I am looking forward to continuing my studies of Korean this semester. Last semester I laid a foundation in Korean, learning things like Hangul, basic phrases and words, as well as learning very basic grammar. I think that this coming semester, I will be able to build upon the things I’ve learned so far and greatly improve upon my Korean.
In order to practice the Korean, I learned last semester over winter break, I did several activities. One activity I did was practice some vocabulary using things like Quizlet and language apps like Memrise and Drops. This allowed me to brush up on some of the vocabulary that I learned last semester, as well as learn some new vocabulary that I can use this upcoming semester. I also practiced speaking Korean with my Korean speaking friends. Even though it was small phrases here and there, and not a full-on conversation, it was good to be able to practice and reinforce what I’ve learned so far.
This week I hoped to accomplish reviewing the stuff I learned last semester, such as Hangul and basic words and phrases. I think that I was able to accomplish these learning goals.
I was able to meet up with my language partner, Jannette. Since I hadn’t had much practice over the break, I thought that this would be a good way to refresh my memory and remember the things that I’ve learned so far. First, we went over Hangul. I have made flashcards, so we just went through those and practiced. When she showed me a character, I would make the sound, as well as the name of the character. Remembering Hangul was surprisingly pretty easy for me. The hard part about that activity was remembering the name for each character. After going over Hangul, and brushing up on my pronunciation, we then went into basic vocabulary. I had worksheets from last semester with vocabulary that we’ve learned, so we went over that. It was harder to remember some of the words, but I think I remembered a lot more than I expected. Lastly, we went over basic grammar that I learned last semester, such as conjugating verbs in the present formal tense. Naturally, this was the most difficult part to remember, so it was really helpful to go over it with Jannette.
As a final wrap up of review, we had a small conversation using the phrases that I learned last semester. Although it was a very basic conversation, such as saying greetings and asking how I was, it was nice to speak Korean again.
I think that reviewing was very effective. I was able to solidify the stuff that I learned last semester. After a whole winter break without thinking much about Korean, I was afraid that I would’ve forgotten everything. Surprisingly, I remembered a lot more than I expected, which was a good feeling.
In order to build on what I’ve learned about Korean so far, I hope to continue building my vocabulary, and learning new grammar. I think after last semester, I’ve formed a decent foundation to continue to improve my Korean. Last semester, I was able to get the most basic ideas down. Hopefully, that will prepare me for this upcoming semester, as I learn more of the complex stuff. I really hope to be able to work on having conversations in Korean, as well as improving my reading and writing skills. I think I’ll make more of an effort to expose myself to the Korean language and culture by listening to Korean music, watching Korean dramas, and watching Korean movies.
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