Date: 12/30/2024
2024 Year review
This is my review of learning Korean this year.
I started this year with knowing almost nothing about Korean. I have briefly studied Korean a few years ago, but I didn't get far at all. I basically got to the point of learning the alphabet and a few different common words.
At the end of this year, I have learned a bit. I'm definitely not to where I want to be, but here are some things I've noticed compared to the beginning of the year.
Korean sounds like all sounds are merged together. -> I can hear more separations between words. Not all the time, but a lot of the time.
I understood no phrases while watching K-Dramas. -> I can understand some common phrases and expressions.
I could not speak any Korean -> I can speak some simple Korean sentences. I can say more complex and off the cuff sentences with many mistakes, but it can be understood
I could not read Hangul -> I can slowly read Korean, with many pronunciation mistakes and cadance issues.
Observing Korean speakers, I did not understand anything -> I can understand some conversations between Korean speakers in real life.
I would say my main challenge was my attitude toward myself while learning. I feel like a loser when I spend so much time learning something and still suck at it.
I still battle with this challenge every day that I learn Korean. And I anticipate it will not stop for a while, if ever.
My favorite resources for this year were: Italki, Lingq, and YouTube.
Days studied: Approximately 200 days
Italki sessions completed: 27
Estimated hours studied: 175 hours
I want to continue to learn Korean next year. My main goal is to do something related to learning Korean every day. Whether this is an actual study session, watching a K-Drama, or doing a short 1 minute review, I want to do something everyday.
There are some changes I want to make next year. I want to start doing 1 hour Italki study sessions. I have been doing 45 minute sessions to get eased into it, but I want to raise up the amount of time. My confidence has gone up a bit and I feel more comfortable doing it for a longer time. I want to continue to use Lingq. But I want to use it to help with watching Korean YouTube videos instead of random videos I find on the site.
Build a specific Korean learning time and space. There should be a specific time and space that I do my Korean studying. Though the majority of my learning will be listening and watching Korean content, I would like a time and place to help me keep the schedule.