Massiseo! Delicious Korean Learning

맛있어! [Massiseo!] means "delicious" in Korean. But this post is about something far tastier than food...

In my previous post I mentioned that I had found most of my Korean learning resources through Google searches, and it only recently occurred to me that I could simply stand on the shoulders of giants (and normal-sized folk) in stead. How? Social bookmarking. my weapon of choice: Delicious.

UPDATE: Some time after this blog project ended, the survival of Delicious became unlikely. This was a blessing in disguise, since it led me to www.diigo.com, a much more sophisticated social bookmarking service. The principle is the same, but there are far more options, as well as a mobile application call PowerNote which allows you to sync notes and photos from your mobile phone securely online. Even so, read on for the original post. 

There is more on the rationale behind Delicious in my language teaching blog, but for now let's see how it can help learners of Korean. A Delicious tag search for Korean led me to the wealth of sites bookmarked by other Delicious users. After adding my own bookmarks, I could also easily call up my own collection of bookmarks for Korean.

What makes Delicious stand out is the tagging function, which keeps things organized and searchable. For my own purposes, I love the annotation function, where I can keep notes on each site for later reference... my own and others'.

And that, in a word, is the beauty of social bookmarking: sharing our knowledge.

Massiseo!

A Brief Word on Bells and Whistles (And a Great Find)

While compiling a resource bank for the Korean section of the TOLL project, I admit that I depended mostly on Google searches. (Only this morning did it occur to me to check social bookmarking services, like Delicious, but that is for a later post.) The resource bank includes brief annotations to help users, and myself, decide on the most appropriate sites for their purposes.

Looking over my resource bank as the sun rose today, I saw the final entry, for the Introduction to Korean course, which I had merely described as a "no-frills introduction to the writing and phonetic system". On a whim, I went to explore the site, and found that I learnt more about the Korean writing and phonetic system in ten minutes on this no-frills site, than I had in many hours. Not only that, but there was also a practice session of a manageable dose of vowels and consonants. For the first time, I felt that I had some mastery at the end of a study session. But wait! There's more! The course is downloadable, meaning it can be used offline exactly as it would be online, in both text and audio versions - an answer to the limitations of the sites I mentioned in yesterday's post.

This is a great find, and an earnest reminder that books should not be judged by their covers. many thanks to the polymath author of the langintro site, J. David Eisenberg, for this gem. No bells or whistles required.

Online Resources, Offline Use

At times, like while traveling, it can be tricky to ensure a consistent internet connection for your language learning. Since many of the more interactive resources are only available online, I find it is wise to accumulate some valuable learning materials that can be accessed offline. This can be done either on a computer or portable electronic device, or the "old-fashioned" way, in a notebook. Yes, I mean paper. Let's take a look at both.

Several online resources are downloadable and can be stored on a computer, PDA or smartphone. This is true of many online language learning resources, but let's consider a few examples for learning Korean. The podcasts and accompanying PDFs from Koreanclass 101 offers audio, audiovisuals and written documentation, online or off. The thorough lessons from the Korean Broadcasting Service can be copied and pasted to a Word document, although the audio guidelines are only available online. The same applies to the resources from Seoul National University.

An inbetween option is to make use of the Survival Language Kit, completing the necessary phrases in Korean, and saving it, or printing it out for reference and easy-access, anywhere study.

Although this blog documents the benefits of online resources, traditional resources should never be underestimated. A compact notebook can serve as an excellent learning resource, and there is no better notebook than the sturdy classic from Moleskine, available in a range of formats. (My inner Luddite rejoices.) It helps to keep the first few pages for an organically evolving Table of Contents, and number pages for easy reference. (Thanks to Henrick Borger for tipping me off on Tim Ferris' How to Take Notes like an Alpha Geek!) Leaving a lot of space is also wise, to allow for additional notes as your learning evolves. My notebooks are usually also sprinkled with colour-coded Post-It flags to help me find things easily. On second thoughts, my personal alpha geekdom probably needs very little encouragement.

While navigating the distant reaches of my home country the past week, I found my trusty paper notebook a great ally in keeping my learning on track, even while offline. Technology can make things faster, bigger and better, but it is always good to have a back-up plan beyond the virtual.

"Let's Speak Korean" - Language Learning from TV?

When it comes to learning, I am a lone wolf. Since childhood I have often spent time alone reading or studying, and most of my language learning has been solitary. My second university major was French, and I studied by distance - my only conversation partner was a dog!

Although I've had some success studying alone, having other students study with me has often driven me to learn faster. Other students create opportunities for communication, and we can learn from their experiences, too. A bit of competition can also be motivating.

Most of the online resources I have used address a solitary learner. This evening, though, I watched the first episode of "Let's Speak Korean", a television series featuring a Korean teacher, an American mediator and two international students learning Korean for the first time. Having "classmates" was a different experience, and it might be more suitable for some learners.

Each episode includes an introduction and cultural discussion, some useful phrases and a dialogue. There is supportive text, but it is only in Hangul! What is useful is to listen to the students and note feedback on their performance. Since there is no feedback when learning in isolation, this can be quite useful.

No language learning resource is perfect in itself, and supplementation is always enriching. A series like this can give learners who like to learn with classmates a more social learning experience.

What I found even more intriguing than the video itself was the discussion between viewers that it provoked. The viewers share their opinions and reasons for learning Korean, ask for help with thier learning and become a virtual classroom of sorts in their own right. A support network like this can be of great help to learners, and it is something I would like to look into further.

Time Management and the Gentle Art of Keeping Going No Matter What

One of the greatest enemies to learning a new language is that people claim they do not have enough time. One of the great things about learning with the Web is that there are many learning resources that do not take any extra time once you set them up and establish a habit of using them. Podcasts, for example, can be taken anywhere and played while doing daily chores like exercising, commuting or housework. Of course, some review with notes would be good later.

The Survival Language Kit can be converted to simple word and phrase cards using word processing software. These cards can fit in a pocket and be reviewed in the many empty moments that come by in a day.

When I was studying Chinese some years ago, I had an hour long commute and walk to and from class. I followed the example of a brilliant classmate and started audio recording each lesson, listening to it on the way home and again on the way to class, using my notes as well while on the bus. This was a tremendous memory aid, and saved time, too. That was in the neanderthal days of cassettes - with digital options today, the sky's the limit!

This week and next, my drive to and from my classes is two hours each way. Despite the heavy advertising on the Koreanclass 101 podcast, it may be just the ticket to keep my learning moving in these busy weeks.

New Language, New Sounds

Continuing my byte-sized learning experience, I started this day with a listen to the Koreanclass 101 podcast. Koreanclass 101 has its pros and cons: on the upside, it offers an excellent course, where users have access to a wealth of free resources... on the downside, they are free only for seven days, unless you opt for paid subscription.

I have downloaded the PDF files related to the first couple of podcasts, and I'm very impressed with the organization. They provide transcripts of the podcast conversations in hangul and romanized script, as well as translations and cultural notes in a well-organized format.

The way I learn, I really do need some visual help, and because time is so scarce right now, I value the romanized script. The drawback is that romanized script can harm one's pronunciation. To offset this problem, I am spending quite some time on listening to the audio files and repeating them out loud, as well as annoying my friends by piping up '잘 먹겠습니다!" [jal meokgesseumnida!] before meals. It does take some time to wrap one's mind, and tongue, around the new sounds, so practice is mroe important than dignity right now.

Quick Fixes

TOLL is specifically aimed at language teachers preparing to teach in a new country. By definition, they do not have vast amounts of time. Fortunately, neither do I, and part of my undertaking this project is to prove that survival language can be learnt even when one does not have much free time. The principle, of course, is to use small pockets of time - a notion which just happens to be sound in terms of memory and recall as well.

During a break from work and studies in the past fifteen minutes, I quickly experimented with this principle. I opened up my own Survival Language Kit document, intending to complete the first unit, which is about greetings and being polite. I was able to find both the hangul script and pronunciation for most of the phrases in that time.

Granted, I haven't learnt them as such, but am trying to use the basic hellos and thank yous with a fellow learner. I am also keeping one tab of my web browser open on http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/text_htm/e_text/1e.htm, where the first lesson includes audio, and reviewing those in idle moments. This page is also linked in my customized Survival Language Kit.

Progress!