Learning Korean
I’m using this space to chronicle my Korean language education. I’ve been interested in picking up a language for quite a while now. I started out learning French in high school but at the time, I didn’t realize the benefits of learning a language. What changed my mind was a trip to Guatemala over spring break when I was in college. My interest in travel and communicating with people whose primary language wasn’t that of my own was sparked.
After the trip to Guatemala, I joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Kenya where I began learning Kiswahili. I was amazed at how fast I could pick up a language that seemed so different than the typical Germanic and Romance languages commonly spoken in the West. While I didn’t ever come close to obtaining fluency in Kiswahili, I did build the confidence necessary to soldier on and make a solid attempt at bilinguability (I just made that up).
A couple months ago I started learning Arabic at Los Monitos (a language center in Louisville, KY), only because it seemed like the most difficult, but still useful language I could take a stab at. The classes went well as I learned some basic phrases and unlocked the secret of the Arabic alphabet. However, after I signed up for the class, I began seeing Sarah, who speaks fluent Korean.
What better way to learn a new language than with someone you spend all of your free time with? I signed up for one on one lessons at Los Monitos, one hour, twice a week and am studying with Sarah when I’m at home. Hopefully this is rigorous enough that I’ll be able to learn at an encouraging rate while not feeling burnt out. We’ll see!
