Immersion Activities in the US - Final Reflections

On returning to California in the spring, with no real prospect of returning to Korea, I submitted an alternate plan in which I would seek immersion activities right here in the Bay Area. There is a huge Korean population in Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Santa Clara now; a drive down El Camino Boulevard reveals many bill boards and signs advertising restaurants and car shops and all kinds of businesses in Korean.

So I set out to see what I could find to do.

Here are the activities I eventually logged:

• 150 hours: Doing homework for courses
• 100 hours: Watching Korean dramas and movies
• 5 hours: Learning Korean song lyrics
• 1 hour: Conversing with local Korean shop keepers
• 10 hours: Speaking in Korean with Korean conversation partners
• 5 hours: Writing letters in Korean to friends in Korea
• 5 hours: Reading Korean books, newspapers, etc
• 5 hours: Using Korea while traveling during trip to Korea in March

It is obvious that most of the hours were spent by myself, in the privacy of my room - doing homework and watching dramas and movies over the Internet, writing letters, and reading - not really the type of immersion I had envisioned, and certainly not what I would have had in Korea. Except for my week traveling in Korea, I only spent a little time out in the Korean community - although even one total hour of conversation with local shop keepers meant quite a few visits to Korean markets and restaurants.

My best practice was with the Korean conversation partners I met at De Anza College; thanks to those meetings, I feel I was able to progress a bit in conversation.

So this part was not as successful as I would have liked. Undoubtedly the unexpectedness of having to do this part of my immersion practice in the US and dealing with a difficult family situation played a role. Life changes things. At least I know some things that I wouldn't have known had I stayed in Korea. I have made local contacts and know where to find people and where to go to practice if and when I have the inclination. I think this bodes well for future practice and maintenance of the language.