Sofie to Korea

In my recent book haul from www.heyeonni.com in Korea, I got two books on how to prepare for the TOPIK. While I’m still undecided about whether I should actually sign up for the test in October, I convinced myself that educating myself on the format of the TOPIK probably wouldn’t hurt. I soon realized that my supposedly “solid vocabulary” was far from sufficient and proved to have about as many holes as a collander. Sigh… I’ve discussed previously that while I think pure memorization certainly has merit, I’m also aware that new words stick better in my brain when learned in a context that I can remember.

Basically, I was searching the internet for solutions to my vocabulary problem. The intermediate TOPIK requires a strong vocabulary regarding health, environment, research, the economy, etc. While the TTMIK’s Iyagi lessons are tailored to the intermediate learner, they still focus on everyday language, and I needed something more. Searching around TTMIK’s website www.talktomeinkorean.com, I found their most recent lesson type “News In Korean”. For a mere $18 you get a three month subscription with two weekly editions each containing three news articles in Korean. On top of that, all the articles are recorded at three different paces (perfect for shadowing) and they contain elaborate study notes with translations and word lists. What’s not to love?!

I quickly bought a subscription and I have high hopes that with a few months of studying with these excellent resources the intermediate TOPIK may actually be within reach.

Well done, TTMIK! ^^

You can see teacher Kyung-hwa explain the concept in this youtube video: