9/20/2023 — Hello, studying world. Today I start my journey of learning Korean with my first university Korean class (online). We didn't have any work on the first day, so all I did was read the syllabus (the most basic, non-informative syllabus I've ever read, ha), set up my new desk space, and updated my student bio on Canvas. I haven't been a college student for about 3 years, so it felt like I accomplished a lot. When the readings and assignments start coming in, I'm sure reality will hit.
I've always wanted to learn Korean, and my goal is to reach a near-fluent level, but I know it'll be hard, especially with my full-time work priorities. Eventually, being able to teach and work in translation is my goal. FYI, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese are on my list, too, but I'll be realistic and focus on one language for the foreseeable future.
Last week, as it so happens, I had to move from my family and childhood home, and I am lacking in the positivity department rn, so I think having a place to chronicle my studies and the progress I make will be good for me. I tend to start a new blog on here when I'm having a hard time, and it helps.
So, the plan is to take two full academic years of Korean (that's 3 quarters per year at my university). That's just how much Korean the school offers. I graduated in 2020 from this same university with a BA in English with a focus on professional and creative writing, and I really enjoyed the overall experience studying here.
I spent a whole lot of time obsessing over grammar, reading new and old literature, trying to understand poetry, and just enjoying the inner peace I felt when writing fiction. It was maybe my most happy time because I had no other real responsibilities or worries besides school. All I did was read and write.
Anyhow, fast forward to now, after pondering different language learning options (which are limited in my area), I decided to take my Korean classes at the university level because the classes will show up on my official university transcripts, and I imagine that will be best when I apply for future Korean-related jobs. I am also hoping that by taking university-level language classes, they will have some sort of superior level of... intensity? accuracy? efficiency? Something like that. Granted, this route isn't the best for my finances, as there is no aid for non-matriculated post-grads, and the cost of a single class is quite ridiculous. But alas, here I am, with an empty wallet and hope in my eyes.
Upon reading the syllabus today, which could basically be summarized as "TBD," I realized the textbook I bought, the textbook I waited over a week for, the one listed on the online course materials list, is, in fact, not the correct textbook.
And, icing on the bitter cake, the correct textbook appears to be a rare Pokémon that isn't available anywhere except the dark corners of eBay, where shipping will take at least 2 weeks. Like how did other students get this? Did they order it two months in advance? Meanwhile, I have my first assignments and readings due Monday.
I quite literally just sent an email to my professor and asked what I should do, so we'll see what she says, but I really wasn't hoping to be that one student, emailing the professor about an issue on day 1.
Since this is my first post here, here also is a tiny bit about me:
My name is Asya ("Asia"), and I'm a 24-year-old English grad based in Washington; no, not the one followed by DC, but the state with a lot of rain and trees. Twilight? Starbucks? Amazon? Yes, that one.
Since graduating in 2020, I've been a freelance editor and writer. I'm taking Korean both for passion and for work purposes, and I really should have started sooner. But I guess we're all on our own timelines.
I've been on Tumblr for a long, long time, but I've never been part of the studyblr sector. I'm glad to be here. :)
I am sure I'm not the only one who is so used to writing 걱정마, 하지마, 그러지마,... when texting or writing informal documents. Because these are common sentences and there is no way people can misunderstand the meaning so it doesn't really matter if we write them in right way or not. BUT! 걱정마, 하지마, 그러지마 are not the right way to write and today I will explain the reason why.
First of all, the "마" in "걱정 마" is the conjugated form of the verb "말다", and the "마" in "하지 마" and "그러지 마" is the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb "-지 말다". FYI auxiliary verbs are verbs that connects with the main verbs of the sentences and give those main verbs deeper or more detailed meanings.
Both the verb and the auxiliary verb "말다" is a separated word, so there has to be a space between "말다" and other words in the sentences. The right sentences are 걱정 마, 하지 마 và 그러지 마.
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Korean classes - I think that by December I would feel confident giving Korean classes to a small group of people through either skype or zoom or something like that. I feel like starting out is hard in Korean because grasping basic grammar can be confusing and it’s best to have someone help you understand. I’ll see how confident I feel when the end of the year comes. I want to help others who can’t afford classes, because I know how useful classes can be when you’re a beginner.
Korean class update: I have been trying my best to listen to my classes for two hours everyday, and I can understand a lot more! Today I was able to hear an exemple sentence and transcribe it correctly! Funny enough the sentence is 한국어 조금 밖에 해요 (which means "I only speak a bit of Korean"). I feel like I am slowly making progress. Building full sentences is still SUPER hard, but it's so fun to study!!
I was severely sick on Tuesday (literally almost passed out from vomiting too much) so I wasn’t able to post anything on Wednesday. But I am back today and ready to study with everyone again.
We will be diving back into vocabulary today, and on the weekend we will have a revision session where we can look back at everything we studied in the week.
Don’t forget to download the study sheet for better revision!
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