The second record is here! Phew a long time has passed since I wrote about my Korean learning progress, and exchange is about to come to an end 😦 When I look back at my blog posts, it feels like it’s actually been a long time and I’ve never been ,more glad that I made the decision to regularly and diligently update my blog. I don’t have the best memories ever, usually memories of my trips are only snippets of where I’ve been and I end up not remembering the places I really went to. I only remember like for example ‘there was this patch of grass’ LOLOL.
I digressed didn’t i.
Korean Language Exam @ Sogang
So I thought it’s apt to start the second record by formally announcing that I’ve completed level 3A in Sogang and with much success! I remember not too long ago that I was writing a post on getting into level 3A and being genuinely scared because my class was so competent and the teacher spoke in complete Korean and I was just wrecked with lack of confidence. So I’m really proud that I got through that and learned a lot of things along the way, and passed my exams with flying colors!!!!
❤ I was so happy upon receiving the results because I felt I didn’t prepare sufficiently enough for it, due to the fact that the BF came when I was supposed to take my exam haha. I hadn’t finished my revision earlier (which was my fault) and when he arrived, he generously gave me about 2 hours for last minute revision LOL. It wasn’t really enough and I did go in feeling unprepared. And I did leave blanks actually during the exam but it wasn’t really due to me not preparing enough, i knew those words were not from this book so I couldn’t have known how to do those qns from my revision unless I read outside material or learned from elsewhere.
And for the interview, I didn’t memorize the grammar the teacher told us to use with each sample question and before going in i was telling the BF i’m going to speak as fluently as I can and hope to wing it by fluency alone, not application of grammar/vocabs.
And it worked. HAHAHA. I just slurred my words abit to sound more native Korean, tried to connect long sentences, didn’t pause too long when speaking and I think I sounded pretty fluent. So although all my grammar and vocab used were basic, my sentences were stringed properly and I answered her questions. So I guess she gave me the A for that. 😀
I took the exam earlier than the rest of the class due to Jeju trip the next day, so I was sitting in their office doing work while all the other teachers were speaking behind me lol it wasn’t actually a good environment cuz i kept listening in to their conversations LOL. My teacher appeared halfway through and tapped me on the shoulder and said hwaiting hahaha ❤
Anyway enough with the Korean exam rant! I’m just proud I’ve completed Level 3A in Sogang University~
The Amazing Journey of Edward Tulane (Korean translated)
There hasn’t been that much progress elsewhere because all my time was spent trying to focus on the Korean exam, but I did buy a book to help with my Korean. It’s this famous translated book that was featured in You Who Came From the Stars!
I’m sure those of you who watched the drama would know about this book~ The Amazing Journey of Edward Tulane, translated in Korean. I picked this book mainly because it’s a children’s book with manageable Korean, and also because I know the general story of it through the drama and I liked it. I saw The Little Prince korean version with annotated explanations to some Korean words at the bottom of the page and full translation on the other page, but thought that’s too risky as I might get lazy and just refer to the english. So I bought this book as a challenge.
I haven’t read many pages so far HAHHA because i’ve been so busy, but i look forward to finishing this book 🙂 I think it’s a good book for intermediate learners because the story is not hard to grasp, and mostly it’s the vocab that you wouldn’t be sure of rather than the grammar. I’m annotating in pencil as I go along 🙂
This book’s price was jacked up in Korean stores haha, about 15000won which is $17+, kinda pricey. I doubt it was this pricey until the Korean drama was released lol.
Korean Language Exchange
As for my Korean language exchange partners, it’s all okay except I haven’t met up with any of them yet so there hasn’t been real practice in terms of speaking, which is what I need the most!! But I have however been practicing with Zenn whenever I meet her, and also Jasmine’s roomie. In the Jeonju trip that I went with Jasmine, her roomie and others, I spoke Korean with her roomie all the way because I couldn’t speak Chinese that well either haha. It’s good when there is no English alternative, I’m literally forced to use Korean. The trip was tiring because i exhausted my brain speaking in Korean but also very fulfilling 🙂
I aim to look for more of such partners in Singapore~ I’m glad I have Zenn amongst all these because she’s at my level and she lives in Singapore and she’s more than willing to speak Korean ❤
italki.com
I just started signing up and am going to do a trial run with a teacher real soon, so will update how it goes. The teacher’s profile said she focused on speaking with her students and i felt that’s excatly what i needed~ prior to this i had been searching for Korean lessons in Singapore and most academies offer only up to Intermediate level. I knew that I was already halfway through intermediate and I didn’t want to restart, so that option was out for me. I then tried searching for institutions that offered advanced Korean, and there was one (Singapore Korean International School) that was reviewed by hangukdrama.com who had a trial class, but it was a bit on the pricey side ($16.20ish per hour), 15 lessons in total. I am keeping that in view for now, while I finish up my intermediate level on my own. Personally it’s because they utilize Yonsei books and I’ve been following Sogang 3A so I feel I should complete 3B first, before deciding to switch books altogether. Haha.
So in the mean time i’m going to have my trial run with the teacher from italki and see how it goes. I feel my speaking is behind my writing and listening so it’s important i bring it up to the same level before moving to an advanced class with SKIS, which would be difficult to catch up with.
This teacher has a package of 110 USD for 10 lessons (1 hour each), hourly rates aren’t that much cheaper than the usual academies or the SKIS, but it’s one-on-one. Granted it’s via Skype but the fact that she is willing to cater her materials to each student’s needs alone makes it pretty worth it, at least in my opinion. 1 full hour or speaking in Korean with your teacher isn’t something I’m confident of finding in Singapore at an affordable rate, so Skype will have to do. I wouldn’t know till I try right 😀
So I’ve dropped her an email in Korean and she responded really fast saying I write well and probably would speak well too, and she looks forward to the trial lesson. 🙂 Let’s see how this goes!!!!!
Others
With speaking in restaurants, counters, taxi drivers and the likes in the service area, I’ve been improving as well, picking up more courage to call the waiters over etc and express what I want. I find it much easier to do so when no one expects me to do it haha. For example if I go with a group of friends and one person tries to order in English and struggle, I can step in easily with Korean. But if I go in and everyone looks at me expecting that i have to order in Korean, I found that these expectations weigh down on me and literally bring me down. It’s a problem that i have to figure out real soon, not being able to deal with expectatinons hahahaa.
I’ve also started slurring my pronunciation like I did with the Korean exam, because let’s face it Koreans here don’t speak perfectly pronounced Korean. They have their way of speaking which slurs certain words, for example ‘m’ in Korean is often pronounced a bit like ‘b’. When I do those kinds of slurs with cab drivers they understand me in the first try, when previously my perfect pronunciation led me to repeating it 3 times at least haha.
It’s nice that I have more confidence now to converse with Koreans. At hostels or restaurants for example, the ahjumma would chat me up to find out where i’m from etc and it’s so rewarding each time they end the conversation with “You speak Korean really well!”. Even though I know it’s like Korean formalities, they give praise really freely here haha, and also that they have very little expectations of foreigners’ abilities to speak Korean, it still gives me a sense of pride 🙂 Haha i’ve also been receiving more comments that I look Korean especially now that I’m able to converse with them I think they’re disillusioned to thinking that way xD one ahjumma in Jeju told me she thought I was Korean because Korean girls are all pretty HAHAHAHA i just stood there acting shy and thanking her l m a o. Maybe i’m plastic looking??
Okay that’s about it for the second update! Just pure words here~
darmawanders 