Some common goals in my Korena with my language partner are very similar to mine, which I will explain in the following paragraph. Right now, I am still mastering my skill of putting sentences together with a subject, object, and a verb. I keep confusing the structure of the way that Korean sentence formation is different with subject, object, verb; whereas English goes subject, verb, object. I still manage to make multiple pauses and think through the sentence structure, vocabulary, pronouns, and grammar endings. I was also given an addition to the vocabulary list of verbs from my last lesson and I have been incorporating those new words with my current practice of sentences. I did learn that there are Korean verb conjugations, but they can be very complicated. I don’t think I’ll get to that level of Korean by the end of the semester. I still hope to be able to comprehend more Korean at a quicker pace without having to ponder the placement, pronunciation, and vocabulary words.
I have chosen to stick with my strategy. I mentioned earlier that I was creating a set with blanks where I could fill in the parts of speech I need. Right now I have created a box of pronouns. However I must now add my new vocabulary to further expound upon my learning. I think that my learning strategy personally works for me and the way that I have learned Spanish. However I do not practice Korean enough outside of my lessons to build my fluency and knowledge as fast as I had hoped. I do tend to forget about the 이다 ending to make sentences statements. My dislike towards this aspect of Korean remains since again we do not have this in English. I have not yet learned any more endings for other types of sentences like questions or exclamation and other inflections/tones
I believe that my learning strategies work for me and my pace. A way that I could build on my strategy is my trying to take my initiative outside of class and the learning sessions and utilizing it when I can in my daily life. I should try to identify my Korean vocabulary in real life and then create sentences where is it appropriate to dictate what is happening in Korean. I do need to catch up on my Korean Bilingual shows. I had sadly fallen behind in that. I believe that I’m falling behind because these programs intended for people much younger than me makes its extremely difficult to pay attention since I just get bored covering very simple non-complex topics that fail to pique my interest. I would watch the more complex korean culture media, but it all just goes so fast that I can hardly absorb it. I intend to start watching Korean programs on netflix at a .75 speed where I will be able to identify the words while paying attention to an interesting plot. I also need to practice my writing skills more as well. In the beginning of my Korean, I was very familiar with all the letters/characters. However, my slowdown in Korean learning is making it again more difficult to retain approximately half the Korean I have learned. I need to practice my characters more before the Semester picks up more during Finals.
I currently have no revisions in my learning goals stated above which is just to learn to quickly form simple sentences with my new vocab. Earlier I expressed regret for not having tried to absorb more Korean or carry on my learning more outside my lessons, but I understand that it will take more time to be at the level of where I am in spanish. I intend to utilize the Talk to Me in Korean website, since the global studio has a one year subscription, during my winter break and hopefully during my time in France/summer. I would like something to interest me when I do not have other academic obligations, so I will most likely practice in the summer and I will come back a better speaker and writer.
Comments
I wholeheartedly recommend you use Talk to me in Korean as it makes grammar a lot more accessible - you won't regret it! I really like that you have a set strategy to approaching language learning and how you've mangaged to find a way to incorporate it into your Korean learning since it is very different than Spanish. I would love to learn more about this fill-in-the-blank strategy in hopes it also works for me!
I think your strategy to work with Korean's word order is great! Creating blanks to fill in sounds like a solid practice, and it's commendable how you've approached practice outside of class. I also like how you watch Korean media to improve your reading/comprehension, it's something I also do.