WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PHILIPPINES

College of Education, Graduate Studies

Casantusan, Angelica Mae A.

Master of Education in Language Education

Learning a new language is a transformative experience that

opens doors to new opportunities, connections and most
importantly, exploring others’ cultures. This is in fact one of
the primary reasons for learning languages, to experience a
different culture from the inside, to empathize with a broader
range of others and to enrich one’s ability to appreciate varied
human experiences (Kim, 2020). Learning a new language is
frequently a journey of intellectual and emotional exploration,
one that pushes the limits of language and opens doors to
previously unexplored regions of connections, thought and culture.
Part of the task that was assigned to us was cite an article about
a person’s quest in learning a new language. We are also asked to
differentiate the author’s language acquisition to our journey in
learning the second language.

In the following article, we delve into the paper of Deokson

Kim, from Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston
College as he embarked on a remarkable quest to learn a new
language. As I have scrutinized his paper entitled Learning
Language, Learning Culture: Teaching Language to the Whole
Student, I will try to highlight the similarities and differences
along the way.
 WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PHILIPPINES
College of Education, Graduate Studies

Similarities in Language Learning:

1. Cultural Integration: Both of us subscribe to the idea that

learning your chosen second language means also learning
their cultural experiences. Kim, include the data that
interactions and participations in cultural events enriched
language skills. It was also evident from what Kramsch (1993)
called as “intercultural speaker” – a speaker who can employ
linguistic and other signs to engage in effective
communication with diverse others.
2. Use research-based activity: We cannot assume when we are
trying to learn new things, same goes thru in learning the
second language. For us to facilitate genuine communication
we must listen to the proven and tested studies that will
guide us pursuing our goals.
3. Personal Growth: Learning a new language is not jus about
words and grammar; it’s also about personal growth. The
article showed how learning new language impacted him as an
individual, from increased confidence to a broader
perspective on the world.