Make an alphabet song using the Korean alphabet. Just sing the alphabet along a background music.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VIrBnxaYUI
가나다라마바사아자차카타파하 song
I had my roommate listen to this song a few times while repeating the sounds he heard along the way. He retained a lot of the alphabets just by doing this a few times. He pretty much learned the alphabet through this song although not completely.
Gist of conversation :
Hi, How much is that item?
Oh, that Item is 500 won.
How about that other item?
What is the cheapest item in this market?
What is the most expensive item in this market?
What item is the most popular in this market?
How is your business doing today?
Conversation that happens in a market place.
Artifact 4
Gist of conversation:
Father, how is the economy nowadays?
Stock prices plummeted.
Businesses are dying.
Businesses are doing well.
Korean economy is expanding.
Trades with foreign nation is increasing.
Technology is developing.
How are your stocks father?
How are the prices of goods lately in Korea?
Prices of goods have increased.
How is the employment rate?
It is hard to get employed nowadays.
Conversation regarding the economy.
Artifact 3
Gist of coversation:
Mother, how is your work nowadays?
Father, how is your work nowadays?
Older brother, how is school?
Older brother, how is military training?
I am having a hard time in this class.
I am having a hard time at school
Uncle, how is your work going?
Little brother, how is your homework going?
Conversation that happen in family gatherings.
Artifact 2
Gist of conversation:
Hi teacher, when is this homework due?
How hard is this homework?
What do I need to complete this homework?
Teacher, how should I study for this test?
How much time will you give me to complete this test?
What is my grade in the class?
Conversation that happens in classrooms.
This week, I read more articles about the economy in Korean. I also got in touch with my family members and some friends back home to practice my Korean and share stories with them.
Here are a compilation of some of the words I learned this week:
총포괄이익 - Total comprehensive income
기타포괄손익 - Other comprehensive income
포괄손익계산서 - Comprehensive income statement
희석주당이익- Diluted earnings per share
법인세비용차감전순이익 - Earnings before income tax
It is harder to spot words that I haven't understood (conceptually and literally) before. I feel that I have a really good grasp over articles regarding the economy in Korean. The professional terms they use make sense conceptually and on the surface as well. I am really content with my progress.
I've learned so many professional vocab. As I stated above, there are hardly any words I read in complex economy news articles that I don't understand. By reading these articles weekly, I've really come far in expanding my vocab. I also feel very comfortable writing professionally like these news articles are written. I also feel a lot more comfortable speaking in Korean. I was fluent before but there were times when I just felt awkward speaking it (even though I knew I was using the right grammar and words). I feel very free and natural speaking Korean now just because I have been doing more of it recently because of this class. I've been talking to my family members more for practicing Korean. Also, the weekly Korean classes were very helpful as well.
There weren't any difficulties to be honest. I think the fact that I had a very solid foundation in Korean to begin with made it easier for me to make big progresses. It wasn't like I was learning a whole new language with whole new rules. I was only fortifying what I already had a pretty decent grasp on. It was a great semester in terms of the growth I had in my Korean skills.
I continued to read more articles on the news regarding economics in Korea.
I also had long phone conversations with each of my family members not only to catch up with them but also to practice Korean.
Here are a list of some of the economic/professional terms I came across while reading this week:
투자활동으로 인한 현금흐름 - cash flows from investing activities
단기차입금의 순증감 - proceeds from short-term borrowings
장기차입금 및 사채의 상환 - proceeds from long-term debt and debentures
재무활동으로 인한 현금흐름 - Cash flows from investing activities
이자의 수취/배급 - Interest received/paid
My vocab is broadening at a pretty good rate and I feel that I have come a long way in bettering my speaking skills and writing skills.
I wanted to continue to increase my vocabulary pool, learn how professionals write in Korean and practice speaking in Korean. I continued reading weekly economics article and have conversations with my family members.
Here are the samples of vocab I came across:
손익계산서- Income statement
매출액- revenue
매출원가 - cost of sales
영업이익- operating income
법인세비용- income tax expense
회석주당이익- Diluted earnings per share(EPS)
기본주당이익- Basic earnings per share(EPS)
금융수익/비용 - finance income/expenses
Many of these I knew the mathematical concept of but didn't know how it is represented in the Korean language. These are only a few of the words that I came across. I am learning more words, learning to write better and speak better.
I wanted to learn more vocab and familiarize myself with professional Korean writing. In order to achieve this, I read an economics article in Korean. I also wanted to work on speaking so I used this chance to make a phone call out to my brother and my parents.
Here are samples of the words I came across/ learned this week:
현금 흐름표= cash flows from operating activities
당기순이익 - profit
법인세의 지급- income tax paid
배당급의 지급- dividends paid
자가주식의 취득- purchases of treasury stock
무형자산의 처분/취득 - withdrawal/acquisition of intangible asset
유형자산의 처분/취득- withdrawal/acquisition of tangible asset
these are some of the vocab that I familiarized myself with in reading this week's weekly economics news article.
Family is a big part of Korean culture. I could even go as far as saying that filial piety is the single strongest driving factor of Korean culture but there is no factual basis behind that statement.
Everything starts with respect for elders; there is a strong sense of respecting your elders (Especially elderly family members). Younger generations' desire to achieve success usually trace back to their respect for their parents and their desire to make them happy. There is a strong emphasis on how the elders of the family sacrificed their life to pave the way for the younger generation.
Aside from respecting the elderly family members, Korean families are very tight downwards as well. There are cultural holidays such as chuseok and Korean New years when the entire extended family gather and share a big feast. Especially during the new year, the younger kids bow to the older members of the family and wish them a long and prosperous life. In return, the older members of the family give the younger kids allowance for the year. There are various cultural activities like these that build the bond between family members whether they are part of the immediate family or further away.
In one way or another, family is sacred in korean culture.
My learning goal for this week was to learn more vocabulary and familiarize with professional writings.
Here is a sample list of professional and academic words that I came across from reading the daily economics article in Korean.
회사/기업 Business/Management
경제 economy/ economics
회계 accounting
세금 tax
정치 politics
경영전략 business strategy
There were many more words I came across but they wouldn't all fit in the blog. There weren't that many new words I learned; these words mentioned were all ones I've learned from previous articles. I just wanted to give a sample of the type of words I come by when reading these articles. By reading new articles weekly, I am learning new words and familiarizing myself with academic writing.
For this week, I wanted to continue to improve my vocabulary and familiarize myself with professional writing.
Once again, I read articles from naver.com's economy news section. I learned about the current economical issues in Korea. In doing so, I also learned new vocabulary and familiarized myself with how professional writers write. I have been getting comments from my parents that my korean writing has gotten better (I write to them via electronic letter) so it is seemingly obvious to me that I am getting better and better every week. I am happy with where I am and happy to see how good I get at writing and how much of an expansion in vocabulary I will have by the end of the semester.
My learning goals for this week remained consistent. I am going to read a few more articles on Korean or global economy (written in Korean) in order to learn more professional words and learn how to write professionally by reading professional work.
I attended my weekly classes and read a few articles on the economy. In doing so, I learned a lot of new words and familiarized myself with the academic writing furthermore. By this point, professional economical terms that only educated adults would understand make sense to me thanks to reading so many of these articles on the economy. I am consistently getting better and am happy with the results.
So far, my learning plan has been effective. Instead of reading a book, I've been consistently reading articles in Korean. These articles cover topics that range from academics to global economy (most of them are about the economy as I felt like that is a useful knowledge to have). I've been learning a lot of professional words and how to write professionally as seen on the articles. The classes I've been attending have been helpful as well in putting into practice Korean. I think I can stick with the plan as is and ride out the year and see awesome improvements as I have been all semester long.
Attitudes about time in Korea as I know it is interesting. This really ties in with the formality system in Korea. Remember how in Korea, elders are supremely respected while the younger people are sometimes looked down upon. This holds true in thinking about time. If you are late to a meeting with an elder or someone hierarchically higher than you, you are being extremely disrespectful. On the other hand, someone older or hierarchically higher than you can stand you up for a quite a while without coming off "rude" because of the whole formality/ respect the elder culture in Korea. Younger people don't really have the right to fault the elders for being late while the reverse is easily done.
I want to further improve my writing skills and vocabulary. I will continue to read academic articles on Korean Economy and attend my weekly classes to achieve this goal.
For a change, I will read something else in addition to the economy article. I want to read something with an artistic nature to it like a poem or a short story so that I am not just learning professional language but also artistic language as well.
I went on Naver.com and read articles on Economy and how SK telecom stopped their pyramid scheme selling, which is when you sell a phone to someone, you get a portion of what you sold, when the person you sold the phone to sells a phone to someone they know, you get a portion of a portion of what they sold ... and continued. I actually learned a few vocabs from reading this article. It was interesting.
I have yet to read a short story but I am searching for a proper one to read.
For my Cultural Project,
I think I want to talk about the military system in Korea and how it forces every men to enlist in the army.
I want to learn more about the history. When it was enacted, why , and the societal impact it has.
