Sunday, April 11, 2010

제 이름은 조안나입니다 - My name is Joanna

Wow I can't believe how long it has been since we updated this blog. Stacey has had a good reason to not write, but me I have had no excuse all I can say is sorry!

As I have been trying to figure out what to write about I realized I haven't told about the Korean lessons we have been taking. We met a friend through the penpal website named Seong Woo and he teaches us Korean. He lives in Seoul and we talk with him using Skype and Yahoo Messenger. We are very lucky because his English is really good and he is a great teacher.

The first thing he taught us is how to read Korean (Hangul). When I was learning the characters I would get so frustrated because I couldn't remember what sounds they each make and how to sound words out. As I was learning how to read I realized that this is what my students must feel like when I am teaching them to read. I would sometimes get frustrated because they could not remember the sounds that match the letters and then I realized I have the same problem with Korean so I became more patient with them.

Now we are able to read most Korean eventhough we don't know what it means. We are starting to learn simple vocabulary and simple sentences. It is so hard for me to make a lot of the sounds and I have a hard time remembering the sounds. When I learned Spanish it was easier because a lot of the words were simular to English and the way you made a sentence was very simular. In Korean it is very different and I am still trying to understand the patterns the sounds make.

I enjoy learning Korean and Seong Woo is a very patient teacher. I hope that when I get to Korea I don't offend those I meet because of my Korean!

조안나 (Joanna)

1 comment:

  1. Joanna, we are going to come visit you. (and I haven't told Jared that yet)

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