59

I speak Polish, German, Swedish and English. 3 of them are Germanic languages so they were easy to learn because they are so closely related. Polish and German I learned as a child so it was kind of automatic.

Now I have to learn Korean and struggle so much! After 3 months I have learned about 100 words. Any tips how to get to the first 1000 words Ina reasonable time? Especially in a language where none of the words seem to resamle anything from my previous languages.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 22 points 4 months ago

The key to adquire vocab is to find a method that you're comfortable with, and that you don't mind repeating in a timely manner. Two that I personally like are:

semantic map

As you learn a new word, you write it down, with an explanation (translation, drawing, up to you), and then connect it to words that are conceptually related, that you already learned.

So for example. Let's say that you were learning English instead of Korean. And you just learned the word "chicken". You could do something like this:

You can extend those maps as big as you want, and also include other useful bits of info, like grammar - because you'll need that info later on. Also note what I did there with "(ptak)", leaving a blank for a word that you'd be planning to learn later on; when you do it, you simply write "bird" over it and done, another word in the map.

It's important to review your old semantic maps; either to add new words or to review the old ones.

flashcards

Prepare a bunch of small pieces of paper. Harder paper is typically better. Add the following to each:

  • a Korean word
  • a translation in a language that you're proficient with (it's fine to mix)
  • small usage details, as translations are almost never 100% accurate
  • some grammatical tidbit (e.g. is this a verb or a noun? If a verb: stative, descriptive, active, or copulative?)
  • a simple example sentence using that word
  • [optional] some simple drawing

Then as you have some free time (just after lunch, in the metro, etc.), you review those cards.

[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 7 points 4 months ago

I'm doing the flashcards but only with the word in Korean and English. Perhaps I should add more things to it.

The mindmap I've never heard of it, but it seems interesting because you make clusters of words in topics. I will try that out too.

Thanks for your practical tips!

this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2024
59 points (91.5% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26858 readers
722 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS