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I've learned very few words in Korean this semester. If I had to guess, I would say I learned approximately 20 new words/short phrases. I already have a very strong vocabulary base, so during my lessons, I either know which words I want to use, or I am reminded of vocabulary I had learned but then forgotten. Most of the new vocabulary I learn is either specific to a topic in our lesson, such as my dyeing my hair or working on my resume, or is in the form of short transitional phrases, such as saying "for example" or "thanks to" something.This fits with my language learning goals in terms of vocabulary, since I want to learn more conversational vocabulary but otherwise don't feel the need to study new words. The basis of our lessons are building on conversations, so the new words I am learning are very relevant to my goals.

When a language is lost, not only do we lose the fundamentals of how a group of people speak, we also lose insight on how an entire culture thinks. In any language, the grammar structures and vocabulary are different, and can give a lot of insight into what thought process went into forming words, what is considered important to know in a sentence, and how objects, people, and ideas are processed and talked about. Different languages show diversity in thinking, and to lose a language eliminates some of this diversity. 

While it is a good thing that more people are speaking the same language as this presents a common ground in terms of communication and methods of thinking, the fact that the spread of languages like English, Mandarin Chinese, etc. has historically come with the active suppression of tribal/regional languages is very sad. Since language is very tied with culture in the form of culturally-specific vocabulary and celebrations, in favor of becoming part of larger cultures, smaller cultures are being wiped out, which again causes us to lose some diversity in the world.

For learning Korean, I think knowing the history of the language is somewhat useful. The most important thing (although I may be biased as a Chinese learner) is to understand which words are natural Korean and which words are based off of Chinese and have hanja. Older words that are based off of Chinese are typically more formal words, and may either have a native Korean equivalent (for example, depending on usage, there are three words for a "class" in school in Korean, and two are based off of Chinese, the third having been taken from English). Learning words with hanja can help learn many root words in Korean, as one syllable in Chinese, and therefore Korean syllables based off of Chinese, contains one unit of meaning. So many words in Korean that have to do with learning have the syllable for "study" in them, and being able to identify this can help you better learn the word. With learning a new language, you have to develop a strong vocabulary base, and anything that can help you make distinctions between words can only serve to help you.

Understand which words have hanja can also help you better understand the spelling system better. While Korean has a phonetic alphabet, some words aren't spelled exactly how they are pronounced. For the word "music," the romanization of the Korean word is eum-ak, but it is pronounced eu-mak. Why not then spell the word as it's pronounced? Because the two syllables of the Korean word correspond in that way to the two-syllable Chinese word. Understand the historical root of words such as this help explain how it's spelled, which is essential in learning Korean.

It makes a lot of sense that bilinguals are "smarter," just because it can be difficult to learn a new language and some people just don't think in that way. However, I'm not entirely sure what is meant by smarter. It's hard to judge someone's intellectual ability based solely on the fact that they speak multiple languages. I think it is more clearly defined when babies are tested, instead of adults. It is much easier to understand the extent of a 7-month-old's knowledge compared to that of a full-grown adult. 

But on that note, I understand why one of the articles said that learning multiple languages, especially as a child, causes linguistic disadvantages, which can make someone appear less intelligent. I have often tried to think of a word in one language and could only remember it in another (most often, I could only remember the English word, but I have at times only been able to remember the Spanish word). I don't know if this topic will ever be fully resolved, but I don't think the differences between those who know another language and those who do not are wide enough to truly decide one way or another. 

Since we had discussed a lot of grammar till now, Suyeon and I decided to do something a little different. Both of us love Korean music and K-pop. As a result, we decided to look at the Korean lyrics of one of our favorites songs and practice reading and comprehension. This activity helped me in different ways. Firstly, it gave me a good practice in reading Korean. At this point I am really slow at reading. It takes me around one minute to read one standard length sentence. I am still struggling to remember the pronunciation of some of the double consonants and vowels. Moreover, I need help recognizing the silent letters and liaisons. Also, sometimes when I read a word, it might sound foreign to me even though I have heard it many times as I am not saying in the right accent. Reading also helped me with the spelling of words. While some words are spelled just as they are pronounced, most of the times I have difficulty determining the breakdown of syllables in words. Since Korean words are spelled in clusters of syllables, reading helped me realize that the syllables are not broken down according to the pronunciation of the words. 

Going through the lyrics also helped me see how the different parts of grammar that I have learned so far are applied. However, I had to keep in mind that since it was a song, the sentence structures were not like that used in daily conversation. However, Suyeon explained to me the words I did not know and since it is a song I listen to frequently, it helped me learn new words as well. 

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It's hard to say how many words I've learned in Korean exactly because I'm working on more of a natural progression since I do have a background on Korean. I would probably say in terms of new words around 50. However, by speaking with my language partner, I think a lot of words I've forgotten have come back, which probably at least doubles that count. I learned most of them by speaking to my language partner, and a lot of them were learned or refreshed in my memory naturally. I wish to learn a bit more vocabulary by the end of the semester, which I think is definitely achievable if I keep speaking and practicing with my language partner. 

When languages die, it is interesting to think about that it is not only the language itself that is lost. In addition to the language itself, you also lose the culture of the people who spoke it. Even if people learn a "dead" language, they may learn the grammar and vocabulary, but they will never learn the full culture like the original speakers. I also did not know there was as much as 7000 languages which decreased at a rate of a language every two weeks. It is sad that because many of these languages are oral and not written, therefore the true language itself will completely disappear when there are no more speakers along with the culture. 

For Korean, I think learning the history can definitely be helpful for learning the language. I am looking at it from a different perspective, because even when I learned Korean the first time as a little kid, I most likely learned the language before learning the history. However, learning the history definitely allows me to see the connections and understand the language a bit more. For example, I have always heard that Korean is one of the easiest languages to learn, but I was not aware that there is history and reasoning behind this is due to King Sejong's vision to create a language that can be used by everyone (unlike hanja which was used before). I think making these connections allows you to understand the language at a deeper level, while also making it more interesting. 

I met with Katrina and China at Ellwood’s and actually talked about ways that I could use ASL in the future. Both Katrina and China have jobs that don’t involve them using ASL, but a lot of people who go to the church I have been attending are interpreters and I am definitely interested in going into that at some point in the future. 

Over the course of the semester, I have acquired great knowledge of the Siraiki language. When it comes down to the number of words, I have learnt more than 80. These words were not chose randomly. There was a lot of thought given into deciding the words I should learn. The words I learnt are ones that are most commonly used in the Siraiki language. I wrote them down on a piece of paper and asked my Language Partner to translate them. Next, I went through the arduous process of memorizing each and every single word in the list. Now, I can make out a conversation in Siraiki. Based on what I have accomplished so far, I feel that my goals for the language are realistic. Because I was able to accomplish the tasks that I intended to in the given time successfully, I feel that I will be able to reach my goals for the language. 

On the surface, when a language dies, I thought this only meant that no one would communicate in this tongue again. However after reading Kirk Johnson's article, I realized how an entire history can be lost. Not only does the dialect itself get lost, but the events and tales of a society vanquish.

When looking at the Siletz Dee-ni people, I was shocked to learn that there are only five remaining speakers of their language. It is incredibly commendable of Bud Lane for spending seven years of his life to develop an online dictionary with audio entries. Although this action is extremely selfless, I fear that there are hundreds of other languages that have disappeared without much of a fight. 

See reflection paper #2 SDLC 105. 

Thank you, 

Vana 

My roommate also feels interest in Korean culture, and she wants to learn Korean, which gives me a chance to teach her some of what I learned from my learning partner. My two learning partners, Sun Yoon and Alvin Yang, are really responsible. They taught me in a structured, detailed and organized way. I come up with some learning plans and activities that I am going to teach my roommate. I divided this learning activities into three parts, preparedness, learning and appliance.

1)    Preparedness: My roommate and I like watching Korean movies, so I am going to find my favorite Korean movie for watching together with her. Interest is the motivation for learning something, and I have great amount of background knowledge about culture and language. When we watch the Korean movies, I can explain cultural aspect and easy sentence to her.

2)    Learning: I will ask her what topics she wants to learn, such as greeting, food or hobbies. And then I list at least 10 basic vocabularies and useful sentences. Using flashcard to help her memorize vocabularies.

3)    Appliance: We plan to go to Korean restaurant. In my opinion, when people get involved in environment with Korean culture, it will be easier to remember vocabularies and sentences.

• How many new words have you learned in your target language?  How did you learn them?  Do you have realistic goals for your acquisition of vocabulary? 

I've learned a lot of new words in Korean.  I mainly learned them while tutoring with Suyeon Unnie.  Most of the time, we will role play or I will ask for a specific situation and she'll just give me words to say.  By doing that, I learn new vocabulary.  Another way I learn is through watching K-Pop videos and listening to songs with English subtitles.  As well, watching K-Dramas is a great way that I learn new vocabulary.  K-Dramas often repeat what they say, so I'm able to hear and repeat what they say.  I think so far, I've realistically been gaining a good amount of vocabulary.  Ideally, I want to learn more words, but it's extremely hard to do that and be strict with myself to learn so many words within a week.  I'm thinking I will do maybe 15 new words a week, of which are outside the vocabulary that Suyeon Unnie teaches me.  I think this will be more feasible than a long list of vocabulary words I want to learn and forcing myself to do it that way.  I also want to do a better job at writing down the vocabulary, just to be more familiar with the writing.  It'll also help memorization so that helps a lot.  

• Respond to the reading, reflecting on what is lost when languages die.  (You might want to watch the interview with David Harrison posted to the front page of the Ning.) 

From what David Harrison and the article talked about, there's not a concrete thing which is lost when languages die.  It's more of a feeling that something very precious is lost and it's very saddening.  I would also add in and I'm sure they both touched upon this, is that when languages die, so does a whole history and culture.  The aging population of a dying language makes it hard for those languages to continue to try and exist.  But by trying to make a dictionary or get young people to be interested in the language is the solution which people who speak a dying language are resorting to.  They said that every two weeks a language dies and that there are about or more than 7,000 languages.  That is such a huge number of languages, yet at the rate of language decline, it's really concerning.  I think it's so beautiful that we can speak 7,000 different ways, describing life in a different way.  It's so sad that nothing is being done to prevent or further reserve these languages on a global scale.  

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Annyonghasaeyo (hello)

ban gap sup ni da (nice to meet you).

jae yi leum eun Shuyi yipnida. (My name is Shuyi.)

I am from china: juh(cho) neun joong gook ae suh wat suh yo

I am 19 year old: juh(cho) neun yool a hop sail eep ni da

I am a sophmore: juh(cho) neun dae hak kyo ee hak nyiun eep ni da

practice (sun yun nyun)

I am studying business: cho neun kyung yung hak gong bo ha go (eeth suh yo)

Jae chimi neun young hwa bo gi lang dok seo yip ni da (my hobby is watching movies and reading.)

Oo lee chin ha gae jin hae yo (lets get along)

New Vocab:

nuh lang na(you and me)

oo lee (we)

chin hae (close, good friend relationship)

Annyonghi gaseyo. (Good bye)

age: sal

yul ahop: (ten nine) 19

student: hak seng

China:joong gook

grade: hak nyun

root word for school/learning: hak

year: nyun

school: hak kyo

college: dae hak kyo

chimi: hobby

young hwa bogi: watching movie

reading: dok so

study: gong bo

major: jung gong

Business Admin: kyung yung hak

young hwa: movie

• Reflect on how knowing a language's history can help you learn the language.

Knowing a language's history can help you learn the language because its' history shows the development and change of the language.  As well, it reflects on how the people of the language think.  The development and change of a language over time is very important.  For instance, the Korean Alphabet was created in 1466 by King Sejong.  The creation of the Korean Alphabet is esteemed as one of the most efficient written languages and as well, Korea has a Hangul Day which celebrates the creation of the Korean Alphabet.  Just this history of the Korean language shows that Korea has a lot of pride and respect for their language.  History also reflects how the people of the language think because what part of language is lost throughout time, shows what the people care more about.  For instance, some languages have gendered nouns while other languages do not.  Some languages do honorifics while others do not.  These small notions in the language showcase a part of the culture in the language one can be learning.  So knowing the history of a language really aids you in understanding the long-term development of it.  

• 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?

Suyeon Unnie and I have been learning a lot of great Korean culture and language together.  She's sooooo awesome!!! <3 So far, we have been on top of things and have been able to go through 5 tasks.  We've done the following:

• Greetings/Farewells/Introductions 
• Family & Relationships 
• Time/Question words 
• Food --> types, ordering, asking 
• Directions 

This week is review week because I really want to be able to enforce everything we've learned and it's just been about a little over halfway the semester.  With Korean, I've learned that honorifics play such an important role in understanding the language.  Age and experience are so important to the culture and sometimes this makes it harder to learn the language.  To me, it's like learning two different dialects in a language, even though there are legit dialects to Korean.  But, the nice thing is that most of the time, there are just suffixes which are added to make sentences honorific.  Our last session (Monday) Suyeon Unnie and I were able to have small talk.  Konglish?  haha.  She and I were super proud that we were able to have a semi-conversation!  Not just about what I had been learning, but putting everything I know together to make a sentence pertaining to the topic she was talking about.  Also, I realized that my comprehension of Korean is really good, I can mostly pick up on what Suyeon Unnie says.  It's the speaking my own words/thoughts that is really difficult.  I think to improve this, I need to study more vocabulary so that I can build up my ability to speak.  As well, I feel I can do a better job at writing, so I am going to work on that.  What's been really helpful, because I'm an auditory learner, is when Suyeon Unnie records herself for me on the main things that we learn in a session.  For instance, she recorded my introductions (formal and informal) and throughout the week I was able to just listen to it and repeat after her.  I didn't have to worry about wrong pronunciation.  I think I'd like her to do that more often for me.  We've just been doing a lot of the situational cases that I've asked, but if we finish all the main tasks and I feel comfortable enough with everything, we agreed to go do some more grammar so I'm excited!  I'm of course learning grammar while I learn to do each task, but it's nice to just understand the organization of the language in detail.  So far, everything in Korean is great!  I'm really excited to go to Yonsei and Korea with the knowledge that I am gaining! <3 

• Reflect on the Culture Shock video and your own experiences and expectations of culture shock

The Cultural Shock video was interesting.  I feel that for a video that's quite old, I think it's been 5+ years, it still has a lot of meaningful and relevant culture shock reflections.  

It touched upon a lot of academic differences.  With how papers are written, expectations, and styles of teaching.  I found this to be very true as well.  When I studied in Morocco, class was less structured and more "free".  In a sense, my relationships with professors were a lot more intimate and there were no unprecedented expectations of being a top notch student.  

There's also a lot of talk about understanding the English lingo/street talk.  I know for most of my international friends, they have a hard time understanding American sarcasm and I think this is real culture shock to go through.  One can learn so much about grammar and vocabulary yet not understand a conversation happening because there's so much cultural reference.  I didn't so much experience this in Morocco with Arabic but I'm sure that it's just because I wasn't there long enough to really immerse myself in that kind of way.  

I think something else that the video didn't touch upon much is the culture shock of returning home from abroad.  Just a summer can change your perspective so much and hit you closely once you come back home.  Things you get accustomed to while abroad are usually no longer relevant in your home country or valued the same way.  I found this hard when I was back in the US from Morocco.