tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57712902212619915952024-03-05T11:35:22.707+00:00Retro Learns KoreanBlog posts about Korean and general language learning methods, motivation and theory. Anki decks, Hanja, reading, listening and subtitles for Korean learners. Learning Korean since September 2018. Focused on Reading and Input for now.Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-39395835119389770622022-04-13T18:53:00.004+01:002022-04-13T21:00:57.702+01:00How to Start Reading in Italian<p>If you aren't aware by now, but possibly if you found this post, then likely you have recently been enlightened, that reading is simply the best way to get a tonne of foreign language material into your brain in as little time as possible. Even having a habit of reading a tiny amount, whether it be a page a day or even a few lines, chances are you will improve significantly at Italian. </p><p>There is so much more variety of vocabulary and expressions that you would not come across if you are only to use audio as your main learning source. While there are other great resources for reading such as news articles, blog posts or even the YouTube comment section. </p><p>Reading long form books that have a fully fleshed narrative, that require us to remember key facts and even attempt to predict what may happen in the following chapters, increases our mental ability, general outlook on life and our overall happiness. On top of that when you have to look for new articles or reading content we lose time inbetween that could have been used for reading.</p><p>I have been reading a lot of books since I started learning Korean in 2019, moreso than I'd ever actually read in English. It also prompted me to visit books that I'd never read in English but didn't want to waste time reading them in English so I could kill two birds with one stone. I actually ended up reading Korean content that was created more recently and written by Koreans.</p><p>Korean doesn't have a huge classical literature library that spans from the 1800's and sometimes beyond, so Italian was a great place for me to pick up from there. Initially I will share a set of books for beginners that want to get into reading and then I will show you the great publisher <a href="https://www.newtoncompton.com/" target="_blank">Newton Compton Editori</a>'s fine selection of books that include Italian authored and worldwide authored classic books.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0GUgxiKp0QsEzl7cfLwC1cprsRNTrWTZbecrsIvH0Eoyeiwac7rO17aM96vlLbz6-vSS2CdIdCjGVkzly6e6EqTgHYsHCfUJ3o15Kc3uOM6_VefnHIBGeY3065WirPm_JmLq7cznVa3EZ_kVI0vt7LVmRyA9uj-F6CkR8IJTK-YIUMdnPEG-gr2MBA/s960/minimammut.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="minimammut" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0GUgxiKp0QsEzl7cfLwC1cprsRNTrWTZbecrsIvH0Eoyeiwac7rO17aM96vlLbz6-vSS2CdIdCjGVkzly6e6EqTgHYsHCfUJ3o15Kc3uOM6_VefnHIBGeY3065WirPm_JmLq7cznVa3EZ_kVI0vt7LVmRyA9uj-F6CkR8IJTK-YIUMdnPEG-gr2MBA/w640-h480/minimammut.jpg" title="minimammut" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">For Beginners</h3><p>For any language learning starting off reading is going to be a struggle as they have mostly been raised to believe that it's impossible or very difficult to start reading. Personally I would like to argue that for Italian especially, there are enough cognates, that even a brief run over some grammar and a few hundred words will leave you able to read from week 1.</p><p>Luckily for us Olly Richards, has decided he would like to be the forerunner for providing reading content for beginners of many languages and has a whole set of books aimed at beginners written in many different languages.</p><p>Obviously the ones we want to focus on in this article are the two books: </p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3M3Msiw" target="_blank">Short Stories in Italian for Beginners</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3Ed9n84" target="_blank">Short Stories in Italian for Intermediate Learners</a></li></ul><p>The first book in the series is extremely simple, even cutting out some grammar concepts that will be used in the Intermediate book. These series are quite simple I believe that most people will be surprised that they can actually read and understand large portions of the beginner book even from the first week.</p><p>As per the instructions in the book, you may find it beneficial to read the stories multiple times before moving onto the intermediate book. I think you will surprised how strong the effect of reading is and how active your imagination will become, especially if you aren't a well versed reader in your native language.</p><p>I have a whole article on reading tips that may help those who are just starting out. Generally I would recommend, highlighting or writing down words that you don't know and looking them up after you finish each chapter or story as it will allow you to not worry about stopping and just try to reach the end. You may find that you will understand what some words mean without even having to look them up.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CPdmH2iLaGH9SPBzm55ztrYFo-2OCZh_iZArAtOlF6VMOClWYwm0io0O-Vwa6ypoRjfhrkGPMUTcWdceHOGWlql13O6AFpcnJGOmRmDmt5Z1S7k0fcS5ZLnZCskJFIGmzhiIdteTjbEEZ5txSjMnxNH39UPptHcolMb6V8fLIUC0ImCna3lLgfoVCA/s1000/Olly-Richards-Short-Stories-Italian.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Olly Richards Short Stories Italian" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CPdmH2iLaGH9SPBzm55ztrYFo-2OCZh_iZArAtOlF6VMOClWYwm0io0O-Vwa6ypoRjfhrkGPMUTcWdceHOGWlql13O6AFpcnJGOmRmDmt5Z1S7k0fcS5ZLnZCskJFIGmzhiIdteTjbEEZ5txSjMnxNH39UPptHcolMb6V8fLIUC0ImCna3lLgfoVCA/w261-h400/Olly-Richards-Short-Stories-Italian.jpg" title="Olly Richards Short Stories Italian" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Reading actual novels</h3><p>Despite what people think it's not actually that difficult to read a novel. Many language learners have this misconception that they need to be ready to read but actually this just holds them back. You can read from day 1 and as long as you are looking up words you will be more knowledgeable than you were the day before. </p><p>You learn words long term by encountering them hundreds of times over and over. Reading long form content such as novels will allow you to learn and remember easier and for much longer than just looking at word lists or doing flashcards. Doing those is a great way to deliberately expose yourself to a word but it's not useful over the long term.</p><p>As I mentioned before Italian has a great set of authors who have created many great works, Verga, Pirandello, Pavese to name a few. Luckily there is also an Italian publisher who is willing to publish these great works and even translate and compile works from other worldwide authors. </p><p>Newton Compton Editori have many <a href="https://amzn.to/3MkSL1p" target="_blank">different sets of classics</a> but the two main ones I will be sharing are the Mammut and the MiniMammut. The Mammut set of books are generally very long books or compilations from great authors. The Minimammut set of books are just seperate novels for those that want to just buy a single title or a hardback copy of a book they love.</p><p>The beauty of this series is the price point. You can own a large library of books for a very miniscule price. If one book is going to last you many hours then the <a href="https://amzn.to/3jwT1xT" target="_blank">$2.99 price for the e-book versions</a> is very enticing. I highly recommend this series of books for those that wish to get into reading in Italian. If you find that you have been learning for a long time and that your progress has stalled it may be worth purchasing one of these and seeing how you fare.<br /></p><p>The main issue we come across is being able to differentiate between what is an easy book and what is a difficult book. To that I say, "it doesn't actually matter", even if you struggle to read a book, you will likely learn more from that book than you would an 'easy' book. Over time regardless of whether you read hard or easy books, the amount of words you look up will decrease and the amount of words that will be in your long term memory will increase.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQ4fT68y9zmxSRr75K7DXUn64WEvctaLdHDFKH7-EIz_cIEsvFdYG4k4lpwta8rwF6Mcvmn7FEFpKl9v3ejNYQkdLTP3eEiCwfZiqWqeroDtqDY10LsaN6TH5iOdwB44QXZm1fGrbLGher5SWJJ7ktoXYTIIbm90aDuJzqfTJEHTWNTR9emvaVADe0Q/s500/I-magnifici-7-capolavori-della-letteratura-per-ragazzi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura per ragazzi" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQ4fT68y9zmxSRr75K7DXUn64WEvctaLdHDFKH7-EIz_cIEsvFdYG4k4lpwta8rwF6Mcvmn7FEFpKl9v3ejNYQkdLTP3eEiCwfZiqWqeroDtqDY10LsaN6TH5iOdwB44QXZm1fGrbLGher5SWJJ7ktoXYTIIbm90aDuJzqfTJEHTWNTR9emvaVADe0Q/w261-h400/I-magnifici-7-capolavori-della-letteratura-per-ragazzi.jpg" title="I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura per ragazzi" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><p>For the value, I would first recommend purchasing one of the mammut series that combines various works for younger audiences such as:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3uDPxjr" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura per ragazzi</a> - $5.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3E8JBSJ" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura per ragazze</a> - $5.99</li></ul><p>Then for harder content move up to the ones that are based on authors from various countries:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3EpX5tv" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura americana</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3JCssll" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura francese</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3uDcLGa" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura inglese</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3vhUygt" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura irlandese</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3Ej4Wcc" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura italiana</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3M1SDDz" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura russa</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3jT5k7X" target="_blank">I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura tedesca</a> - $6.99</li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/3M3Ak0R" target="_blank">Le magnifiche 7 signore della letteratura inglese</a> - $6.99</li></ul><p>Although I have linked to the Amazon versions they are actually available on Google and a few other providers if they are your preferred company of custom. If you actually managed to get through all of these you would find that your Italian has increased tenfold. </p><p>Hopefully this has lit the fire in some new language learners or sparked new inspiration for long time learners who have hit a plateau. Please check out my other content for more inspiration and I may make more content for Italian if the demand is there so please leave a comment.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">For related posts please check out these pages:</h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/how-to-start-reading-in-foreign-language.html" target="_blank">How to Start Reading in a Foreign Language</a></li><li><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/13-nintendo-switch-games-to-play-in.html" target="_blank"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/">Nintendo Switch Games to play in Korean </span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-role-of-listening-in-language.html" target="_blank">The Role of Listening in Language Learning </a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-role-of-grammar-study-in-language.html" target="_blank">The Role of Grammar Study in Language Learning</a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-monolingual-transition-and-how-to.html" target="_blank">The Monolingual Transition and How to Approach it</a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/smartphone-apps-that-every-language.html" target="_blank">Realistically How Long Does it Take to Learn a Language?</a> <br /></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/watching-media-and-using-subtitles-to.html" target="_blank">Watching Media and Using Subtitles to Learn a Language</a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-to-spend-as-much-of-your-day-as.html" target="_blank">How to Spend as Much of Your Day as Possible Learning Korean</a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/olly-richards-short-stories-in-korean.html" target="_blank"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region">Olly Richards' Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners Review</span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/using-audio-description-for-language.html" target="_blank">Using Audio Description for Language Learning</a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/12/i-read-61-korean-books-in-2020.html" target="_blank">I read 61 Korean books in 2020</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/04/7-reading-tips-to-accelerate-your.html" target="_blank"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/">7 Reading Tips to Accelerate Your Korean Learning</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/12/i-read-50-korean-books-in-2021.html" target="_blank">I read 50 Korean books in 2021</a><br /></li></ul>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-47343158514005796102022-01-03T19:52:00.000+00:002022-01-03T19:52:27.050+00:00Ridibooks Adult Verficiation Guide<p>If you're interested in gaining access to the 성인 titles available on Ridibooks then you'll have to send a picture to the team so that they can verify your age. It took me a while to figure out how to do this as the method is different for foreign nationals. </p><p>The method for Koreans involves downloading programmes and apps to verify your identity but the version for foreigners is much more simple and more akin to something like Amazon. There is a simple link you can click to take you to the page where you fill out your details <a href="https://help.ridibooks.com/hc/ko/requests/new?ticket_form_id=1500000544502" target="_blank">here</a>.<br></p><p> You can watch the video below or continue reading for some basic troubleshooting:<br></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/25iAs_2dPnY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p></p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2022/01/ridibooks-adult-verficiation-guide.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-75696974039920952662021-12-27T00:35:00.000+00:002021-12-27T00:35:37.505+00:00I read 50 Korean books in 2021<p>Last year I made a post called '<a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/12/i-read-61-korean-books-in-2020.html" target="_blank">I read 61 Korean books in 2020</a>' in which I covered which books I read, my thoughts on reading for language learning and what I was expecting would happen over the next year. Overall I am definitely impressed with what I've achieved and I will cover that later, as you may notice the quantity of books is slightly lower this year.<br><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfKr0f_gewmNj-8G7LTjqWXlgDPJZtgbKh50zb2ROAT1staeleeISt2O3-hm-MxBLXLm63Eo-lYKOWhjbr3C-I5x_Is2lWcAPeAXsy5wwtWcF0iXbyhraJEqG6kMbBr3RTCNGSpitDlYRaO5_NqeNPgYlYGSRfW3647sGiMncxZVAdTFDHyjT79ACPkw=s397" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I read 50 Korean books in 2021" border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="397" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfKr0f_gewmNj-8G7LTjqWXlgDPJZtgbKh50zb2ROAT1staeleeISt2O3-hm-MxBLXLm63Eo-lYKOWhjbr3C-I5x_Is2lWcAPeAXsy5wwtWcF0iXbyhraJEqG6kMbBr3RTCNGSpitDlYRaO5_NqeNPgYlYGSRfW3647sGiMncxZVAdTFDHyjT79ACPkw=w400-h221" title="I read 50 Korean books in 2021" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Year, books, highlighted words, characters(in 10 thousands)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/12/i-read-50-korean-books-in-2021.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-58060978950502125262021-10-03T22:40:00.001+01:002021-10-03T23:20:34.940+01:00Simple 10 minute 떡볶이(Tteokbokki) Recipe <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2g1i8eq7vMeOyB7MBZe74Ngza5zCFUsMB6qVKz9oP5-sR_UcKQJHMO-zuEUP4Bp-Rw0PODMBzIT08QxEK5iUMYBEb0y-BCFTYPE6vXCbd-Zis0fUmhRk0duPq7ui38L8bQ1El-pTvfe4/s2048/tteokbokki-recipe-%25EB%2596%25A1%25EB%25B3%25B6%25EC%259D%25B4-%25EB%259E%2598%25EC%258B%259C%25ED%2594%25BC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tteokbokki recipe 떡볶이 래시피" border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="2048" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2g1i8eq7vMeOyB7MBZe74Ngza5zCFUsMB6qVKz9oP5-sR_UcKQJHMO-zuEUP4Bp-Rw0PODMBzIT08QxEK5iUMYBEb0y-BCFTYPE6vXCbd-Zis0fUmhRk0duPq7ui38L8bQ1El-pTvfe4/w400-h394/tteokbokki-recipe-%25EB%2596%25A1%25EB%25B3%25B6%25EC%259D%25B4-%25EB%259E%2598%25EC%258B%259C%25ED%2594%25BC.jpg" title="Tteokbokki recipe 떡볶이 래시피" width="400"></a></div><p>Nostalgia for many Koreans, a great treat for those having a stressful weak at work or school. Doubling as both a street food and a simple meal that people can cook at home. This dish is very far from being considered healthy and is probably best eaten once a month or so.</p><p>I have been cooking with this recipe for a few years, occassionally making a few tweaks. I will include the base recipe and some added ingredients you may want to add depending on your tastes. The ingredients listed are for 2 portions. </p><p>Generally for myself I make 1 portion by halving all the ingredients except water which will usually be between 200-300ml. Most of the ingredients may need to be purchased from a specialty korean or asian store. Some may also be available via Amazon which I will leave links on the ingredients.<span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/10/simple-10-minute-tteokbokki-recipe.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-6705029414000807942021-09-05T22:42:00.001+01:002021-09-09T18:26:18.033+01:007 Korean Netflix Show Recommendations<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bp-EBVomfTw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>The video above is a little outdated, with this list I will try to keep it updated as I continue to watch more shows and movies that are provided worldwide through Netflix. Personally I prefer movies to to a drama, usually because of the length. I still have a lot to catch up on, so I will only be including shows and movies that I have watched from start to finish.</p><p>Netflix has a great line up of international tv shows and movies and this extends to Korean. The content mentioned in this article should be available in every region, so no VPN required. They also all have audio description(음성 설명) and closed captions, <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/using-audio-description-for-language.html" target="_blank">which means you can make the most of your time watching</a>.</p><p>For each entry I'll try to give a descrpition about the premise and who might enjoy it. You can see the full list of Korean audio content <a href="https://www.netflix.com/browse/audio" target="_blank">here</a>. and a full list of content with audio description <a href="https://www.netflix.com/browse/audio-description?so=yr" target="_blank">here</a>. I'll start with TV shows first and remember to share your favourites below so others can find content they might enjoy.<span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/09/7-korean-netflix-show-recommendations.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-30678903668974237022021-08-30T19:09:00.005+01:002021-09-04T15:02:58.870+01:00SBS VOD: Watch Korean TV Legally Free (No VPN required)<p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bs-ke_vS1b0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> </p><p>This little known website is great for a couple reasons. Generally you'll find to watch any kind of VODs on Korean tv, MBC and KBS both require you to be a resident of Korea or use a VPN. Alternatively you can view some of their content on YouTube but it is usually broken up into multiple episodes or is just short clips, usually they have English subtitles which you might prefer if that's your style.</p><p>However as Korean learners we should be striving to break away from the subtitles and watching and listening to content purely receiving input in it's auditory form. You'll find by doing this you will escape the 'needing subtitles' trap. </p><p>The beauty of this site is that it has a huge base of content going all the way back to the 90s. Older shows can often be hard to find in any form, even illegally. With SBS VOD we get a consistent quality with no episodes missing and autoplay, making it easy to get through hundreds of episodes of your favourite shows. Ranging through Comedy, Sports, Dramas and even documentary/factual shows, there is something for everyone.</p><p><a href="http://allvod.sbs.co.kr/allvod/vodMain.do" target="_blank">Link to the homepage</a><br></p><p><span></span></p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/08/sbs-vod-watch-korean-tv-legally-free-no.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-56073997552264471502021-08-30T01:05:00.003+01:002021-08-30T19:50:52.917+01:00Where to Watch Digimon Series Korean Dub (디지몬 더빙 다시보기 링크집)<p>This page is a compilation of various pages and webplayers where you can watch the full series in Korean. It's possible that some of the link may cease to work. I will try to keep it as up to date as possible. Some series may not yet have been posted. I'm unsure if there is anywhere to purchase the DVD copies for the dub, so this is the best we have for now.</p><p>You shouldn't need to sign in to any accounts to watch anything. Other than the links being dead you may have to deal with low quality sound and video. If there was a place to watch it in higher quality I would point you there. If it becomes available I will update this page accordingly.</p><p>Hopefully digimon lovers, Koreans or Korean learners will find this page so we can all enjoy this series together. I don't have the movies yet but I may search for them later and add them to this post.<span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/08/where-to-watch-digimon-series-korean-dub.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-66901996002122420542021-08-24T23:02:00.005+01:002021-08-30T19:54:56.073+01:00The Best Vocabulary Books for Korean<p>What seems to be an overlooked aspect by many language learners, whether they are using classroom methods or immersion methods, here I want to share some books where one can increase their understanding of the language very quickly with very little effort. At the end I will also share some apps that can help beyond the books shown.</p><p>You may have heard about study methods such as reading through a frequency list. The main problem with this advice is that frequency lists generally have no structure or example sentences. Some words also have multiple meanings which the frequency list does not usually separate. If you are interested in a frequency list then you can find one <a href="https://ko.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EB%B6%80%EB%A1%9D:%EC%9E%90%EC%A3%BC_%EC%93%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%8A%94_%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4_%EB%82%B1%EB%A7%90_5800">here on </a><a href="https://ko.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EB%B6%80%EB%A1%9D:%EC%9E%90%EC%A3%BC_%EC%93%B0%EC%9D%B4%EB%8A%94_%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4_%EB%82%B1%EB%A7%90_5800">ko.wiktionary.org</a> </p><p>As you can see if you check the link, it is merely a list of words with no meaning or examples. The advantage of using the books I will recommend in this post is that they all contain much more information about every word and you can quickly go through them. Also I have created <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/anki-decks-for-korean-learners.html">Anki decks</a> for them meaning that once you have read them you can use an SRS to remember the vocabulary long term.</p><p>Although the Anki decks are free to use, I highly recommend purchasing a copy of the books not just to help support the creators but to give yourself more information about the words included. A quick read through before starting the decks will give you more of an advantage to remembering the words.</p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-best-vocabulary-books-for-korean.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-85014482611562093582021-08-23T23:30:00.006+01:002021-08-30T19:56:45.695+01:00Tuttle's Korean Stories for Language Learners Review<p>By far one of the most popular and recommended books for Korean learners, but does it live up to the hype? Hopefully with this review you can make a more informed decision as to whether this book is for you. The book has 222 pages, 42 stories of varying length and at the time of writing costs <a href="https://amzn.to/3sEkfX3" target="_blank">$14.53 via Amazon</a>.</p><p>The book was initially published in 2018 and has gained huge traction in Korean learning circles due to the appeal of "folktales" and learning through stories being seen as the premier way to learn a language. On top of that it comes with an audio CD or alternatively a free audio download from their website if you purchase the digital version.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyc3HJqWTFmyloYzqvzBwtJTa-kn1VQDoB2OI9pUQtTyzBgJoQA-gAh1iHVy3Lbon091Xcfg0DBdRjLJ3PycdruPsvQF2_WjU9VZQ8QVMBPiyeAbJLzipFD0jcKxJFPe8L9B-BHBTqXLH/s2048/Tuttle-Korean-Stories-for-Language-Learners-Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tuttle Korean Stories for Language Learners Cover" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyc3HJqWTFmyloYzqvzBwtJTa-kn1VQDoB2OI9pUQtTyzBgJoQA-gAh1iHVy3Lbon091Xcfg0DBdRjLJ3PycdruPsvQF2_WjU9VZQ8QVMBPiyeAbJLzipFD0jcKxJFPe8L9B-BHBTqXLH/w640-h360/Tuttle-Korean-Stories-for-Language-Learners-Cover.jpg" title="Tuttle Korean Stories for Language Learners Cover" width="640"></a></div><p></p><p></p><span></span><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/08/tuttles-korean-stories-for-language.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-10580409472691986572021-08-22T22:52:00.004+01:002021-08-30T19:58:16.910+01:00Can You Learn Korean from Kpop?<p>If you're asking this question, then at least you may have some interest in learning Korean, which is a great start, or maybe you're just interesting in finding an answer to the question. Hopefully I will be able to answer both of these. If you're new to my blog or language learning, it may be worth reading through these three articles when you have finish this post: <br></p><ul><li><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/"><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/p/korean-fluency-path.html" target="_blank">Korean Fluency Path</a></span></span></span></span></span></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/should-i-learn-korean.html" target="_blank"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span><span class="w4txWc oJeWuf" id="c2" role="region"><span class="MUhG4e OGjyyf" data-blogurl="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/">Should You Learn Korean?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/smartphone-apps-that-every-language.html" target="_blank">Realistically How Long Does it Take to Learn a Language?</a></li></ul><p>There are a few glaringly obvious advantages and disadvantages to using Kpop and by extension music to learn a language. Advantages such as repetitive language, easy to listen repeatedly, enjoyable to listen to. Sadly a lot of these advantages are negated by any lack of effort to search the meaning of the words or effort to learn the language.</p><p>In my article '<a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-role-of-listening-in-language.html" target="_blank">The Role of Listening in Language Learning</a>', I explain how listening plays two roles. The first to get sounds into your head regardless of whether you know the meaning or not and the second to act as a review to strengthen your memory of words you already know.</p><p>We all have movie lines stuck in our head, even ones from childhood. It's very common for humans to repetitively read, watch or listen to content they find enjoyable. There is a sense of comfort, especially for children, who you will find will want to watch the same movie every night or want you to read them the same story over and over.</p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/08/can-you-learn-korean-from-kpop.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-14399734157470726142021-07-04T20:46:00.005+01:002021-10-24T12:52:56.087+01:007 Korean Fantasy Webtoons You Should Read in 2021<p>If you're not learning Korean and are just looking for webtoon recommendations, I will leave the English names, feel free to skip the intro.<br></p><p>Webtoons are great for those first starting out reading or those that want something more relaxed than walls of text. The biggest advantage is that they are a lot more comprehensible due to the drawings giving you information about what is happening in the plot. <br></p><p>Obviously due to the lower density of the text, vocabulary acquisition will be lower. For me I can cover much more content in a book than I can with webtoons, most likely due to the need to constantly scroll to get to the text, where as with a large walls of text there is no distraction from the text.</p><p>An understated advantage of webtoons is that because they are solely spoken text and less descriptive vocabulary they are a great way to get to speaking earlier. If your main aim is to speak then it might be a good idea to spend most of your reading time on webtoons instead of texts that are less conversational.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgDZ8xuJxRaI8PPsfg7WEmlewOm1fUulqriRyfaj9Qw9F_HxNXIERpnL_Jm2DR5FPmxt2Qflu233eZRMPAZWd2WwOpG2ixh_PyIqvhWOO0YufrulYDwbo2ovOdETQsUXBpOnX4qEl1Ik7/s570/Korean-Webtoons.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Korean Webtoon Sites" border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="570" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgDZ8xuJxRaI8PPsfg7WEmlewOm1fUulqriRyfaj9Qw9F_HxNXIERpnL_Jm2DR5FPmxt2Qflu233eZRMPAZWd2WwOpG2ixh_PyIqvhWOO0YufrulYDwbo2ovOdETQsUXBpOnX4qEl1Ik7/w400-h225/Korean-Webtoons.jpg" title="Korean Webtoon Sites" width="400"></a><span></span></div><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/07/7-fantasy-webtoons-you-should-read-in.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040136.076110856936481 -19.468526 68.8963751430635 15.687724tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-41886974654958011822021-05-06T22:45:00.003+01:002021-08-30T20:01:37.429+01:00Korean Dictionary Symbols Explained<div style="text-align: center;"></div><p>First look at the dictionary may be confusing. In this article I want to clear up some of the more confusing or overlooked parts that are super useful for learners. I think its very easy to overlook helpful information because it seems overwhelming.</p><p>Like all knowledge it becomes much easier to digest when we know about it before hand. So I just want to point out a few things that you can take into the future with you.</p><p>Personally there are only 2 dictionaries I use. <a href="https://krdict.korean.go.kr/eng/mainAction?nation=eng" target="_blank">Krdict</a> and <a href="https://dict.naver.com/" target="_blank">Naver dictionary</a>. The first is my preference because it shows the description of the word and has some examples very clearly laid out. I tend to use Naver as a last resort for words that are not on Krdict.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M3SHpspxHr8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/05/korean-dictionary-symbols-explained.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-2054367862725843392021-04-22T22:59:00.011+01:002021-08-30T20:03:11.125+01:007 Reading Tips to Accelerate Your Korean Learning<p>There's a lot of fluff lists out there. "how to learn X language", "20 tips to become fluent in X" and 99% of the time they're all just generic advice that everyone already knew. Well this list aims to actually give you tips that you can actually use to make progress with Korean. There is no real order or priority to any of the tips but they will all benefit most people in some way.<br></p><p>As I have stated in previous posts, reading is simply the best way to make rapid progress in a language due to the amount of content you can cover and the large amount of vocabulary used. The tips will be useful for all levels including tips that beginners and advanced learners can use straight away. </p><p>If you found these tips helpful or have tips of your own you would like to share, let me know in the comments below. It's great to get a lot of different perspectives so that we can help future learners achieve their goals. There will likely be a part 2 so please return for that at a later date.</p><p>Below I will leave a playlist of video versions of similar tips and more.<br></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLBUDPjnyFuRaB5SxfnESro8gyrB3GEqye" width="560"></iframe>
<br></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h4><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/04/7-reading-tips-to-accelerate-your.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com6Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-89898824418638438612021-04-21T23:04:00.063+01:002021-08-30T20:04:31.521+01:00Korean Grammar in Use Advanced - Grammar Points Ranked <p><span style="font-family: arial;">This list is sorted based on how much I have personally seen them used in books, TV and media that I consume. It may not be 100% accurate and as I continue to learn I will continue to notice more the grammar that I rarely see. I have read a large variety of books at different levels and regularly watch science related content.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I want the different sections to represent how I feel about the contained grammar forms. There are actually a fair amount of grammar points missing from the entire series of Korean Grammar in Use. I will try to keep this list updated and add grammar points at the end that regularly come up but are not in the book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have placed a description in Korean next to each point because I've found that I understood the grammar much better once I had read the Korean description. Please note that the list is likely heavily biased to my own experiences and if you mainly consume content that is not the same domain as myself you may find certain grammar more or less common.<br></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Please refer to the book or perhaps search the dictionary or google to find more information about the grammar points. I recommend using this as a reference as to which grammar points you know. It is good to let yourself know of the existence of grammar prior to seeing it in context so that you can identify that it is grammar.<span></span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2021/04/korean-grammar-in-use-advanced-grammar.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-62042480566745327312020-12-30T22:25:00.007+00:002021-08-30T20:06:12.982+01:00I read 61 Korean books in 2020<p>If you have read any of my previous articles, you may already know that I am a big proponent of reading for foreign language acquisition. I started reading proper Korean books some time around March 2019, around 6 months into learning, which when I think about it is too late and one of my biggest regrets is not reading earlier.</p><p>Initially, I found a very nice series of history books aimed at a younger audience, <a href="http://www.kyelimbook.com/shop2/goods/goods_view.php?&goodsno=2317" target="_blank">그림으로 보는 세계사</a>, that just so happened to be on <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-to-use-ridibookskorean-ebook-store.html" target="_blank">Ridiselect</a>. Seeing as it was cheaper to use Ridiselect than to pay for each book individually I subscribed to the service, which was back then $6.99 per month. As they were the first books I read, it took me a while to get through them. </p><p>Once I finished them, I looked at what else was available through Ridiselect and stumbled upon a few books that were so far beyond my level that I could only pick up bits. However my main aim when reading them was to read them to see the words in context and try to pick up as many as I could. I spent a few months reading these before deciding to come back down to lower level books.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvNvxl3PCTybZHh8HoJjQ8TswGFyb9AKSUgDIvgJ6yTRiLQj7-3ZDBHvvfjdTiEA_FgLQeegW-U5BgxzNbYhxOn-ttYXQXDLLQAtn5K_ftI1A4uuOcdIGUyAjkSnrMJpETw9H1oEGDuYO/s1117/Korean-Tracking-Sheet.JPG"><img alt="Korean Tracking Sheet" border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="1117" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvNvxl3PCTybZHh8HoJjQ8TswGFyb9AKSUgDIvgJ6yTRiLQj7-3ZDBHvvfjdTiEA_FgLQeegW-U5BgxzNbYhxOn-ttYXQXDLLQAtn5K_ftI1A4uuOcdIGUyAjkSnrMJpETw9H1oEGDuYO/w640-h219/Korean-Tracking-Sheet.JPG" title="Korean Tracking Sheet" width="640"></a></div><p></p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/12/i-read-61-korean-books-in-2020.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com8Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-74191075828158494102020-12-21T00:24:00.003+00:002021-08-30T20:08:36.477+01:00How to Learn Korean in 2021<p>As the new year comes around, there may be many more people who are looking to pick up a language as part of their new year's resolutions or new year's goals. If you found this article then most likely you are looking to learn Korean, A language that continues to grow in popularity every year.<br></p><p>If you've just started or are looking to start, then this article will outline the key aspects of language learning and how you can apply them to Korean. Later, I will introduce places where you can find almost any type of Korean content to enjoy.</p><p>Whatever your reason for learning Korean, you must understand that learning a language is a long term pursuit. You will have the most success by treating it as a part of your life rather than a skill that you learn. To put it into perspective you will be looking at a minimum of a year to feel like you have a basic understanding and probably around 2-5 years to feel comfortable.<br></p><p>Before we begin I recommend bookmarking my <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/p/korean-fluency-path.html" target="_blank">Korean Fluency Path</a> so that you can refer back to it later. It covers the first 2 years of the learning journey. After around 6 months you will likely have graduated from using learner's materials and have moved on to content created for natives.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYjNMAzzybJNqvYJf_pnpmpOoTkeoudOvOeC7DB3yaHhDLtFQiXBk1UvGP3vYsh1fJ9BjXoOqJ1Mlj4jTaUTANVIUgameZ6lyN8hmCZmy0hio25LJw1CfASo5kIKGD-2SsEgmso0iU4P0/s800/%25EA%25B5%25AD%25EB%25BD%2595.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="국뽕" border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="800" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYjNMAzzybJNqvYJf_pnpmpOoTkeoudOvOeC7DB3yaHhDLtFQiXBk1UvGP3vYsh1fJ9BjXoOqJ1Mlj4jTaUTANVIUgameZ6lyN8hmCZmy0hio25LJw1CfASo5kIKGD-2SsEgmso0iU4P0/w640-h478/%25EA%25B5%25AD%25EB%25BD%2595.jpg" title="국뽕" width="640"></a></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/12/how-to-learn-korean-in-2021.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-78473851770044226972020-11-13T19:39:00.005+00:002021-08-30T20:10:02.748+01:00How to Master the Korean Number Systems<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bWMHm5kD744" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p>This article is going to presume that you have at least the knowledge of the number systems, although as we all know knowledge is not acquisition. I will try to cover some strategies you can use to better help remember the numbers and also make it more natural to read them in Korean.</p><p>As anyone who has tried to learn another language will know it's very difficult to read a written arabic number without defaulting to saying it in your native language. I know many people who are extremely fluent in English and say they always count in their native language. However our aim should be to at least be comfortable with numbers so that we can tell people things like our age or our birth date.</p><p>I've found while learning Korean that numbers come up very often in various ways and it has become beneficial for my reading speed and understanding to be able to automatically know the number in Korean. For reference I will refer to 일, 이, 삼 as the Sino-Korean system and 하나, 둘, 셋 as the pure Korean system.<span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/11/how-to-master-korean-number-systems.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-25496713796331101492020-11-12T11:35:00.006+00:002021-08-30T20:11:46.834+01:00Talk to Me in Korean Advanced Idiomatic Expressions Reference List<p>Starting at Level 8 TTMIK added idiomatic expression lessons based on 1 word. Here the list is compiled for easy access with links to each lesson. There is also an <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/anki-decks-for-korean-learners.html" target="_blank">Anki deck</a> available which covers the idioms from the collaboration between TTMIK and Naver.</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2018/11/talk-to-me-in-korean-ttmik-grammar_10.html" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""><span><span face="">TTMIK Grammar points list</span></span></span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2019/01/talk-to-me-in-korean-ttmik-hanja-lesson.html" target="_blank"><span face="" style="font-size: medium;">Hanja(word builder) lessons list</span></a></li></ul><p><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8NypE7lW9f73akYMreXJ8FFRfSyZzN321oGw4VmceMfCexJR08mqiPhSWoFM-YirVWJ6AjoU50htxmXdP5VASf3x0GyqPXWpUBU_yB099FU1MC_scBIapcGJYoZam4v4vt96uTwpYgGg/s1115/Talk-to-Me-in-Korean-Level-8-10-Advanced-Idiomatic-Expresions.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Talk to Me in Korean Advanced Idiomatic Expressions Reference List" border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="1115" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8NypE7lW9f73akYMreXJ8FFRfSyZzN321oGw4VmceMfCexJR08mqiPhSWoFM-YirVWJ6AjoU50htxmXdP5VASf3x0GyqPXWpUBU_yB099FU1MC_scBIapcGJYoZam4v4vt96uTwpYgGg/w640-h188/Talk-to-Me-in-Korean-Level-8-10-Advanced-Idiomatic-Expresions.JPG" title="Talk to Me in Korean Advanced Idiomatic Expressions Reference List" width="640"></a></span></span></span></div><span face=""><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""><span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/11/talk-to-me-in-korean-advanced-idiomatic.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-37517730787345687272020-11-10T15:46:00.005+00:002021-08-30T20:13:04.135+01:00The Role of Anki in Language Learning<p>I've been wanting to write about this for a while. I see a lot of people over complicate their experience with Anki and even shy away from using it all together because they perceive it to be more complicated than it is. The first thing I will state is that all the content within this article is based off of my own opinion of the software from how I've used it and how I've seen others use it.</p><p>The first thing to note is that Anki is merely a supplement to your learning. The reason and method of using Anki will vary throughout your language learning journey. However one should not feel obligated to use it at any point. Once it becomes boring or you forget the reason you're even using it, then simply just stop.</p><p>You can download for free Anki here:<br></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://apps.ankiweb.net/" target="_blank">for PC and Mac</a></li><li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki&hl=en" target="_blank">for Android devices</a> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswJ-9hYUPIdViflI3XeVRH8VmAjqHPfmpy3qPdxBqH6b5RHUXtGCJgYL592o-BZGe254L8Weyk80Y2gGPUS5YDURt428_q6huJgSKUEM2MiPJ4DDpIMELwpYNw97kK92N1SDronecn4uL/s1200/Anki-icon.webp"><img alt="Anki Icon" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswJ-9hYUPIdViflI3XeVRH8VmAjqHPfmpy3qPdxBqH6b5RHUXtGCJgYL592o-BZGe254L8Weyk80Y2gGPUS5YDURt428_q6huJgSKUEM2MiPJ4DDpIMELwpYNw97kK92N1SDronecn4uL/w320-h320/Anki-icon.webp" title="Anki Icon" width="320"></a></div></li></ul><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-role-of-anki-in-language-learning.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-18769040123319305072020-10-29T21:43:00.006+00:002022-01-13T22:24:18.925+00:00Lingo Mastery's Korean Short Stories for Beginners Review<p><a href="https://www.lingomastery.com/" target="_blank">Lingo Mastery</a> have been making language learning content for a while now and finally have got round to stories for Korean learners. Hopefully this means that they will continue to make content and we can look forward to more Korean content from them. As you may know from my previous posts, I consider<a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/how-to-start-reading-in-foreign-language.html" target="_blank"> reading to be the best way to learn a language</a>, so I am always interested in new reading and story content for Korean.</p><p>Previously I have reviewed <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/olly-richards-short-stories-in-korean.html" target="_blank">Olly Richards' Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners</a> and <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/billy-gos-korean-reading-made-simple.html" target="_blank">Billy Go's Korean Reading Made Simple</a>. All of these books seem to offer different things for the learner and While reading through this book, I found out something about reading that I had not really considered the specifics of. If you would like to check out Lingo Mastery's full selection <a href="https://amzn.to/2TycVvg" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfMx2qLJJIk9kv39-Tr0AQNzNX-EWvppSdy45s5XvKWR9017zFoO3F3qZnFzA68JtdqWWjAi3HestDfUcyIZeJi-1BtQes821aC84sobDUTQhFlZXyLP6MzwEajUmt8kjahm97EcBvErt/s1533/Lingo-Mastery-Korean-Short-Stories-for-Beginners.jpg"><img alt="Lingo Mastery's Korean Short Stories for Beginners front cover" border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="958" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSfMx2qLJJIk9kv39-Tr0AQNzNX-EWvppSdy45s5XvKWR9017zFoO3F3qZnFzA68JtdqWWjAi3HestDfUcyIZeJi-1BtQes821aC84sobDUTQhFlZXyLP6MzwEajUmt8kjahm97EcBvErt/w250-h400/Lingo-Mastery-Korean-Short-Stories-for-Beginners.jpg" title="Lingo Mastery's Korean Short Stories for Beginners front cover" width="250"></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/lingo-masterys-korean-short-stories-for.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-15207304878910706472020-10-20T18:45:00.012+01:002021-08-30T20:18:12.960+01:00Should You Learn Korean?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMkR9XNXqfzexRIAsLQHo9TpqJsMkOUgzQ5T-4mobyKYFj1ThP4gbuPUB4Xcd8-tbVbhWhhZlkGgu9VaPkPbO2ZiZENeQMnll_EtUiXkf-BaUX5dZFtGlpJsE32gQcVwt2tJqJgRtfZo2/s1200/Should-you-learn-Korean.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hangeul and Joseongeul Korean writing system" border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1200" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMkR9XNXqfzexRIAsLQHo9TpqJsMkOUgzQ5T-4mobyKYFj1ThP4gbuPUB4Xcd8-tbVbhWhhZlkGgu9VaPkPbO2ZiZENeQMnll_EtUiXkf-BaUX5dZFtGlpJsE32gQcVwt2tJqJgRtfZo2/w320-h293/Should-you-learn-Korean.png" title="Hangeul and Joseongeul Korean writing system" width="320"></a></div><p>Should you learn Korean? Should I learn Korean? Should I learn a language? Perhaps you have pondered about this before? Perhaps are thinking of starting to learn a language or just recently started learning a language and are wondering if it's for you? I'm going to presume you clicked this article because you fall into one of these two categories.</p><p>It's very normal to have doubts when starting or before starting on a long term goal. Partly doubt of whether you will succeed and partly doubt of whether you think the investment is worth it. I'm sure we all have the same doubts when it comes to spending the valuable resources, time and money. </p><p>I want to focus on whether one should learn Korean as a western native language speaker. If you already know or were raised with a Sino-language then the journey will be easier, similarly as it would for a native English speaker to learn, say, a romance language. Because of the huge time commitment required, there are what some would consider good reasons and bad reasons to even start in the first place.</p><p><span></span></p><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/should-i-learn-korean.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040123.928315159962025 -37.046651 81.04417084003795 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-47533522798988609582020-10-13T13:38:00.008+01:002021-08-30T20:19:09.288+01:00Using Audio Description for Language Learning<p style="text-align: left;">You may have noticed while changing the language or subtitles on netflix, an option called 'audio description' or even on television programmes, a symbol that says AD which represents that audio description is available. Generally audio description will only be available in the language the TV show was produced in although there may be some exceptions.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The intended use of audio description is to allow blind or visually impaired individuals to understand more of what is happening during the silent and action oriented parts of a show or movie. When this setting is active, a narrator will describe the actions that are taking place, such as 'man with scruffy hair walks down a long corridor.' </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7eLVL09qtoiNfa041NhE4A1_4TIc19xzeX16vGdvkh3GLlPyKgHT5eR9_ArdYYYCJI4KbELnYHIJIBseLdRE07UZ0OTcSgEnHSk2N5o9DqMbFDNQVyoU6ifNHMiTYGPWsfTdVg73a3Z1/s400/Audio-description-UK-television.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Audio description logo on UK television" border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7eLVL09qtoiNfa041NhE4A1_4TIc19xzeX16vGdvkh3GLlPyKgHT5eR9_ArdYYYCJI4KbELnYHIJIBseLdRE07UZ0OTcSgEnHSk2N5o9DqMbFDNQVyoU6ifNHMiTYGPWsfTdVg73a3Z1/w400-h225/Audio-description-UK-television.jpg" title="Audio description logo on UK television" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audio description logo on UK television<br></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h2><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/using-audio-description-for-language.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com1Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-21850080454990191792020-10-08T23:45:00.015+01:002021-08-30T20:20:29.011+01:00Billy Go's Korean Reading Made Simple Review<p>Billy Go, of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ynjArlSFuXW23ssZAknyA" target="_blank">YouTube fame</a>, is very well known for providing Korean learners with grammar content and insights into the Korean language through is his various videos.. After using the Korean Made Simple grammar series, 2 years ago, I was interested to see what content he would create next. As I had a already passed Korean Made Simple 3 which covers up to most common grammar there was little need for a 4th book and google and dictionaries would suffice.</p><p>While my level continued to improve I found the power of reading. <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/how-to-start-reading-in-foreign-language.html" target="_blank">Reading is simply the best way to learn new words</a> and experiences many different contexts very quickly. The hardest thing people find is being able to deal with the ambiguity of not understanding every single thing or the nuance of every single sentence. Sadly this is a part of language learning and it causes a lot of people to stick in the beginner stage re-reading grammar books for the 10th time to "nail down the grammar."</p><p>I was a little intrigued when Billy announced a reading book, as I had been reading for many months at the time it was announced but due to having so much content to read I had completely forgotten about it. To state before the review, I received this PDF copy from Billy himself, however the review will be as honest to the content as it is to the value.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Wef0U3EecesYEklvutbOpbDtdMldKXiAbgsimBUFtbIqPnNjyDKD8DWvei2Wd_p17uZBTAp5xGEgtHO1_ks_-FSdd4SpINNBpY8887pOvYe4Xsdm2mvZXl-3Aq4W9eYEy0EhfIiPEaJk/s400/Korean-Reading-Made-Simple-Front-Cover.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Korean Reading Made Simple PDF Front Cover" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="308" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Wef0U3EecesYEklvutbOpbDtdMldKXiAbgsimBUFtbIqPnNjyDKD8DWvei2Wd_p17uZBTAp5xGEgtHO1_ks_-FSdd4SpINNBpY8887pOvYe4Xsdm2mvZXl-3Aq4W9eYEy0EhfIiPEaJk/w308-h400/Korean-Reading-Made-Simple-Front-Cover.png" title="Korean Reading Made Simple PDF Front Cover" width="308"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Korean Reading Made Simple PDF Front Cover</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/billy-gos-korean-reading-made-simple.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-41456139756758671632020-10-05T21:03:00.023+01:002021-08-30T20:21:54.318+01:00Olly Richards' Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners Review<p>For the last year or so, I've had my eye on Olly Richards since I found his YouTube channel and sequentially his short story books. I thought it was a very interesting concept, as it was effectively the same approach that I was taking to learning Korean. I'd like to give a big thanks to Olly and Sarah for providing me with the review copy.</p><p>As for Olly, you may know him from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/IWTYAL" target="_blank">his YouTube channel</a> or perhaps even <a href="https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/blog" target="_blank">his blog</a>. He has spent a lot of time in the past giving advice to language learners and even running <a href="https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/podcast" target="_blank">a podcast</a> sharing his own experiences in learning multiple languages and answering listeners questions. He still regularly posts videos and posts blog posts so go check them out.<br></p><p>I have been successful with and highly <a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/08/how-to-start-reading-in-foreign-language.html" target="_blank">recommend reading</a> for every aspiring language learner as it is simply the quickest way to gain vocabulary. It may be no surprise to those learning Korean, that there is a severe lack of graded readers and simple content in, which to build up your language ability. Thankfully we now have a competitor but can it take the spot of a recommended resource?</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3tIMWg7re3xHwvlhYtedzLrM7QYFMnMoLK21meix1oSFyZYP5yEvO82tJgRjBRZ-FxOA6KshK9wtcuXWqLUKJ0aqNjArjwFt-tSf9MVT0D9utOPlUUom0M1NyljenPeZ3RPMgkZ44auc/s640/Short-Stories-in-Korean-for-Intermediate-Learners-front-cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners front cover" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3tIMWg7re3xHwvlhYtedzLrM7QYFMnMoLK21meix1oSFyZYP5yEvO82tJgRjBRZ-FxOA6KshK9wtcuXWqLUKJ0aqNjArjwFt-tSf9MVT0D9utOPlUUom0M1NyljenPeZ3RPMgkZ44auc/w640-h480/Short-Stories-in-Korean-for-Intermediate-Learners-front-cover.jpg" title="Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners front cover" width="640"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners front cover<br></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/olly-richards-short-stories-in-korean.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771290221261991595.post-60681153403828579732020-10-04T22:08:00.024+01:002021-08-30T20:23:14.459+01:00Billy Go's Korean Made Simple 1 Grammar Book Review<p>Just in case you don't know by now. Billy Go is an American, Korean teacher who makes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/gobillykorean" target="_blank">videos explaining grammar</a> and sometimes various aspects of the Korean language through slightly comedic videos. For the past year he has regularly been streaming on Sunday's on various topics voted for by subscribers.</p><p>According to <a href="https://gobillykorean.com/about/" target="_blank">his website</a>, he began learning in 2005 and has lived in Korea for multiple years and now visits there for a few months every year. He started his YouTube channel in 2012 and released Korean Made Simple 1 in 2014. It was then followed up with Korean Made Simple 2 in the same year and Korean Made Simple 3 a few years later in 2016.</p><p>He recently started a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx0yyQqkpqo&list=PLbFrQnW0BNMUkAFj4MjYauXBPtO3I9O_k" target="_blank">Beginner video course</a> that is completely free on YouTube that is set to span 100 videos. Although personally I would recommend the books due to it being quicker to go through overall or possibly playing the videos at 2x speed.</p><p>I personally used all 3 Korean Made Simple books when I was starting out, so I will also share a few tips on how to use the books throughout the review. Hopefully this review can help you make an informed decision on whether or not you wish to purchase the books.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xjtgAji__O5UfsgNpgEC10f05V61ejS-4rmq5dQyw2xvtpgMVeAAEtYK-FKkyoxT3xalvW2Ztp6julxPxBS4fr58Eb8Rkz_d2OMcMOmxeKnLuKpPM8f99eqKIGZmYewgAJNXhSC_LQZQ/s640/Korean-Made-Simple-1-Grammar-Book-front-cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Korean Made Simple 1 Grammar Book front cover" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xjtgAji__O5UfsgNpgEC10f05V61ejS-4rmq5dQyw2xvtpgMVeAAEtYK-FKkyoxT3xalvW2Ztp6julxPxBS4fr58Eb8Rkz_d2OMcMOmxeKnLuKpPM8f99eqKIGZmYewgAJNXhSC_LQZQ/w640-h480/Korean-Made-Simple-1-Grammar-Book-front-cover.jpg" title="Korean Made Simple 1 Grammar Book front cover" width="640"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Korean Made Simple grammar book front cover<br></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span></span></h3><a href="https://retrolearnskorean.blogspot.com/2020/10/billy-gos-korean-made-simple-1-grammar.html#more">Continue Reading »</a>Retrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10220513907899877582noreply@blogger.com3Birmingham, UK52.486242999999988 -1.89040124.176009163821142 -37.046651 80.79647683617884 33.265849