Literacy has broader implications of the word than the definition in the dictionary. The reason why I recalled the moment of a middle school class in Korea is also related to impacts of literacy. That is because backgrounds and experiences of a person determine literacy of the person. Since I learned shallow definition of English words in Korea, sometimes I misunderstand lectures. These kinds of situations might be seen as one of 'literacy events ' due to different backgrounds. "Literacy events are activities where literacy has a role. Usually there is a written text, or texts, central to the activity and there may be talk around the next. Events are observable episodes which arise from practices and are shaped by them."(Barton 23) I can
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When I read, listen and speak English, I have a translator in my head. What it means is that I have to translate English into Korean first. These indirect processes of literacy take more time to communicate in English. Specifically, the arrangement of words in sentences is opposite. For example, the sentence "I am writing an essay" changed about "an essay I am writing" when it converted to Korean. The difference of word placement makes me hard ,especially, when I speak English. For instance, in class, I have an opinion of a topic, and when I am ready to speak that into English, class is dealing with the next topic. I am getting better now, but it is still hard to respond quickly as a bilingual person. Also, I can see a huge difference in the class. Students in United States actively respond with professors, and freely share their opinions with peers, but in Korea, students are reluctant to express their opinions in the class. Korean students usually just respond what professor asked, and they are reluctant to ask questions. These different types of 'literacy event ' might be caused from the characteristic between East and West. Literacy is determined by the accumulated traits of communities. That is why I was surprised in the …show more content…
First, it has customs and rules in Korea. Of course, since it is composed of Koreans, we behave in some ways just like we are in Korea. Others can not notice differences between Korea and America, however there is a big gap. That is Korean consider courtesy between people as important. For example, when we met each other, we bowed each other. Because of these customs, when I met American friends, I bowed them also mistakenly. They see this as ridiculous, and they sometimes consider this as somewhat sarcasm.
Situations like these , I strongly agree the fact that literacy has lots of implications, because bilingual people experiences several literacy firsthand. They have more opportunities to meet different types of people who have different types of literacy. As I observe lots of types of literacy, literacy is like a human by itself. As it grows up, it has certain characteristics, and it also affects others. Additionally, it is complex like a human brain. Even experts cannot analyze and define the exact notion of 'literacy '. John F. Szwed said "Literacy is not something one has or does not have-the definition is far too complicated to simplify in such black and white
When I read, listen and speak English, I have a translator in my head. What it means is that I have to translate English into Korean first. These indirect processes of literacy take more time to communicate in English. Specifically, the arrangement of words in sentences is opposite. For example, the sentence "I am writing an essay" changed about "an essay I am writing" when it converted to Korean. The difference of word placement makes me hard ,especially, when I speak English. For instance, in class, I have an opinion of a topic, and when I am ready to speak that into English, class is dealing with the next topic. I am getting better now, but it is still hard to respond quickly as a bilingual person. Also, I can see a huge difference in the class. Students in United States actively respond with professors, and freely share their opinions with peers, but in Korea, students are reluctant to express their opinions in the class. Korean students usually just respond what professor asked, and they are reluctant to ask questions. These different types of 'literacy event ' might be caused from the characteristic between East and West. Literacy is determined by the accumulated traits of communities. That is why I was surprised in the …show more content…
First, it has customs and rules in Korea. Of course, since it is composed of Koreans, we behave in some ways just like we are in Korea. Others can not notice differences between Korea and America, however there is a big gap. That is Korean consider courtesy between people as important. For example, when we met each other, we bowed each other. Because of these customs, when I met American friends, I bowed them also mistakenly. They see this as ridiculous, and they sometimes consider this as somewhat sarcasm.
Situations like these , I strongly agree the fact that literacy has lots of implications, because bilingual people experiences several literacy firsthand. They have more opportunities to meet different types of people who have different types of literacy. As I observe lots of types of literacy, literacy is like a human by itself. As it grows up, it has certain characteristics, and it also affects others. Additionally, it is complex like a human brain. Even experts cannot analyze and define the exact notion of 'literacy '. John F. Szwed said "Literacy is not something one has or does not have-the definition is far too complicated to simplify in such black and white