A colourful mix - current: Korean revival and some Portuguese

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druckfehler
Yellow Belt
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:30 am
Location: Germany
Languages: German (N), English (C2+), Korean (B2), Persian (A2), Portuguese (passive A2/B1) , French (remnants), Mandarin (bits and pieces)
x 144

Re: Now: Portuguese (formerly "French, Persian, advanced Korean - a colorful mix")

Postby druckfehler » Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:00 pm

Portuguese I've almost completed level 1 on Duolingo. Grammar-wise it's not that challenging for me and the words I didn't know get repeated a lot, so the exercises have generally been very easy to do. I think it works well for getting used to the language again and because it's easy, it also helps me to actively think in Portuguese, instead of just passively trying to get the gist. That's what the audiobooks are for.

I've also been watching some Brazilian movies (M8 - When Death Rescues Life), dating shows (Dating around Brazil, Love is Blind) and a series (Girls from Ipanema) on Netflix. Not really as a study activity, but why not get some Portuguese exposure while relaxing... Love is Blind Brazil was a bit trashy, but still watchable. Dating around Brazil was kind of nice because of the diversity of the couples and a collage of "getting to know"-small-talk. That's the type of language that will be most immediately useful - where do you live, what do you do, hobbies, etc. Girls from Ipanema has its flaws, sometimes it came across as very artificial - not sure if that's an issue with the acting or the script or the directing. But I liked the backdrop of a Bossa Nova club (I love that music) and the stories of the women that are being portrayed are engaging as well. M8 - When Death Rescues Life was thought-provoking and somehow aesthetically pleasing (although the subject matter is serious). I'm conflicted about the ending, but it does a good job raising questions.

Korean I discovered my old Pleco list of traditional Chinese characters recently. I'm once again getting an itch for studying Hanja - following along with the KLEAR Korean Reader for Chinese Characters. But I don't really have time for that, so it will probably just stay in the back of my head like all the other interesting language stuff I could explore some day.
2 x
Korean Grammar in Use:
: 0 / 93 Intermediate
: 0 / 85 Advanced
Portuguese Audiobooks:
: 2 / 24 Minha História by Michele Obama
Duolingo Portuguese:
: 72 / 125 Level 2
: 66 / 100 Stories

User avatar
druckfehler
Yellow Belt
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:30 am
Location: Germany
Languages: German (N), English (C2+), Korean (B2), Persian (A2), Portuguese (passive A2/B1) , French (remnants), Mandarin (bits and pieces)
x 144

Re: Now: Portuguese (formerly "French, Persian, advanced Korean - a colorful mix")

Postby druckfehler » Wed Apr 20, 2022 11:45 pm

I thought I'd write a short update. The semester started two and a half weeks ago and it's been fun so far - but it's also taking up a lot of time and I'm still struggling not to fall behind. I have to say, taking university courses while still working 32h per week is a rather crazy endeavour. Realistically, I probably will fall behind at some point, but as long as the gap doesn't get too big I reckon it'll be okay. It's a good thing I'm no longer stressing myself out about aiming for a second degree. It's enough that I don't want to fall behind so I can still profit from the mentoring groups and study together with other students.

Portuguese is something I don't really have time for anymore, unfortunately. I am keeping up with the minimum at Duolingo, though. It's a good thing they have so much gamification going on with streaks and leagues and gems - it motivates me to just do one lesson or story per day for now. I finished level 1 and about a quarter of level 2. Not sure how much will stick in the long term, but that's fine, too. It's nice to do some language study and I don't think I'll lose everything I'm learning. After all, I kept quite a bit of Portuguese knowledge from the last times I studied it.
6 x
Korean Grammar in Use:
: 0 / 93 Intermediate
: 0 / 85 Advanced
Portuguese Audiobooks:
: 2 / 24 Minha História by Michele Obama
Duolingo Portuguese:
: 72 / 125 Level 2
: 66 / 100 Stories

The Real CZ
White Belt
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:23 pm
x 101

Re: Now: Portuguese (formerly "French, Persian, advanced Korean - a colorful mix")

Postby The Real CZ » Sat Apr 23, 2022 1:19 pm

Hey druck! Long time no see! I'm glad to see your log is back up. I hope Portuguese goes well for you!
1 x

User avatar
druckfehler
Yellow Belt
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:30 am
Location: Germany
Languages: German (N), English (C2+), Korean (B2), Persian (A2), Portuguese (passive A2/B1) , French (remnants), Mandarin (bits and pieces)
x 144

Re: Now: Portuguese (formerly "French, Persian, advanced Korean - a colorful mix")

Postby druckfehler » Wed May 18, 2022 10:23 pm

Portuguese Duolingo is coming along nicely. I'm slowly nearing the halfway mark for level 2. It's good to spend a few minutes on Portuguese every day. It doesn't feel like a lot of work to keep this up and (re)build vocab and grammar slowly. The sentences on Duolingo aren't as silly anymore as they used to be in level 1 - that definitely adds to the enjoyment.

I have another app I sometimes look at. It's called "Learn Portuguese Grammar" and has more of an oldschool grammar exercise book feel to it, which I really appreciate. There are plenty of exercises for levels A1-C1 and they are good for training grammatical intricacies Duolingo doesn't go into that much. It's also for European Portuguese, which means more grammatical intricacies anyway. I think this app will be especially great once I'm in the intermediate stage.

I spent last week recovering from Covid and once I was able to, I watched quite a few Portuguese Netflix shows. I especially liked:

The Dreamseller
A very touching movie about a psychiatrist and a homeless man who gives people a different perspective on their lives. I liked the very humanity of it. Some of the storytelling confused me, but that was probably deliberate and there was a twist I didn't see coming - something I always appreciate. Concerning its unlikely relationships and message of compassion, it reminded me a bit of the great French movie "The Untouchables", but it's more serious.

Double Dad
This is a really, really cute feelgood teen movie. Useful everyday language.

Elize Matsunaga, Once Upon a Crime
Very watchable crime documentary. There's a lot of speculation, but it stays interesting throughout its 4 episodes and language-wise it's very useful since it covers a lot of "that's her biography, then that happened, here's what I think and why".
6 x
Korean Grammar in Use:
: 0 / 93 Intermediate
: 0 / 85 Advanced
Portuguese Audiobooks:
: 2 / 24 Minha História by Michele Obama
Duolingo Portuguese:
: 72 / 125 Level 2
: 66 / 100 Stories

User avatar
druckfehler
Yellow Belt
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:30 am
Location: Germany
Languages: German (N), English (C2+), Korean (B2), Persian (A2), Portuguese (passive A2/B1) , French (remnants), Mandarin (bits and pieces)
x 144

Re: A colourful mix - current: Portuguese and Korean

Postby druckfehler » Tue Jul 12, 2022 12:44 pm

Portuguese I've completed more lessons and a couple more challenges on Duolingo. I also attempted watching the Netflix show Back to 15 first with subtitles and then without. I realised quickly that I at least need Portuguese subtitles and those get a bit exhausting, too. Maybe I didn't love the show enough to want to watch it again in Portuguese.

I have to put my completed progress bars here for lack of space:
: 55 / 55 Duolingo Portuguese Level 1
: 14 / 14 As 5 Linguagens do Amor by Gary Chapman

I've decided not to focus on Portuguese for the next months, because...

Korean I'll be spending three weeks in Korea in spring 2023 with my partner and a mutual friend of ours. So I'd like to brush up on my Korean before the trip. It's been 8 years since my last stay in Korea and I haven't been studying Korean actively for around about... 5 years, I think. I stopped reading novels, studying grammar, doing language exchange and writing practice, listening to podcasts, but I have watched a couple of KDramas through the years and also had the occasional "how come your Korean is this good"-smalltalk in Korean restaurants and supermarkets. I have definitely lost the ability to write essays in any capacity. I was still struggling with that when I stopped studying, so I wouldn't say it's a big surprise that I wouldn't be able to string together anything essay-like now. Reading has also gotten a tad more difficult. I had gotten to a pretty good reading speed during the Super Challenge days and now it definitely feels like I need to concentrate more to read. But both of these skills are not very necessary for travelling anyway.

What I need for travelling is a good active vocabulary, ease with grammatical constructions, knowledge on how to behave and how to address people (politeness forms!) and listening skills.

Listening Skills
Thanks to the KDramas I still watch, understanding spoken Korean is still fairly comfortable for me and I think after a few days in the country shouldn't be much of a problem. I've fallen back on English subtitles lately, so I might wean myself off them before the trip, just to get more comfortable with listening. I might also start listening to radio shows or podcasts again.

Politeness Forms
I feel pretty confident regarding politeness forms, since I already spent a long time worrying about those during and after my last visits to Korea. I probably still have to actively think about politeness in regards to word substitutions (things like using 저희 instead of 우리 - formal and regular ways of saying "we"), but I'm fairly confident that I can manage speech without gravely offending the other person.

Situational/Cultural Knowledge
How to behave is more tricky. You could argue that this has nothing to do with language, but I have always felt that this is an important part of being fluent in Korean. I need to get the context right to be able to speak Korean correctly. Of course I already know a lot of the basics, but I also forgot a lot. I also think Korea is such a dynamic country that some things may have changed.

Grammar
Grammatical constructions are definitely a key to fluency in Korean. Instead of vocabulary, it's often the grammar that adds nuances of meaning. I have to admit that, while my beginner's grammar is pretty solid, it gets a bit thin past that level. I didn't take language classes throughout all levels and outside of language classes, I only studied grammar constructions I really felt I couldn't get by without.

Vocabulary
My active vocabulary has probably shrunk considerably. I sometimes can't remember words I want to use, but I think I can still get my point across in a smalltalk situation. I recently chatted a bit with the lady at our local Korean supermarket and it went more smoothly than I expected, I was very happy about that. Maybe being surrounded by Korean will help to activate even more vocabulary, it seems probable. But it won't hurt to review common everyday vocabulary. I suspect that it might be easier now compared to when I was reading a lot of novels. I felt like the more complicated vocabulary was clouding my brain and I often fumbled for conversational words because of that.

My action plan is to work with the great "Korean Grammar in Use" series by Darakwon and study immediate and maybe also advanced grammar points. When I was still actively studying, grammar was an area which I felt was holding me back, so I think it's good to continue with that - it won't just be a repetition, I will probably continue to develop my Korean skills through that, so it feels motivating. The lessons are short and to the point and use a lot of useful vocabulary, so that's wonderful as well. There's a total of 178 grammar points in the two books, so I'll be pretty busy with that in the next months.
5 x
Korean Grammar in Use:
: 0 / 93 Intermediate
: 0 / 85 Advanced
Portuguese Audiobooks:
: 2 / 24 Minha História by Michele Obama
Duolingo Portuguese:
: 72 / 125 Level 2
: 66 / 100 Stories


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