Sc's goal towards Korean

[Sc27]

I've seen many language logs where people post their goals and progress throughout the weeks/months. I've been inspired to do one, so I have created one.

For language background, I don't know how many years I've "studied" Korean. Since I am someone of Korean heritage, I was able to speak it when I was young, then forgot it while I was in school. I re-learnt it again as I grew out of my teenage years, via speaking (sometimes) with parents, taking Korean language classes both out of school and at uni, listening to Kpop (don't listen to the new stuff anymore), and reading articles/comments/other writings in Korean online, and to this very day I am still learning.

Resources I use:

-Korean Grammar in Use Beginner/Intermediate
-Hellotalk
-Kakaotalk (talking with penpals)
-Youtube (watching videos with either audio in Korean or Korean subtitles)
-Google Keep (to write down things that I do not know)
-HiNative (akin to a newer version of lang-8)
-Naver ENG-KOR dictionary

I think for me, the two main purposes for me is to keep record of my progress, and as a motivator to not slack off. I never know what level I was standing on all the time, so I feel like this can serve as a reference point.

As for my goals, I do not have a clear idea yet. But I know for sure I want to feel like I have improved my language ability at the end of the year.

EDIT: My long-term goal is to be at C2 level within 5 years.

[solocricket]

Good luck! I think heritage languages are so important. And Korean's a beautiful language, too!

[Xenops]

Welcome, fellow Korean learner! I do recommend you have a specific goal, or your language learning journey might be like this:

Alice: Which way should I go?
Cheshire Cat: Where do you want to go?
Alice: I am not sure.
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter.

[Sc27]

Good luck! I think heritage languages are so important. And Korean's a beautiful language, too!

Thank you, and to you too!

1 100% agree with your post. I don't want to end up having to lose my sense of heritage through my lack of understanding my parents' home language. I see some of my friends, who for the most part, speak English with their parents and they tell me how much they wished they were fluent in their parents' native language.

And no doubt I think Korean is also a nice language to hear, haha.

Welcome, fellow Korean learner! I do recommend you have a specific goal, or your language learning journey might be like this:

Alice: Which way should I go?
Cheshire Cat: Where do you want to go?
Alice: I am not sure.
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter.

Hey Xenops, at the time of making my post, I assumed I was going to later write out a possible (but not unrealistic) goal. I wanted to be careful as to how I wanted to write and shape out the goals I have in mind. I have to consider moments in my life when I have to take a step back from language learning and focus on other things that are more important at that period of time (i.e exams, school).

On that note, I did construct a possible framework. And this includes:

-Go back and review basic grammar rules in order to create a solid foundation of understanding and applying it in real life
-Expand my current vocabulary ability
-Read more Korean materials, whether it be through books, or through the web such as blogs or online articles

[Sc27]

Just like many others who have a language log, I decided to keep a daily record of the video watching that I have done. Again, this is so that I can see if I am putting in the effort to really learn the language.

Just yesterday, I watched the a whole episode of 스타 특강쇼 11회 feat. 정찬우 (from the comedy duo 컬투). I probably understood about 50% of what he said, since a lot of the terms were based on Chinese characters and he talked a bit fast for me to comprehend everything. I paused enough times while watching the 45 minute episode that I felt as if it took longer than 1 hr and 15 minutes. Not that I had any issue with not understanding, but the fact that I was able to understand enough of his storytelling and how I was able to feel the same emotions as the audience really makes me feel that there is much more I can improve.

During those emotional moments, I did search up a few words he has used, such as 식물인간, which literally translates to "plant human", but refers to someone who is in a vegetative state.

In terms of reviewing through Korean Grammar In Use, I checked through the beginner book to see if I had missed anything. So far, I looked over and saw that 은/는 can be either used to contrast/compare two different things, or to reiterate 'old' or information that is already known. Based on the example sentences they have given in the book, I tried to create a few of my own.

저는 올해 시카고에 갔어요. 시카고는 아름다운 도시예요.
This year I went to Chicago. Chicago is a beautiful city.
저는 나중에 영국에 가고 싶어요. 영국은 역사가 많다고 들었어요.
I want to go to England later. I heard England has a lot of history.
저는 캐나다에서 태어났어요. 그렇지만 저의 친구는 엘살바도르에서 태어났어요.
I was born in Canada. However, my friend was born in El Salvador.
저는 야구는 좋아요. 그렇지만 축구는 좋지 않아요.
I like baseball. However, I don't like soccer.

Aside from reviewing this grammar point and a couple others, I unfortunately haven't done much in terms of using Korean Grammar In Use.

I already do a few minutes of speaking with my parents every day, but I mostly rehash the same things I've said over and over (i.e '밥먹었어?' '응, 저녁 안먹어도 돼.'). Occasionally I sometimes talk about small things, like what I do during the day, or what they did, and if the opportunity arises, I use a word I have learnt from the resources that I have been using.

[Sc27]

Most of the time that I spent on Korean last week was mostly on listening. I've listened to podcasts, such as 컬튜소 (Cultwo show), where it features a duo of comedians hosting the show, and 김영하의 책읽은 시간, a podcast featuring the famous author Kim Young Ha reading out short stories. I also watched 특강쇼 (Special Lecture Show) with a few more people.

This week I've spent time writing out basic sentences as part of my grammar review using the Korean Grammar in Use: Beginner. Because I need some corrections to see whether or not I'm writing it correctly, I used HiNative, a language exchange site that's supposedly a successor to lang-8, except with more features, and wrote out my sentences there. So far, it seems like I'm still making basic grammatical mistakes, but it's not causing me any worries so far. I will still work on it.

I still use Kakaotalk with my penpals. We talk about things here and there, and sometimes questions related to either English or Korean. I feel like I'm mostly writing the same way that I've usually done, so I tried to incorporate more diverse grammar points that I've seen or heard.

I also met up with a few people today at the Korean conversation club that I went to, and it seemed like I was doing okay in terms of communicating. There were a few words here and there I didn't know, so I took down some notes.

[Sc27]

I realized I haven't posted last week, so this week I'll write down what I have done since my last post.

I did a lot more listening compared to the other 3 skills. A lot of podcasts, such as 컬투쇼 and 김영하의 책 읽는 시간. Most of the time, I did a lot of extensive listening, because I find that if I do too much intensive listening, it ends up feeling like work. I did have moments where I paused and look up a word I heard (and guessing the spelling of it at the same time) on Naver Kor-Eng online dictionary to see what it means. I probably understand about 30-50% of the content, based on the speed of the speech and the difficulty of words not heard in normal situations.

I also watched a lot of 비정상회담 (Eng: Abnormal Summit/Non Summit) these past several days. It is a entertainment variety show designed in the style of a G8 summit. It showcases multiple cast members and some guest members as representatives from their respective countries, and discuss about current issues or a topic of interest to them. Majority of the cast members speak Korean as their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th languages, which I find very impressive.

When it comes to intensive watching, I do it this way:
*Open up two browsers side by side on the computer/laptop
*One window has a variety show on, the other browser has Google Keep
*As the variety show is playing, I write down the words on Google Keep (and occasionally pause to take the time to write down the word)
*Once I finish my episode, I then use a dictionary and translate each word to its closest meaning or on the context which it was used.
*Not very often, but if there is a word that doesn't stick with me, then I write it down in a Quizlet study set and review it at a later date.

For Korean Grammar In Use: Beginner, I reviewed more grammar points and wrote down examples sentences on HiNative/lang-8. Same old, same old.

I also joined a chatting room using the Open Chat feature on Kakaotalk. We talk in a mix of Korean or English, but I mostly text in Korean since it is the target language I am learning. And if there is a word or a phrase I don't understand, then I ask in the chat room to native Korean speakers. I'm presuming that a lot of people in this forum won't like this method too much, so I won't recommend it, but this is one of the ways I actively use Korean.

[Sayonaroo]

Here's suggestions that may save you time!

I look up multiple words by using naver translate (I do Korean -> Japanese) and of course it's not perfect( i may have to investigate more for some words) but it's definitely better than copy pasting each word. I think it's best to look up while the show's on or at least take a screenshot so you can save time by not typing/have context/save the timestamp (if you use anki you can use the screenshot to make a card).

also maybe look into lingoes which is an off-line dictionary so there's no "lag" that you deal with the internet processing and it has all kinds of cool functions..

ALSO ondemandkorea.com (it works in america!) has korean subtitles for newer shows in case you want more korean transcription beyond the text they put up on the screen.

[Sc27]

Here's suggestions that may save you time!

I look up multiple words by using naver translate (I do Korean -> Japanese) and of course it's not perfect( i may have to investigate more for some words) but it's definitely better than copy pasting each word. I think it's best to look up while the show's on or at least take a screenshot so you can save time by not typing/have context/save the timestamp (if you use anki you can use the screenshot to make a card).

also maybe look into lingoes which is an off-line dictionary so there's no "lag" that you deal with the internet processing and it has all kinds of cool functions..

ALSO ondemandkorea.com (it works in america!) has korean subtitles for newer shows in case you want more korean transcription beyond the text they put up on the screen.

Thanks for your suggestion for ondemandkorea.com. I have used it once or twice probably few years back, but actually forgotten about it until now. I'll take a look when I have the time.

Sorry to break your assumption, but I'm Canadian, so likely there will be some streaming sites that won't work (Luckily, ondemandkorea.com does work so I am glad )

Unfortunately, I'll have to disagree on using Naver Translate. I prefer using Naver dictionary, because I want to learn which words are used in what specific contexts. And if there are words (or if it turns out be a slang) that can't be found on Naver dic, then I ask a penpal for an appropriate meaning.

I don't think I mentioned it while I was writing my log (I was too caffeinated to think haha) but I do leave the show on and write down the words as I go on Google Keep. No time-stamps, I just write the date that I watched a show/listened to a podcast. It would be something like 3.25, which means March 25. But to some degree as well, just watching the show does help understand the context of unknown words.

[Sc27]

Due to school exams, I wasn't able to post for a little over two weeks, so thankfully since I have the time I am able to devote more towards to studying Korean. This has been delayed a little bit due to a recent cold I caught a couple days after my last exam, which is unfortunate.

Still listening to 컬투쇼, but not full episodes. I realized after listening for some time, I prefer listening to specific segments, such as 오늘은 뭐가 문제야 (the best translation to English I can think of is 'What are the problems for today?'). I still do not understand it 100%, but from my likely guess is that people send in anonymous messages and the two hosts read off their number username (eg. 9908) and their short problem that they have. For example, one real life scenario I heard was one person went on the bus, and realized that he/she needed to fart really badly. He/she took a quick look around, and let out a big one, and realized that there was actually a person who was sitting directly behind him/her. Obviously, these short messages are to try and elicit a laughing from the audience (who are sitting in the 컬투쇼 studio).

I stopped watching 비정상회담. Not sure why, but I just stopped. Instead, these days I watch Youtube videos from Korean Youtubers who don't have a large subscriber base.

In order to drive myself not crazy from not understanding anything, I sometimes listen to the Iyagi transcripts. Most of the time I just understand about everything. I still look up transcripts to see which words I have missed, but they don't tend to be many. Right now, I am at Iyagi #46 (the first 10 Iyagi transcripts I heard a lot of times about a couple years back, so I already got tired of it).

I rarely have checked through with the Korean Grammar In Use: Beginner book. I'll check into it once I have a bit of free time during the week.

I have been using more Hellotalk these days. The main purpose of it now is to use the moment feature (this is similar to posting a status on Facebook) to ask questions related to grammar, what a particular sentence means, or write out sentences to practice writing, and people have responded. Lang-8 is starting to become dead, so I'm messaging to people on Hellotalk or to my penpals.

One of the chatrooms I have joined using the Open Chat feature on Kakaotalk has one active user whom I think was extremely helpful in practicing speaking and writing in Korean. He even created a Discord channel so that we can altogether talk as a group. Unfortunately, I'm the only person who uses it to learn grammar or to actively speak with the same active user. The others mostly just talk on the same Kakaotalk group chat.

This following Saturday, I will be joining an advanced Korean reading group, aimed towards Korean language speakers who are of Korean heritage or those who have advanced Korean language skills. I still don't think I qualify myself as an advanced speaker, but this is something I feel like I should do in order to keep myself motivated.

Edit: I checked what it said on Hellotalk, and it said moment. Oops my bad.