It occurred to me the other day that I’ve never really written an article like this. I’ve shared my Korean and French learning routines in an older article where I talked about how I balanced studying both languages at the same time, but routines are temporary (at least for me), and it was more like […]
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Cover photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash I started translating Cixin Liu’s sci-fi novella, the Wandering Earth (流浪地球), as a way to practice my writing skills in Korean. As it turned out, I did not finish it – I lost interest halfway, and found other works that interest me more. Still, I’m glad I at […]
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We’ve all heard of the Intermediate Plateau. That stage in language learning where you’ve mastered enough grammar and everyday vocabulary that textbooks alone are no longer enough to keep you engaged, yet you feel like you’re never making enough progress. You understand so much more than you used to, but at the same time, there’s […]
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In a mysterious town that lies hidden in our collective subconscious, there’s a quaint little store where all kinds of dreams are sold. Day and night, visitors from all over the world shuffle in sleepily in their pajamas, lining up to purchase their latest adventure. That’s the premise of Dallergut’s Dream Department Store (달러구트 꿈 […]
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Reading webtoons has to be one of my favourite ways to study Korean, and I mostly use them for light reading alongside heavier, more advanced novels. The vocabulary you get out of them is very different from that you would expect from a novel, though, because unlike novels, comics do not rely on lengthy descriptions to establish settings and describe actions. It’s also more dialogue-driven. As such, you’ll end up learning words and phrases that people actually use in daily conversations. You’ll probably pick up some slangs, too.
The pictures also provide contextual clues, which will help you decipher at least half of what is being said, even when there are a lot of words you don’t know. So if you’re looking for something fun (and lighter than a novel) to practice reading comprehension with, webtoons should be perfect for you.
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It really is a blessing to be learning languages in 2020. There are interesting, entertaining videos in all sorts of languages on Youtube, and never has it been this easy to access native content in our target languages. The tricky part is finding the ones that suit our needs. This is especially true for intermediate learners, who find themselves in a position where they’ve outgrown the boring textbook dialogues, but are not yet advanced enough to understand content targeted at native speakers without some help.
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