As promised, I have begun my attempts at basic proficiency in the first of many languages. This week I began to learn Korean in earnest, though I haven't actually figured out how to type in Korean yet.
I'm using the complete set from Living Language, and so far it is a little bit slow, but also rather useful if you have never studied before. I have only gotten as far as the first chapter, in which I have learned how to say 'hello' and about 6 varieties of how to say 'how are you?' The second half of the first chapter is slightly more interesting; it includes how to ask someone's name and whether they can speak English/Korean. So while this set of vocabulary is incredibly useful and is usually the basis of most language books, I can't help but wishing there was something a little more interesting. Hopefully, as the book progresses, there will be a little more meat to the bones, so to speak.
That said, the book set comes with a writing guide which is quite useful, although the order that the alphabet isn't listed in the same order in the writing guide as in the text book, which makes it a little hard to remember. Even so, the index at the back of the text is a really great reference and I have already memorized half of the alphabet!
The audio is also very good; clear and repetitive at a native speed. My only complaint is that for the first few chapters the audio should go just a little slower; if you have never studied a language before, it is difficult to pronounce all of the syllables/sounds properly when the speaker races through it (and as native speakers often do, leave out syllables altogether).
Even better, I was able to get a Korean exchange partner that I'm meeting once a week so I can practice in real time and ask questions (and try to improve my terrible pronunciation!).
I am still trying to organize a meeting with my new Hindi language exchange (LE) partner. I told him I would get a head start on the first chapter of that book over the weekend, but it's from a different publisher, so I'll have to see how it goes. I'll post an update here when I have a better feel of the book.
Wish me luck!
I'm using the complete set from Living Language, and so far it is a little bit slow, but also rather useful if you have never studied before. I have only gotten as far as the first chapter, in which I have learned how to say 'hello' and about 6 varieties of how to say 'how are you?' The second half of the first chapter is slightly more interesting; it includes how to ask someone's name and whether they can speak English/Korean. So while this set of vocabulary is incredibly useful and is usually the basis of most language books, I can't help but wishing there was something a little more interesting. Hopefully, as the book progresses, there will be a little more meat to the bones, so to speak.
That said, the book set comes with a writing guide which is quite useful, although the order that the alphabet isn't listed in the same order in the writing guide as in the text book, which makes it a little hard to remember. Even so, the index at the back of the text is a really great reference and I have already memorized half of the alphabet!
The audio is also very good; clear and repetitive at a native speed. My only complaint is that for the first few chapters the audio should go just a little slower; if you have never studied a language before, it is difficult to pronounce all of the syllables/sounds properly when the speaker races through it (and as native speakers often do, leave out syllables altogether).
Even better, I was able to get a Korean exchange partner that I'm meeting once a week so I can practice in real time and ask questions (and try to improve my terrible pronunciation!).
I am still trying to organize a meeting with my new Hindi language exchange (LE) partner. I told him I would get a head start on the first chapter of that book over the weekend, but it's from a different publisher, so I'll have to see how it goes. I'll post an update here when I have a better feel of the book.
Wish me luck!
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