K-dramas: Here I come!

[AndyMeg]

Quick update:

After trying it out I decided to make some changes to my plan.

I recently watched a series of videos by Steve Kaufmann called "The Seven Secrets of Successful Language Learning". Most of what he says is similar to my own perspective and the reasons why I'm trying to learn korean in the way I am. One of the videos that especially resonated with me was this one (#3 Learn To Notice) :



My main plan is (and has been) to recieve a lot of exposure to k-dramas and then use other materials (like Memrise, the english subs, the "Using Korean" book, the "Easy to Learn Korean words and phrases" series by Chad Meyer and Kim Moon-jung, etc.) to help me "notice" the language I'm being exposed to (not only in k-dramas but also in other activities like watching korean TV-Variety shows or listening to songs). And I feel it's been working so far. For now the knowledge is very fragmented and that's fine, from the beginning I expected it. But I think that when all those fragments start to connect with one another I'll feel a big progress.

One of the changes I decided to make was to first watch the 20-minutes no-subbed segment of a k-drama and then watch the english subbed version of the same segment. I think making the effort to understand first and then seeing the "right answers" (with the english subs) improves my learning chances.

Today I felt really happy to notice that I understood more of one no-subbed k-drama segment that what I was expecting to with my current fragmented knowledge. These kind of moments make me feel that I'm on the right path, even if sometimes doubts assault me.

Keeping in mind this "noticing" purpose I have, I decided to make another change: instead of reading the book "Using Korean" for 2 pomodoros, I will now read it for just 1 pomodoro and then, for the second pomodoro, I will use the "Easy to Learn Korean words and phrases" series. I think doing so will help me to notice more things of what I learn with the "Using korean" book and it will help me to get a better understanding of korean culture too (because of the topics this series talks about), which can also help me to notice more things while watching k-dramas or k-TV in general.

The third and final change is that I won't be using the Iyagi series for now. Why? Because I got really bored while trying to use it. I was only a few minutes into the first pomodoro and I was constantly watching the timer and hoping that the pomodoro would end ASAP. So I changed the Iyagi series activity for something similar but a lot more enjoyable from my perspective: listening and reading (or trying to read) k-songs' lyrics. As a test, I did one pomodoro of this and I truly enjoyed the process (and I sang along, or tried to, some times).

So, with all the changes, here is how my current schedule looks like:

- Mondays and Wednesdays: 1 pomodoro reading the book "Using Korean" followed by 1 pomodoro of the "Easy to Learn Korean words and phrases" series by Chad Meyer and Kim Moon-jung.

- Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2 pomodoros of listening to my favorite k-songs while trying to read the lyrics.

- Fridays: 1 pomodoro of trying to decipher a webtoon from Naver. 1 pomodoro of the "Easy to Learn Korean words and phrases".

- Saturdays: Interacting with a native via Skype.

- Sundays: 2 pomodoros of preparing courses for Memrise.

- Every day: 1) Practice the most frequent vocabulary using Memrise. 2) Watch twice the same 20 minute segment of a k-drama: the first time with no subs and trying to understand as much as I can while paying special attention to the sounds. And the second time with english subs (for enjoyment and also as a feedback/noticing tool). (I'll watch as many of this double-segments as I feel like it each day).

[AndyMeg]

Quick update:

I've been sick for most of this week, but I've kept up with my korean schedule, so the new plan seems to be working so far

Today I noticed that I can read hangul a lot faster (even if I don't understand most of what I'm reading xD!). I wonder if this is because of what I've been doing with the k-song lyrics. If I want to follow the song I can't get stuck reading letter by letter. So far I've done 3 pomodoros with this song: The Tiger Moth(부나비)



The rap part is almost impossible to follow for now, but I won't give up. I really enjoy listening to this song

[AndyMeg]

Quick update:

I've been thinking about the "once a month" test. With the way I'm using k-dramas now I don't think I will need the test because each time I watch a new no-subbed segment is like a test in itself. So far I've been feeling the progress: it is very fragmented for now, but it is there. So I decided that I won't be doing the "once a month" test. For now I think this log will be a good enough point of reference to see my progress and milestones.

And talking about milestones... I tried reading the Kill Me Heal Me (킬미, 힐미 ) transcript (not all, just a bit) and I'm happy to see that now I can read it considerably faster than before (I first tried reading it about two months ago). I don't feel yet at the level I think I need to be in order to use the transcription the way I want to, but I'm getting closer and that feels great!

Also, this week I read about "Office seniority" in the "Easy to Learn Korean words and phrases" series and it was really interesting because I've heard some of those terms in many k-dramas.

[AndyMeg]

So far the new plan has been working rather well.

Last Friday something made me really happy: I was watching a raw version of "Tomorrow With You" (내일 그대와). The MFC was talking with her mother about the MFC's father. I got so engrossed in their conversation that, for a while, I completely forgot I was watching it without subs. I didn't know each and every word they were saying, but I could understand enough words and expressions here and there to roughly follow their conversation. The realization of what was happening took me by surprise and it felt great! I hope things like this happen more often in the future.

Last Friday I also finished deciphering the first line of the Naver webtoon. The other Fridays I had been trying to decipher the webtoon's title and subtitle. Working through the webtoon is something I enjoy a lot but it is also pretty exhausting for now because of my very limited knowledge. So I think one pomodoro a week is the right amount of time for my current level.

Reading leosmith's log and some other threads got me thinking about many things. I've noticed that after some break from learning I feel my target language has become stronger. It happened a few months ago with my japanese and I've seen it (to a lesser extent) happening with my korean too. Thinking about all these things and about the importance of the most frequent words in the way I'm studying, I decided that I want to make an experiment. For the next few months I want to try the following:

1) Study korean for 1 month.
2) Take a 2-weeks-long break from korean study and focus on my japanese during that time. Even if I don't study "actively" I plan to keep in contact with korean by watching K-TV and listening to songs as I used to do before deciding to learn the language (it basically means TV with english subs and just enjoying the songs without trying to actively learn korean from them).
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2.

During my korean study time I'll mainly focus on acquiring vocabulary (using the most frequent list as my main reference for this). One thing I'll change is that I won't be using Memrise as much as before. The reasons for this is that it takes a long time to make the personalized courses and I've gotten better at reading hangul, so I don't need the audios as much as before. So here is my new "weekly" plan:

1) From Monday to Thursday:
- 1 pomodoro of practicing reading k-songs' lyrics.
- Read (many times through the day) different "parts of speech" frequency lists within the range of the 1000 most frequent korean words (the main lists I'll be reading will be "nouns", "verbs", "adjectives", "pronouns" and "endings").
- From time to time I'll keep using Memrise for the "Adverbs" personalized list I made, and maybe for a TTMIK course I found there.
- Watch as many k-drama 20 minutes double-segments as I can each day. (First time without subs and the second time with english subs)

2) Fridays:
- 1 pomodoro of trying to decipher a webtoon from Naver.
- 1 pomodoro of the "Using Korean" book.

3) Saturdays:
- Interacting with a native via Skype.

[Sayonaroo]

I notice that phenomenon more when I'm at a higher level in the language. I love hearing about other language earners' experiences that I can relate to. I rmemeber when I was learning Japanese I was not able to watch my talk variety shows for 2 weeks which is a long time for me since I usually watched them every day then and when I finally got back to them I felt I was at the same level or even better (I also do anki on a daily basis)... which seemed strange to me. Of course if you get away from the language for way too long (iM talking months and years) without any contact whatsoever it will deteriorate. And speaking of neglecting a language I haven't watched Korean tv in months but I know when I go to watch it ( I have specific episode of talk shows that I really want to watch that I have) There's a chance I'll feel like my Korean is stronger even though I've been kinda neglecting (nowadays all I do is read a little bit every day or every other day... I'm more focused on other stuff)

I've heard Steve kaufman talk about this.
https://youtu.be/lBscy0bwO0I

I also loved about how learning language is subconscious
http://blog.thelinguist.com/learning-la ... us-process

[AndyMeg]

Thanks to Sol, I recently found out that Viki had finally implemented the "Learning Mode" for some of its K-dramas. The "Learning Mode" comes with subs in two languages (one is korean and the other is for you to choose). You can click on the korean words to see their meaning and hear their pronunciation.

With this new resource available, I decided I had to rethink my current plan.

Also, I think I need a break from the way I'm currently working with the k-dramas (with the double 20-minutes segments). So, for a while, I will be replacing that with animated series with korean dubs.

Finally, because of schedule problems, I won't be speaking with the korean native for a while (for about a month or so), so I'll have to fill those Saturdays with something else.

With all of this happening, I needed a new plan. So here it is:

1) Study korean for 6 weeks.
2) Take a 2-weeks-long break from korean study and focus on my japanese during that time. Even if I don't study "actively" I plan to keep in contact with korean by watching K-TV and listening to songs as I used to do before deciding to learn the language (it basically means TV with english subs and just enjoying the songs without trying to actively learn korean from them).
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2.

During my korean study time I'll mainly focus on acquiring vocabulary (using the most frequent list as my main reference for this). One thing I'll change is that I won't be using Memrise as much as before. The reasons for this is that it takes a long time to make the personalized courses and I've gotten better at reading hangul, so I don't need the audios as much as before. So here is my new "weekly" plan:

1) From Monday to Thursday:
- 2 pomodoros of working with Viki's new "Learning Mode".

2) Fridays:
- 1 pomodoro of trying to decipher a webtoon from Naver.
- 1 pomodoro of the "Using Korean" book.

3) Saturdays:
- 2 pomodoros of working with Viki's new "Learning Mode".

4) Everyday:
- Read (many times through the day) different "parts of speech" frequency lists within the range of the 1000 most frequent korean words (the main lists I'll be reading will be "nouns", "verbs", "adjectives", "pronouns" and "endings").
- From time to time I'll keep using Memrise for the "Adverbs" personalized list I made, and for a TTMIK course I found there.
- Watch korean-dubbed animated series (I won't set a specific number of episodes per day, but I'll keep track of how many episodes I watch in these 6 weeks). For this I'll be actually re-watching old series that I've already seen in my native language.
- If any day I don't have enough energy to do the main activities, I'll try to at least do 1 pomodoro of practicing reading k-songs' lyrics.

Even if I won't be studying with the k-dramas double segments for a while, I'll continue watching Korean TV, but mainly with english subs.

[AndyMeg]

Quick update:

These days have been really busy. I've managed to do some study, but not as much as I had hoped.

I experimented a little with Viki's "Learn Mode". It is far from perfect and some definitions don't make sense, but it's still useful. They are open to receive feedback, which is great. I tried going the really slow route by taking notes in a notebook and looking for grammar explanations, but after a few pomodoros I realized I was going too slow and I was also starting to intellectualize grammar, which is something I've been trying to avoid so far. So I decided to stop taking notes on the notebook and just use it as is, with an ocassional look to other websites/dictionaries when the vocabulary definitions don't match the official english subs.

I've also been watching some korean-dubbed anime. So far it has been a very enjoyable activity.

Also, I really like using Memrise, but hate how time-consuming it is to make the personalized courses. I dedicated some time to finish making the second level of the adverbs course because it felt weird to stop it mid-way. I still want to make an "adnouns" course, and then I think I'll be free (for a while) of the desire of making personalized courses.

To replace the personalized courses, I decided to try Evita's vocabulary Anki deck. As I stated before, I don't like Anki, but in order to save some time, I decided to give it another chance, but this time in "my terms". This is what I'm doing: I go through 500 words each day, divided in short bursts no longer than 10 minutes each. I just see the word and try to remember or guess its meaning (just for a few seconds), then I see the correct answer and I ALWAYS select "Easy" because this way I won't get burdened with lots of reviews later on. After I see all the 5000 words of the deck, I plan to re-start it and do the same again. So far it's been working great.

An now, for some numbers:

- Working with Viki's "Learn Mode": 5 pomodoros.
- Watching korean-dubbed anime: 7 episodes.

I've also been watching english subbed k-dramas and K-TV shows, and using Memrise from time to time.

[Sayonaroo]

Maybe try watching Korean dubbed anime with Korean subs (the sub is a translation of Japanese and dub tries to make words match the mouth and koreanify the dialogue inevitably). It might match enough to prove helpful.


You can get Korean subs From clubbox and sometimes off a site via google 자막

[AndyMeg]

Maybe try watching Korean dubbed anime with Korean subs (the sub is a translation of Japanese and dub tries to make words match the mouth and koreanify the dialogue inevitably). It might match enough to prove helpful.


You can get Korean subs From clubbox and sometimes off a site via google 자막

Thanks for the suggestions!

[AndyMeg]

Quick update:

I've been sick and very busy these says, which is an awful combination. Still, I've managed to do some study/learning.

I'm really enjoying the Memrise's "Talk To Me In Korean" course, so I go through it almost everyday. What I like about this course is that it has all the grammar lessons but without the explanations (just a few notes from time to time). It is mainly composed of the example phrases/sentences of each TTMIK lesson and their english translation, which is great because it lets me get exposed to grammar without intellectualizing it.

For now, I've stopped going through Evita's Anki deck. My first goal with korean is to be able to understand k-dramas, so I decided that I should be getting most of my vocabualry from them. Because of this, I've changed a little the way I work with Viki's Learn Mode. I went back to the very beginning of "Kill Me, Heal Me"'s episode one and now I put each new word in a excel spreadsheet with its corresponding meaning and the number of repetitions (I'm keepping count on how many times a word appears). I only put the meaning or meanings that make sense within the context of the drama. For this I'm using Wiktionary and Naver's dictionary as my main references (I really like some of the explanation and usage notes I've found on Wiktionary). I also use the pop-up dictionary's audio from Viki's Learn Mode and I listen to it many times while reading the word. Being able to listen to the same phrase/sentence as many times as I want is really useful too. So far the top two most frequent words are "회장" and "그룹".

I keep watching k-dramas and variety shows. Sometimes, for the dramas or shows that I like the most, I watch some parts in their raw version and I later go back to watch the whole episodes in their english-subbed version.

And now, some numbers:

- Working with Viki's "Learn Mode" ("Kill Me, Heal Me", Episode 1): I'm almost on minute 2 (after starting again).
- Watching korean-dubbed anime: 2 episodes.
- Memrise's "Talk To Me In Korean" course: I'm currently on Level 1, Lesson 9.