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Elizabeth Friedeman

C&T 598

26 May 2017

Language/Literacy Autobiography

When I reflect upon my language learning experience, I realize that despite growing up in

a strictly English-speaking family in America, I had relatively unique encounters, interest, and

self-initiative in my language learning. Looking back on my past language experiences with new

knowledge from the first few days at Kyunghwa and class readings, I also realize that my second

language learning, unlike a first language learning experience, is influenced by teaching styles I

experienced that tended to emphasize grammar. Through reflection upon how I learned L1, how

I was taught other languages, and how I have attempted to teach both myself and others, I find

that each process elicits certain strengths and some lacking areas in approaching language study.

Being born as a twin meant I developed with a language partner at the same level around

me. Both my brother and I would babble long oratories to each other with hand gestures and

head shaking. I developed real words into sentences before my brother, who had to be

encouraged to use his words. This meant that I did the speaking for both of us. Thus, having a

sibling at the same stages of development to communicate with may have encouraged more

language learning and use at the early stages, but it also could have affected my brothers

learning process and language tendencies since I spoke first and more.

Reading and writing were favorite childhood activities that have characterized my

language development and identity. For hours and hours on end I would sprawl out on the sofa to

read childrens novels, especially my favorite series The Magic Tree House. I treasured silent

reading time at school, and my first-grade enrichment project was a book of photos from around
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the school with accompanying poems. While I enjoyed writing and reading, I was shy and did

not have many friends in early elementary school. Being pulled out of class for half of the day in

the Olathe School District for enrichment may have contributed to my struggles engaging and

thus also communicating with other students of the same age. I also missed out on some

technical lessons because I missed half of the regular class day. I remember struggling with

phonology-based workbook assignments in second grade that used the International Phonetic

Alphabet (IPA). The other students had already learned the IPA but I had missed these lessons.

My L1 development was characterized by self-interest and initiative in words, and affected by

both development alongside a twin and the school structure/pace.

My interest and self-initiative in language learning emerged at school-age through my

passion for reading and my desire to play teacher. When I was sent to preschool, the teachers had

to talk with me and my mother because I thought I was a teacher and would try to instruct the

class. When my mother relayed this memory to me, I found it peculiar that despite little to no

exposure to the education system I still wanted to adopt an instructional role. In my elementary

days, I often played school. I enjoyed taking attendance and speaking orating like a teacher to

a bedroom classroom of stuffed animals. By the time I became a middle-schooler, I spent my

summers tutoring a younger neighbor in English and Math. In college, I spent one summer

tutoring a Chinese woman for the citizenship test in English. I encountered for the first the time

the challenges of efficiently teaching a second language without any knowledge in the students

native language. I had no choice but to use only English in our sessions. As we have read, this

full immersion, target language only approach is oftentimes preferred by education systems like

Koreas, which hires native English speakers from abroad. While this approach probably pushed

my student harder to try and understand the language at a communicative level, it likely was not
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the best fit for her purpose in learning English. Because she only needed to memorize a finite list

of direct questions and answers for the citizenship test, and not necessarily how to transfer and

understand feelings, opinions, or thoughts, using only English significantly slowed down the

progress we could make on communicating meaning of questions and practicing the citizenship

test and interview she had planned for the fall.

Later, my interest in language transitioned into attempts to teach myself second

languages outside of school. Because I grew up in America with a family who only speaks

English, there was no L2 learning until my brother and I moved to the Blue Valley School

District in the second grade. At the time the Olathe School District elementary schools had no

class time devoted to foreign language instruction. However, when we started in the Blue Valley

School District Spanish was taught to all grade levels. I loved Spanish class. In middle and high

school I was so motivated to learn another language that I organized my own binder at home,

taking extra notes and practicing outside of class. However, this extra practice was more

language analysis-based, writing and conjugating, because I had no one outside of my Spanish

teacher with whom to practice aural-oral communication. It was not until high school when

speaking tests, presentations, and extra-curricular opportunities to use Spanish, like Spanish Club

and service projects, came about. However, I still always felt more confident writing and reading

Spanish than using it in a natural, conversational context.

I also attempted to teach myself Japanese in high school because I was interested in

Japanese culture. I got Rosetta Stone for Christmas and used online materials to formulate my

own vocabulary lists and grammar notes. However, I discovered that without a regimented

classroom setting and other students, I could not efficiently learn another language. While some

people prefer the solo approachs flexibility and personal adaptation useful for their L2 of L3
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language development, I found that I preferred having a teacher and classmates with whom I can

discuss and share common language goals/targets. Also, as a busy high school student I struggled

to regularly engage in this self-initiated language exploration. By the time I finished high school,

I was interested in Korean language and culture and excited to learn an L3 in college. I finally

had the chance to learn an Asian language in a structured class with other students who are

motivated and interested in being able to communicate in Korean, not just satisfy school

requirements.

This past year I have been learning Korean in the classroom, and immersing myself in

Korean by watching dramas and listening to Korean music. We are taught in Korean during class

as much as possible, but the teachers speak limited English when we cannot understand a

concept. I believe what has been most efficient about Korean instruction at the University of

Kansas is the daily class meetings for lots of exposure and practice, and the mixture of grammar

and conversation focus. Learning Hangul came first, but advanced reading comes later in the

higher-level classes, more closely following L1 language acquisition. A lot of the students dread

conversation memorization assignments because they feel as if they are too difficult and

unrewarding. I felt the same in the beginning, but I have realized how practicing speaking

through oral performances and conversation memorizations is important to Korean language

development outside of the very different reading and writing skills. In fact, some Korean

grammar points we have learned are only used in speaking. Memorizing the conversations and

doing performances are challenging but help practice using the grammar knowledge orally and

become accustomed to Korean out of the mouth instead of on a paper, and instead of the natural

English oral instinct.

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My L3 learning experience has been more efficient thus far compared to L2. While I am

more proficient in Spanish, it took many years to build a basic, not fluent or near-fluent,

foundation of communication and readiness for the AP Spanish test. I do not believe we were

prepared for using Spanish language in the natural setting because without a native teacher or

exposure to native context and culture, we were not used to listening or using natural Spanish.

Only my senior year did our teacher attempt to expose us to cultural nuances, idioms, and

projects outside of the district with Spanish people, art, and food. However, my Korean

language-learning experience features a focused, tight-knit group of students learning Korean by

choice and usually interested in Korean entertainment to gain natural exposure. Also, my L3

language-learning is enhanced, I believe, by having a native speaker as a teacher and daily

meetings that combine grammar and writing with conversation and listening.

The trip to Kyunghwa High School is the first time Ive been almost entirely surrounded

by a foreign language in a daily life setting. This experience will be a part of my progression

with both my L1 and my L3. I predict that teaching English to non-Native speakers will reveal to

me a lot or nuances about the English language that I take for granted or do not consciously think

about as a native speaker. Already my observations at Kyunghwa High School have prompted

questions and self-reflection regarding the English languages challenges and changes with

slang, grammar, idioms, and accents. In Korea, there are lots of Hangul signs to read and more

natural settings to listen to or use Korean. When we encounter problems or questions regarding

our room, schedule, purchasing, getting around and more, we can practice Korean in a natural

rather than simulated manner. This trip provides an excellent immersion approach to compliment

my classroom background in Korean, so I expect to see some development in my L3. I have

already had to think a lot more about how language is transmitted not just in our closely
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controlled American classroom setting, but in the Korean cultural and social setting where not

only the language but the behaviors accompanying such language are different.

Through my reflection on language-learning and my observations and readings of the

TESOL program this first week, I realized the significance of my learning L2 and L3 out of

interest only and never forcefully, or in order to survive. While Spanish was a requirement in my

school district, high-level proficiency and communication outside of class were never mandated

or expected. Furthermore, English is generally the worlds lingua franca, so while learning

another language is beneficial for native English-speakers like myself, we still have the privilege

of easier global and social mobility for traveling or economic and political roles. Because Korean

is not a lingua franca across the world, students are pushed by parents, the English-inclusive

college entrance exams, and many fields of employment to become fluent or near-fluent as the

way to achieve success or security in the globalized world. I think that my journey thus far

learning L2 and L3 and putting myself in a setting where my L3 dominants will help me

empathize more closely with people whose L1 is not English. Also, by teaching my L1 to non-

native speakers, I can not only learn more about the English language but also about the

underlying sociopolitical and economic factors that non-English speaking countries and

education systems confront.

My identity with language learning has been characterized with interest and passion for

language: reading it, exploring foreign languages, and tutoring in English. My good writing and

reading skills but weaker aural-oral skills have been characterized by the teaching methods in

American schools in my self-initiated approaches. As for the future weeks at Kyunghwa, and my

future Korean development, I predict my L1 teaching and L3 learning will both be affected by
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being abroad this summer. Experiencing another society allows me to explore how both

languages interact linguistically as well as in a sociopolitical context.