GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 305 of 532 22 February 2009 at 8:29pm | IP Logged |
TAC 2009 Day 53
I read chapter 11 of Harry Potter.
I also found news clips with full transcripts at Naver News and streaming television from many countries at wwitv. These only work sometimes due to the spotty nature of Kuwait internet, so I'm experimenting with some programs that can record streaming video.
Lastly, I increased my new cards in Anki from 30 to 40 per day. I'll start tracking this year's cards down in the totals.
TAC 2009 Totals
Children's Books: 33
Manhwa Volumes: 8
Movies: 9
Anki Cards: 920
Edited by GoldFibre on 22 February 2009 at 8:33pm
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caleb Newbie United States Joined 5769 days ago 20 posts - 20 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean
| Message 306 of 532 23 February 2009 at 10:22am | IP Logged |
GoldFibre wrote:
TAC 2009 Day 53
I also found news clips with full transcripts at Naver News and streaming television from many countries at wwitv. These only work sometimes due to the spotty nature of Kuwait internet, so I'm experimenting with some programs that can record streaming video.
Lastly, I increased my new cards in Anki from 30 to 40 per day. I'll start tracking this year's cards down in the totals.
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GoldFibre, the naver.news is gold. Thanks. Also, I've still been using your Anki method. Given the ease of adding new cards, I've actually started using it as a replacement for my regular SRS work when I have a busy day or am feeling a little drained. It's really helpful and provides tons of context. And it makes rewatching the movies exciting; you've got to see how much you've improved.
Question: when did you start your conversation sessions with Koreans? How do you format your sessions? Do you feel 3 times a week is optimal? How long do the sessions last? How important have they been to you're progress? Basically, I want your thoughts on this component of you learning, if you've got the time. Thanks.
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GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 307 of 532 23 February 2009 at 12:55pm | IP Logged |
caleb wrote:
Question: when did you start your conversation sessions with Koreans? How do you format your sessions? Do you feel 3 times a week is optimal? How long do the sessions last? How important have they been to you're progress? Basically, I want your thoughts on this component of you learning, if you've got the time. Thanks. |
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I started in early December, and they are usually about two hours long. Ideally I would share an apartment with monolingual Koreans, but there are still several months left on my lease. :)
I think 95% of my learning takes place when I'm alone. When I speak to people, all that learning magically activates (if it goes right). I also find out what people actually say to each other, which might be different than what people say in dramas or comic books.
The sessions are really hit or miss. Sometimes I leave feeling pretty upset that I didn't learn much, and sometimes I'm surprised at how well it went. I think the key is to stay stimulated. The times that go well are when I'm doing something new and fun and when I feel relaxed. If I feel pressured or embarrassed then I clam up. I think Stephen Krashen has a name for this reflex, but I forgot it.
I vary the sessions to keep them from getting stale, but it can be hard to find new things. We've played Korean "I spy", written messages on and learned the features of Cyworld, taken picture books and made up the stories, done critical reading type exercises on stories out of books meant for elementary school Korean students, and sung karaoke.
One other thing I think is important is that you and your partner like each other. Ultimately these sessions are social interaction and not formal schooling, and if you get on each others' nerves it's not going to go well. In fact, one of the people I currently meet with is leaving Kuwait in a few weeks, and I'm being very particular about who is going to be the replacement. I want to make sure we are going to enjoy meeting several times a week.
And one last tip: Buy a thoughtful present for whomever you are meeting. It can make all the difference!
Edited by GoldFibre on 23 February 2009 at 2:41pm
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GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 308 of 532 23 February 2009 at 8:52pm | IP Logged |
TAC 2009 Day 54
I read chapter 12 of Harry Potter and did 40 new Anki cards.
Also I recorded five news clips from Naver and saved the transcripts. I used a free program called WebVideoCap that is extremely lightweight and works just as advertised. The only minor issue I have is that after you have a saved video, it can't be scrolled/fast-forwarded/rewound. My clips so far are only one or two minutes long, so it doesn't matter, but if I decide to record a few hours of TV, I will have to find another program to get scrolling video.
TAC 2009 Totals
Children's Books: 33
Manhwa Volumes: 8
Movies: 9
Anki Cards: 960
Edited by GoldFibre on 23 February 2009 at 8:53pm
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Mistral Diglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5920 days ago 160 posts - 179 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: Mandarin, German
| Message 309 of 532 23 February 2009 at 9:06pm | IP Logged |
How much time a day do you spend learning Korean?
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GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 310 of 532 23 February 2009 at 9:16pm | IP Logged |
Mistral wrote:
How much time a day do you spend learning Korean? |
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Every day I probably have at least 7 hours of passive learning (listening and watching) and 3 hours of active learning (reading, writing, speaking, etc.). The passive time varies a lot each day depending on my other commitments, but I basically put in all of my free time.
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GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 311 of 532 24 February 2009 at 7:03am | IP Logged |
TAC 2009 Day 55
This morning I read chapter 13 of Harry Potter.
TAC 2009 Totals
Children's Books: 33
Manhwa Volumes: 8
Movies: 9
Anki Cards: 960
1 person has voted this message useful
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GoldFibre Diglot Senior Member Kuwait koreaninkuwait.com Joined 5970 days ago 467 posts - 472 votes Speaks: English*, Korean
| Message 312 of 532 24 February 2009 at 4:14pm | IP Logged |
TAC 2009 Day 55
In the evening I read chapter 14 of Harry Potter. Almost finished...
I also started reading articles from Naver's encyclopedia, since the Korean Wikipedia is pretty sparse.
TAC 2009 Totals
Children's Books: 33
Manhwa Volumes: 8
Movies: 9
Anki Cards: 960
1 person has voted this message useful
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