Saturday, September 27, 2014.
This week I have decided to start learning verb tenses, starting with infinitives and present tense. The website I used to learn the tenses will be linked below. Infinitives in Korean are made by adding 다(pronounced da) to the end of a verb. So 먹(eat) plus the verb ending 다, as an infinitive is 먹다(to eat).
The second verb tense I learned is present tense. To put a verb in the present tense, add 어요(pronounced uh yo) to the base. So, using the example above again, 먹(eat) will become 먹어요(eating)
I was a bit short on time this week with college admissions, so I was only able to learn those two, but once I finish up I will be able to learn more. So for the following weeks, my goal is to learn the rest of the verb endings and polish up my pronunciation and writing.
I did not need to consult my mentor this week as the content I learned was fairly straightforward. I suspect that I will need his soon considering that the deadline for our presentations is rapidly approaching.
http://www.learnkoreanlanguage.com/Particles.html
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Presentations
This Friday in class, we all showed each other the progress we've made in our 20% time projects. Most of us did so through power point presentations but a few made their presentation out of tri-fold boards. It was interesting to see how far everyone has gotten. While making my power point, I began to worry. I felt as though I might not improve fast enough to be able to exhibit my final presentation. 20% time might be a misnomer. I now think that this project will take a lot more time and effort than I first thought. But I won't give up. My desire to learn is too strong. If I cannot connect to my culture, I would not be able to forgive myself. If we never had to make a presentation showing our progress, I never would have had this realization.
So this week is dedicated to practice. I was not able to get any work done in class this week, so I'll do what I can with the websites I found. http://www.digitaldialects.com/Korean.htm is a website that I found recently. It helps with vocabulary, reading, and speaking with three different activities. One helps with word-object identification. Another is the same except with Korean script. The third helps with listening. I think with this website, practicing will become a lot easier than simply reading and memorizing.
So this week is dedicated to practice. I was not able to get any work done in class this week, so I'll do what I can with the websites I found. http://www.digitaldialects.com/Korean.htm is a website that I found recently. It helps with vocabulary, reading, and speaking with three different activities. One helps with word-object identification. Another is the same except with Korean script. The third helps with listening. I think with this website, practicing will become a lot easier than simply reading and memorizing.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Finding a Mentor
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Three weeks have gone by and I have been mentorless. Not having a mentor at this time is not hurting me at all, but I know that I will need one sooner or later. After short consideration I have decided to make my dad my mentor in language. My main choices for a mentor were my mother, my father, and both of them together. Ultimately I chose my dad because he is proficient in both English and Korean, while I still sometimes have trouble understanding my mother. While on that topic, being able to communicate with members of my family who do not have very good English is another major motivation for this task.
This week, in addition to regular word memorization and stroke order practice, I am working on my pronunciation with some help from my mentor.
The part I am struggling the most with is memorizing the two number systems. One used for counting and the other used for more complex calculations such as math and time. To combat this, I have found a website that will train my memorization.
In the following weeks I expect to learn the complexities of sentence structure since I have already learned word ending for subjects and direct objects as well as the present tense ending for verbs.
Three weeks have gone by and I have been mentorless. Not having a mentor at this time is not hurting me at all, but I know that I will need one sooner or later. After short consideration I have decided to make my dad my mentor in language. My main choices for a mentor were my mother, my father, and both of them together. Ultimately I chose my dad because he is proficient in both English and Korean, while I still sometimes have trouble understanding my mother. While on that topic, being able to communicate with members of my family who do not have very good English is another major motivation for this task.
This week, in addition to regular word memorization and stroke order practice, I am working on my pronunciation with some help from my mentor.
The part I am struggling the most with is memorizing the two number systems. One used for counting and the other used for more complex calculations such as math and time. To combat this, I have found a website that will train my memorization.
In the following weeks I expect to learn the complexities of sentence structure since I have already learned word ending for subjects and direct objects as well as the present tense ending for verbs.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
At this stage in my learning, the main idea is repetition. Hearing something once is not a very effective way to learn, at least for me. I have to hear things multiple times before I can memorize it, so my attention had been on that. As I was last week, this week I continue to memorize numbers(for both counting and for math), character stroke order, and case modifiers. The reasoning behind learning stroke order is so my writing can be as neat as possible so it can be read. I do not want my poor English handwriting to be reflected in my Korean as well. Practice makes perfect, so until I am satisfied(or at least until my writing is legible) I will continue to practice everything I am learning.
At this stage in my learning, the main idea is repetition. Hearing something once is not a very effective way to learn, at least for me. I have to hear things multiple times before I can memorize it, so my attention had been on that. As I was last week, this week I continue to memorize numbers(for both counting and for math), character stroke order, and case modifiers. The reasoning behind learning stroke order is so my writing can be as neat as possible so it can be read. I do not want my poor English handwriting to be reflected in my Korean as well. Practice makes perfect, so until I am satisfied(or at least until my writing is legible) I will continue to practice everything I am learning.
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