Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mithridates]

Let's write down anything we can think of that might help. It can be any language, but tips for learning Korean will probably come up quite a bit.

Here's the first tip: if you have a computer of your own to use as you see fit, search for pictures using Google when learning new words. Just browse through picture after picture and think of the word...the reason why is it's easy to learn a word, remember it, but then forget what it actually means and where to use it. That happens all the time.

[Ilsanman]

When I first starting learning, but I couldn't make sentences, I would substitute a Korean word for an English one, in the middle of my sentence.

Mostly, I would do that on MSN messenger, to my bilingual friends.

As for reading practice, I started by just reading signs on the street. These days, if I want practice reading fast, I go to the Singing Room, those little booths in arcades for 500 won a song.

[mithridates]

For example, here's a picture that came up when searching for ���� (angry), the gerund form of ������ (get angry):

[whatthefunk]

[mithridates]

That's true about dramas. Sometimes they spend two or three minutes without saying a single word. I hate that. Dramas can be good if they are a bit livelier and simple.

[whatthefunk]

[crazylemongirl]

I try to expose myself to as much of the target language as possible. In korea it's great for reading because there is signage everywhere to read. I make a habit of reading stuff on buses, trains. Also I read the korean subtiltles on tv etc.

I try to listen to korean music and get lyrics to read with a loud. I try and translate the words I don't know and sing along.

I speak as much korean as possible. I make a point of asking my co workers about their weekend and what they did. I also try to practice the korean that I learnt in class on them.

Also I have found that teaching others what little korean I know is helping me understand concepts better.

I'm also an eavesdropper. In my lower level classes it's good to listen to students talking about the task at hand I pick up a lot my vocabularly from my kids.

The main problem I have is that I have a reasonably large vocabularly but my grammar sucks. Particualrly on particles.

[Mashimaro]

This is more for high beginner to intermediate learners.
If you don't have a background in Japanese or Chinese, I think the earlier you begin to think about hanja (chinese root characters) the better. There is a great book with a red and blue cover which lists a lot of commonly used hanja and vocabulary related to that character. I read it for 5-10 minutes hear and there and lately I'll study one character for an hour or two (i.e. looking up 10-12 words including ǥ in my elec. dictionary and writing example sentences for ǥ�ϴ�, ǥ��, ǥ�� etc)

[whatthefunk]

[Gwangjuboy]

I watch Western movies and leave the Korean subtitles on. You can be sure that the subtitles will contain many words that are used commonly in Korean conversations. The problem with reading and trying to learn Korean is that many of thr words you find written down in Korean are not used in conversation. Just the other day I watched "The Godfather" (���) and to one of his friends Michael said "be indifferent". The word scrolled accross the screan in Korean (�����ϴ�) and remembering it happens to be very easy because the word to "ignore" in Korean is very similar (�����ϴ�.)

[matthewwoodford]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I found writing in a diary was pretty useful. I could 'talk' about the usual things people talk about in daily life, and repeat and repeat until I learned that vocabulary.

[bosintang]

One thing as a beginner I have found useful, is once you learn to read the script of a language, read absolutely everything around you! It will not only help you improve your reading skills but also your vocabulary. Read everything around you: street signs, storefronts, advertisements, bus routes, restaurant menus, etc. This is particularly useful in places like Korea where you are bombarded with written information.

It becomes very habitual after awhile. Even now I still find myself getting a few strange looks when I occasionally read signs outloud. I do it , just out-of-habit, even though I may know what the signs mean and have known for a long time!

[tomato]

[d503]

Like most people here i believe in repetition and using the language as much as possible. I also find it helpful to get a text in that language and to practice reading it out loud. When I first start a language I usually only make it through a paragraph or so (because it is really annoying to have no idea what you are saying) but as I learn more words I read for longer. I find this helps with my reading speed, is a good way to gauge my progress, and it lets me practice my pronunciation without having to worry if anyone can hear me or understand. I don't usually translate the texts I read because I don't like to stop. However if I notice a word keeps showing up that I don't know I will look it up later.

I also am a flashcard lover, I have piles of them.