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According to the online tests, I am a kinesthetic learner and am musical, verbal/linguistic, and naturalistic. I also believe that I mostly fall into the insightful and rational categories of the FIRE model.

I have always known that I learn best by doing, and have always copied my notes multiple times as a way to absorb class material. I also know that I learned Hindi vocabulary words best while meeting with my peer tutor and using the words in roleplaying conversations. To incorporate the musical part of my personality, I think it would be good to use Hindi music to practice identifying words, or as a memorization device. I often make up songs to memorize presentations or formulas in other classes, so I think memorizing a popular Bollywood song and understanding its meaning would really help me learn words and phrases.

One concern that I have is that I will be willing to take risks and have the motivation to speak in Hindi as often as I should as a kinesthetic learner. I'm worried that I will never feel like I know enough to begin a conversation with someone who is fluent. I'm hoping that my peer tutor will play the same role as my tutor in India and push me to speak in Hindi as much as she did, because I may be a timid at first.

In the FIRE model, I think I fall mostly in the insightful and rational categories. I like knowing big picture theories before learning particular applications, like a rational learner would, but I also enjoy organizing, problem-solving, and debating, which are insightful traits. For these reasons, I am really interested in learning about the evolution of Hindi and other Indian languages in conjunction with my practical study of Hindi. I'd like to know why a certain grammatical structure is the way it is when I learn it, because I think it will help me remember it better. I also like to plan out and organize how I will learn different topics before I tackle them.

One type of language learning that I dislike is attempting to memorize a list of vocabulary, because it is overwhelming and I feel like I will only remember most of them for a few days. Instead, I always remembered words best when they were used in my language classes repeatedly, or we learned them in a unique way, like in a song or because someone asked during class. In other words, I hope to, at least partially, learn words organically and in unique ways that will help me associate new words with their meanings.

My language learning experience started early. I first began learning English when I was 8 years old. Throughout my elementary school, secondary school, my English teachers taught me grammars and vocabularies. Then I went to an international school where everything was taught in English. At that time, I learned a lot more English by communicating my high school teachers in English, writing my homework in English and reading English novels. After school, my favorite way to learn English is to combine language learning and entertainment. For instance, I love watching situational comedies so I watch The Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls without subscription. In this way, I could train my listening because I try hard to recognize what they are talking about, I could improve my speaking by repeating their words, and I could know more about American Culture by understanding the plots.

After taking the surveys, I realized that I am an aural learner. Therefore, I got several inspirations for efficient language learning. For example, I should be involved into the classroom and discuss topics with my partners. Also, I can utilize some visual material to deepen the impression. Furthermore, I can expand my notes by using different colors, writing down anecdotes, and reflecting upon the culture behind language. 

What is your ultimate goal?  What is your goal for this semester?

My ultimate goal with Urdu for this semester is to learn how to have proficiency as intermediate/advance level in Urdu language. I do hope to increase the following areas of my Urdu knowledge: listening comprehension, writing and pronunciation, grammar, punctuation, and mostly speaking or have basic conversation

How can I achieve my goal?

• Homework on daily bases: Vocabulary that is related to themes, such as education, school, marriage, holidays and so on. 
• Any form of grammar or language structure, that I do not yet know, that is good for my proficiency.
•  Listen and watch some of the following: video clips about daily issues, specifically education, situation of schools, and watch news segments related to village live versus city live, marriage ceremonies, schools and education. 
• Understand phrases and commonly used vocabulary related to personal and family information, food, school, education, shopping, ordering food and directions. 
• Catch the main point in short, simple messages, discussions and conversations and then try to say it in Urdu. 

• What is your ultimate goal?  What is your goal for this semester?

   

  My ultimate goal with Urdu for this semester is to learn how to have proficiency as intermediate/advance level in Urdu language. I do hope to increase the following areas of my Urdu knowledge: listening comprehension, writing and pronunciation,grammar, punctuation, and mostly speaking or have basic conversation

   What basically i have planned to do for this semester is as follows:  

• Goals:

       a.goals:

• Homework on daily bases: Vocabulary that is related to themes, such as education, school, marriage, holidays and so on. 
• Any form of grammar or language structure, that I do not yet know, that is good for my proficiency.
•  Listen and watch some of the following: video clips about daily issues, specifically education, situation of schools,  broadcast of a game in Urdu and watch news segments related to village live vs city live, marriage ceremonies, schools and education. 

      b. Listening: 

• Understand phrases and commonly-used vocabulary related to personal and family information, food, school, education, shopping, ordering food and directions. 
• Catch the main point in short, simple messages, discussions and conversations. 

      c. Reading: 

• Read very short and simple texts.
• Understand familiar names, words and  sentences.

      d. Speaking: 

• talking about myself/family/ school at intermediate/ advance level. Can communicate in simple and routine tasks such as asking for information, shopping, asking for and able to understand directions. 
• Capable of handling short social exchanges and talk about me interests, I will not be able to keep up a conversation on my own.

      d. Speaking: 

• Able to use a series of phrases and sentences to describe my family and about myself or anything casual talking about anything in an intermediate level. 
• Able to describe things using simple adjectives and talk about other people. 

      e. Writing: 

• more writing at intermediate/ advance level.
• Writing homework every week

   f. Grammar: 

• Conjugation of the most commonly used verbs in the present/past/future 
• Basic sentence structure
• Asking and answering questions

For my third artifact I decided to document how to give the date in Korean.

Every day and every month end with the same term which makes it easier to learn.

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For me the reading was quite informative. Although it was not easy to read, I learned a lot about language and how competence in this field is structured.

Figure 8.1 which shows the language competence is very interesting. It is familiar to me, though, as I think it is very similar to the scheme how to grade an essay.

The seven functions of language drew my attention completely. On the one hand, the instrumental function is pretty logical. On the other hand, the rest of them are interesting to read about. I find the personal function and the imaginative function the most capturing. Talking about feelings is difficult for many people and might even be more difficult in some cultures where talking and showing feelings is not valued. Moreover, the imaginative function I consider most important for what is human kind without ideas and dreams? Fairy tails and stories mostly transport essential lessons about life and are thus very valueable.

Also, the sociocultural aspect is an important fact to consider when communicating with people from foreign countries. As there are four meanings, as Thun says, a message can be understood, a person might interpret the message in a different way than intended.

The five levels of formality are quite interesting too. It might be of advantage to adapt one' s vocabulary and way of expression to the style one is using to communicate with others effectively.

It is interesting to read the articles as they go very deep into detail.

One point I can take out from it is that the brain monitors itself and gets feedback from the ears, the lips, the tongue and so on. When I learn a new language this is definitely true. I try to watch myself while pronouncing new words and often notice when making mistakes. So, this information confirms my learning tactic described above and I will continue to do so.

Further, I understand Plato' s naturalist view saying that the word itself carries its meaning. Words like wow, oh etc. transmit their meaning well if properly intonated. Some words in new languages I learn through this approach. In many cases I connect the words with certain metaphors in order to learn and memorize them better.

Moreover, the "parcel-out" thing is very nice and puts my motivation why I learn more and more languages nicely. Every language has a different interpretation of life. In English a cousin may be female or male whereas in French there is a distinction between female and male cousins. Thus, with every language learned, one gets a broader understanding of culture, and I would even say, the world and life.

Also, collocations and vocabulary emphasizes the importance of context. This is why I try to memorize new words in the sentence they were used in order to have the original meaning.

I liked the NYT article about bilingualism a lot.

Although I did not think that being brought up in two languages would actually make you smarter, it is true. 

It is not surprising that we see those benefits when examining babies. On the other side, it is surprising to me that the blockage in the brain when speaking more than one language is a benefit in reality. In fact, I met an exchange student in Richmond who was raise bilingual German- French. We made a treaty which said that I ll speak with her just in French and she will speak with me just in German. This was a very nice and precious experience!

Also, the being more efficient part is good to hear, but difficult to imagine. Well, certainly, speaking two languages is a quite demanding task, but I simply cannot see the connection between being more efficient and speaking two languages.

Finally, having a potential advantage when talking about Alzheimer is very reassuring as I believe that Alzheimer is one of the worst illnesses to face.

Knowing about the history of a language is very helpful.

As far as it concerns me, Hindi is an indogerman language and therefore related to German and Latin. Since I know those two languages, I have an advantage and I know to which language I can refer to when learning new structures. This includes two main parts of a language: vocabs and grammar. Unfortunately, intonation might be different, as it is very variable depending on the people speaking it. 

Also, in Hindi there are a lot of Arabic and Farsi influences as the mughals were speaking these languages. So, today there are some words which are of Arabic or Farsi origin. One example would be "Thank you". The Arabic version is "sukriya" whereas the original Indian version is "dhanyavad".

As I my goals do not include learning how to read and write in my target language, I cannot go much into detail about reading Hindi.

However, I do know some grammar. In Hindi the verb is always at the end of the sentence. This might be awkward for native English speakers. For me, as I have learned Latin in high-school, it is not and in fact, I can actually relate to Latin, when learning Hindi grammar. So, apart from the fact that the verb in Hindi and Latin comes at last in a sentence, another special grammar rule is how to express possession of something. Again, this is similar to Latin' s "Dativus possessivus". Here, possession is expressed with the third case and not the first.

ReflectionPaper1.docx

In Korea, body language plays a big role in every day interactions. Korea's language is based off of Confucianism and has strong foundation for hierarchy. For example, one of my cultural presenations focused on meal and drinking etiquette in Korea. When beginning a meal, it is important to wait to be seated. Always wait for the oldest people to sit down before you take a seat at the table. Before eating, especially when you are a guest, it is also polite to say that you are looking forward to the meal (jalmukesumneda/I will eat well). This sentence is said with a bow with the head. Similar phrases such as "anyonghaseyo/hello (formal)" is also done with a bow with the head to signify respect. Any time you talk to someone older or respectful, possibly through rank or social status, always talk with the formal tense.

When refilling your drink, it is important to pour drinks for others first, especially those senior to you. If you are accepting a drink, accept the drink with both hands. When pouring drinks for elders, rest your free hand under your wrist of your pouring hand. Finally, when you are done eating your meal, it is important to thank the host for the meal (masegaemugusuyo/I ate well). Just like before, with a bow of the head. Make sure you do not leave leftovers! It is rude not to finish your plate! Also something to keep in mind, if there is a sign indicating not to tip, do not tip the waiters. It is considered rude in Korea to tip!

Other social linguistic aspects is that Koreans never point with their index finger, or signal someone to come over with the index finger. These kinds of motions are done for animals, for example, telling a dog to come over. Instead, one should use the whole hand to indicate a motion. When signalling a child, for example, to come over, use the palm (face down) in a sort of patting motion.

In Korean business culture, it is expected to show up on time. Just like American culture, it is okay to be late, but not often. However, if it involves more leisurely activities, there is no emphasis on being punctual. It is expected to be on time, but it is okay if you are not. The more important thing to address is accommodating the elders. If a party is held, it is okay to be late as long as there are enough seats to be distributed for the elders or people of honor.

There is a strange paradox in Korean time, where Koreans are generally late, but are always in a rush. Because of this, there is a running joke of being "on time" and being "Korean on time." Koreans are generally impatient due to the fact that they are often running behind schedule and do not show up on time. Interestingly enough, this may be the cause of the high rate of traffic accidents in Korea.

This attitude is reflected in the Korean language. There is a word in Korean, "ppali" which means "quickly." Korea has a "ppali ppali" culture and people are often seen holding their coffee cups before the coffee has finished dispensing and drinking their beverages before they have even paid for the item.

Also, in relation to business culture and meeting new people, Koreans consider it impolite to be touched by someone who is not a relative or close friend. Avoid eye contact between senior members.

I'm having trouble uploading my videos from my imovie. I'm going to keep trying. I do have my 4 artifacts I'll send them to you via email. 

Dari%20cultural%20presentation%20.ppt   Here is my powerpoint presentation. =) I went on the same night as a lot of people, but the one student's presentation that I found fascinating was the student who presented on Russia and the Ukraine. It was very detailed and I couldn't follow all of it, but I was fascinated with his perspective as someone with ties on both sides. I wish that it hadn't been so late in the evening and there hadn't been so many presenters because I would have loved have been able to really let what he was saying sink in. I know so little about the situation in the Ukraine. Here is my works cited.  

I kept my journal entries as one running Word document and I have attached it below. =) Dari%20Journal%20.doc

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Final%20Reflection%20Paper%20SDLC%20105.docx

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Dear Dr Sharon and Dr Grove,

I have done my Artifact evaluations as comments to the artifacts. Also, my artifacts are the three I have uploaded on my blog (a song, introduction, and comic) and my last artifact is on Azmain's page (dialogue of asking a guy out). My Teaching Activity was based on vocabulary hence I have done that as a comment on my blog about vocabulary (Journal 5). Thank you!

Best,

Gargi