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The readings offered an interesting perspective about the concept of language. I found the reading about how 'language is used to convey meaning' to be helpful to my language learning activities.It is very interesting that most people don't really think about all this information when starting to learn a language. It's true that many languages are familiar to the 'diversity of usage' phrase that is used on page 187. Although, I feel using an English example wasn't the best idea. English is a complicated language and just trying to explain the meaning of "mean" was complicated. I see what the author is trying to explain there, but I felt he/she should have included other language examples as well to tighten up his/her argument. He/she gives the reader a variety of things to think about such as the importance of vocabulary, sentence structure and sense vs. reference, but then ends that last reading by saying that meaning is where we must begin. I think that was odd. He/she explains the difficulties of meaning and suggests ways to get started, but then says that meaning is where one should begin. I think meaning is achieved through study of all those components he talks about, but I don't think that it is exactly a solid starting point because it becomes overwhelming. 

After meeting with Sharon I have established that my reading comprehension and writing learning plan will focus on the following:

1. Reading a fiction novel and providing brief translations of the story line

2. Keeping up to date with politics articles in Hebrew

3. Establishing a vocabulary list with definitions and using these words in sentences 

This week I accomplished:

* finding and ordering a novel (can be seen at the following site): http://www.text.org.il/index.php?book=0501095

* finding 20 new vocabulary words and defining them

* reading a politics article from Ha'aretz daily

* attempting to decipher the political cartoons that are posted on Ha'aretz daily

* creating a document explaining the positions of the main political parties involved in Israeli Parliament

* establishing that as a cultural interest I would like to learn about environmental initiatives in Israel (in Hebrew) and bookmarking resources to read.

I found the article “How the brain handles language” especially interesting. I enjoyed the use of a diagram in order to understand just how many parts of the brain are functioning in order to comprehend and utilize language. Two years ago I experienced odd symptoms, which led to hospitalization and a diagnosis of inflammation in my brain stem. These symptoms included impaired vision, imbalance, etc. The article has emphasized for me how something simple like speaking or learning a language is an interrelated process of so many different locations within the brain. My experience has accentuated both the fragility of such abilities that we take for granted, and inspired me to take advantage of them.

The article “How we mean” is especially helpful in my case of struggling through reading a novel in Hebrew. Since the sixth grade, when I was no longer expected to read in Hebrew by school, I have not taken up the challenge. I think this can be attributed to the fact that I am not as proficient, it takes me more time, and I do not understand all the words. Being able to put these obstacles aside and focus on the main storyline being conveyed and understanding that meaning will hopefully get me through the reading in a way, which with increased practice will also increase my proficiency and understanding. Being able to take words that I am not familiar with into the context of a novel or the news articles I am dissecting is helpful by providing context and ensuring a level of understanding that I can transfer to my use in conversation or writing.

“How to investigate language structure” highlights the importance of context within language learning. The order in which words appear is important when learning Hebrew because sentence structures are composed of noun and then the adjective describing that noun i.e. car red or “oto adom” rather than the English structure i.e. “red car.” I liked the author’s argument of learning language via meaning and then implementing grammar to explain the meaning. I have learned a couple languages and grammar memorization has never been my strongpoint. I prefer to use the conversational language to a point where I know if a sentence sounds off or not. At that level of usability, I understand the grammar structure better and am able to apply it with greater understanding. 

During this past week, I focused on strengthening my grasp of the Hindi (Devanagari) alphabet, including the consonants, vowels, and matras.  As I mentioned before, it has been somewhat tricky for me since some of the Devanagari letters look similar to Punjabi letters but have completely different sounds.  The way I've been overcoming that obstacle is using the book "Teach Yourself Hindi," which is used in many college courses about Hindi.  In the book, Snell has a list of words that use certain sounds.

What I did during this past week was to rewrite the alphabet several times, focusing on understanding the distinct sounds of each letter, carefully write out some of the words while pronouncing the sounds, learn the conjugations of the verb "to be," and study the beginnings of some Hindi greetings.  I am using  the Five Colleges Mentored Hindi website, which has great culture videos in Hindi (LangTalk) that are about the different greetings. I will upload the artifact I created. Meeting with my language partner was great -- I was actually able to hear a native speaker sound out the sounds I had been confused about, and he helped check my understanding of the alphabet/sounds by doing dictation exercises, where he would say a word slowly once or twice, and I would then write it according to the sounds I heard.  For Hindi, dictation and learning by sound is really important, even if (like me) one is not an aural learner.  This is because in Hindi, the difference in two letters might just be aspirated vs. unaspirated, like a hard "K" sound vs. "khh."  Or, in Hindi, there are the sounds: d, dh, dt, dhh, t, th.  Thus, meeting with my Language Partner was great because he could check the progress I have been making, and it gave me a chance to hear spoken Hindi from a native speaker.    During this past week, I also watched segments of the Hindi film "Once Upon a Time in Mumbai."  It was partially as a way to learn more about Bollywood culture and as a way to check how much Hindi I could recognize.  Although I can recognize the conjugations of "I am, she is, etc..." and recognize some words from my Punjabi knowledge, the actors spoke so fast.  However, I could often use context clues to figure out what was going on.

-सिमरन :) (Simrun)

The workings of the human brain are immensely individualistic and complex.  When analyzing this fact in the context of language speech and comprehension, the complexity only increases.  Everyone’s brain works differently when it comes to learning a language.  For most right-handed people, the left hemisphere of the brain is dominant for language, whereas there is a mixed dominance between the left and right hemispheres for left-handed people.  Similarly, every language has its own unique phonetics, phonology, grammar, and semantics, making it seemingly impossible to find consistent rules to follow by.  As the article by David Crystal states, “different languages talk about the world in different ways (188).” 

Now comes the big question: Is there a best direction for the study of a language?  For me, I think the answer is a big resounding yes.  As I alluded to in my last blog entry, I have figured out that I learn languages best by hearing them in practice; whether they be in movies, songs, or everyday conversations.  Before learning the grammar of a new language (the typical first step in language learning), I like to acquire a “sense” of its sounds and words.  Individual words do not make sense in and of themselves, but they are a pertinent step in the process to finding meaning.  Thus, I often listen to music in other languages without understanding a single word.  Despite the fact that I don’t understand the words, I am often able to sing along to the song and imitate the sounds.  Slowly but surely, I discover that the meaning eventually makes itself evident to me, through visual associations and other contextual clues. 

British linguist J.R. Firth says it best, “you shall know a word by the company it keeps.”  For example, I listened to many Brazilian songs before arriving in Brazil without knowing a single word of Portuguese.  I watched accompanying music videos and live performances that gave me insights into the general ideas the song wanted to convey.  Unknowingly, I had learned some of the collocations (the tendency of words to work together in predictable ways) of Portuguese and was more apt at understanding various phrases when I heard them. 

My language learning style is undoubtedly unconventional, but for now it seems to work.   

Check out the picture below of a concert I attended in Brazil by the internationally renowned Brazilian artist, Seu Jorge.  As you can guess, I listened to his music WAY before I went to Brazil :)

After focusing on learning the Hindi (Devanagari) alphabet for the past two weeks, it has been very illuminating to start to actually be able to recognize words, although it takes me a while to remember the consonant sounds with an attached vowel.  It's a little tricky since so many of the letters look just like other letters in Punjabi, which I am much more accustomed to seeing -- so for instance, the Hindi consonant representing "gh" is the same as the Punjabi letter for "b."  Thus, it's taking me a while, but it is very exciting just to be able to start to read and recognize letters.  I also learned how to write my first name in Hindi, which would be: सिमरन (Simrun).  It was pretty easy since my name in Hindi only has four consonants and one vowel at the beginning, but it was still interesting to put my study of the alphabet together to learn how to write my name.

In terms of the Level of Competence document, I think I am at a Novice Beginning 0 level for Hindi.  I can understand words that are similar to words in Punjabi, but I do not know how to say the words in Hindi, with a different tone.  Thus, my recognition skills are helpful in hearing and understanding spoken Hindi, but I need to work on my own ability to speak Hindi. I am meeting with my Language Partner tomorrow to review my learning plan and to see if he has any suggestions for me.  Following that meeting, I will post my updated learning plan to this blog.  Currently, my learning plan is focused on certain key goals: learning how to read, write, reviewing words that I think I  can recognize (colors, numbers, names of animals), learning new vocabulary related to health, food/menus, transportation/travel, family, home information, hobbies, and writing a personal letter.  I want to learn the pronouns as well as the spoken and written present/past tense.

MLC 105 Learning Journal #2: Reflections on the Readings & Research on the Writing Systems of Hindi

With regard to the Hindi writing systems, Hindi has a really interesting writing system, as it is written in the Devanagari alphabet which is considered an "abugida," meaning that each consonant has an inherent "a" sound attached to it, but the sound can be changed depending on which other vowels are added to the consonant. If consonants are joined together, the inherent vowel is suppressed.  Devanagari is written from left to right, and the alphabet consists of 33 consonants along with 14 vowel sounds.  The sounds of Hindi also distinguish between "aspirated" and "unaspirated" consonants.  Hindi is usually written in print, so I've never seen any of the manuscript writing. There are related writing systems -- since Hindi uses the Devanagari alphabet, Hindi is also similar somewhat to Nepali and Sanskrit.  Additionally, certain letters in the Devanagari alphabet remind me of Punjabi letters (Gurmukhi), so it is somewhat tricky to remember the differences between the two.

Here are my thoughts on this week's readings:

1.  "How to investigate language structure" -- I thought this reading was quite interesting, especially in the beginning, where the author starts out by discussing all the things that are happening as we speak a short sentence -- such as focusing on meaning ("station" vs "beach"), the order in which the words appear, the tone of voice, and more. It's interesting to think about how much is going on when we use language.  I also found the idea of "levels" useful in helping us focus on understanding the different structures involved in utilizing language, particularly for people who have suffered brain damage and lose linguistic ability at one level, but not another.

2.  "How the brain handles language" -- Since I am majoring in biology, I really liked this reading about the brain's roles in language.  I thought it was quite important how the author emphasizes that we should avoid oversimplifying the contrast between the left hemisphere and right hemisphere (with regard to left-handed people or right-handed people).    I also found it interesting to read about the difference between damage to Broca's area vs. damage to Wernicke's area, because in a psychology class, I actually saw a documentary about the different types of damage and found it very interesting.  I also thought the section about slips of the tongue was also quite interesting, because I never realized that they were not random.  It was neat to see how tongue slips can also explain a lot about underlying neurolinguistic processes.

3.  "How we mean" - I found it quite interesting to consider how different languages have diverse ways of talking about the world.  For instance, as the author wrote, English doesn't differentiate in the words for "mother's brother" or "father's brother."  In many Indic languages, however, there are different lexical treatments given to these biological relationships, just as the author writes about the Australian language Pitjanjatjara.  In addition, it was also interesting to think about how we explain the "sense of the word" with other words (like how we would explain the word 'furniture' vs. the word 'wooden' if we were pointing to a wooden chair).

These readings will help shape my language learning process because I now understand the larger context in which I am learning a different language.  I now see how the different levels of language could also be used in understanding how I want to approach language learning, whether it's through first understanding grammar or sentence structure or focusing on the meaning of words.  In addition, I have also learned not to limit myself in thinking about the world primarily through the way English describes it -- such as thinking of the word "aunt" as a one-word concept.  In other languages, there are many different words for "aunt" (mom's older sister, mom's younger sister, etc).  So I would try not to limit myself when I am learning a different language.

Farsi follows an abjad writing system; meaning each letter represents a consonant with the reader determining when a vowel is needed. In addition, Farsi is read and written from right-to-left. There is also no significant difference between manuscript and print.

The Farsi alphabet consists of 32 letters, written in a cursive style, that changes depending on the context of a letter (i.e., the structure of a letter changes if it begins a word, ends it, lies somewhere in the middle, or is isolated). 

The writing style and names of letters in Farsi are similar to that of Arabic; however, reading and speaking Farsi is completely different than that of Arabic. Also, uses four extra characters compared to Arabic.

The readings provided plenty of interesting insight into language and language learning.

"How the brain handles language" detailed the complexities of language in our minds. The most interesting part of the reading, and what I found most applicable to my experiences with language, was in the section "Neurolingustic processing," which begins as follows, "a snatch of dialogue (How are you?, Fine, thanks) takes place so quickly that it is easy to forget the complexity of neurological planning and execution involved in the process" (176). I find it easy for me to stay simple phrases in Spanish and Farsi without much thought; however, when I move onto more difficult phrases I tend to lose my grasp over the language. For instance, I may think about a phrase in Spanish in trying to say in Farsi, or how to say something in English when I mean to say it in Spanish. 

"How to investigate language structure" provided great information for language learning. Touching upon my the confusion I often encounter between languages, the reading discusses selective focusing; which requires attention to each aspect of a language--referred to as "levels." Implementing levels in a language breaks its down for easier learning, and fosters the ability to find patterns more easily. There are four levels to languages; which are phonetics, phonology, grammar, and semantics (182). I believe that using "levels" as a means to learning Farsi will be useful in keeping my mind focused on the language, and preventing any confusion that may arise from reverting back to English or Spanish while trying to speak Farsi. 

"How we mean" is a good reading for recognizing and understanding the nuances in language. The reading provides important examples of why languages differ by highlighting the differences in words for family members in different languages. For instance, the word for uncle can apply to a paternal or maternal relative, but that is not the case in other languages. I realize it is going to be crucial for me to quickly learn the meaning behind each word or phrase in Farsi so that I can build a solid foundation early on; therefore, I will not have to struggle later on with confusing the meanings of the things I try to read, write, or speak. 

According to the levels of competence chart, I'd assess my ability in Persian at the beginning of the semester as follows:

Interpretive

• Listening: Novice - Beginning 2
• Reading: Novice - Beginning 0

Interpersonal 

• Speaking: Novice - Beginning 2

Presentational

• Speaking: Novice - Beginning 2
• Writing: Novice - Beginning 0

Clearly, my speaking ability is much better than my listening, reading, and writing skills. Over the course of the semester I plan on improving my abilities in those areas, so I can bring them up to par with my current speaking ability. Of course, I would like to also improve my speaking ability; specifically, my pronunciation. 

From the readings that we were required to read I was reassured that structure is very important when learning a language since every language has its own structure, phonetic and grammatical pattern. I have noticed this pattern when learning new languages in school and comparing their structure and patterns in retrospect of the languages I already knew well. When I learned Spanish I saw that, similarly to what was stated in the readings, sentences could mean completely different things depending on sentence structure, a grammatical misplacement or a missing hyphen. It is easier to learn of these patterns by distinguishing fields make memorizing structure easier. When learning a language our top priority should be delivering meaning through our words and this cannot be attained if our structure is prone to errors. Words, capitalization, spelling and sound are all components of meaning and interpretations of a language. Each language applies these differently in their sentences and words, that is why we must not solely compare the language we are learning to the language we know but study the new language's trends while avoiding the trends and patterns that we are able to notice in our own language. Semantics plays a large role in the interpretation of words but in some cases we must avoid the rules of semantics and apply lexemes since they show how words with similar structure can mean different things. It is also important to classify antonyms as gradable, non-gradable, or as converse terms since some words simply cannot be altered in the same way as others to have a similar meaning, especially in different languages where the alteration of words is permitted and not permitted in various scenarios.

My goal this week is to understand the writing system and start memorizing the alphabet. I realized the complexity of this goal because the Korean writing system, Hangul, is much different than ours. Consonants and vowels combine to form something that looks like one character. This would be my initial step into starting to memorize more complex vocabulary and phrases. I made note cards of each letter on one side and the pronunciation on the other. Several characters have different sounds depending on the placement in a word. This was a complication I was not expecting at first. The note cards helped a lot, but I wanted to mix things up to ensure that I recognized the letters when they weren't in my own handwriting. I downloaded an application on my iPhone to practice writing letters. It's a program made for young children to practice, but I found it very effective. 

After reviewing the levels of competence, I concluded that I am at the Beginning 0 Novice level. Although my mother and her side of the family speaks Korean fluently, I have never understood any of it. Even the words and greetings I thought I knew, I soon realized I was pronouncing wrong. I studied the alphabet frequently this week to memorize all the characters. I understand how the writing combines consonants and vowels together, but need more practice in writing each letter. I recognize some characters more easily, but it takes me a while to translate and pronounce the words. 

The small phrases I thought I knew were only off by a couple characters, but I can understand why native Korean speakers would not comprehend what I was attempting to say. After reading the levels of competence and studying the alphabet this week, I decided another goal by the end of the semester is to be able to read and pronounce words with faster recognition so that I could read words out loud immediately after looking at it. I think that being able to read the words faster will also help me memorize common words and phrases much faster.

The readings from this week were interesting. The vocabulary was complex in learning how the brain functions, but it gave me a better understanding of the biological and scientific aspect of learning a language.The chapter on investigating language structure helped me to realize that studying language is beyond memorization. It involves growing intellectually through new vocabulary, grammar, and phonology. I look forward to not simply memorizing words through learning Korean, but also to have a new understanding of a culture my family is so intertwined in.

In thinking about how the brain processes language, from the initial sound wave going into the ear to the neural comprehension in Wernicke's area and formation of words in Broca's area and the motor cortex, finally to the emission of the word from the mouth, language is not pinned down to one area of the brain or one process. Once words are emitted, even then there are the differing levels of semantic or phonetic or grammatical rules we must be aware of while speaking. When I think about learning Kannada, I suppose I had thought of learning a language as learning words and phrases to communicate - but along with semantic meaning comes culture. For example, in southern India, there are words for my sister and her husband which are different from my brother and his wife. There are different words for older sister and younger sister, and each has its own meaning, because family has historically been a part of Indian culture, a more communal culture, I might say, than our American one. I liked out the article put it on page 188 - "Different languages 'parcel out' the world in different ways." In France, for example, you dont say, "How are you?" You say, "ca va?" ("it goes?") and asking literally how are you would elicit a long explanation of the person's day.

As I learn Kannada, I hope to keep in mind these differences in semantic meaning that vary from my culture to Indian culture, and to learn to use word meaning in a way that Indians would, that reflects their lifestyle and their culture.

The three readings we had this week were insightful and offered several different perspectives of understanding and interpreting language, as well as perception. In "How We Mean", the linguistic definition of semantics as the study of the property of meaning in a systematic and objective way, was very different than the commonly used version of the word. Also, the two different interpretations - naturalist and conventionalist - was a very unique dichotomy offered by Plato and Aristotle. I tend to prefer the Aristotelian view of conventionalist vocabulary meaning rather than naturalist, because there seems to be so many more words that do not identify with the sound, at least in the English language. It was also very interesting to me that the author talked about how different languages can "parcel out" vocabulary because that was the topic I wrote about in the culture post (not as eloquently). 

In "How The Brain Handles Language", I was able to review what I learned in psychology about Broca and Wernicke. It has always been fascinating to imagine such odd occurrences, but it shows the power of semantics and syntax. Language is obviously extremely fragile and can be changed by even a slight nuance. Localization was also an interesting topic, because I don't particularly subscribe to the belief that the intricacies of the brain can be broken down so simply. 

Finally, in "How To Investigate A Language Structure", I was particularly intrigued by the idea that meaning is the starting point for learning language. The author didn't explain their point quite enough to convince me that it is the best way, but it is definitely widely-accepted for its effectiveness. 

Through these readings, I have been reminded of the delicacy of language and how intricate it can be. It is interesting that these same concepts (grammar, semantics, phonology) are present universally and their influence on the particular language is always unique. I believe that I will have the most difficult time with grammar rather than semantics, but I will try starting with meanings and see if that helps. 

I took a very basic approach to Persian cultural exploration; I only focused on food. I feel it is essential to grasp as many cultural aspects as you can when learning a language, so I do not have a specific topic. First, I would love to learn what is considered respectful vs. disrespectful in basic conversation. I would never want to offend. Is it polite to make constant eye contact? Is it rude if I talk loud? How far away should I be when engaging in conversation? Also, I want to know more about what teenagers and young adults in Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan do for fun. How important is education? Are weekends the only time to have fun? What activities does the younger crowd engage in? Another focus is the relationship between men and women. In the U.S., men do not respect women nearly as much as they should. Maybe that is from my personal observations, but it is riveting. I would like to know how men and women think of each other. How do they go about dating? Is family approval an integral part when it comes to forming relationships? I am excited to jump into the culture of countries speaking Farsi/Dari.

As I'm interested in linguistics and reading news articles, my learning plan places special emphasis on reading comprehension and knowledge of the writing system. However, to begin learning modern Hebrew and modern Persian, there are certain obstacles and elements of language that every language learner has to go through in order to build a solid foundation for future learning. Keeping this in mind, the next few weeks will be devoted to building this foundation. Some key goals will include gaining familiarity with:

     -the alphabet: being able to write and identify individual letters and simple word structures

     -grammar: conjugation of verbs, basic syntax, personal pronouns

     -vocabulary: learning to speak and write basic words

Using free online materials I have begun researching the above elements and hope to have some sings of progress next week when I meet with my language partners.

My current skill level in Norwegian can be described as "Novice: Beginning 0" across all areas of fluency: Interpretative, Interpersonal, and Presentational. 

I have had no prior exposure to the language and am starting at square one with writing, reading, speaking, and comprehending the language. I understand and am able to write the alphabet, which is the same as the English alphabet save for three additional letters: æ ø å. Other than that I have virtually no knowledge of the Norwegian language.

My hope would be to progress across all areas to at least the "Beginning 1" level. I'm trying to be realistic in my expectations for what I can accomplish this semester, but I really think I can gain a solid base of skill in Norwegian by the end. 

As I begin to map out my goals for the semester and meet with my language partner I'm a little apprehensive about all that there is to learn. My confidence in French derives from 9 years of schooling and a study abroad experience. Furthermore, the ease I discovered in trying to pick up Spanish derives from it's linguistic proximity to French. With no prior experience with the Norwegian language, I am headed into learning with no major linguistic references in my venture. My one salvation is that Norwegian is a member of the germanic language family, of which English also a member. I'm hoping the similarities are noticeable and enable me to at least guess at meanings when I am not familiar with a word. 

My interaction with my language partner, Anna, gives me hope. She speaks fluent English and tells me that there are many points of commonality between the two languages. We spent most of our preliminary conversation discussing my plan of action and the goals that I hope to achieve this semester. She seemed confident that I could learn a lot of the basics of the language with little difficulty. 

I have always learned languages best by learning phrases and figuring out the grammar based on phrases. The phrases have always had to have context for me either in an inside joke, or important story or command or task. When I learned Spanish the phrases and grammar and words that I remember best and always have are rooted in a social experience or a song. Thus I think it will be important for Kannada to make social experiences and songs. My sister is sending me some songs that she sings to Boohmi and Suriya so that I can learn from them. Vocab memorization has also been important for me in Spanish and I expect it will be for me in Kannada. 

The Quiz made me sad because I don't have a specific "best" learning style. I mean I guess I shouldn't learn alone and that logic and visual things aren't as important for me. So I guess talking with and listening to people is probably the best way for me to learn. =) I plan on working a lot with Heather and with Sheetal as well just talking back and forth. I'm also going to be doing henna not of the written language, but of symbols that represent key words in stories that I want to be able to tell my niece and nephew as well as other people. That will help with the physical aspect of the learning. Then I will tell those stories with Heather and Sheetal and Aarti and that can be the aural and verbal and social aspect. Thus hopefully I'll be utilizing my resources in the most effective manner I can. =) 

Style Scores

My experience with learning languages has been a really positive one. Once I moved to Israel in the fourth grade, I was charged not only with learning how to read and write in Hebrew, but also with catching up with the level of Arabic that my class had been learning since the first grade. I spent four years in elementary school in Israel, and am proud to say that I was able not only to catch up in Arabic, but was at an advanced level for my class. Unfortunately, since I have not used my Arabic since then, save for a few vocabulary words, I do not remember much. Thus, I've learned that while I am apt to learning languages, I very much need that consistent repetition, communication, and application. Once I moved to the states, I had a similar experience with learning Spanish. My grade had previous experience with the language, and for the next six years, it would become my favorite class. I have spent two summers in Spain and Costa Rica doing language learning programs, which has been greatly insightful on both the cultural aspects and the successes of immersion among native speakers.

In both of these languages, as well as my approach towards Hebrew and English classes, I have found that I am not a grammatically inclined learner. Basic rules of masculine and feminine conjugations stick with me, because in many cases I am able to hear what sounds correct. Thus, the structure of my language learning has largely relied on memorizing vocabulary and then practicing it in conversation. I have found that one on one work with a native speaker has been most rewarding. In reference to learning styles, I have found that I am primarily a visual learner. Learning the vocabulary has been easiest for me when I go through flashcards and pronounce the words out loud. I have also really enjoyed fill in the blank and multiple choice questions (I know, this is crazy!) However, seeing the options and the context of the vocabulary within sentences has been helpful with being able to remember the vocabulary and then being able to use it in conversational settings. 

In examination of the FIRE model, I believe that I fit into the Evaluative and Factual categories, although I see my study habits in each of these columns. I am looking forward to creating the learning plan and being able to check off my goals and gauge my progress throughout the semester. I think that in this learning experience, I will be able to expand my learning activities because I am comprehension of a language that I already speak. I look forward to doing writing exercises about what I have read in order to reinforce vocabulary and my proficiency in writing. I also look forward to the independent study, because I am able to organize and focus on what is truly interesting to me and thus, hopefully retain the vocabulary and apply it in speaking with family, friends, and possibly in a future career.

            For the past two years, I concentrated on learning Spanish. The experience was great and helped me enjoy my abroad experience that much more. I learned cultural aspects beyond the actual language that prevented me from acting in ways that the Spaniards were not used to.  Understanding the culture assisted in my adjustment to a new country more than I expected it to.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning vocabulary more than grammar. I learned most efficiently by testing myself with flash cards rather than practicing writing or listening. I disliked the confusion of all the past, present, and future tenses involved with correct grammar. I believe I would like to learn the tenses eventually, but I hope to first perfect vocabulary and smaller phrases.

            In evaluating where I best fit on the fire model, I found myself constantly falling under the factual category. I like the idea of knowing right from wrong, which is probably why I prefer vocabulary to grammar. I enjoy being accurate and working towards that goal by testing myself one step at a time. I am very task-oriented in accomplishing each lesson. When being tested, I always prefer multiple choice or true or false questions to short answer and open-ended questions because of my concern for exact precision in my answers.

            The type of learning activities that suits my style is testing myself through flash cards as mentioned earlier and also testing myself with worksheets. I enjoy the online quizzes I have stumbled across because they can be graded immediately so I can see any flaws I make right away. Repetition is also a cognitive strategy that I find rewarding in achieving goals. It helps to engrain phrases into my memory if I repeat the phrase several times. I work best on my own, but sometimes need additional assistance to make sure I’m on the right track, which is why I like the idea of having a language partner. A learning partner will help expand my learning activities by allowing me to practice communicating out loud and not just on paper. It will also help me realize if I am pronouncing words incorrectly because that is often difficult to realize on one’s own.

            I am very motivated in my reasons to learn Korean so I am willing to try new ways others find useful in self-learning. It is my first experience learning a language on my own so I would like to try a variety of resources before settling on what I found useful in the past. I know flash cards are very effective for me, but hopefully I will discover different ways to also assist in learning Korean.