Small Writing Exercises

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10 unusual language learning tips !

i see a lot of the same (sometimes unhelpful) tips being thrown around, so here’s my two cents:

1. write shopping lists/to do lists in your target language - often you don’t learn this vocab but it’s conversational & v useful! also writing yourself notes (lil pep talks on the bathroom mirror, for example) can work.

2. buy a small whiteboard and practice verb conjugation (esp. romantic languages) or script writing 

3. talk to pets in target language if possible!

4. look for quotes in your target language - often the turns of phrase are  more colloquial, and is a good opportunity to see how things are translated from your native language 

5. find a fairly easy news headline (in target lang) and try to re-write it w/ vocab you already have. you’ll quickly find gaps - this is a good thing! (if you’re feeling extra spicy, try writing a small subheading or description about the article).

6. create an imaginary friend who you speak with on the shower, or on the train, doing the laundry etc. talk w/ them in your target lang (in your head, obvs) about your day, future plans, etc etc.

~for more advanced learners~

7. when you’re more advanced, and have some grasp of past/future tenses, buy a children’s/tween’s/YA book that you’ve already read. highlight and annotate the shit out of it. you’ll know the general gist already, which makes context clues easier to find.

8. change wikipedia settings into target language - same goes for any social media site. this can be a mega challenge, but is so good for vocab, plus you’re more likely to remember the info since you worked so hard for it.

9. write a review for a book/film/record/whatever you’ve most recently consumed. maybe start a diary of them, or just have an ongoing word doc.

10. find a bilingual edition of poetry/literature if possible. you might find you can spot translation differences, but you’re sure to find some new vocab.

Concept: a nine-volume fantasy epic told entirely via the epistolary preambles of a series of recipe blog posts.

would you like to talk to me about puss in boots

some aesthetic words for your fic title! (pt.1)

alexithymia (n) the inability to express your feelings

cosmogyral (adj): whirling around the universe

euneirophrenia (n): the peace of mind that comes from having pleasant dreams

scintila (n); a tiny, brilliant flash; a small thing; a barely visible trait

anagapesis(n): no longer have any feelings for one you once loved

mangata (n); the reflection of moon on water

serendipity (n); finding luck without even looking for it

selenophile (n) the person who loves the moon

nyctophilia (n); love for darkness or nght, finding relax and comfort in the darkness

drapetomania(n); an overwhelming urge to run away

gumusservi (n): moonlight shining on water

clinomania (n); the excessive desire to stay in your bed

basorexia (n); the overwhelming desire to kiss

solivagant (adj) wandering alone

sehnsucht (n): the inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what, a yearningfor far, familiar, non- earthy land one can identify as one’s home

redamancy (n); the act of loving one who loves you, a love returned in full

hireath (n); a home sickness to a home which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was, the nostalgia, the yearning, the grieve for the lost places of your past

 alamort (adj) : half- dead of exhaustion

viridity (adj): naive innocent

numinous (adj): describing an experience which makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted, the powerful personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired

No I'm not fine I need Love From The Other Side injected in my bloodstream

-_-

*ahem*

✨3 Time Emmy award winning✨

“i don’t like writing about my day, but i want to keep a journal”:

quotes and copywork. when reading, if you find something you enjoy, just copy it into the notebook. you can copy a whole chapter if you wish, highlighting what caught your attention the most.

definitions. look up on a dictionary and copy it. you could write your own dictionary as well, making up definitions for words.

lists. a classic, write movies to watch, books to read, the playlist of the month or just the groceries you have to buy.

maps. when going somewhere, you could draw the route you took or just a map of the place itself. just look up the place on google maps and copy it. you can draw a little map of all the places you have lived or the schools you have attended as well.

photos

take “notes” as you watch movies / documentaries. write down phrases that caught your attention or doodle.

illustrations and clippings. if you see an image or piece of art that you liked, put it in your journal. if it’s from a book or from a magazine I would recommend scanning it, tho’. it will serve as a record of what kind of art you enjoy through the years.

newspaper clippings from the day.

tickets and pamphlets. from movies, museums, transportation.

postcards

records. you could record for a month what the temperature was when you woke up and when you went to sleep. if you do that for a year, it gives you a better notion of the passing of seasons. you could record rainfall and other seasonal changes as well. you could choose something (an animal, a plant, an item or object) and write down every time you see it.

rubbings of leaves, coins, landmarks.

count. there’s a scene in the movie Coraline (2009) where Coraline’s dad tells her to go count the windows. you could do the same type of counting game if you are bored and write down.

mindmaps/sketchnotes + timelines of books, movies, music albums.

collages

pressed leafs and flowers

your collections. if you collect anything you could write down an inventory or maybe try to draw the items.

recipes. write down recipes and give it a score every time you try it. you could do the same for drinks you try out.

stickers

comic strips. you can find a bunch of it online, glue your favorites in your notebook.

Korean Youtube Channel Recommendations

Hey guys! I was just talking to someone that was asking me about my recommendations for Korean youtube channels to help practice and get exposed to more Korean. I thought other people might find these recommendations useful so I decided to make a post about it! Today I’m focusing on channels of Korean natives, although I do still love The World of Dave and Korean Englishman. (ko/en) refers to what subtitles are available.

이연LEEYEON (ko/en~) This is an art youtuber who takes on different topics such as overcoming a slump, self-studying, and drawing without fear, in a calming voiceover while sketching mainly in ink. Most videos have in-video Korean subtitles and many have English CC you can turn on.

해그린달 haegreendal (ko/en/es/po/ch/+) I’ve posted screencaps of 해그린달 before because I enjoy her videos so much. She posts vlogs mainly about her daily life, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of her young child. She does not speak in her videos, communicating through in-video captions. Her videos make you wish for quiet afternoons sitting drinking coffee while watching nature out your window. All of her videos have English CC as well as CC in 10 other languages.

마마진스 키친 Mama Jin’s Korean Kitchen (ko/en/es/po) Mama Jin is a cook that focuses on specifically Korean recipes. She has videos teaching you to make dishes like tteokbokki, yuk-jeon, and samgyetang. She speaks in Korean in a voiceover and there are CC in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

채널 김철수 CHANNEL GIMCHEOLSOO (ko/en/es/fr/viet/+) This is a vlog channel made by 김철수 that mainly consists of everyday activities of a gay couple in Korea. These videos all have in-video Korean subs as well as CC in English, Spanish, and many others depending on the video.

Talk To Me In 100% Korean (ko) TTMIK’s new youtube channel entirely in Korean! This channel is for those of you who love TTMIK but are in the intermediate range and need more immersive content. That content consists of conversations on a range of topics from the TTMIK crew. This channel only has Korean CC which you can turn on.

Cooking tree 쿠킹트리 (ko/en/es/fr/viet/+) This is a confectionary channel focused on teaching you how to make all kinds of sweet treats. This channel has the ingredients for each video listed in English and Korean but after that, there are no more in-video subtitles. The creator is also silent in their videos so you must turn on Korean CC. There are CC in many other languages as well but you will not get the benefit of learning Korean as you learn to bake.

왓섭! 공포라디오 (ko) Rightly named “fear radio”, this youtube channel is a collection of scary stories narrated to you with the background of unsettling music and atmospheric sounds. There are in-video subtitles as well as Korean CC for every video.

연합뉴스TV - 자막뉴스 (ko) Yonhap Subtitled News is as it says, subtitled news. This is a news channel that has a collection of videos specifically labelled as subtitled so that people can read the in-video Korean subtitles off the screen as the reporter speaks. They cover various daily news topics. I recommended this account in a previous post but it’s still a great resource!

What are your fave Korean channels! I’d love to know.