Sol's New Russian & Korean Log

[qeadz]

What online proficiency test did you do?

[Sol]

I just took an online proficiency test and apparently I am on the edge of A1 & A2 for Korean!



I can definitely understand some stuff now rather than just words here and there. Sometimes I'll get a (very...very very) simple sentence from a Korean instagram account or something. I can also write simple sentences. I think I'm focusing more on grammar and less so on vocab though. My idea is to keep working on the grammar since the guide I'm using is grammar-focused, and eventually I'll be able to plug in the vocab I'm getting through dramas/random online browsing.

If anyone has a good CEFR-based online proficiency test please send it my way!

I am also consuming an obscene amount of dramas. It's embarrassing, it's all I do I wonder how long it'll take me to actually understand them without subs if I continue learning at this rate (~1hr studying a day).

Well done!
However, I assume that you will need a lot of time to understand watch it without subs, I mean, in drama they use some kind of colloquial Korean that won't be represented in Korean resources.
Or maybe not, one thing I noticed recently is... when I was doing language exchange there were some people who learned Korean really faster than expected and become fluent soon. But they didn't told me how they learned Korean, mystery.

Yeah, watching shows without subs is in my opinion, like the "ultimate boss" of learning a language. Even in Spanish which is a relatively easy language, I found it hard to follow shows without subs despite being able to have conversations. I'm only at the 150th-ish hour of the supposed 2400 needed to become fluent!

Maybe they had a lot of people to talk to in Korean... There are 0 Koreans where I live so I can't have conversations

[leosmith]

the supposed 2400 needed to become fluent

Where did that number come from?

[Sol]

the supposed 2400 needed to become fluent

Where did that number come from?

FSI's language difficulty rankings. This one gives 2200, though I looked at another list which gave the 2400 hours.

[Sol]

What online proficiency test did you do?

Here ya go. Don't know how accurate it is though, since it's just a quick test and only involves vocab.

[qeadz]

Don't know how accurate it is though, since it's just a quick test and only involves vocab.

That was kind of fun! I did it twice. Both times it placed me between A2 and B1 with vocabulary estimations of 1900 and 2200... I don't know whether I mentioned it in my language log but my estimate for myself was that I knew 2000 words which I could identify by dictionary entry alone.

I was on a bit of a 'vocab' bent in terms of figuring out how well I've been doing on that front and how I might address any shortcomings for the last month or so. Even though the test is very inaccurate, the fact that its estimate lines up with my own gives me some confidence.

[Oscard587]

Yeah, watching shows without subs is in my opinion, like the "ultimate boss" of learning a language. Even in Spanish which is a relatively easy language, I found it hard to follow shows without subs despite being able to have conversations. I'm only at the 150th-ish hour of the supposed 2400 needed to become fluent!

Maybe they had a lot of people to talk to in Korean... There are 0 Koreans where I live so I can't have conversations

Nowadays get a Korean for practice speaking is not so difficult, if you don't mind how to talk..
They are literally everywhere on the internet, places like cultural exchange, language exchange, blahblahblah..
However, there aren't so many Korean people who are really willing to learn and practice foreign languages. they don't take it seriously.
also another problem is they are usually not fluent in English so if you ask questions about Korean language to them,
they might be explained it in wrong way. or, even who fluent in English.

so overall, you can get them easily, just mind that you need to find proper language exchange partner if you want to get and practice in early stage. if you become fluent in Korean then it becomes easier to get someone, anyway all of them speak Korean and you could get input from them.

I think someone already wrote about language exchange websites or application somewhere... so I won't mention about it in here.

By the way, I saw where you are from and yeah, Koreans generally don't go there.
there are only one major which teaches Bulgarian in Korea (Greek-Bulgarian department in my university)
However, in my opinion, most of them go to Greece, not Bulgaria, just guessing cause I'm studying in Seoul campus, not with them

[Sol]

Yeah, watching shows without subs is in my opinion, like the "ultimate boss" of learning a language. Even in Spanish which is a relatively easy language, I found it hard to follow shows without subs despite being able to have conversations. I'm only at the 150th-ish hour of the supposed 2400 needed to become fluent!

Maybe they had a lot of people to talk to in Korean... There are 0 Koreans where I live so I can't have conversations

Nowadays get a Korean for practice speaking is not so difficult, if you don't mind how to talk..
They are literally everywhere on the internet, places like cultural exchange, language exchange, blahblahblah..
However, there aren't so many Korean people who are really willing to learn and practice foreign languages. they don't take it seriously.
also another problem is they are usually not fluent in English so if you ask questions about Korean language to them,
they might be explained it in wrong way. or, even who fluent in English.

so overall, you can get them easily, just mind that you need to find proper language exchange partner if you want to get and practice in early stage. if you become fluent in Korean then it becomes easier to get someone, anyway all of them speak Korean and you could get input from them.

I think someone already wrote about language exchange websites or application somewhere... so I won't mention about it in here.

By the way, I saw where you are from and yeah, Koreans generally don't go there.
there are only one major which teaches Bulgarian in Korea (Greek-Bulgarian department in my university)
However, in my opinion, most of them go to Greece, not Bulgaria, just guessing cause I'm studying in Seoul campus, not with them

I do plan on eventually getting a language partner, but I want to advance a bit more because right now I can't say much! It would be very frustrating for the other person.

Also I am Bulgarian, but currently living in London. London is really diverse but where I live there are no Koreans!

[Sol]

Also today on the way home from the gym I put on a Korean podcast called 두시탈출 컬투쇼 which was very...weird. It started off with the song "I like big butts and I cannot lie!" and the hosts started saying "mmm" creepily. Then they seemed to prank call people and I have no clue what type of podcast this was because they kept saying 개 which is a swear word, right?

Also, a question on formality levels. Why do Koreans sometimes mix them even when they're talking to the same person about the same topic? So they'll be using the 요 form for one sentence, then go to 입이다. Sometimes they'll say something with the lowest formality level then repeat it with the 요 form. So for example:

- 먹었어? 먹었어요?

[qeadz]

Also, a question on formality levels. Why do Koreans sometimes mix them even when they're talking to the same person about the same topic? So they'll be using the 요 form for one sentence, then go to 입이다. Sometimes they'll say something with the lowest formality level then repeat it with the 요 form. So for example:
- 먹었어? 먹었어요?

While I am not equipped to answer this question, the same thing was bugging me months ago and I spent a while looking up on Korean Reddit. I also asked my wife. Here are a variety of explanations I encountered:

- Sometimes it is a partial sentence and the remaining clause is implied in which case the sentence has not yet ended so the 요 isn't added.
- I've read from a number of sources (including my wife saying this) that 요 and ㅂ/니다 are the same politeness level (I always thought the latter as being a bit _more_ polite, but she tells me "where on earth have you been getting your Korean lessons from???")
- Some suggested 니다 is used when the sentence itself is more of a statement and isn't 'to' anyone'. eg: The rice has cooked.

I look forward to reading any answers you get to your question because I was never able to come upon a satisfactory explanation!

EDIT: Also I did catch my wife out when she told me they were the same politeness level. My immediate response was "Oh, so if I were talking to the CEO of my company I could use 요?" and she replied "NO! Of course not" (said as if it were self-evidently ridiculous). Never-the-less she insisted they were the same politeness level and interchangeable... except for that case I brought up. *sigh*.