In the following videos, I learned about the Korean alphabet, Hangeul in terms of writing, reading and pronunciation. At the end of each video, I learned some Korean words to improve on my vocabulary. After watching each video, I revised the notes that are available on the website and did some practices on my own. At the end of each subtopic, I answered the quizzes to check my understanding on the subtopic.

3.  To write in Hangeul, one should start writing from left to right and top to bottom. A character is made up of a consonant and a vowel with or without a final consonant or double consonant. There are 10 basic vowels and 14 consonants.

4. I am grateful to be able to learn a new language which is not commonly used in our community. Although it is  challenging to learn something new, I really enjoyed the process and I am excited for the next part of the course and looking forward to mastering the Korean language.

5. One good thing that I can practise now is reading and writing different Hangeul characters.

6. While learning about the different vowels and consonants, it was quite difficult to differentiate certain vowels and consonants from the others which sound almost similar when pronounced. In order to gain better understanding and ensure  accurate pronunciation, I decided to watch the videos for a few more times and practised reading and writing repeatedly.

7. Enjoyable and fulfilling

8. I will practise reading and writing the Korean alphabet more so it would be easier for me to pick up the next topic in Week 2 which is about greetings and introducing.

2. For the first week, the course introduced me to the course overview and learning glossary of design terms. For example, ‘arrange’ which means layering of objects either by bringing the object to front or bringing the object to the background. Other than that, I learnt about terms of ‘align’, ‘rotate’ and ‘translucency’. These are the basic terms that I need to learn in order to understand the basics of Graphic Design. 

In addition, I also learnt about how to recognize a good design and how to instill professionalism in design. I was taught that in order to know whether a poster has a good or bad design, I need to see whether the poster is conveying a clear message, whether the composition of the poster is balanced and whether the photo and text of the poster is well organized or scattered randomly.

3. Points to remember in the first week of Graphic Design course is to remember and understand the basic glossary and basic principle of graphic design. Other than that, I have to practice on how to determine a good or bad poster design by applying basic principles that Mr David has taught me. 

 

4.  I am excited to learn more about graphic design. This course encourages me to be more creative and diligent in playing with colours, shape and text. I am very happy that Mr David made this course quite easy to comprehend and apply. I can't wait to dive into the graphic design world.

 

5. One good thing that I can practice now is to focus on the theme and message of the poster instead of focusing on making a beautiful poster.

 

6. My concern is to remember and understand the basic glossary and basic principle of graphic design. Although some of the terms are familiar to me,but  I always get confused when it comes to practicing poster designing. The only way to cope with confusion is to get familiar with the terms by practising on designing any poster.

 

7. Interesting & exciting

 

8. For week 2, this module will focus on other basic principles of graphic design such as importance of grid and understanding typography, colours and graphic elements.

Attached below is my first try of designing a poster while applying some basic principles such as align and arrange.

2. For the past one week of being a beginner at learning the language Spanish, I was taught its basic grammar which includes adjectives, articles, conjugations, formality and informality, feminism and masculinity, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs. I also had the opportunity to practice speaking with the correct pronunciations of the vowels and consonants. Interestingly, the Spanish pronunciation very much differs from that of Inglés (English) despite them having very similar vocabulary. There is a huge difference as well in terms of how the sentences are structured, and the intonation used during conversations. Aside from these, I was also taught to recognise the flags of countries who speak Spanish, their cultural celebrations, the Spanish cuisines and the seasons of the year that they experience! 

To sum it all up: 

31.02 hours spent watching video tutorials, 
86 sets of short quizzes answered, 

About 350 new Spanish vocabulary unlocked, 

49 sets of personal notes made, 

Also learnt to express numbers, the time and months of the year, 

And am ready to continue with level 2 of learning Spanish! 

 

3. Important points to remember from what I have learnt for the past one week were the basics in the grammar and pronunciation. With a good foundation in these two, I will then be able to improve at the subsequent level and better understand the language. 

 

4. At first, I was anxious if I would be able to complete level 1 in time. It was getting more and more challenging as I progressed from one topic to another. Regardless, I acknowledge that I am a learner and that is what I should do, to actively learn and improve myself. With regards to the fear of not being able to complete the course in time, I figured that I should shift my focus more towards the journey of learning itself, and not just the destination. 
Enjoy. The. Process. 

5. Since exposed to the basic vocabulary, I have been trying to incorporate the language more in my daily life. For example, I have added new keyboard features on my laptop, mobile phone and iPad which will enable me to type in Spanish. Also, I have changed the language of my Instagram and Facebook profiles to the language that I am learning in an attempt to familiarise myself with it. I have also been greeting family and friends in Spanish! I mentally count in Spanish too! 

 

6. As of now, one minor difficulty is to adjust to the speed of native Spanish speakers. Occasionally, it gets very difficult to gauge word by word what my tutors are saying when they speak at a bullet train speed. However, with more listening practice I believe I will be able to catch up on them. 

 

7. ¡Excelente! ¡Feliz!

 

8. For my next week, I will briefly revise through the materials that I have previously covered, memorising the important grammars and routinely used vocabulary. Next, I will continue with Level 2 Spanish! 

    Theepan Sellamuthu, A166731, 21 July. 

 

2. What have you done?

     Attend mandarin speaking lessons. I contacted a mandarin school teacher, Miss Chock and attended classes via zoom. We learnt some basic things like introduction, greetings, and family members.

 

3. Points to remember from week 1!

    Each pronounciation is different and important in mandarin. A change in pronounciation and mean differently. Intonation is also vital in speaking mandarin. Don't feel demotivated in class, it's just the start of something new. Be confident and practice well. Have a fun when learning!

    

4. Your feelings & thoughts 

    Excited and nervous to learn a new language. 

5. 1 good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

 Use the words to converse with friends.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

 Difficult to learn since I have no prior knowledge of the mandarin language. 

7. 2 words to describe elective posting progress so far

 Fun and exciting 

8. Your plan for next week (Week 2)

  Revise the lessons done so far. 

 

2. What have you done?
I have joined an online course on Coursera to learn about one of the most handy language used here in our very own country, that is Mandarin. In the first week, the videos shown has taught me on how to greet people and how to introduce myself in Chinese.

 

3. Points to remember from week 1!
Something unique about mandarin is that they have their own tones. There is 4 to be precise. There are many Chinese words with the same characters and the only way to distinguish them is by their tones. With different tones, they have different meanings. The first tone is high and flat tone. The second one is a rising tone. The third tone is quite tricky as the tone falls down then goes up as u say it. The fourth tone is a falling tone. In the end of every video, there are quizzes to answer. Believe me when I say I failed the quiz a few times as I can’t distinguish the first and fourth tone that easily.

 

4. Your feelings and thoughts
I was excited to learn a third language. But at the same time, I was nervous because trying to pronounce the right intonation for mandarin was quite tricky.

 

5. 1 good thing from what you did that you can practice now!
I can try to converse with my Chinese friends and can even try to understand a little bit of mandarin if I hear anyone talk.

 

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?
Not being able to pronounce properly was my concern. However, I tried to overcome this problem by listening to the videos more attentively and practice more on saying the words.

 

7. 2 words to describe elective posting progress so far
Intriguing and fun.

 

8. Your plan for next week (Week 2)
To continue doing lessons and build up my understanding for Chinese.