Korean progress
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Korean pronunciation tips I wish I’d learned sooner
With most of the country in continued lockdown, I’m still confined to my apartment from which all my teaching, class preparation and self studying takes place. In order to feel a sense of progress and purpose I’ve created a detailed study routine for myself with several chapters to be read every single day. If you…
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What am I doing
“So, what are you doing these days?” is a question I hear a lot whenever I meet people alongside “How are you holding up?”. While the questions are simple the answers are less so. Since there’s no real update on the latter, let’s examine the first question. What am I indeed doing these days? The…
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What does it mean to be fluent?
Are you fluent in Korean? This is a question that I hear quite often and my usual answer is yes. But to be honest, the correct answer is maybe. Because, really, the answer depends on the definition of fluency. Being able to speak a language, being fluent in that language, and mastering the language at…
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Back to school (…again)
This semester I thought I’d take advantage of having access to unlimited learning since I’m working at a university, so I decided to contact one of the teachers responsible for the compulsory course 읽기와 쓰기 (Reading and Writing) for all the freshmen at Sogang. I wrote an email to her asking if I could be…
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Teaching ethics in Korea
This week I attended several workshops on teaching methods and teaching ethics here at Sogang University. We’re still in the middle of the winter break, which is always unusually long in Korea. For about 10 weeks between Christmas and early March, there are no regular classes. Only the super-intense winter season, which I taught in…
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Still studying Korean? (feat. BTS)
I took a break from active Korean studies following my intense preparation for the TOPIK exam in mid-November. I thought I deserved to do so, and it felt great to just not focus on constantly learning new Korean. The thing is, though, that it’s been pretty difficult to get back on track with my studies.…
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Korea: A year in the life
“525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes – how do you measure a year in the life?” Well, the cast from the musical “Rent” didn’t…
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Crying and screaming in Korean
Don’t worry, I haven’t actually done either (only the occasional whining), but anyone who watches Korean tv dramas will know that if you have a good classic melodrama running across whatever screen you’re using to feed your K-drama addiction, you can be sure to hear the female lead scream and cry at the top of her…
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Dealing with the language learning plateau
Any language learner familiar with the awesome comic Itchy Feet will probably at some point have seen the one about reaching Mt. Fluency. I feel like that all the time these days. In many ways I do feel fluent in Korean. I mean, I’m able to express myself in almost any situation and when listening I…
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The story of my Korean notebook
I always carry a notebook with me. Always! As a language learner it is probably one of my most important tools. I used to write several pages in my notebook every single day, meticulously filling the blank pages with new words, sentences, or grammar patterns. However, as I took out my notebook yesterday to prepare a…
Sofie to Korea 