This semester was the first time I learned a language with a self-directed program. In the past I have learned both Spanish and Japanese in a more formal classroom environment. There are very distinguishable differences between these two methods of learning. For starters, trying to make a weekly schedule. Each week I was expected to have my own lesson plans, with the help of language partner. This responsibility is more challenging when one has to do it themselves. In a formal classroom, our language schedules are made for us by our instructors. This gives an essence of expectations from both the instructors and ourselves. While in the self-directed program, although we do have help from our language partners, the basis of our expectations is from ourselves. Another difference I realized between the two learning methods is the speed of learning a language was significantly different. In a classroom, I was able to identify my mistakes quickly. But when studying on my own, because I was not tested as intensively, I did not realize my mistakes until I had the opportunity to speak to my language partner again, Mitsuo. During these sessions he would correct my mistakes, but unfortunately this only occurred twice a week in comparison to my Japanese class which I had four times a week.
When I first started learning to write in Korean, Mitsuo refused to write anything out for me. He would teach me and repeat himself, for me to understand what he was talking about. But in the end I had to take notes down in Korean on my own. This was particularly annoying because my efficiency writing in Korean was very slow. It would take me about 15 minutes to write one sentence he spoke out-loud. And due to the fact many of the letters sound similar to non-Korean speaker, that added more to my struggles. He continued with every class, and with every class I got better. There was finally a moment I realized he stopped fixing my mistakes, and I was writing the notes on my own. If there was ever a mistake, it was quiet small, such as the wrong “O” sound. Although I personally hated this in the beginning, it certainly has helped me with my reading and writing. I feel more confident in reading and writing in Korean when comparing it to my speaking. I believe this is a very efficient method which should be done initially when starting to learn any language. If one continues to write the words pronunciation in English, it will take a longer time to learn how to read and write.
Though I am proud of my writing and reading, I can not say the same for my speaking. Speaking is particularly difficult because I did not get enough practice. Although watching YouTube videos, and listening to music did help me recognize words, I could not remember all of them when trying to speak. Mitsuo and I did try to learn new phrases and words on a daily basis, but many of this was not always practice. For instance, the word “grandfather” is unluckily to come up in a conversation between the two of us, so I at times forgot that word. But the phrase “Do you have water?” or “Where are you?” were used more frequently, therefore I can say those confidently. For me, the hardest part of this program was learning how to speak Korean.
In the future, I can see myself improving in the reading and writing portion in Korean if I were to study alone. This is particularly due to the fact I gained the skills from the program. And with this, I might possibly improve in my speaking. If I am able to have the time, I can improve my grammar and learn new vocabulary on my own. But, like before, the hardest part and my weakest point will probably continue to be speaking in Korean. If I were to change this part of the program, I would try to have the language partners trying to constantly contact the person/people they are teaching. This is probably one of those things that look better on paper, and will probably not happen realistically. But overall, I am still proud of accomplishments in Korean because I started without absolutely any knowledge.
