#korean level 1

[sifil-blog]

This image promotes the offline evening batch for foreign language courses at Symbiosis Institute of Foreign and Indian Languages. The courses include German A1, French A1, Japanese N5, Spanish A1, and Korean Level 1, starting on September 24, 2024. Classes will be held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eligibility is for individuals aged 16 years and above. Contact information and a QR code for registration are provided.

[wentian]

i'm tired, boss

[theinfinitedivides]

God. ty for these blessings (Yoon Woo content. on Esquire. my beloved bby boy actually smiling after what in character!Ryang Eum went through) but must i also suffer (no subs). must you give and take away

[bieups]

[1일 1포 - 12/28]

Forgot to post yesterday because I was busy celebrating my birthday...

But look at this handwritten menu at the 고깃집 we went to:

I love Korean handwriting~

[himbybimbybimbo]

I’m sick and tired of Korean webtoons (especially ones marketed for women which is a huge can of worms) not getting the praise they deserve for elevating the webcomic medium out of the fucking water for the amount of insane detail, incredible use of lighting to set tone and mood and Renaissance-esque composition they put into the digital medium

Manhwa artists really utilize the potential of digital comics like no one else fucking does and I’m sick and tired of pretending it’s like. Not an incredible achievement of creativity seen at such a huge and accessible scale before. Like artists are making cinematic, feature quality art that would take 10+ hours to do and they’re doing that for just like. One panel in a 50 page chapter of a 70 chapter series, inevitably to just be scrolled away in one second rather than just be APPRECIATED for what it is

Like these artists are utilizing everything in their arsenal of full colour, photo bashing, 3D assets and every repeatable texture and filter imaginable to effectively paint a scene in a time efficient manner that can only be replicated in this kind of medium compared to something like manga or traditional comics (which are respectable art forms of themselves and I’m not hating on them but they have constraints like everything else)

I just feel like digital art is amazing because of the short cuts you can take to achieve a piece in a quicker way and these artists are SMART and use everything in their arsenal and it’s so fucking admirable and inspiring to see

AND the creative ways they use comic composition for infinite scrolling?? It’s a completely different cinematic language to books that is so new and ever evolving and these artists are literally making a new language of how we consume media digitally through our phones and that should be fucking dissected and torn apart

and also the fact that all these incredible Korean artists (or fucking studios?? Because how the hell would one person be able to do such rich and detailed art) are so unknown and inaccessible to learn anything from them boggles my goddamn mind these people should be fucking rockstars but most just go by aliases when I want to know THEIR NAMES like I don’t give a fuck if it’s a collective of artists they should have a huge fuckin credit page at the end of every chapter so I can get on my fuckinf feet and cheer for them

And the fact that it’s a well known thing of these artists not being paid well makes me so fucking mad I would buy their art books and physical copies in a goddamn HEARTBEAT

Anyways everyone should read Secret Lady by BANANA and Fantasie of a Stepmother by OKRA or die

[foxcassius]

i am very excited to start taking language classes fr when i go to korea like i know logically that the best way to pass the tests is to go through a workbook and just utterly slog the first few chapters reviewing shit. but i hate the sound of that so i'm going to cram my skull full of entirely random vocabulary and grammar with the help of a tutor and then three months before i take the topik buy a study book and we can whiz thru that real quick

[jexnkookie]

The Law of Attraction (Lawyer!Jung Kook x Reader) [Part 1]

Story Synopsis: Throughout his life, Jung Kook has only ever loved one girl. Despite her being out of his league and of an elite class that he wasn't born into, he fell hard, keeping his feelings a closely guarded secret. When they parted ways, and Jung Kook pursued his law career, he did so with the intent of moving on. But when she unexpectedly arrives back into his life, Jung Kook finds himself once again face to face with his own insecurities, and the girl of his dreams.

Story Rating: M (18+) [Language, sex, depression, alcoholism] Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

Characters/Pairings: Lawyer! Jung Kook x Reader (feat. Jimin x Reader)

Chapter Word Count: 2.6k

Authors Note: I have this listed as "part one", because I may want to continue it in the future! This is just an idea that I've had floating around in my head, and I really haven't been inspired to write more of my other story lately, so why not put this out? If you'd like more of this story, please let me know and I can possibly continue it, if it's something y'all are interested in!

(It got another part)

Next Chapter

Series Masterlist

New York City is always bustling on a Monday morning. Crowds of people piling onto the sprawling connection of subway, buses and sidewalks on their way for another week of hard work. Jung Kook was among them, wearing a discounted, freshly pressed suit, and a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee in his hand. AirPods in his ear, he let the newest pop playlist cover up the sound of the crowded street on his way to his new office. There was a little, barely noticeable pep in his step, hinting at his excitement for his first day. 

His office building was rather large, even by his own metrics. Coming from Seoul, Jung Kook was no stranger to towering buildings, but this fresh law office had something glistening about its structure. As he entered through the front rotating tour, scanning the pass in his lanyard to be let in, any seasoned attorney would quickly recognize the wide-eyed young man as an ambitious rookie. 

“Jung Kook!” A voice called out from across the lobby. Jung Kook stopped walking and looked up, scanning the room to see Mr. Kim Namjoon, one of the best defense attorneys he’s ever had the pleasure of meeting, greeting him with a dimpled smile. 

“Good morning, Mr. Kim!” Jung Kook responded, quickly making his way over to greet him. 

“Aish, Jung Kook. Call me Namjoon.” He smiled shyly. “We’ll be working together as partners, I won’t be just a mentor to you anymore. I want you to feel comfortable around me.” 

“Right, of course.” Jung Kook grinned. “Thank you for bringing me here, I’m really excited.” 

“That’s great to hear.” Namjoon’s voice was warm and sincere. “I wasn’t sure how’d willing you’d be to leave Korea, but I’m glad you’re here.” 

“Yeah, it um…” Jung Kook pauses, thinking to himself for a moment for the right words to say. “It was a move that was for the best.” 

Namjoon kept a smile on his face, but furrowed his brows just briefly as he read into the younger man’s explanation. Not wanting to press too much, he motioned Jung Kook to follow him to the elevator. They walked together with comfortable conversation, questions about Jung Kook’s move to the city and his commute. As the elevator took them high above the rest of the city, Jung Kook’s finger absentmindedly tapped on the coffee cup he held, jitters taking over. 

“We had a case come in that I think you’ll be perfect to help me with.” Namjoon said, leading Jung Kook to his new office overlooking the city. There was an unorganized set of case files already on the desk. “You can put your stuff here, please make this space your own. The case is centering a Korean family, actually, so I thought maybe the two of us could connect with them on that level. Wealthy family, they’ve been doing business in the States a long time. But the son of the founder just recently inherited the company, and he’s being accused of defrauding investors. I need you to look over the case, and tell me what you think.” 

Jung Kook nodded as he took his seat at his desk, opening up the file to read the defendant’s name, Park Jimin. The name sounded oddly familiar to him, but he brushed it aside as he read the details of the case. 

“…Coaxed into investments using fraudulent and misleading data and projections…” Jung Kook read out loud, under his breath, before looking up at Namjoon. “So, he allegedly massaged the numbers into looking bigger than they are, leading to an increase of investments.” 

“Hm.” Namjoon hummed, leaning against the door frame. “Then when the actual numbers came in, and they were nowhere close to what he had projected, he didn’t have the money to pay out. Now it’s our problem.” 

“Yeah, ok.” Jung Kook nodded. “I have some ideas but I’d like to ask him some questions.” 

“Perfect. I’ll give you his contact info, but he should be flying into the city tomorrow. He wants to meet with us anyways, he just needed a little time.” 

“For what?” 

“He recently got engaged.” Namjoon responded nonchalantly, scrolling through the contacts in his iPhone. “She comes from a wealthy family from Busan, apparently. Their fathers knew each other, since they’re both from the city..” 

“Oh, they’re both from my city, I knew his name sounded familiar.” Jung Kook acknowledged. “Since her family is wealthy, maybe I’ve heard of them, too. What’s her name?” 

“Aish, I can’t remember…” Namjoon thought for a moment. “Mr. Park mentioned her, and now my mind is blanking.” 

The two startled when Namjoon’s phone rang. Namjoon apologized before stepping out to take the client’s call, leaving Jung Kook with his case files to further review. The rest of the day passed for the new, young lawyer, buried in a mountain of papers and taking notes. Namjoon peeked into his office on occasion to bring him coffee, or chat, or ask him about the case. But it was a slow, calm first day. 

As was the next day, and the day after that. Jung Kook got into a routine as the weeks passed, feeling a growing sense of familiarity with the way that he was able to bury himself in his work. It was a nice way to briefly consume himself and chase away the loneliness of the last two years of his life. 

He slowly made friends at his new firm. Never the extrovert, he was shy at first and afraid to open up. But knowing Namjoon for several years gave him a foot in the door, and allowed him an entry way into conversations that he wouldn’t have had otherwise. They asked about his life back home, and never dug too deep when he gave vague answers. He appreciated that, and his colleagues grew to like the handsome young lawyer. 

Finally, on a Friday, as the week was winding down and Jung Kook was thinking of possible weekend plans, Namjoon quickly walked into his office after a brief warning knock to his door. 

“We have a surprise meeting with Mr. Park.” Namjoon explained. “He just flew in from Seoul with his fiancé, and called me to say they want to meet with us. They’ll be here in a few minutes, so grab your notes and meet me in the conference room.” 

Jung Kook’s eyes widened and he responded with a quick “ok”, before gathering up his collection of papers into a manila folder, and walking to meet Namjoon, stopping momentarily only to grab another quick cup of coffee to make sure he was alert. Being his first client meeting since joining the firm, he wanted to make sure he was at his best. 

Settling into the conference room, Jung Kook looked over his notes, and made sure to have a pen to write down anything he may need later. He could see a light reflection of himself in the wall of windows facing the rest of the office, which he used to make sure his hair and suit looked presentable. He was hoping that with the money he made off of this case, he could buy a new, nicer suit like the one he saw in a shop window that he passed by not long ago. 

His thoughts of a modest suit however were quieted by the presence of what he knew immediately to be his client walking down the office halls, nearing the conference room. Dressed in a luxurious, designer black suit and Louboutin loafers, Park Jimin was striking at first glance. He hid his eyes behind black sunglasses despite being indoors, and his dyed blonde hair complimented his glowing complexion and lush, pink lips. He looked expensive, the textbook definition of an heir. 

The woman by his side looked gorgeous, Jung Kook thought. She was also beautifully dressed, in a sharp, maroon pencil dress and heels, with sunglasses also covering her eyes. Her Chanel bag dangled off her shoulder, her head was down, and her hand was intertwined with Mr. Park’s as they walked.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Park.” Namjoon greeted with a bow as he opened the door for the couple. “How was the flight in?” 

“It was excellent, thank you. Please, call me Jimin.” Jimin responded, taking off his sunglasses, before turning his attention to Jung Kook. “Hello, I’m not sure we’ve met.” 

“Jeon Jung Kook. I’ve just recently been added to look over the case.” Jung Kook smiled, standing up from his chair to bow. “It’s a pleasure.” 

“Park Jimin.” Jimin introduced himself. “And this is my fiancé, Y/N.” 

Y/N. Jung Kook repeated in his head, his eyes widening. It’s not possible. 

You took off your glasses before bowing to Namjoon, and raised to meet Jung Kook’s eyes. Your expression matched his own, recognizing the man instantly. 

“Jung Kook?” You smiled warmly. “Jeon Jung Kook? Oh my God, what a small world!” 

“You two know each other?” Namjoon asked with a raised brow. He looked over at the young lawyer, who was staring at you with large eyes and parted lips. 

“Jung Kook is an old classmate of mine.” You explained to Namjoon and your fiancé. “We went to the same university ages ago, when we were still living in Busan.” 

This was Jung Kook’s worst nightmare unfolding right before his eyes. Here you were. You. Just as warm, beautiful, and personable as ever. Just as clueless as ever. It was amazing how you could be such an angel, but put him through so much pain, and not even know it. 

“How have you been?” You asked with an innocent, bright grin. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” 

“I-I’ve… been good.” Jung Kook stuttered, causing the other men in the room to look at him with growing suspicion. 

“Honey, I don’t know that you’ve ever mentioned a Jung Kook.” Jimin said in a sweet tone directed at you, while his eyes judgmentally looked Jung Kook up and down. Namjoon nervously watched the interaction, waiting to bud in at any opportune time. 

“We just had a couple classes together.” You explained. “Jung Kook, wasn’t it um…” 

“History.” He finished your sentence, quicker and more deadpan in his tone than what he meant to. “And our political science class.” 

“That’s right!” You nodded. “I remember you were always so smart, I guess it makes perfect sense you practice law now.” 

“We’re happy to have him on the team.” Namjoon interjected, walking over to Jung Kook’s side of the table. He noted how Jimin still seemed unsure of Jung Kook’s mannerisms, and wanted to press on with the meeting. “Let’s get started, I’m sure the two of you have plans for the evening.” 

Everyone took their seat, and Jung Kook stared at the blank notepad in front of him. He could feel Jimin’s eyes on him, but pretended not to be bothered. He scribbled down the date on the paper, desperate to not meet the client’s gaze. 

“So, we reviewed the case.” Namjoon began, seeing how Jimin’s death stare didn’t shake from Jung Kook as he spoke. “We think that we have an excellent shot at winning, and to be completely honest, we’re expecting the judge to throw the case out.” 

“That’s great news!” You said excitedly. “Honey, you’ve been so worried about this.” 

Jimin looked at you, his eyes softening and a soft smile appearing. He rested a hand on your thigh, and looked over towards Namjoon. 

“That is great news. Thank you, Mr. Kim.” 

“Jung Kook has been reviewing the case for several days now, and he put together a couple arguments that we’ll present to the court, and have this ordeal finished, so you can move on.” 

“Y-Yeah, so um…” Jung Kook started, the weight of everyone’s stare feeling heavy and thick in the air. He was careful to avoid your eyes in particular, sure that his reaction would be less than professional. “First of all, the numbers allegedly presented to investors were never your numbers, Mr. Park, they were the numbers that your father had supposedly projected. The suit is filed against you, not the company, so we can argue that you cannot be held personably liable for any losses. A-Also, there’s no um… There’s no physical evidence of these exact projections being shown that the plaintiffs presented so um… We could argue insufficient evidence.” 

If Jung Kook were brave, he’d look up from his notes to see the way you grinned at him with the same, beautiful smile he used to see walking across campus every day. If he were brave, he’d tell you how beautiful that smile, and the rest of you, have always been to him. 

If he were brave, he would’ve told you that a long time ago. But Jung Kook has never been brave. Not then, and definitely not now. Not when his client is shooting daggers at him from across the table, and a sparkling 24k gold and diamond on your finger reminds him of the thing he’s always known; you’re too good for someone like him. You deserve more. 

“I think that sounds like an excellent plan.” Jimin said calmly, eyeing the young lawyer up and down, before turning his attention to you. He tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “I think Mr. Jeon has this whole thing figured out. What do you think, darling?”

“I agree.” You blushed at your fiancé’s uncharacteristic public affection. “He’s always been so smart.” 

“It seems so.” Jimin responded. “In that case, I believe we can wrap up this check-in meeting. I’d like to take my love out to dinner tonight. It’s her first time in New York City.” 

“Is it?” Namjoon’s voice was pleasant but quick as he spoke. “Well, let’s not keep you two waiting. Thank you for coming in, and we’ll be in touch. Please, Mr. Park, don’t be afraid to reach out to either of us if you need anything.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jimin said, getting up from his chair and helping you out of yours before bowing to the lawyers. 

“Jung Kook, it was so nice to see you.” You said, waving at him while Jimin placed a hand on your back to lead you from the room. “Thank you for working on this for us.” 

“O-Of course.” He bowed. “You two have a nice night.” 

With that, Jimin led you away from the room and down the office, and Jung Kook watched as he took your hand in his and caressed your skin with his thumb. It amazed him how even after all this time, seeing you with another man makes his chest ache. 

“So….” Namjoon’s irritable voice said, leaning against the table. “You want to tell me what the fuck that was about?” 

“It’s nothing.” Jung Kook responded quietly, cleaning up his papers to avoid making eye contact. “Just an old classmate.” 

“Nothing?” Namjoon asked with a scoff. “Our client just burned a hole through you with his glare the entire meeting, and you want to call that nothing?” 

“I want to go home.” Jung Kook said with growing frustration. “I promise, it’s nothing. It’s just been a hard first few weeks, ok?” 

Jung Kook was headed out the door quickly, when Namjoon grabbed his arm to make him stop for a moment.

“If something is going on with our client’s fiancé… if there’s a history there or whatever, you need to let me know so we can manage this. We can’t lose Jimin as a client, we’d both be out of a job. He brings in too much money.” 

“What, does he get into this type of shit a lot or something?” 

“What do you think?” Namjoon asks. “It’s part of the job, dealing with rich clients that have more money than sense. They didn’t teach you that in class? Or were you too busy ogling her?” 

“It’s really nothing.” Jung Kook said, this time more calmly through gritted teeth. “I just need to go home.” 

Namjoon sighed as Jung Kook left the room, and cursed his luck with the obvious situation under his breath. 

[ruhua-langblr]

Language Apps Suck, Now What?: A Guide to Actually Becoming "Fluent"

The much requested sequel to my DL post that was promised almost a year ago.

I'm going to address all of the techniques that have helped me in my language learning journeys. Since 95% of these came from the fact that in a past language learning mistake, they are titled as my mistakes (and how I would/did things differently going forward). For those that read to the bottom there is a "best universal resources" list.

Disclaimers:

"Fluency" is hard to define and everyone has their own goals. So for the purpose of this post, "fluency" will be defined as "your personal mastery target of the language".

If you just want to pick up a bit of a language to not sound like a total foreigner on vacation or just exchange a few words in a friend's native language, feel free to ignore what doesn't apply, but maybe something here could help make it a little easier.

This is based on my own personal experience and (some) research.

Mistake 1: Asymmetrical Studying

Assuming you don't just want to do a single activity in a language, or are learning a language like ASL, a language requires 4 parts to be studied: Speaking, Listening, Writing, Reading. While these have overlap, you can't learn speaking from reading, or even learn speaking from just listening. One of my first Chinese teachers told me how he would listen to the textbook dialogues while he was biking to classes and it helped him. I took this information, thought "Yeah that's an idea, but sounds boring" and now regret not taking his advice nearly every day.

I think a lot of us find methods we enjoy to study (mine was reading) and assume that if we just do that method more ™ it will eventually help us in other areas (sometimes it does, but that's only sometimes). Find a method that works for you for each area of study, even better find more than one method since we use these skills in a variety of manners! I can understand a TV program pretty well since I have a lot of context clues and body language to fill in any gaps of understanding, but taking a phone call is much harder—the audio is rougher, there's no body language to read, and since most Chinese programs have hard coded subtitles, no subtitles to fall back on either. If I were to compare the number of hours I spent reading in Chinese to (actively) training my listening? Probably a ratio of 100 to 1. When I started to learn Korean, the first thing I did was find a variety of listening resources for my level.

Fix: Find a variety of study methods that challenge all aspects of the language in different ways.

A variety of methods will help you develop a more well-rounded level of mastery, and probably help you keep from getting bored. Which is important because...

Mistake 2: Inconsistent Studying

If there is one positive to a language app, it is the pressure it puts on keeping a streak. Making studying a part of your everyday routine is the best thing you can do. I benefited a lot from taking a college language course since I had a dedicated time to study and practice Chinese 5 days out of the week (and homework usually filled the other two). Memorization is a huge part of language learning, and stopping and starting is terrible for memorization. When I was in elementary school, we had Spanish maybe a couple times a month. Looking back, it seems like it was the first class to be cut if we needed to catch up on a more important course. Needless to say, I can't even speak Spanish at an elementary level.

However, I'm sure many people reading this don't have the time to do ultra-immersion 4-hour study sessions every day either. Find what days during the week you have time to focus on learning new vocab and grammar, and use the rest of the week to review. This can be done on your commute to school/work, while you do the dishes, or as a part of your morning/evening routine. Making this as realistic as possible will help you actually succeed in making this a habit. (Check this out for how to set realistic study goals)

Fix: Study regularly (ideally daily) by setting realistic goals. Avoid "binge" studying since remembering requires consistent repetition to be most effective.

Mistake 3: Resource Choice

This is really composed of two mistakes, but I have a good example that will cover them both.

First, finding resources that are at or slightly above your level is the most important thing. Easy resources will not challenge you enough and difficult resources will overwhelm you. The ideal is n+1, with n as what you know plus 1 new thing.

Second, getting distracted by fancy, new technology. Newer isn't always better, and there are often advantages that are lost when we've made technological developments. I often found myself wanting to try out new browser extensions or organizational methods and honestly I would've benefitted from just using that time to study. (Also, you're probably reading this because of my DL post so I don't think it has to be said that AI resources suck.)

A good example of this was my time using Clozemaster. I had actually recommended it when I first started using it since I thought the foundation was really solid. However, after long term use, I found that it just wasn't a good fit. The sentences were often too simple or too long and strange for memorization at higher levels or were too difficult at lower levels. I think that taking my textbook's example sentences from dialogues into something like Anki would've been a far better use of my time (and money) as they were already designed to be at that n+1 level.

Fix: "Vet" your resources—make sure they will actually help you. If something is working for you, then keep using it! You don't always have to upgrade to the newest tool/method.

Mistake 3.5: Classrooms and Textbooks

A .5 since it's not my mistake, but an addendum of caution. I think there is a significant part of the language learning community that views textbooks and classroom learning as the worst possible resource. They are "boring", "outdated", and "ineffective" (ironically one of the most interesting modern language learning methods, ALG, is only done in a classroom setting). Classrooms and textbooks bring back memories of being surrounded by mostly uninterested classmates, minimal priority, and a focus on grades rather than personal achievement (imagine the difference between a class of middle schoolers who were forced to choose a foreign language vs. adult learners who self-selected!) People have used these exact methods, or even "cruder" methods, to successfully learn a language. It all comes down to what works best for you. I specifically recommend textbooks for learning grammar and the plentiful number of dialogues and written passages that can function great as graded readers and listening resources. (Also the distinction made between "a youtube lesson on a grammatical principle" which is totally cool, and "a passage in a grammar textbook" is more one of tone and audio/written than efficacy).

Classrooms can be really great for speaking practice since they can be a lot less intimidating speaking to someone who is also learning while receiving corrections. Speech can be awkward to train on your own (not impossible if you're good at just talking aloud to yourself!), and classrooms can work nicely for this. Homework and class schedules also have built in accountability!

Fix: Explore resources available to you and try to think holistically about your approach. CI+Traditional Methods is my go to "Learning Cocktail"

Mistake 4: Yes, Immersion, But...

I realized this relatively quickly while learning Chinese, but immersion at a level much higher than your current level will do very little for you. What is sometimes left out of those "Just watch anime to learn Japanese" discussions is that you first need to have a chance at understanding what is being said. Choosing materials that are much higher than your level will not teach you the language. It doesn't matter how many times someone at HSK 1 hears “他是甘露之惠，我并无此水可还”, they will not get very far. Actual deduction and learning comes from having enough familiar components to be able to make deductions—something different than guessing. An HSK 1 learner, never having heard the word 老虎 will be able to understand "tiger" if someone says “这是我的老虎” while standing next to a tiger. This is not to say you can never try something more difficult—things should be challenging—but if you can't make heads or tails of what's being said, then it's time to find something a bit easier. If mistake 2 is about the type of method, this is about the level. If you wouldn't give a kindergartener The Great Gatsby to learn how to read, why would you watch Full Metal Alchemist to start learning a language?

Side note: Interesting video here on the Comprehensible Input hypothesis and how it relates to neurodivergence.

Fix: Immerse yourself in appropriate content for your level. It's called comprehensible input for a reason.

Mistake 5: On Translation

I work as a translator, so do you really think I'm going to say translation is all bad? Of course not. It's a separate skill that can be added on to the basic skills, but is really only required if you are A. someone who is an intermediary between two languages (say you have to translate for a spouse or family member) or B. It is your job/hobby. In the context of sitting down and learning, it can be harmful. I think my brain often goes to translation too often because that's how I used to learn. Trying to unlearn that is difficult because, well, what do people even mean when they say "don't translate"? They mean when someone says "thank you", you should not go to your primary language and translate "you're welcome" from that. You should train yourself to go to your target language first when you hear the word for "thank you". A very literally translated "thank you" in Chinese "谢谢你" can come off as cold and sarcastic. I don't tell my friends that, I say "谢啦～". Direct translation can take away the difference in culture, grammar, and politeness in a language. If there is a reason you sound awkward while writing and speaking, it's probably because you're imposing your primary language on your target language.

Fix: Try as hard as you can to not work from your primary language into the target language, but to work from the structures, set phrases, and grammar within the target language that you know first.

Mistake 6: The Secret Language Learners Don't Want You To Know...

...is that there is no one easy method. You are not going to learn French while you sleep, or master Korean by doing this one easy trick. Learning a language requires work and dedication, the people that succeed are those that push through the boredom of repetition and failure. The "I learned X in 1 year/month/week/day!" crowd is hiding large asterisks, be it their actual level, the assistance and free time available to them, "well actually I had already studied this for 4 years", or just straight-up lying. Our own journeys in our native tongue were not easy, they required years and years of constant immersion and instruction. While we are now older and wiser people that can make quick connections, we are also burdened with things like "jobs", "house work", "school work", and the digital black hole that is "social media" that take up our time and energy. Everything above is to help make this journey a little bit easier, quicker, and painless, but it will never be magic.

I find that language learning has a lot in common with the fitness community. People will talk about the workout that changed their life and how no other one will do the same—and it really can be the truth that it changed their life and that they feel it is the ultimate way. The real workout that will change your life is the one you're most consistent with, that you enjoy the most. Language learning is just trying to find the brain exercise that you can be the most consistent with.

Fix: Save your energy looking for shortcuts, and do the work, fail, and come back for more. If someone tells you that you can become fluent in a ridiculously short amount of time, they are selling you a fantasy (and likely a product). You get out what you put in.

For those that made it to the end, here are some of my "universal resources":

Refold Method: I don't agree with their actual method 100%, but they've collected a lot of great resources for learning languages. I've found their Chinese and Korean discords to also be really helpful and provided even more resources than what's given in their starter guides.

Language Reactor: Very useful, and have recently added podcasts as a material! The free version is honestly all you need.

Anki: If I do not mention it, the people with 4+ year streaks with a 5K word deck will not let me forget it. It can be used on desktop or on your phone as an app. If you need a replacement for a language learning app, this is one of them. Justin Sung has a lot of great info on how to best utilize Anki (as does Refold). It's not my favorite, but it could be yours!

LingQ: "But I thought you said language apps are bad!" In isolation, yes. Sorry for the clickbait. This one is pretty good, and more interested in immersing you in the language than selling a subscription to allow you to freeze your streak so the number goes up.

Grammar Textbooks: For self-taught learning, these are going to be the best resource since it's focused on the hardest part of the language, and only that. If you're tired of seeing group work activities, look for a textbook that is just on grammar (Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar is my rec for Chinese, and A Guide to Japanese Grammar by Tae Kim is the most common/enthusiastic rec I've heard for Japanese).

Shadowing: Simply repeat what you hear. Matt vs Japan talks about his setup here for optimized shadowing (which you can probably build for a lot cheaper now), but it can also just be you watching a video and pausing to repeat after each sentence or near simultaneously if you're able.

Youtube: Be it "Short Story for Beginners", "How to use X", "250 Essential Phrases", or a GRWM in your target language, Youtube is the best. Sometimes you have to dig to find what works for you, but I imagine there is something for everyone at every level. (Pro tip: People upload textbook audio dialogues often, you don't even have to buy the textbook to be able to learn from it!)

A Friend: Be it a fellow learner, or someone who has already mastered the language, it is easier when you have someone, not only to speak to, but to remind you why you're doing this. I write far more in Chinese because I have friends I can text in Chinese.

Pen and Paper: Study after study, writing on paper continues to be the best method for memorization. Typing or using a pen and tablet still can't compare to traditional methods.

The Replies (Probably): Lots of people were happy to give alternatives for specific languages in the replies of my DL post. The community here is pretty active, so if this post blows up at least 20% of what the last one did, you might be able to find some great stuff in the replies and reblogs.

I wish you all the best~

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook: 1:05 AM

Tags/Warnings: sensual, Suggestive, implied smut, heavy flirting/making out, Idol!Jungkook, Fluff, Established Relationship, implied foreigner!Reader, not home AU though

Lenght: mid.

Languages are marked as English / Korean.

AU-Masterlist

This AU doesn't have a name yet, so I'm simply using times as a name for now.

♥━━━━━━━━━━•.♡.•━━━━━━━━━━━━♥

"Don't you want to come to bed with me?" He wonders, walking into the living room where you're still scrolling on your phone.

"I'm sorry.. I'm not tired yet." You pout. "And, are you not worried you might crush me in your sleep anymore, big guy?" Leaning your head back to look at him as he casually steps closer, sitting halfway on the edge of the couch as he looks down at you, tongue running over his bottom lip before he speaks.

"Nah, we literally wrestled on the couch yesterday, You're a tough girl." He wonders, voice low as he clearly attempts to woo you over. "But how about I... make you tired?" He says in English, making you giggle.

"Your English is cute." You tease a little, and he squints his eyes at you, biting the skin of his lips as he shakes his head.

"Not cute." He responds, shaking his head, before he points at himself, eyebrows raising as if he's attempting to appear offended. "Sexy. I'm-.. hot boyfriend." He tells you, and you laugh again. "You no take me serious?" He asks, voice raising in pitch while you fall to your side, thoroughly amused by his antics.

"I love you, jungkook." You say between laughter, and he gets off of his spot before he attacks you on the couch instead, body now over yours as he playfully bites at your neck. He's had enough time now; an entire week of playfighting and getting to know you better in a physical sense- getting the hang of how he's supposed to handle you.

How he can handle you.

"Hmhm, I love you." He responds, before his antics turn into more sensual kisses against your jawline. "Dont want to?" He asks against your skin, and you shrug- playing hard to get. You've talked about things like these before- hell, you have quite literally jerked off on call before.

"Not in the mood." You simply answer to rile him up, not letting him know that you're very much in the mood, but unable to hide your grin.

"Is that so." He wonders, a deep purr underlining his low tone before he places his hands underneath your arms, pushing you higher up on the couch so your back is leveled against the side. "You think I can get you into the mood?"

"I don't know, can you?" You wonder at him, and he sits back at that, hands grabbing the bottom hem of his shirt before it's swiftly lifted over his head, arms easily slipping out of the short sleeves as it's thrown somewhere on the siderest of the couch behind him. There's a candle on the table, barely illuminating the scene of his apartment- but it's nice like this. He enjoys the soft orange glow of everything in front of him, especially your features. They're more accentuated like this, as if you're in some sort of alternative dimension where time doesn't exist and the outside world stands still for a moment.

"Can I take off?" He asks you, hands slipping underneath your fluffy sweater, and you nod, an okay he immediately grins at, lip running over his lips. It's the first time he'll see you in person like this. It'll be the first time he's going to be able to touch you, see you bare and raw and real, and it's exciting to him.

In a way, sex isn't even on his mind. All he wants to do right now is explore.

He's a bit disappointed when he realizes you're wearing a cotton bralette underneath the sweater, but at the same time, he really does like the aesthetic of it all. His palms run over your newly exposed skin with care, before they rest at your sides, head leaning down to kiss from your sternum right down to your belly button. You giggle a little when the cold tip of his nose brushes over your skin, tickling a little, and he grins as well, mind completely filled with you. "You're so pretty." He chuckles, and you nod at him.

"I feel very pretty now, too." You tell him, making him smile.

"You should." He agrees, before he grows bolder, leaning down to kiss you as one of his hands travels over your still covered chest. He can feel the warmth of your body through the fabric, nipple already hardening at the clear excitement of it all. So much for not being in the mood, he thinks to himself.

Kissing had never really been something he really found intimate or anything. It never felt special- but with you, he can't seem to get enough, and he honestly cannot explain it properly. If he was to be asked, he would probably blame it on his love for you, no matter how childish it might sound.

Right now, he feels different from any other encounter he'd ever had like this.

Before you right now, making out had always been somewhat of a necessary step for him to get to the main course, in a way. Like a habit you can't break because that's just what everybody else does- but right now, he believes that he could happily continue this for as long as you're up for it. It riles him up in more ways than just simple arousal- though that part is pretty clear at this point, underwear starting to feel uncomfortable especially when you lift your leg, knee brushing against his by now fully erect length still tucked away in grey cotton underwear and black sweatpants. It makes him groan lowly into your mouth, making you giggle in amusement as you repeat the motion, clearly aware of what it's doing to him.

"Brat." He scolds, before his fingers slip underneath the hem of your bralette, lifting it over your head, finally freeing your breasts for him to see. They look like art in the low warm glow of the scented candle on the table- and not just them. Your whole body that he's exposed at this point, from your collabone to the very edge of your jawline, it all feels like a movie, as if it's not real.

But it is. He's touching you, after all. He can feel you, see you- hear you.

Especially when you whine impatiently, pulling on one of the strings of his sweatpants, making him sit up on his heels. "I'll be right back-" He says, before he jumps over the backrest of the couch- instead of walking the other side around it like any normal person would. But he's anything but ordinary- and that's fine with you. You love him like this, after all.

Because that's him.

When he returns, he blows out the candle on the table, light from the bedroom enough to make it all visible enough so he can properly pick you up in his arms, lifted over his shoulder before he playfully smacks your butt.

"Jungkook!" You scold, laughing as he walks into his bedroom with you, setting you back onto your own legs before he kills the lights again, colorful led moodlight illuminating the walls and you before he crawls into bed with you.

"I kind of like you saying my name. A lot." He hums towards you, before he leans down to kiss your neck, hands back on your body. "And I really liked how you just called it out like that." he teases, referring to your little outburst at his antics. His gaze is dark and sharp as he looks at you, running his tongue over his piercing before he looks at you impishly, almost roughly pulling off your sweatpants down your ankles.

"Think I can make you do it again?"

♥━━━━━━━━━━•.♡.•━━━━━━━━━━━━♥

[sifil-blog]

Upcoming foreign language classes at SIFIL Pune include German A1, French A1, Japanese N5, Spanish A1, Korean Level 1, and Chinese HSK1. Enhance your language skills with our expert instructors and interactive courses designed for all proficiency levels. Join us at SIFIL Pune to broaden your horizons and achieve fluency.

[akookminsupporter]

I finally got to watch MiniMoni’s listening dinner, and here are my thoughts:

1. In Spanish, there is a phrase "polo a tierra," which I find difficult to translate directly into English. Essentially, it means that someone is a grounding force or anchor for another person, providing stability and balance. So, Jimin is the person who keeps Namjoon grounded and balanced within the group, and probably plays a similar role in his life in general.

2. I gained a deeper understanding of the dynamics of Jimin and Namjoon's relationship. I think they balance each other very well, not only artistically but also intellectually. Jimin understands Namjoon even when what he says isn't entirely clear. I feel that for Namjoon, Jimin is also someone who truly listens and comprehends what he says. And he really treasure that. The fact that Jimin can finish Namjoon's sentences and ideas confirmed to me that they operate on the same wavelength.

3. Am I the only one who wasn't surprised when Namjoon said he intended to enlist at the same time as Hobi? Now, I wonder how much and how often their enlistment plans changed after Jin’s enlistment at least.

4. I would really love for them to be completely honest in the future about everything they’ve gone through. I wish they would talk about the expectations placed on them by the industry, their country, and their fans. I would love to hear them speak candidly about how they felt at certain moments, when they read specific rumours or when they were told certain things.

5. Namjoon mentioned that they went through a long and difficult time due to the issue of their military service. I would love for them to talk more about that in the future.

6. It’s curious, amusing, and endearing how BTS - as a group- is always present in everything they say as solo artists. I know it might sound obvious, but what I mean is that, for them, the group and what it represents it isn’t exactly separate from their solo careers or productions, even though technically it is. I don’t mean this just musically. 

7. It’s lovely how they repeatedly affirm that they are always together, even or especially when they are not physically together. It’s heartwarming to confirm that they genuinely know and support each other.

8. It’s incredible to see Namjoon’s level of introspection. It’s refreshing to see how he has reached perhaps uncomfortable conclusions about his personality or behaviour as the group’s leader. Although I think this has also happened in his life in general. Considering he is a famous person, adored by millions, a Korean (noting that Korean society, especially for men, tends to be very macho and often struggles to admit flaws), and a man, it’s remarkable.

[obsessioncollector]

Hi friends! Inspired by @librarycards I wanted to make a post celebrating Women in Translation Month! Anglophone readers generally pay embarrassingly little attention to works in other languages, and that's even more true when it comes to literature by women, so I will jump at any chance to promote my faves 🥰 Here are some recs from 9 different languages! Also, I wrote this on my phone, so apologies for any typos or errors!

1. Trieste by Daša Drndić, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursać (Croatian): An all-time favorite. Much of Drndić's work interrogates the legacy of atrocities in Europe, particularly eastern Europe. Trieste is a haunting contemplative novel centered on an elderly Italian Jewish woman whose family converted to Catholicism during the Mussolini era and were complicit in the fascist violence surrounding them in order to protect themselves.

2. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur (Korean): A collection of short stories that are difficult to classify by genre–speculative fiction in the broadest sense. The first story is about a monster in a woman's toilet, which sounds impossible to pull off in a serious, thought-provoking manner, but Chung does so easily—these are the kind of stories that are hard to explain the brilliance of secondhand.

3. Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy, trans. Tim Parks (Italian; Jaeggy is Swiss): Another all time favorite! The cold, sterile homoerotic girls' boarding school novella of your dreams.

4. Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories by Taeko Kono, trans. Lucy North (Japanese): I think I read this in one sitting. Incredibly unsettling—these stories will stay with you. They often focus on the unspoken psychosexual fantasies underscoring mundane daily life.

5. The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, trans. Katrina Dodson (Brazilian Portuguese): I think Lispector is the best known writer here, so she might not need much of an introduction. But what a legend! And this collection is so diverse—it's fascinating to see the evolution of Lispector's work.

6. Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, trans. Melanie L. Mauthner (French; Mukasonga is Rwandan): Give her the Nobel! Mukasonga's books, at least the ones available in English, are generally quite short but so impactful. Our Lady of the Nile is a collection of interrelated short stories set at a Catholic girls' boarding school in Rwanda in the years before the Rwandan genocide. These stories are fascinating on many levels, but perhaps the most haunting element is seeing how ethnic hatred intensifies over time—none of these girls would consider themselves particularly hateful or prejudiced, but they easily justify atrocities in the end.

7. Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962-1972 by Alejandra Pizarnik, trans. Yvette Siegert (Spanish; Pizarnik was Argentinian): Does anyone remember when my url was @/pizarnikpdf... probably not but worth mentioning to emphasize how much I love her <3 Reading Pizarnik is so revelatory for me; she articulates things I didn't even realize I felt until I read her words.

8. Flight and Metamorphosis: Poems by Nelly Sachs, trans. Joshua Weiner (German): Sachs actually won the Nobel in the 1960s, so it's surprising that she's not better known in the Anglosphere. Her poems are cryptic and surreal, yet deeply evocative. Worth mentioning that this volume is bilingual, so you can read the original German too if you're interested.

9. Frontier by Can Xue, trans. Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping (Chinese): Can Xue is another difficult-to-classify writer in terms of genre. Her short stories are often very abstract and can be puzzling at first. I think Frontier is a great place to start with her because these stories are interconnected, which makes them a bit more accessible.

[solarwynd]

JK and Jimin made some crazy records last year and people have thrown around a lot of accusations around. But there's one thing I remember someone saying after Jimin got the BB hot 100 #1 - if it was easy to do it then everyone would do it. And the BP girls took it to heart. They saw JK's formula - a bunch of payola, English songs, western collabs - and they've been following it to a T. Rose's been breaking a crazy amount of records and apt isn't a bad song but it just goes to show you that seven wasn't anything special really. You need a base popularity of course - it's not like Mingyu could suddenly do this tomorrow but Rose shows without a doubt that what JK achieved wasn't because he was the next Harry styles. Just like one successful song doesn't mean Rose is the next Chapel Roan

But it also throws into relief how hard what Jimin's achieved is. Like crazy was insane by itself - a Korean self composed song that his label acted didn't exist did really well for what it is. And with who, he might have an English song but it's with the most minimal payola and no collabs. The most comparable songs to it would be standing next to you, friends, mantra and rockstar. Who is the most successful of these by far with probably the least percentage of Thai streams. Sorry but I am starting to sincerely doubt any of the other members would've been able to pull off what Jimin's doing.

Anyhow I'm not really one to care about chart numbers or award nominations so much. I just see armys using it to justify their assertions on why JK deserves a Grammy nomination or something but Rose and Lisa both defeat the point. Lisa made no noise and yet keeps getting nominated for award shows and doing "live" performances. Armys can act blind but she's there for the same reason JK was last year - 💵

So I see in the future more and more kpop artists following the JK method with different levels of success. As for Jimin, it's hard to say with him - I'd like him to go more mainstream but if he decides to stay low-key, he might end up being one of those stars with a big cult following. They sometimes explode to the mainstream kind of like BTS themselves, they sometimes don't. As long as he makes good music, I think I'll be fine. Because while I want success for him, if that means he thinks he has to make some crap songs like seven or rockstar then I'll pass.

.🎯

[booksbluegurl]

Hello langblr and studyblr people!

I'm thinking of starting small groups, of no more than 5-10 people each who are interested in these things:

Language learning: I'm learning Korean and I'm below intermediate level and I study three times a week. So if any one of you want to join together for accountability and productivity, you're welcome to join.

NEET/ Pre-Med/ Phy-Chem-Bio/ etc: I'm preparing for NEET (medical entrance examination) again and I'm study everyday, it's only for 2-4 hours but I'll be increasing the hours to 7-8 hopefully, so if anyone of you wants to join for accountability and productivity, you're very welcome.

English literature/Sociology/Geography : I'm an English lit student and I have these subjects that I also need to be studying for my 3rd year of undergraduation. I study these for 2-3 hours per week, so if you wanna come together in this journey, you're very welcome.

The group can be anywhere, wherever most of the people would like it to be. It could be in here (as a community if its approved), or on discord, or telegram, or whatsapp or even instagram. Edit: i realised that different people would have different preferences but I'd like to share mine, I consider these most convenient: Google Chat (possibly the best for us for various reasons: (1)you can use any email of yours, you'll remain anonymous (2) as far as i know, it has a tasks feature which would be convenient for Productivity) and other options is telegram. We can shift to other ones too, but really I find these to be the best of all.

Happy studying!

Also:

dm me or reply/repost to this post

Dm me only if you are serious

I'd like to have separate spaces for each of these things, mingling them would get hectic, please keep that in mind. You can join all or any of them.

[foxcassius]

my new daily schedule is like. wake up whenever jiwon gets up to go to work, which is sometimes like 5:30 in the morning, stay awake for a few hours usually until the 7:30-8:30 am range, stare at the ceiling and wonder if i should try rly hard to go to sleep now or let it consume me in the late afternoon, get up, do fuck all for the entire day which includes studying korean, knitting, watching dimension 20, and taking a nap, wait for jiwon to come back, cook dinner, do dishes, annoy jiwon for two or three hours, get railed, and go to sleep at like 11:45 pm

[helenstudies]

These are my language learning timelines and how long I've studied to get to that level!

English: fluent C2 > about thirteen years. I started learning when I was 5 (in kindergarten). I got to this level by age 18, when I started working as a professional English - Burmese translator.

Korean: fluent TOPIK 6 level > eight years. I taught myself how to read hangeul at age 15 and achieved TOPIK level 6 in 23. It should be noted that I attended a language program in Korea for nine months to accelerate the process. I started from level 1 and ended in 4/5 in nine months.

Chinese: advanced HSK6 level > eleven years. I started learning chinese when I was 13 and now I'm 24. And no, my chinese ancestry didn't help because no one in my family speaks Chinese.

Japanese: Intermediate JLPT N3 level > nine years. Like Korean, I taught myself how to read hiragana and katakana at age 15 but I prioritized Chinese and Korean. It should be noted that I really struggled with Japanese and had to attend basic classes three times to get to an N5 level. And then twice more to get to N4.

I think this is important for all langblrs to realize! I am not "gifted" at all. I just started studying a bit earlier than y'all because I knew my life long interests are in language, literature and translation. I learned all these so that I could read books in their original language.

It should be noted that in Myanmar, I graduated high school at age 16/17. Since then, I've been attending a distance education university (before I dropped out in 2021 of course) and I've been working freelance or part time jobs. So this is an actual realistic timeline as an adult who also has a life outside of studying.

If you work full time, study full time or have responsibilities in your life that you have to prioritize, you might need to take a few years longer than me. You might even need to retake classes and fail a few tests. And it's okay.

I can't emphasize this enough so I will do this again and again: not being able to quickly learn language is not a failure on your part. Don't fall into ageist traps because you really do retain your brain functions well into your years. You can keep learning and keep improving as an adult. Look up neuroplasticity and stop listening to "polyglot" influencers.

Another thing I want to mention is in my last post, I wrote that language learning takes years and you'll just have to make these years bearable and I mean it. Just sitting down and studying for hours is annoying to me. So, I personally make it bearable by reading stories and translating songs or poems because that's what my brain likes. I like writing chinese characters but it's boring to just sit down and write them. So I write them while watching tv because I have adhd and I need to fidget anyway. My goal is to read books in their original languages so I read, read and read. You have to figure out why you want to learn these languages and see how you can make it bearable.