say which one happens first). Your language shapes the way you think and see the world. In the case of Native American languages, these tribes have taken a preference to speaking English. They now think and go about their life in a way much more like the rest of English speakers than when they spoke their native tongue. Speaking English is necessary for success in America, but sadly, hundreds of native tongues have been lost due to the dominance of English. I hope that native communities place more value in their unique languages and continue to teach it future generations.

Learning a second language has many practical benefits. Bilinguals have an advantage in many areas of life, however I do not think that makes them any smarter. The Sciencelink article touched on the fact that bilinguals know more words altogether, but their fluency in just one language is lacking compared to monolinguals. I completely agree with that fact. The more languages I pick up, or the more fluent I am becoming in another language, the more I struggle to keep up with my English. Each year that I progress in my Arabic classes (and now Turkish ) I find it harder to progress in my courses taught in English. Reading and writing at a college level in one language while building a lexicon in a couple other languages is a struggle I know all too well. But this does not stop me from pursuing other languages. In the long run, being a polyglot will benefit me in more ways than reading and writing at a collegiate level in English ever will.

This week I will be learning how to get around in the streets of Korea but learning how to say “Where is...? and “How do I get to…?” and “Airport, bus station, train station, subway station.” The resources I am using are very helpful in teaching me this vocabulary:

• YouTube videos 
• Practicing with my Korean friends 
• Practicing with my language partner 
• BYKI
• Other online resources: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Language/korean.cfm?Subject=around

Link: 

3rd artifact

My learning goals for this week is to learn how to describe my house and use words that describe a house such as, dinning room, bathroom, backyard, living room, kitchen, bedroom, etc. I have been using all these sources in order to help me learn vocabulary in Korean that describes places like home:

• YouTube videos 
• Practicing with my Korean friends 
• Practicing with my language partner 
• BYKI
• Other websites online 

This week we had to read two articles. The article "Why Bilinguals are Smarter" states that people that are bilingual are smarter than people who are not. The article mentioned that bilinguals can concentrate better than monolinguals and that they are good at moving their attention from one thing to the next without a problem. As a bilingual myself, I think that being bilingual is awesome! I don't know if that makes me smarter than a monolingual, but I do know that I think and experience things differently as a bilingual. Knowing both Spanish and English is advantageous because not only can I understand and relate to other cultures, but I can express myself in many other ways. 

The second article we had to read was called “Are bilinguals really smart?" In this article, the author was wondering is bilinguals are actually smarter than monolinguals. The author mentioned that bilinguals have the advantage of knowing more vocabulary words than monolinguals, but the amount they know is specific to the language they speak. Like I mentioned before, I think bilinguals have a great advantage when it comes to understanding and relating to other cultures as well as expressing themselves, but I am not so sure if they are smarter than monolinguals. 

I have learned a lot of new words in my target language. I learned how to say the numbers 1-10 in Korean and how to say the months. I also learned the how to describe my family members and say mom, dad, sister, brother and grandmother. Right now I am learning how to talk about my home and words that describe one's home. I have been learning all these new words by watching many YouTube videos. I also use online resources and webpages like rocket languages. I think my goals are realistic because I am learning a little bit of everything without overwhelming myself. 

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.

Since this is my participating in a self-directed language program at an institution, I believe it is going well, but not smooth. What I mean by this is that all my expectations I had set for myself in the beginning of the semester were just that: expectations. This may just be idiosyncratic, as I do not know if others are in sync with their expectations they had set earlier on. Nevertheless, my self-studying is going well in that I have been learning a great deal -- no matter if the material I am learning is out of sync with my expectations. I have learned / relearned a good deal of vocab, I have refreshed my mind about the customs and norms if Israeli society that are pertinent with my targeted areas, and I have been meeting with may language partner on a weekly basis to review and learn. However, with this procured experience, I would be lying to say that should I continue with my self-directed learning language studies in future semesters that I wouldn't go about it differently.

First, I would truncate my range of goals and expectations so that I could produce more coherent, narrowed narrative whereby I would value vision instead of multifaceted goals. Next, I would assign a video -- to grasp the context of the vocab I study every night. Moreover, I would like to match the aforementioned with a more assertive approach to speak and use the material in which I learned. These are the things I will implement from now until the end of the semester.

Therefore, I will truncate my vision with my current learning plan and its approach in order to narrow the superfluities in order to channel this energy into my plan mentioned above. My current learning plan and activities include vocab, speaking to myself and videos. Implementing this new method will allow me to better learn my material, and in turn, succeed in my objectives.

Respond to the reading, reflecting on what is lost when languages die.

An interesting correlation between the increasingly quotidian critical languages and the many local languages seems to see the former sweep away the latter. However, and interestingly enough, the web -- which is dominated by the ruling language elite -- offers a pathway whereby these "hidden" languages could manifest and become popularized. Alas, language stabilization requires more than the headcount of those who could speak it, but by those with whom securitize it by "enforcing" it. Nevertheless, language preservation is in fact challenged more by the inevitable progression of life with all of its nuanced contours than by the amount of tongues who could in theory relearn or lean.

Writer Kirk Johnson notes that the "coolness" factor the language may exude certainty helps with language procurement, especially among children. Technology too can help pave the way for language preservation as it collects and organizes vocabulary and other grammar-related material and serves as a source for interaction with the end-user. Cultural practices that have prevailed against the test of time, such as songs and dances, act as a source of customs and information for the next generation of learners. In somewhat of an ironic circumstance, offering a local language as fulfilling a requirement at a charter school will make up grown within which the language was nearly swept under.

As a bilingual person, I haven't personally felt like I'm smarter than my monolingual friends. The only thing I can think of is that I feel like I have better memory than most people I meet, but that goes for both monolingual and bilingual people I meet so I'm not sure about that. After reading the 2 articles, I feel kind of convinced that bilingual children have an advantage over their monolingual counterparts. While the advantages may be subtlly enhanced abilities in executive function, any benefit is better than no benefit. But I often associate the advantages of being bilingual with more cultural and social factors. Since most children who are bilingual are likely to be multicultural or have parents who come from another culture such as immigrant parents, the exposure they have to the different cultures than the ones they are surrounded by everyday open up their eyes to the world and the many possibilities. They see that there are many different kind of people and give them that cultural competency and be able to interact with people of different cultures than their own. At least, that is one benefit I think I have from being bilingual. Being able to speak more than one language also means you have the ability to communicate with even more people. I think people are really starting to tune into the benefits of being multilingual and the rise of bilingual immersion schools have been a part of that trend. I know people who have gone to French school in the U.S. all their lives and they're american, but that gave them the advantage of being able to attend university in France, completely conducted in French. Plus, tuition is a lot cheaper.