강미 | learning koreanStudying Korean
Hello Korean fans!
강미 and I have been occoasional chatting partners since she was one of the first backers (as well as a constructive critic) of the new “Let’s Speak Korean” format. I always recommend her site to new learners ~ it’s one of the best resources out there.
Anyway, I’m here because she’s invited me contribute, so that’s what I’m going to do.
Here is a tip you won’t usually hear. People always tell you that when you’re studying a language that you should study a little bit every day, right? Wrong. Don’t bother. By the end of the month you’ll forget what you learned at the beginning of the month.
Here’s the thing - Learning builds on itself. I was really into salsa dancing a few years ago. I had a one hour group lesson every Friday for a year. By the end of that year, I still sucked. Then I got serious. I studied with a group every Sunday for 3 - 5 hours, and then I took private lessons. I was also going to salsa clubs a couple of nights a week. Within only 5 months I was pretty darn good. Nowadays I won’t go for 3 or 4 months, but I’m still fine (although a bit rusty of course).
The point is that instead of studying 20 minutes a day for six months, study two hours a day for a month or two and then take a break if you have to. You’ll learn more in that short two months than you would in the entire six months of short study stints.
And as always ~ study things that you are interested in! No one studies stuff that bores them for very long. There’s a million ways to study a language. Find one you enjoy.
Might I also recommend this fun book called “Survival Korean.” I think it’s a really fun way to study Korean, but then I’m a little biased since I wrote it.
Good luck everyone!
Stephen Revere
Posted by on April 28, 2005 at 11:41 AM8 comments