I have no energy now. D:
Spent the free time of the past few days preparing for my oral presentation in Korean class. -.- We are supposed to do a rather formal presentation focusing on GRAPHS/STATISTICS and I want to die. now.
Just finished writing the script and I think it’s full of mistakes -.- Don’t think what we covered in class is good enough for such a formal presentation. But oh wells.
I haven’t moved from my chair in hours and being stuck in my shoebox room for that long is no joke. I feel so uncomfortable now. D:
this is such a half-assed blog post. oops I’m really tired. Ask me questions instead. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
18 Comments
Anno
16 November, 2011 at 11:44 PMDid you post it at lang-8 for corrections?
hangukdrama
17 November, 2011 at 10:00 AMnope~! it’s too long and too formal. I asked my friends to correct it for me though ^^
ira
17 November, 2011 at 6:03 AMMy question is not about school life. ㅋㅋ
You love walking so much. Which one do you find more comfortable, walking in Singapore or Seoul? 😀
hangukdrama
17 November, 2011 at 10:01 AMDefinitely Seoul!! 😀 I don’t even walk in Singapore (not the same way). I walk in Singapore to get to a destination.
Anonymous
17 November, 2011 at 1:21 PMbut would that be because singapore is home and we usually see our home in a very taken-for-granted way? or in a what’s-there-to-see-i’ve-seen-this-for-20+-years way?
or is seoul just more conducive for walking – like with weather, pathways, etc? i’m curious ^^
closet
17 November, 2011 at 1:22 PMoh. this is closet, btw. i must have cleared my cache. heh.
jasmine
17 November, 2011 at 12:08 PMwhat is your best birthday gift this year?????? heh heh….
Xing Wei Poh
17 November, 2011 at 10:44 PMWhat Singapore food do you miss the most? ( I might bring it over there! lol!)
Maria
20 November, 2011 at 5:43 PMHi, Shanna!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while. And you inspire me a lot.
Good luck with your presentation!
I wanted to ask you to tell about your language learning notebooks. Could you give some tips on how to organize the information. What exactly do you write down? Do you reread it a lot?
closet
23 November, 2011 at 10:45 PMhi maria, i know you weren’t asking me, but if you like, i can share my learning habits. i’ve been studying korean for abt 6 mnths now – both classroom learning (once a week, soooooo slow!) as well as self-study (TTMIK ftw!).
in my notebook, i mainly write down grammar points. eg, the verb ending, its english equivalent, usages. plus plenty of sample sentences (TTMIK is great that way). i find i refer back to these lessons quite alot, esp when i’m trying to form practice sentences. but after i get comfortable using a particular grammar point, it sticks in my head and i seldom refer back. this will prob be an unending cycle tho, cos there are SO many grammar points and verb endings in korean!
the differences in nuances also got me stumped for awhile, eg: -래요 and -까요. i become more aware of these endings and started listening out for them (and how they’re used) in the k dramas and variety shows i watch. it really helps!
when i first started, i included vocabulary lists but soon stopped cos i wasn’t referring to them. i use the daum or naver online dictionary when i need a new word. i dun (can’t!) memorise new vocabulary so i try to use them as often as possible until they stick. it helps that i speak mandarin fluently, cos there are plenty of hanja-based/borrowed words in korean. i rem such words via association (with their chinese counterparts).
another way is to dissect song lyrics. sometimes the way songs are written are the farthest thing from how koreans naturally speak, but it’s a great learning tool. i use lyrics to check out how grammar points are used, learn new vocab, and practise pronunciation.
how have you been studying korean?
Masha
27 November, 2011 at 1:36 AMHi, closet! Thanks for such a detailed answer!
I’ve been studying Korean for almost 4 months. And I also have only one lesson a week. I think there is a lot of self-studying since the format of my lessons implies that I look up grammar rules and translations myself (then I check them with the teacher and she explains me the points that I didn’t get).
I’m too bad at remembering new words and even don’t try to do it any more(I have a little notebook only for words where I put new vocab from the textbook and which I can use later for doing the exercises, that’s it).
Actually I have 4 notebooks: grammar, vocab, reading, exercises&dialogs. But I’m not sure it’s a good system)) anyways I can’t do without at least 2 notebooks.
I’m trying to use different sources of information, it helps to memorize everything better. I don’t have much time for my Korean studies but I learn it a little almost every day,
Tank you again for sharing your expirience!
closet
29 November, 2011 at 5:50 PM4 notebooks! That’s amazingly organized! I’m thinking of starting a separate notebook for passages, like articles etc I read online. Writing those out might help reinforce understanding and new vocab? I unfortunately don’t have the time (read: discipline) to study everyday. I study in sudden spurts, like hours at a time when I feel like it. I guess it’s just abt what works for you.
Courtney
22 November, 2011 at 5:44 AMCould you give me some advice about learning new vocabulary (and getting it to stay in my head)? I have a pretty good memory, but I don’t have much time to study Korean. How do you remember new vocabulary? Do you read, take notes, and then frequently review your notes? I think I remember reading that you don’t like word lists, flash card software, etc. I’m not trying to prep. for TOPIK or any other proficiency exam, I just want to improve my Korean and vocab is by far my weakest area. Thanks for any advice.
hangukdrama
27 November, 2011 at 4:44 PMㅎㅎ I think I’ve written about that before. xD My general rule is NO memorisation. I would just read widely. When I read, I highlight the new words and look them up in a dictionary. Then I would write down the word, meaning, example sentence in my notebook. And not memorise. Do that regularly and i find that i can remember almost everything after seeing them once or twice.
Courtney
29 November, 2011 at 1:23 AMSorry Shanna, my bad! I should have looked at your past entries for the answer to my question. Hope you have some time to relax after your presentation.
closet
23 November, 2011 at 10:48 PMshanna, i have a qn too! what korean storybooks have you read and would recommend for beginners? i know it’s kinda ambitious to want to challenge a book with my current standard, but a variety of reading material keeps me going. the kyung hee and yonsei books are so blah 😛
hangukdrama
27 November, 2011 at 4:42 PMmmm for me, non-fiction is easier compared to fiction books. I guess it’s the kind of vocabulary that you are exposed to. If you have always been studying from textbooks, non-fiction books will be easier to understand. I started out with 빅뱅’s 세상에 너를 소리쳐. I find that easier to understand. ^^
closet
29 November, 2011 at 5:46 PMOh I think I rem you talking abt that big bang book. I’ve a Korean friend who suggested coffee prince the novel, apparently cos I’m a drama buff. I think that would be waaaay challenging. I’d imagine I’ll be ‘studying’ it more than reading it but that’s a good thing too. Korean books seem to be cheap(er than English paperbacks) but shipping’s so expensive!