Christi's Spanish and Korean studies

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Christi
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby Christi » Thu Jul 25, 2019 5:05 pm

tarvos wrote:
You from the east somewhere?

No, in Amsterdam. But some parts get really hot because of traffic, city density, refelctive buildings etc; and my house and surrounding areas really absorb the sunlight and the heat has nowhere to go. I've got my curtains closed all day and my fan running as soon as I get home, but it's still quite hot in here..more than outside the house.

So time for a general update!

I'm still trying the turoring thing. I liked the teacher who knew limited English and I also tried one other teacher who seemed alright. The only thing I'm unsure about is that I asked what grammar I should focus on and they said I already know a lot and should just practise speaking more often to get more fluent.
I'm unsure about doing this. I kinda feel that yes, I should practise speaking, but I don't want to just speak about a random topic each week. I actually want to have a few goals to work on. I'm just not exactly sure what those should be. For my next session with my tutor we have decided to talk about a story I've read, but this still seems to vague to me. Perhaps I'll ask her to focus on a particular grammar pattern each session. I'll talk about the story I've read with her and she can really focus on that grammar point and tell me what I'm doing wrong and maybe give me some assignments?
I need to think about this some more.

Besides tutoring I've been messaging some Korean people a few times each week. I feel like this is really good for my vocabulary building, but I've been getting the feeling that they don't really correct my grammar that much. So this leads me to feeling unsure if my grammar usage is actually correct or not. But since finding these people took a lot of effort and I haven't been ghosted yet so far I think I'll continue chatting with them. It's low-effort, but still makes the language tangible to me.

This week I also received a letter from my Korean penpal. I haven't replied yet, but am excited to see where this will go!

Focus for August:
-Finish reading the 10ish short stories I've got left, and then get started on a kid's book.
- Write something about a story I read.
-I joined the KGIU bandwagon! Know most of the 105ish rules in the beginner book, but I want to really understand all the nuances so I'll cover a few chapters each week. Once I'm done I'll get started on the intermediate book :)
-Watch an easy Korean vlog each week.
-Go through an anki deck of a kdrama to improve listening skills. No reviewing.

That's it! I'm not really into specific goal setting as you might have noticed. This might cause my learning progress to be a bit slower than most people's here, but it's fine since learning Korean is just a hobby for me and I just want it to stay fun and not worry too much about plans and goals.
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2020 resolution words learned: 472 / 1000
Pages read at end of 2020: 220 / 1500

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tarvos
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby tarvos » Fri Jul 26, 2019 2:22 pm

I'm still trying the turoring thing. I liked the teacher who knew limited English and I also tried one other teacher who seemed alright. The only thing I'm unsure about is that I asked what grammar I should focus on and they said I already know a lot and should just practise speaking more often to get more fluent.
I'm unsure about doing this. I kinda feel that yes, I should practise speaking, but I don't want to just speak about a random topic each week. I actually want to have a few goals to work on. I'm just not exactly sure what those should be. For my next session with my tutor we have decided to talk about a story I've read, but this still seems to vague to me. Perhaps I'll ask her to focus on a particular grammar pattern each session. I'll talk about the story I've read with her and she can really focus on that grammar point and tell me what I'm doing wrong and maybe give me some assignments?
I need to think about this some more.


Ask your teacher for these things. I find you have to be very proactive with teachers, because if you are not they'll just follow their own curriciulum and you're stuck with that. I love it when students come to me with particular requests because it makes it much easier to work with them and because I can focus on something relevant to their lives. I'm not sure how the Korean teachers take it, but if it were me: I'd ask all these things and be very specific about what I want. It might pay off to put down five things you feel you are weak at and want to work on, and it might also help not to use random topics but to pick topics important to your life that you cannot yet talk about in Korean.

As for the heat... I feel ya.
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an onyme
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby an onyme » Mon Jul 29, 2019 3:58 am

Christi wrote:One of which is Kim Ji-Young: born in 1982. I want to read it so badly and am really tempted to buy it since I stumbled upon it online :oops: .


I was eyeing this as well!

I definitely recommend being proactive with your iTalki teachers as well, and not settling for a teacher who can't work with your approach. I've met Korean teachers with such a variety of styles that there will definitely be at least a few out there. Bringing in a grammar point to focus on each session sounds like a good idea that I will take for myself. If you need goals for goals' sake, being able to recognize and use every one of those million-odd grammatical particles isn't a bad one.
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Christi
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby Christi » Tue Aug 06, 2019 4:07 pm

Topik is going to be held on the 16th of November and I've decided to apply for it even though I don't think I will actually pass. I figure it will be easier to create more intermediate level learning goals though. I've decided to create a global plan, that can be adjusted if I think things are too easy or hard. It's just that I have all these learning resources available so I better make good use of them and I think they might help prepare for Topik too.

- Start reading 안읽어 씨 가족과 책 요리점 again to improve vocab. If I read a bit more than 1 page a day I will finish it before the test.
- Do one KGIU lesson a week and make sure to listen to the audio too.
- Finish Active Korean 4 in August.
- Read a chapter from Essential Korean Reader every week.
- Practise listening skills by doing either one Iyagi, Story Time in Korean, Cultural Topics with Andreas the Greek per week.
- Take one Topik exam a week.
- Write a short story/summary on what I read or watched every week. Have it corrected on Italki.

Figure out if it makes sense to get TTMIK's News in Korean and to also focus on learning idioms or to just skip that if it's not necessary for passing level 3. Would it make sense to buy COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE TOPIK since it goes over some strategies? And do I need a timemachine? I think I probably do :lol:
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2020 resolution words learned: 472 / 1000
Pages read at end of 2020: 220 / 1500

Christi
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby Christi » Fri Aug 16, 2019 6:36 am

I've been doing a lot of reviewing since I had a backlog and want to get it out of the way before adding new words, which with my new study schedule is bound to be a lot, I have about 600 words left to review. I wonder how I am going to manage though. I've added about 70 new words this week since I have a few pages left to read and I intend to finish it before starting my new program. But some days the reviews really seem to pile up, although this might also be because I'm finally reviewing my backlog.

I've remembered most words so far, but also came across a few useful phrases which I will post here:

말이 되네요: that makes sense. Very useful and I can't believe I forgot this!
금시초문인데요: that is news to me. Another very useful phrase!
일석이조: to kill two birds with one stone.
이 단어 는 맞춤법이 틀렸다: this word is spelled wrong.
밥은 먹고 살아야지: to put bread on the table. Although I wonder if this sentence is complete. It seems to miss some more conjugation? Can someone confirm this?

This week I re-read my log and also read some old logs by other Korean learners and one thing that stood out to me is how many resources I've been sharing that I've not seen elsewhere. Today I want to share some other sites that I've found. I saw this news site mention on a log by Chris here, it's a bilingual news site and contains super short articles.
I also found a Korean cooking channel, the videos are short and contain Korean subtitles!
I also found this NHK site with videos on Japan in English, but with Korean subtitles. I was actually looking for another site that I had found, but I think I've accidentally deleted my bookmark. It was a Japanese (news) site about popular culture and there was also a Korean language option.


For those preparing for Topik I I found this site with nifty English translations. I wish they also had this for Topik II.

And for those looking to improve their handwriting:
Image

I also did some listening to TTMIK beginner Iyagi as review and looked at one intermediate episode and thought the pacing seemed doable. The only thing I'm worried about is translating those episodes incorrectly since they don't contain any translations, but maybe that's just a matter of confidence.
Last edited by Christi on Fri Aug 16, 2019 7:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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2020 resolution words learned: 472 / 1000
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tarvos
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Passive: AF, DK, LAT
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby tarvos » Fri Aug 16, 2019 9:04 am

I didn't know about the handwriting, that's a great resource. I will need to use it
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AndyMeg
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Re: Christi's Korean studies

Postby AndyMeg » Fri Aug 16, 2019 3:23 pm

Christi wrote:And for those looking to improve their handwriting:
Image

Thanks a lot for sharing this image!!! :D

Christi wrote:I also did some listening to TTMIK beginner Iyagi as review and looked at one intermediate episode and thought the pacing seemed doable. The only thing I'm worried about is translating those episodes incorrectly since they don't contain any translations, but maybe that's just a matter of confidence.

They used to sell translations in their webstore but I couldn't find them this time. You can still buy translations from the Iyagi series at GooglePlayStore or even use an old wiki project that, if I remember right, was created before they started selling the Iyagi translations in the official website: TTMIK Iyagi wiki project.
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Christi
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Preparations for Topik

Postby Christi » Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:14 am

I've finished all my reviews, apparently most of them were from my IPA course of the 1000 most frequent English words :D
This past week I also learned 100 new words. This week I will start doing those TTMIK listening courses. I will probably start with TTMIK Story Time (different from Iyagi) since they seem the easiest and then work my way up to their other courses, depending on which ones are easiest. There's News in Korean (probably among the hardest but very useful for Topik), Cultural topics with Andreas the Greek (contains a pdf with English translation), normal Iyagi (has translations on Wiki and supposedly iincrease in difficulty). Not sure if the order in which I use them is important; right now they all seem equally difficult :lol:

Some useful sentences I've come across and want to use more often:
This time I'll talk about x: 이번에는 x에 관헤서 이야기할게요
If we move on to x: 또 X 쪽으로 가면
What is the topic for today?: 오늘 다룰 주제는 뭔가요?
Not only x but, : x뿐만 아니라
To develop good reading comprehension, you have to read a lot: 독해를 잘하기 위해서는 많이 읽는 것이 좋다
To get to the point: 본론으로 들어가다

I've decided to also post some grammar explanations here. I often look up things I don't know or know but am unsure of, only to forget writing anything down. I figure that if I write these things down from now on, I will be less likely to forget them.

V + 더라고요 can mean ‘because’ or ‘I learned/found/experienced that…’ It is based on firsthand experience or realisation of something, of something that happened for the first time:

한국 여행을 해 보니까 한국에는 정말 산이 많더라고요.
After travelling around Korea, (I saw that) Korea has a lot of mountains.

어제 친구들랑 같이 축구를 했는데 앤디 씨가 정말 잘하더라고요.
I played football with my friends yesterday, and (I witnessed that) Andy plays really well.

학교에 새로 생긴 식당의 음식이 꽤 맛있더라고요.
(I experienced that) the food at the new restaurant in school is really good.

tarvos wrote:I didn't know about the handwriting, that's a great resource. I will need to use it

Same, someone sent me a letter in Korean and I just couldn't make heads or tails of it.... so I asked someone to transcribe it and was able to understand the whole letter (it only contained 6 unfamiliar words). I'm going to send a reply using that Nanum script and will ask my friend to write in a larger and more clear font next time :lol:

AndyMeg wrote:They used to sell translations in their webstore but I couldn't find them this time. You can still buy translations from the Iyagi series at GooglePlayStore or even use an old wiki project that, if I remember right, was created before they started selling the Iyagi translations in the official website: TTMIK Iyagi wiki project.


That Wiki looks great! Will use that one and let you know how it goes!


Ps: I'm thinking on how to organise my log. So far I've decided to use titles. Not sure if it makes sense to have one, will it make it easier to look up information on my log?
Next time I'll probably try using some bold text to introduce grammar and sentences :geek:
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2020 resolution words learned: 472 / 1000
Pages read at end of 2020: 220 / 1500

Christi
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Languages: Dutch (N), English (C1), German (B1), Korean (high A2-low B1?)
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Re: Preparations for Topik

Postby Christi » Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:44 am

I've been looking at the vocabulary I would gain after going through the Iyagi series and it seems like it might not be good enough. I managed to find the book Topik intermediate vocabulary in 30 days. I'm going to try working with it since the words contained seem very useful. I don't think I will stuck to the structure of the book of learning 30-ish new words a day, that just seems brutal; not to mention I'm also getting vocabulary from other resources. I've been pleasantly surprised to find I know a lot of the words they want me to study though :D I seem to know about half the words on the daily list, so I wonder if this really considered intermediate vocab or if my standards are just super high?

So far the ''schedule'' I've created for myself seems tough. I think I might need to make my schedule even more specific by deciding what I will cover on which day. Some days I am very tired after coming home or I have other things to do.

This week I read an article on Korean humor and one on tourism in Seoul. They were very simple but I've learnt some useful words from it. This weekend I will write a bit about tourism in my country so I will actually get to use those words and can practise my hand at more formal writing.

I've also been listening to TTMIK's Storytime, my listening skills need a lot of work !_! I got the gist of it, but well..it's not Topik 2 level at all...

I looked at a few reading sample questions and got the gist of them. I think might do okay if I can manage to improve my vocabulary. The grammar might be a problem perhaps. I need to look at the mock exams more carefully and see which patterns occur more often so I can do focused studying. I don't think I'll be able to learn all the intermediate grammar before November :lol:

Some useful sentences:

This sentence doesn't flow right: 이 문장은 어색하다.
Generally speaking, women live longer than men: 일반적으로 여자가 남자보다 오래 산다.
Since then it has become more and more popular: 그때 미후 그것은 점점 더 유명하게 되었다.
He used to study at least six hours every night: 그 앤 매일 밤 적어도 여섯 시간씩 공부했었어.
4 out of 5 die from the operation: 5명 중 4명이 죽는 수술임니다.
To be unable to do anything about it: 어쩔 수 없다


Some grammar I learned or looked up (copy-pasted since I'm lazy):

V하다 싶다: I think something is..

V거든(요):
1. -거든(요) can be used to express a reason or some background explanation for something, except -거든(요) forms a separate sentence from the sentence expressing a result.
2. -거든(요) can also be used when you are implying that your story is continued. When you mention one thing in a sentence that ends with -거든(요), the other person will expect you to mention another thing that’s related to what you just said in the next sentence. Used in informal context only.
아까 효진 씨 만났거든요. 그런데 이상한 말을 했어요: I met Hyojin earlier. But she said something strange.

V(어/아)서 그런지 (몰라도):
=> "maybe because," "it could be because"

This expression indicates the speaker's conjecture or reasoning.

바빠서 그런지 죤은 무술에 관심 이 없다.
=> Maybe because he is busy, John is not interested in the martial arts.
잠을 못 자서 그런지 머리가 아프다.
=> It could be that because I didn't sleep, I have a headache.
학생이 많이 늘었다. 그래서 그런지 갑자기 교실이 모자란다.
=> The number of students has increased. Maybe that's why there aren't enough classrooms.
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2020 resolution words learned: 472 / 1000
Pages read at end of 2020: 220 / 1500

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Bunnychu
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Re: Preparations for Topik

Postby Bunnychu » Sat Aug 24, 2019 9:51 am

Christi wrote:Some grammar I learned or looked up (copy-pasted since I'm lazy):

V하다 싶다: I think something is..

One small correction if I may, the form is (ㄴ/는)다 싶다 and you can also replace it with -(으)ㄴ/는 것 같다, -(ㄴ/는다)는 생각이 들다, -라고 생각하다.
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