As I expected, July has been a very busy month for me. I've continued studying and learning korean, but at a slower pace. I can still feel the progress though, so that's nice
Current activities summary:- So far I've watched
918 minutes of no-subbed korean video content. And I've also continued watching korean TV with english subs. This month, in particular, I've been watching almost everything with english subs (with maybe two or three exceptions).
- I'm on
page 105 of the "맞춤 스페인어권 한국어-1: Coreano para la Comunidad Coreana Hispanohablante" textbook. I find it relaxing to work through this book. I'm a little over the mid-point now.
- From time to time
I've been listening to some TTMIK podcasts.
I'm currently on level 2, lesson 29.
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I've been going to my weekly korean classes. Before the looooong break, I had taken about three months of classes sprinkled with smaller breaks between them. Going back to the absolute beginners class has been a great way to see how far I've come over the past year. Things that were difficult when I started the class the first time (around July last year), now seem rather easy and "obvious" to me. Going back to the absolute begginers class has also been good to detect some weak spots: for example, I still have some difficulties recognizing and remembering the difference between ㅗ and ㅓin certain words. When they are alone I can recognize and differentiate them right, but when they are spoken within words I get a bit confused.
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Since my last "Quick update" I've not done anything else with my activity of "acting" k-dramas dialogues. I like this activity a lot, but the first part of it is quite intensive and time-consuming (First, watch a segment with korean subs and then read it aloud —without acting it, just reading— and mark the things that are unknown or unclear. Then proceed to look for the meaning of those things and take handwritten notes in the korean transcript printed page). So I still have to get to the acting part
Hopefully, now that I'm finally starting to have more free time and less stress with other stuff in my life, I'll be able to do it.
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I'm experimenting with a new activity. Using various resources (Viki's Learn Mode, books, etc.) I've been handwriting some dual stuff while comparing how things are said in both languages. First I listen to the audio (if it has audio); then I read the korean and try to guess its meaning; then I read the english version and compare it to the korean one. And then I handwrite both the korean and the english versions while paying a lot of attention to them and thinking about them. I try to get the most out of each line before moving on to the next one, but I don't go out of my way to look for things (like looking for a word in a dictionary or something like that). I know I've done something similar in the past, but the inclusion of the handwriting part adds a more concrete feeling to what I see and I think it may facilitate my learning a lot. 50% of the stuff I handwrite is taken from Viki (by using the "Learn Mode") and the other 50% is taken from different vocabulary and grammar books. I'm curently using a k-drama called "Manhole" (맨홀: 이상한 나라의 필) and I try to intercalate my work with it with my work with the books. What I like about this activity is that it is very flexible: each time I can do just one line or many lines depending on my time and my energy levels. And I also like that it has a moderate intensity because I don't go out of my way to look for things, so I don't get obsessed with understanding each and every little detail and I just move on when I can't get more out of it with my current level/knowledge.
Apart from my korean activities, I've been dabbling a bit in japanese lately. From time to time I practice/learn kanji with the "
Japanese Kanji Study - 漢字学習" android app. I'm taking it easy, so I use the drawing quiz mode with these specifications: "Detección normal, Mostrar pistas, Repetir hasta conseguirlo, Mostrar respuesta" (I have the configuration of the app in spanish). This shows me the meaning of a kanji and the kanji itself in a light shade. I just have to write it in the right order to move on. And if I don't write it in the right order, I have to repeat it again until I succeed. I have the kanjis divided in the "Kanken" (Kanji Kentei) levels and I recently moved from dabbling with the kanjis of the "Kanken lvl 10" to dabbling with the kanjis of "Kanken lvl 9.
Aside from my occasional kanji study I've also been dabbling in the book I bought at the beginning of July: "KOI: Manual Básico de Japonés" by Yoko Nakazawa. I really, really like this book. It explains things in such a clear and "easy" way that I'm finally understanding things that always confused me. And it teaches while keeping in mind the perspective of a spanish native speaker which is great because it actually makes more sense to me that the explanations given with english native speakers in mind (I still have a long way to go with english).
With my rekindled japanese temptation, I've been wondering if I should use the
korean-japanese version of the korean textbooks series "Korean for Overseas Koreans". I know I want to use this series in the future, but I'm not sure which version to use (the only-korean one, the korean-english one or the korean-japanese one). The thing is that only the korean version comes with audios. I'll have to think about it.
This is it for now.
See you in my next update!