Blogs

KoreanPresentation.pptx - Cultural Project presentation on the lifestyle of Korean students

Koreanfood.pptx - How to order Korean food in Korea

HistoryofKorean.pptx - History of "hangul"

1st presentation didn't have a powerpoint - but it was on the different couples holidays in Korea

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/04/15/393939759/the-all-work-no-play-culture-of-south-korean-education

http://www.classbase.com/countries/South-Korea/Education-System

http://www.rocketlanguages.com/korean/learn/restaurant-in-korean/

https://www.zkorean.com/hangul/history_of_hangul

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=261410

This word document has my outline for the project:

Turkish Public Perspective on Syrian Refugee Crisis Notes/outline

This link is to the prezi presentation:

https://prezi.com/a-xyanzqko5-/edit/#59_95982358

The Turkish words I use are the following:

Guest = Misafir

Refugee = mülteci

Urban refugee = kentte yaşayan mülteciler

Temporary asylum = geçici sığınma

Government = hükümet

Refugee camps = mülteci kampları

Burden sharing = yük paylaşımı

Policy/policies = politika/ politikalar

Since my speaking skills are well ahead of my writing skills, I decided to focus my artifacts on the writing part of my learning. Therefore, I decided to write out different greetings I was aware of in Korean just to review them and go over the spelling. While I would be able to say all of these easily, I was not surprised to find that I had to google how to spell some of these greetings because I had forgotten how to write many of them. I feel like this was a good way to practice writing in Korean that is also practical. 

One of my goals for the semester was to be able to understand and summarize Korean news articles. Therefore, I've picked a part of a Korean article, and will summarize it below.

Article: 

일요일 저녁에 오바마 미국 대통령은 TV로 생중계 되는 취임 후 세 번째 '집무실 대국민 연설'을 시작했습니다.

국민의 불안감이 커지는 데다 보안에 구멍이 났다는 비난 여론이 일자 직접 진화에 나선 겁니다.

오바마 대통령은 LA 인근에서 발생한 총기 난사 사건을 '무고한 사람들을 살해한 테러 행위'라고 공식 규정했습니다.

부부 총기 난사범이 테러 조직과 직접 연계됐다는 증거는 없지만 이들이 이슬람을 잘못 해석하는 급진화의 길로 빠져들었다고 말했습니다.

그러면서 미국은 테러리스트를 끝까지 추적하고 IS를 파괴할 것이라고 강조했습니다.

[버락 오바마, 미국 대통령]
"테러 위협은 실질적이지만 미국은 이를 극복할 수 있습니다. 미국은 IS 등 미국을 겨냥하는 테러 단체들을 모두 파괴할 것입니다."

[버락 오바마, 미국 대통령]
"장시간 계속되고 큰 비용이 드는 이라크나 시리아 지상전에 끌려 들어가지 않을 겁니다. 그것은 IS가 원하는 겁니다."

On Sunday, Obama broadcasted over TV regarding the fact that citizens are becoming worried and feel that there is a hole in the US's security. He categorized the recent shooting in LA as terrorism in order to kill innocent civilians. While there's no evidence that they worked with terrorists, he said they misinterpreted the islam radicalization. In addition, he said he will track down IS and destroy them. He said while there is threat of terror, the US can overcome it, the US will destroy IS as well as all terrorists. He said we will not enter their territory which costs a lot of money and continues for a long period of time, because that is what IS wants. 

As I mentioned in an earlier journal, Arzu printed out lyrics to a song that we listened to in class and had me fill in the blanks. This was a cool activity to do in order to practice spelling Turkish words as well as listening comprehension! Two birds with one stone. As for the second worksheet, it was part diction, part putting the appropriate vocabulary next to the correct picture. Regardless, these were all good for listening and writing in Turkish.

I already went into introducing myself in my second artifact, so I focused on introducing my family in this post.

제가족에는, 엄마, 아빠, 언니와 동생네명이있어요. 저의 아빠와엄마는 Virginia Beach에 사시고, 아빠는 software engineer이고, 엄마는 life coach이세요. 저의언니Lisa는 23살이에요. Lisa는 Northern Virginia에 살고요, 7월달에 civil engineer으로서 일을시작했어요. 제 동생들중에서, 2명은 여동생들이고, 2명은 남동생이에요. 여동생 이름들은 Angelie (20살)와 Alyssa (18살) 이에요. 남동생 이름들은 David (21살)와 Stephen (16살) 이에요. 여동생 두명은 대학생이고, Angelie는 Boston University에 다니고, Alyssa는 Indiana University에 다녀요. 남동생 David은 독일에서 살고있고, Stephen은 고등학교 3학년이에요.

Translation:

In my family, I have my mom, dad, older sister and 4 younger siblings. My mom and dad lives in Virginia Beach, and my dad is a software engineer and my mom is a life coach. My older sister Lisa is 23 years old. She lives in Northern Virginia, and started work as a civil engineer in July. Out of my younger siblings, two are girls and two are boys. The names of my younger sisters are Angelie (20 years old) and Alyssa (18 years old). My younger brothers' names are David (21 years old) and Stephen (16 years old). My younger sisters are college students, and Angelie goes to Boston University and Alyssa goes to Indiana University. My younger brother David lives in Germany, and Stephen is in 11th grade. 

Improving my Korean skills is something I have wanted to do since high school. I never had a lot of exposure to Korean, or had any Korean friends since moving to the US when I was 9, and was frustrated that I seemed to be losing all the Korean knowledge I once had. However, with my class-load in addition to my extra-curricular activities, it was hard to find the motivation to teach myself Korean. Therefore, this semester being enrolled with self-directed learning was a great opportunity for me. With going to my SDLC 105 class and meeting my language partner every week, it was a good opportunity and motivation for me to work on improving my skills. While it was technically an autonomous class, I didn't really feel like it was since I had help from my language partner every week to motivate my learning. However, this class was different in that I got to set my own goals for the semester, and decide how I wanted to reach my goals based on how I know I learn best. Therefore, because I was able to learn more by reading real articles, and talking to my language partner, I feel that my pace of learning was much more effective, since I do have a background in Korean.

Being enrolled in SDLC 105 definitely was more beneficial than I originally expected. Because there were students learning a variety of languages, I was able to learn about a lot of other cultures which was very interesting. We were also able to learn about the "science" of learning a language. It was interesting to learn about whether learning a language makes you smarter, the "best" way to learn a language, as well as the history of different languages. In terms of the culture project, I didn't expect to learn a lot because I was presenting on the lifestyle in Korea, which is something I personally experienced in Korea. However, it was interesting to realize that because I haven't lived in Korea in 13 years, a lot of things have obviously changed. Korea has gotten more competitive as a whole, and schools have gotten even more difficult. When I lived in Korea, while I did spend a lot of time studying, I had time for piano and dance classes. However, it seems that now Korea has come to a place where even elementary school aged children have little time for anything outside of studying. 

In terms of moving from the basic linguistic principles to specifics of Korean, I think it was different for me because I have a pretty heavy background in Korean. My goals were different from most of the other students I took 105 with in that I wanted to improve on the skills I already had. One of my goals however, was to learn more of the rules in Korea because my knowledge of Korean grammar is basically "use whatever sounds right." Through working with my language partner, I was able to learn some of the actual Korean grammar rules which is great because now I have background into why the sentences are structured the way they are. 

As I suspected in the beginning of the semester, I definitely still feel that I learn languages better by doing hands-on activities like actually speaking in Korean, instead of just reading a textbook. Therefore, by having weekly conversations with my language partner, I definitely have reached my goal of being more comfortable speaking in Korean. It was great because he also gave me more tips on how to improve like giving myself a speech about a specific topic. The most difficult part of the semester was probably measuring my improvement. Because I already had a background in Korean, it was kind of hard to measure my improvement based on how many words I know or if I had learned how to form basic sentences like a beginner would. It was sometimes difficult to be motivated in the middle of the semester because it sometimes felt like while I was working towards improving my skills, it was difficult to measure exactly what I could and couldn't do compared to the beginning of the semester. However, when it came to the end of my semester, it became a lot easier to see my improvements that I had made. 

Most of the resources available to me were not as useful because they were geared towards novice learners. Therefore, I mostly went to the internet and watched news clips, variety shows, and read news articles in order to improve my Korean skills. It was definitely useful, and the most helpful this semester besides actually meeting with my language partner for hands-on practice. I feel like reading and watching these resources definitely has improved my understanding of the Korean grammar and also improved my Korean skills. 

I haven't decided as to whether I will be enrolling in SDLC 111, as it will depend on whether I have room in my schedule. However, whether I decide to enroll or not, I definitely plan on improving my Korean further. I plan to motivate myself to write something in Korean every week, and maybe catch myself up on current events in Korean instead of English a couple times a week. I think it will be difficult to keep motivating myself especially after graduation especially since I will be working somewhere which requires a lot of time and commitment. However, with the skills I have learned this semester as a self-directed learner, I hope to continue working to become a truly "fluent" korean speaker. 

One of the biggest goals I had this semester was to improve on my reading and writing skills. Especially with writing, I have done very little to no writing since I was 9, making it very difficult to write anything without a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. This semester, I definitely worked on improving that skill by practicing writing simple paragraphs and having my learning partner correct it. For reading, it was something I also struggled with, especially if it included more complicated vocabulary. It was also difficult for me to read out loud without stumbling. This semester, I worked to improve my skills by practicing reading out loud, as well as reading more news articles. While doing these exercises have definitely improved my skills, I definitely think that I still have more work to do before I get to my ultimate goals.

After reading the two articles: "Are Bilinguals Really Smarter?" and "Why Bilinguals are Smarter," I definitely see how knowing two languages can work your brain more. Especially in the first few years when I was learning English, I was forced to first think of what I wanted to say in Korean and then translate it into English, which I can see how it would work your brain more on a very constant basis. However, I'm not fully convinced that just because you are bilingual, you are "smarter" where it will significantly benefit you in society. Maybe you'd be able to solve puzzles faster, but I haven't been able to see how it really benefits in society. However, I definitely realize that being bilingual can help you in society in the way that it is another skill you can bring into the workforce and enhances your resume. I did think it was interesting that one of the articles mentioned how people used to believe that teaching a child a new language can delay their development because it can confuse them. This is something that has definitely never crossed my mind, and it's interesting to see how people's opinions on being bilingual have changed over the years.

Final Reflection – SDLAP 105

In the process of my Korean language learning journey, I decided to stop taking the SDLAP 110 course. I decided that the amount of coursework that the class required was a lot more than I had expected and that I probably would not have been able to expend as much energy into the class that was needed. As a result, my progress in learning the language afterwards has been limited to watching Korean reality TV shows, such as The Return of Superman, Korean dramas, such as She Was Pretty, and listening to Korean music such as K-pop and Korean ballads from dramas that I watch/watched. So as a language learner of the SDLAP 105 course, I really enjoyed my time going to class because I got to learn about Korean language and culture from different perspectives by listening to my classmates present on their chosen topics concerning Korean culture during in-class presentations. In addition to having the opportunity to learn about Korean culture in class, I also had the opportunity to learn about different cultural practices in other places of the world, such as in Italy and in Pakistan. In addition to this, I also got to learn a little more about American Sign Language (ASL), a topic I never knew much about prior to being in this class.

About myself as a language learner, I have learned that I really require a lot of time to just focus on learning my target language, by itself, without any distractions by the work that is due for other classes.  However, I was also reaffirmed of my interests in wanting to learn about other cultures around the world, and not just Korean culture. Additionally, it was really interesting to hear about other histories in class. Personally, I did not find much difficulty in completing the required coursework for the class after I dropped the SDLAP 110 course. I really liked the independence that the class allotted to students – all work being due at the end of the semester.  I found this aspect of the class very appealing because I do not like have set due dates for work every single week.

In the future I hope to continue my study of Korean by studying the language and teaching English (or Elementary Education) abroad. This summer, I am planning on going to Korea for about six weeks to study the language and experience the culture first-hand. I am really looking forward to the opportunity because not only will I be travelling to one of my top destinations, I will be traveling outside of the United States for the very first time. It is all exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time because I pride myself on being culturally open here in the U.S., and I wonder what my reaction to an environment outside of my comfort zone will be like.

In class, I found the reading about lost and endangered languages the most helpful and intriguing because I am really interested in people’s histories, and the article showed how histories live on through people through their language, and it has inspired me to read further on the topic. 

Traditional%20Korean%20Games%20.pptx

My final learning plan is as follows:

Grammar:

1. Pronouns (formal/informal)

2. Conjugation of verbs in past present and future

3. Adjectives

4. Sentence structure and endings of words

Tasks:

1. Tell time

2. Count objects

3. Read easy texts

4. Write about someone

5. Describe actions and pictures

Since I decided to drop out of the SDLAP 110 course near the beginning of the semester, I never had the time to try to read or right in my target language. Instead, I focused mainly on my listening skills and trying to gain new vocabulary words in that way. Hopefully these skills will be improved on sometime in the future.

I do not particularly agree that being bilingual makes an individual smarter than someone who speaks only one language. However, since the brains of bilinguals are wired to interpret concepts in two languages at all times, bilinguals therefore exercise their brains more than people who speak a single language. Their brains are more readily to readjust the way it understands things by creating new pathways in the brain in a process called neuroplasticity. For example, if a bilingual person had a disease such as Alzheimer’s, it would perhaps take the disease longer to have an effect on the individual since he or she would possess an alternative way to interpret things.

During my time in this class, I have learned several new words in my target language of Korean including jib (집) for ‘house,’ mannaseo bangapseumnida (만나서 반갑습니다) for ‘nice to meet you,’ nabi (나비) for ‘butterfy,’ nalssinhan (날씬한) for ‘slim,’ mulgogi (물고기) for ‘fish,’ and podo (포도) for ‘grapes.’ I have learned many of these words through listening to Korean music like children nursey rhymes and watching Korean dramas and reality TV shows. Some words were also acquired as a result of researching a topic for my in-class presentations and by listening to other students’ presentations on their chosen topics. My goals for acquiring new vocabulary has been through immersing myself in the language my watching and listening to Korean media, and so far I think that I have been gradually picking out new words after hearing them being used and repeated frequently. 

When I was in Istanbul, I noticed a lot of Syrian children and street performers in tourist areas such as Taksim. I ended up having a discussion with a new Turkish friend in my time there about the refugees. At the time, I had commented on how unfortunate it was that there were so many homeless Syrian refugees in the streets we saw and what policies Turkey had about them. I was taken aback by how irritated she seemed at the situation- she had responded with a frustrated, "the Turkish government has done a lot for them, there are camps, but they don't stay there. They should stay inside their camps and not come out." She then went on to talk about the crime rates in the cities and how the "astray" Syrians were the culprits. She had an especially unfavorable opinion of Syrian men and said women were less safe because of it. I don't know how true her perceptions were, but it made me wonder about the general Turkish public's opinion of Syrian refugees. I want to learn about Turkey's past and current policies, the pros and cons, what is being done to improve the negative aspects of those policies, and discover the public's sentiment towards the government's reaction to all of this. 

(105 & 110) How did you evolve as an autonomous/self-directed language learner? Did you develop your skills as an observer of other cultures? How did the cultural project help you relate the products, practices, and perspectives of a culture? Were you able to move from basic linguistic principles (language families, language structures, etc.) to the specifics of the language you are studying? (110) What was your progress in meeting the goals of your learning plan? 

I feel that this semester really challenged me on autonomous/self-directed language learning.  In the past, I have tried to teach myself Korean, but through this program, I have learned to be more disciplined with myself.  It was easy in the past to just leave it on the side but this semester (I think also due to having a language partner) I was more intentional on being consistent with learning Korean by myself.  I am also studying abroad in Korea in the spring, so I think my fear of not being able to communicate has been a real fear that has worked to benefit myself so that I have been on top of all my language goals and practicing everything I am learning. 

From my time in SDLC 105 I would say that I did develop some skills as an observer of other cultures.  I never thought about language in some ways my other peers had to learn their language so that made me aware of my own native language, English, and Korean even more.  I found it really striking to see similarities and differences in all the languages I know compared to the way others were learning their own language.  Also, just as an outsider learning the Korean culture was eye-opening.  I’ve been immersed in Korean Dramas and Korean music since the 5^th grade (from my older sister) and it was still just as eye-opening to be reminded and introduced to aspects of the Korean culture that’s immensely different from the US and Hmong culture. 

The cultural project was actually more informational than I thought it would be for myself.  Since I have been exposed to all things Korean entertainment for so long, I thought I wouldn’t mostly learn anything new.  But I never too notice or questioned all the editing into the making of a variety show.  I’m still so astonished and impressed of the different ways they edit variety shows.  And most of all, the reflection of the Korean language is so strong in the variety programs in Korea.  Most of the things I noticed, trends and stuff, I knew from years of watching variety shows but also just being to see that it has a history of the same trends is amazing.  Meaning that those aspects are very valued in the Korean society.  Whew, mind-blown with this cultural project. 

I feel that I was somewhat successful at moving from the basic linguistic principles to the specifics of the Korean language.  I didn’t spend too much time exploring the specific grammar of Korean and what makes it so special.  I felt that I definitely learned simple equations that worked for most grammatical structures but it wasn’t an in-depth and rich learning of the Korean language.  Just enough learning of Korean to survive speaking in Korean.

The progress in meeting the goals of my learning plan were so on point each week.  Suyeon Unnie was also just such a great support, I can’t thank her enough.  We finished everything I wanted to learn while also being able to do review twice (once in the middle of the semester and our last week together).  I personally need review to make sure that what I’m reiterating to myself is correct and that I am keeping myself on top of all the work I need to do.  So it worked out great, our week to week language goals.  I also think that if Suyeon Unnie wasn’t my language partner, that I wouldn’t have been so productive.  She also provided handouts and videos each week so without her support I’m not sure it would have been so productive if I had to bring everything I wanted to do to her.  So I owe many thanks to her! 

I am really grateful to this self-directed language program on campus to have the opportunity to learn Korean before going abroad.  When I return in Spring 2017, I most definitely want to take another Korean self-directed class.  I am excited to see the progress of my Korean when I return back to the States from studying abroad.  It will be so interesting to bring back a different perspective of the Korean culture once I am able to live in it.  Thank you for a great semester! 

A couple weeks ago, I saw this vice documentary on Adnan Oktar and found it fascinating. He's interesting to me for the following reasons: he's the first Muslim creationist I heard of and spins Creationism on Islam, claims to be a staunch feminist, and is a famed cult leader in Turkey. He has his own TV network, televangelist form, and has written hundreds of books trying to disprove evolution. He rose to prominence in the 1980s during his higher education in Istanbul and appealed to young wealthy generations. He argued against Marxism, Communism, and the like. He sought to intertwine scientific rhetoric and mysticism in his ventures. Not only has he had multiple run-ins with the law for things such as inciting a theocratic revolt and organizing crime through his cults/following, but he's also spent time in a mental hospital. 

Everything about Adnan is ridiculous to the public- when I brought him up to Arzu, she scoffed and called him a joke. In this short documentary a Vice reporter, Broadly, is invited to his show. She arrives during the day and receives a tour of the house- in which she finds "fossils"that he collects that apparently prove creationism. Before the show begins, she's taken into the makeup studio to be prepared for the show, however, bizzarely, Adnan's men do not allow these portions to be recorded. Broadly goes on to appear on the show and later Adnan's followers join her.

Adnan's followers are mostly wealthy socialites who describe themselves being "liberated" through Adnan and his demonstration of feminism and Islam. They refer to themselves as "kittens" and are highly sexed up in their attire and makeup- it's evident they use lip plumps, most of them have bleach blonde hair, and wear heavy eyeshadow and lipstick, and even have gone under the knife. It seems that these qualities are what make them feel liberated. To give an instance of how strange the show is, on air, dance music would play at random intervals and the "kittens" would begin club dancing in their seats.

The documentary sought to understand Adnan's cult, but at the end of the ordeal, the events were still mystifying- there wasn't an explanation for why his cult operated why it did, what the logic was behind the "kittens'" appearance, and on what level the entire scenario was Islamic at all. In fact, the entire time I was reminded of our very own Hugh Hefner and the playboy mansion.

Adnan Oktar https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/video/inside-the-weird-world-of-an-islamic-feminist-cult