I recently found a new podcast called “Talk to Me in Korean – Core Korean Grammar”, and I regret not using it earlier for my Korean studies. The podcast has two hosts that explain various Korean grammar points that are used on a daily basis such as “This” versus “That”. What I appreciate about this podcast is when the host introduce the grammar point and put it in context, they repeat the phrase or sentence in regular speed and then slowly. As a new learner, it is imperative that I am able to pronounce the characters accurately, and so the slower speed helps me. Unlike the other podcast called “Real Life Korean Conversations”, “Talk to Me in Korean” is more suitable for new language learners like me. The other podcast is more appropriate for intermediate learners. Another point I wanted to point out was how the two host explain the grammar points in detail and often add in words of encouragement throughout the lesson. For an example, I listened to the lesson about “This” versus “That”, and they put those words into context by using examples such as “This book” or “What is this”. With my Cantonese and Mandarin background, this grammar point was not too difficult for me to learn since the pronunciation of “This” is almost identical in Cantonese. Nevertheless, this is a valuable resource that I wish I discovered earlier to help me.
My language partner, Somyung, and I went over family pronouns and the Korean number system for the past two weeks. The family pronouns were fun to learn because like Chinese, there is a different pronoun for those that are older or younger. The Korean number systems has two number systems. One is based on Chinese characters and is used for money and the other is used for possession such as your age. The Sino-Korean system characters are derived from Chinese characters, and some of the pronunciation is like that of Cantonese and mandarin. For an example, “ten” in Korean is 십 (ship) and “three” is 삼 (sam). In Cantonese, “ten” is 十 (sup) and “three” is 三 (sam).
The discovery of this podcast came just in time when I am beginning to learn grammar with my iTalki teacher. We learned about the difference between “This” and “That” and the addition of “이” or “가”. “이/가” was somewhat difficult for me to grasp since there is no meaning in those characters just like other characters such as “십니다”or “합니다”. On the other hand, “This” and “That” can be applied to many situations and has meaning, so grammatically, it makes sense to use in one situation or another. My iTalki teacher assures me that grammar is difficult, but we will take it slowly because there are a lot of changes in terms of pronunciation and the structure. I am quite surprised at how much I have learned already in terms of introductions, family pronouns, simple sentences, and a handful of vocabulary. It amazes me how many resources are out there on the internet that can help me with learning Korean or any language. My perception of learning a new language are a teacher, classroom, and textbooks, but nowadays with advance technology, a self-directed language study is highly achievable.
Comments
Wow that's awesome Anna that you were able to find this podcast which helps a lot! I found it very useful as well when I used it in the past to just maintain my listening and comprehension skills through Talk to Me in Korean - Core Korean Grammar so I can second it is a great resource!
The addition of “이/가” particles is always something difficult, even now that I am in the intermediate level. I can understand the grammar rules, but I think these particles we get well just with practice and listening to a lot of Koreans talking. Talk to Me in Korean has also pretty good books that you might find online.