Heather

Improving My Korean Writing Skills via a Book Club

May 25, 2019December 12, 2020

Writing is extremely important when it comes to language learning, because, like speaking, it is how you communicate with native speakers, and communication is kind of the whole point of acquiring a new language. Most people start small with things like writing their memos or keeping a journal in their target language.

As you progress, however, you might move on to more challenging exercises. You can start a blog and review things. You can write essays or stories and post them online. There is an endless list of things you can do when it comes to improving your writing skills, but what I’m about to suggest is perfect if you’re:

How I Learned to Write in English through Text Roleplaying

May 25, 2019August 27, 2022

If you don’t know what text roleplaying is, it is basically collaborative story-telling, where several people, each writing from the perspective of their own character, create a story together. It can be done over instant messaging apps and in chat rooms, although the more organised ones are usually found on online forums.

Here’s an example of what text roleplaying looks like. Let’s say I’m playing a character named Lisa, and the story takes place in a middle school. I might start with a post like this:

Activating Your Passive Vocabulary

May 25, 2019August 27, 2022

Ever find yourself struggling to recall certain words in the middle of a conversation, even though you have no problem understanding those words when you encounter them elsewhere?

That’s because the words you’re trying to recall are part of your passive vocabulary.

Passive vocabulary refers to the words that you understand but aren’t able to recall quickly without being prompted. Active vocabulary, on the other hand, refers to the words that you can summon at will, whenever you need it.

Learning English via Adventure Games

May 25, 2019July 11, 2023

I want to begin this by saying that you don’t have to be an avid gamer to enjoy this. I’m not much of a gamer myself, yet my limited experience with gaming has done nothing to diminish the joy I was able to derive from these story-based adventure games. They don’t take much to get into, I can promise you that, so if you clicked on this thinking you don’t know enough about gaming to make much use of these games, hear me out.

So what are adventure games? They are, quite simply, story-based games with a central plot that plays out in several episodes (not unlike TV shows). Players get to explore the story as the protagonist and influence the plot via certain actions and dialogue choices. It’s a bit like watching movies that you can interact with.

Does Multilingualism Result in Multiple Personalities?

May 25, 2019December 12, 2020

There is a Czech proverb that goes like this, “Learn a new language and get a new soul.”

The idea that different languages confer different personalities has been around for a long time, and many researchers have tried to verify this theory. Studies have been conducted to examine the effects of bilingualism on one’s behaviours and worldview, and some of them yielded very interesting insights.

A Guide to Bilingual Reading

May 25, 2019December 12, 2020

As a bookworm, reading has always been one of my favourite ways to study a foreign language. It exposes you to natural, high-quality writing in your target language, which is important if you want to improve your writing skills. There is also a lot of variety when it comes to the content, because you can find books for literally every topic under the sun.

One of the most effective methods I’ve found so far is ‘bilingual reading’. It is essentially reading two versions of the same book simultaneously – one in your target language, and one in your native language. It works great at intermediate level (B1 onwards), when you already have a pretty solid grasp of the basic grammar and need to accumulate more vocabulary in order to be able to read with ease in your target language.