Gracias!! I hope so too, in any case it will be nice to get out of the house 
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update: estoy viendo una mejora en mi nivel de lectura
estuve visitando familiares esta semana y no pude sentarme a estudiar como tal, pero leí bastante.
gramática
Grammar-related thoughts that may not be interesting to anyone, but I want to record them for future-me
He estado viendo vídeos y leyendo opiniones sobre gramática y me he quedado con una idea que no se me había ocurrido antes: a veces es mejor estudiar toda la gramática que puedas, y luego dejar de estudiar.
Es decir. Hasta ahora solo estaba estudiando en una academia, y la forma en la que nos enseñan la gramática es muy dilatada, de hecho Sogang llega hasta el 6B, siguiendo el ritmo de la academia tardaríamos 12 años en acabarlo. Y a la hora de querer estudiar por mi cuenta, seguía pensando que lo mejor es estudiar la gramática poco a poco para que no se te olviden los conceptos.
Pero ya me estoy encontrando con un problema con este sistema, y es que al leer mucho te cruzas con mucha gramática, que poco a poco vas absorbiendo (como si fuera un SRS). Y cuando me pongo a estudiar con el libro, lo que estoy leyendo son cosas que ya conozco, no me resulta muy útil leer el libro. Sobre todo porque tengo poca intención de usar la gramática yo misma, lo que quiero es entenderla al leer y ver series.
Así que llegué a la conclusión de que la mejor forma de estudiar gramática (en mi caso) es buscar la info según me la voy encontrando, de la misma forma que con el vocabulario. No se me ocurriría hacer una lista de palabras por temática, y aprendérmela de memoria, tiene 0 sentido. No sé por qué estoy haciendo esto con la gramática.
English translation of the grammar-related thoughts
I have been watching videos and reading opinions on grammar, and one thing that stuck with me is the idea that sometimes it is better to study all the grammar that you can at once, and then stop studying it.
Up until recently I was only studying Korean through classes, and the way they teach grammar (through Sogang, that goes up to 6B), it would theoretically take 12 years to finish the book series. And when I started studying on my own, I though I would still do the same, ie study grammar little by little so it sticks.
But I’m already having issues with that approach: since I’ve been reading so much I encounter the same grammar points so often that I end up understanding them without having studying them. And when I do do some “active studying” with a grammar book, I already know the things I’m reading, which becomes boring very quickly and feels like a waste of time. Especially since output has never been my goal, I don’t really want to know how to use the grammar, I want to be able to understand it.And so I came to the conclusion that the best way to study grammar (in my case) is to look it up as I go, the way I do with vocab. I would never make a list of vocab words to learn by heart, it makes no sense to me. Not sure why I’m doing it for grammar.
listening
Acabé de ver 무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다 S1 | L21??, now time to watch 이번 생도 잘 부탁해 S1 | L28??. I wish videos had more stable gradings in Korean, most of them are ?? levels. I guess the only way out is through, and I’ll have to watch lots of things and grade them.
libros
이상한 과자 가게 전천당 1 | L23
I have taken the executive decision to DNF this book (a first for Korean books!)
기억술사 1 | L24??
Casi solo he leído este libro esta semana. Me está gustando, pero estoy tardando mucho… No suelo cronometrar mis sesiones de lectura, pero hoy por ejemplo me di cuenta de que después de 1h20 leyendo había leído… 16 páginas! 5 minutes per page??? Am I the slowest reader on planet earth?? What am I supposed to do with that information?
Anyway, I don’t have time to freak out, the book has 504 pages (in my ebook), that’s 2,520 minutes of reading - which for my own sanity I won’t try to convert to hours.
EN
I accidentally timed my reading session today and found out I read 16 pages in 1h20. Cue the freak-out that I didn’t bother to write in Spanish.
노인의 꿈 첫 번째 이야기 | L22
DICHO ESTO, ayer por fin me di un descanso y leí un capítulo de este webtoon, y 
qué fácil qué rápido
Lo tomaré como una señal de que definitivamente the only way out is through, y leer es la mejor forma de aprender a leer.
EN
All that being said (by that I mean the 5 minutes per page thing), I did take some time yesterday to read one chapter of this webtoon, and it was so easy! so quick! So I AM getting better! The best way to learn how to read is to read!
I look forward to seeing the final grading for 기억술사
planes
esta semana:
me queda el domingo para acabar KGU Beginner y ponerme al día con memrise.
semana que viene:
- survive my first week at work
- next wednesday is Sant Jordi, aka Book Day, and i’ll be going to a reading event where you are supposed to read a physical book. so i’m really hoping my Hikaru book will have arrived by then, otherwise i’ll probably re-read another volume.
- keep it groovy
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If it helps, I think it’s prob more towards the end of the 20s than its current estimated level. Like 26 or 27. So it makes sense if you’re feeling it’s harder than what you expected 
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keep it groovy!
I hope you end up sticking with 기억술사 (if it’s fun for you and you have the time)! I bet your speed is going to increase as you go!
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Let me start by saying, you are not the slowest reader ever, I’ve been much slower. I remember for my first book club, one that was outside of Natively, reading a B2 graded reader, 춘향전 | L22, I’d spend over an hour reading a single chapter, that is, 4-6 pages. That was in October of 2023, but fast forward to December last year, with a C2 graded reader, 홍길동전 | L26??, and a chapter would take me a little over 5 minutes to read. So as long as you hold on and keep reading, you’ll progress! Also, on your musings about the best way of learning grammar I absolutely agree! And I feel like books above your level are a great way to do that as well, specifically because you’re coming across so much new grammar.
And you can check out a whole thread of others with slow reading speed, it happens to almost everyone at some point or another!
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That’s good to know, and also good that it wasn’t originally graded that high, otherwise I wouldn’t have tried to read it at all. That one is definitely going on my “new natively level to me” bingo square
I don’t plan on dropping it as long as I’m having fun!
Well that makes me feel better. I don’t mind reading slowly as long as it’s enjoyable, but I had never timed myself before so I guess seeing the numbers made worried I was being way too slow. But what can I do, I don’t want to drop the book, and the only way to go faster is to read more, so on we go!
I’ll time myself on the last chapter (whenever I get there) and see the improvement.
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update: menos listening, un pelín más de lectura
esta semana fue mi primera semana de trabajo, lo cual me dejó mucho menos tiempo para estudiar, pero aún así estoy contenta con el equilibrio que encontré.
listening
sigo haciendo el Listening Challenge, pero no escuché nada de miércoles a sábado. poco tiempo, pocas ganas. ojalá estar ya en un nivel en el que escuchar no suponga tanto esfuerzo mental… pero creo que podré lograr mi objetivo de 15h este mes, y de todos modos el listening este mes siempre iba a ser un side-gig, my main goal is still reading everyday.
EN
i’m still doing the Listening Challenge, but I didn’t listen to anything from wednesday to saturday. i didn’t have much time and not much motivation either. i wish i were at a point where listening wasn’t so mentally taxing, but still i think i’ll make my 15h goal for the month. in any case, listening was never the priority, that is still reading.
libros
기억술사 1 | L24??
el 99% del tiempo que estoy dedicando a la lectura lo estoy dedicando a este libro. y es que si no lo hago, me quedo atrás en el club de lectura se repiten muchas palabras, lo cual es bueno para mí. si lo acabo un día cuando lo acabe, podré volver a leerlo y lo más seguro es que sea una experiencia completamente nueva, porque definitivamente no lo estoy entendiendo todo.
EN
99% of my reading time is dedicated to this book, because if i don’t do that i’ll fall behind the bookclub schedule. whenever i finish it though, if i go through it again it will most likely be an entirely different experience, because i’m definitely not getting everything this time around.
히카루가 죽은 여름 4 | L20??
empecé a leer el libro por fin, aunque me pareció más difícil de lo que recordaba. quizás es porque no estaba en el right headspace, porque lo único que podía pensar es que me apetecía leer 기억술사… Pero estaba en un evento en el que solo podías leer libros físicos (aún así hubiera podido leer en digital, pero bueno…)
No estoy entendiendo mucho de lo que está pasando. primero, porque me había olvidado de cómo acababa el libro anterior. segundo, porque de repente están buscando información sobre el nombre de los pueblos alrededor, y no entiendo por qué, ni qué están investigando, es todo muy misterioso para mí. still, i’m having fun!
EN
i finally got to start this book, but it feels more difficult than i remembered it to be. it might be because i wasn’t in the right headspace when reading it, the only thing on my mind was that what i really wanted to read was 기억술사… but i was at a physical-books-only event (i mean i could still have read digitally and no one would have said anything, but you know).
i’m not understanding much of what is happening. first, because i couldn’t remember how the pevious book ended, and second because they are suddenly looking into nearby towns’ names for some reason, and the whole plot is just very unclear to me. but still, i’m having fun!
escritura
that’s right, we have a new category in this week’s update!
as suggested in this thread, I downloaded the app Slowly and sent my first 2 letters to people living in Korea, that seem to be Korean native speakers.
Uno de ellos dejó claro en su perfil que no le importaba que le escribieran gente aprendiendo coreano.
Ya tengo una respuesta! La carta se me entregará en media horita, tengo muchísimas ganas. Es como en Navidad cuando eres niña y sabes que después de la cena llegarán los regalos 
Espero poder seguir usando esta app, y así practicar la escritura cuando deje de tomar clases. Ahora sólo me falta encontrar la manera de practicar el hablar, y lo tendré todo cubierto 
EN
i already got a letter back! i should be able to open it in about half an hour (actually, with the time it took me to translate everything, it should have arrived already). I’m so excited! I feel like a kid in a candy store
I hope I’ll stay consistent with this app, that way I’ll be able to practice writing when i stop taking classes. Then I would only need to find a way to practice speaking, and I’d be all set!
EDIT: oh my god the reply is so nice i am so happy, i only had to translate one word, and the rest of the letter is really really nice now on to replying!!
planes:
esta semana:
semana que viene:
- llegar a las 15h de listening para el mes de abril. Me queda un poco menos de 2h.
- leer 1 capítulo de 노인의 꿈 첫 번째 이야기 | L22. No quiero que 기억술사 ocupe tanto tiempo en mis lecturas, también quiero poder leer otras cosas de vez en cuando.
- hacer un recap de abril!! lo que más me gusta hacer
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Ohhh, this seems like a fun concept. I dread being on most language exchange apps because I don’t want to be stuck not knowing what to say and then making the other person wait, but this would be perfect!
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It’s quite nice! It is not a language exchange app per say, so it makes the whole thing less stressful in my opinion. Also, the profiles make it easier to find topics to talk about.
And the whole concept of having to wait for your letters to be delivered / the replies to arrive (28 hours for Korea) makes it very exciting, and takes the pressure off, you don’t have to reply immediately.
Let me know if you decide to give it a try, I’d like to know your opinion!
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update: resumen de abril 
objetivos de este mes:
1. Leer todos los días
Evidentemente lo logré. Es un hábito ya muy consolidado, lo único que me preocupa es, ahora que estoy trabajando, encontrarme un día sin energía para leer. But that’s a problem for future-me, April-me did what she had to do.
2. Escuchar algo todos los días: close enough
Me salté 4 días al final del mes, y el lunes pasado tuvimos el Gran Apagón
, pero llegué a mi objetivo de 15 horas, y estoy satisfecha.
lectura
Leí 628 páginas este mes, mucho menos que anteriormente, PERO:
We’re still climbing.
Otra cosa que quiero añadir, es que este mes no acabé ningún libro para mi Bingo, mi tabla está un poco abandonada.
series / películas
Still climbing.
resumen del mes
leí 1 libro, 우리가 함께 걷는 시간 | L17, y estoy por acabar 노인의 꿈 첫 번째 이야기 | L22.
vi 11 capítulos de series (무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다 S1 | L21?? y 이번 생도 잘 부탁해 S1 | L25??)
-
Reading: I got started on my first Korean Fiction Bookclub book, 기억술사, which is way above my level and I’m happy with myself for managing to still have fun with it. It is frustrating because it is the only thing I can read if I want to keep up to date week by week, so I’ll try to fix that by either reading more, or reading 기억술사 faster, with fewer lookups and more ambiguity.
-
Listening: On another note, I really want to get serious about improving my listening. I want to get a baseline of 10 hours each month for the rest of the year, to get to a total of 100 tracked hours by December.
I had set this month’s listening challenge goal at 15 hours because I had more free time than usual, May will be 10h, and in June I want to take the opportunity of the Summer Solstice to do an “Audiothon”, like the Spring Equinox Readathon, and get as many hours as possible in one day. Just as a fun challenge.
-
Grammar: This month I also started studing grammar on my own, and then decided to drop it because it wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped: now I plan on looking up the grammar points as I need instead of having specific study sessions.
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Writing: I also started using the app Slowly, with 3 letters written & sent so far.
-
Vocab: My use of memrise (which is pretty much my only resource for vocab) is getting slower and slower: I don’t add as many words as I used to, and am not reviewing as often as I used to. It’s a shame because it really is helpful to me, but alas the heart wants what it wants…
mayo
- 10 horas de escucha, no tiene que ser todos los días.
- Mantenerme al día del club de lectura para 기억술사.
- Leer cosas que no sean 기억술사.
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update: leyendo menos pero mejor
no tengo tanto tiempo que dedicarle a la lectura (as was to be expected with a full time job) pero me está yendo bastante mejor.
listening
para mayo quiero llegar a 10h, así que me apunté al Listening Challenge. Dicho esto… no escuché nada esta semana, nada de nada. Todas mis esperanzas están volcadas en los fines de semana. Hoy intentaré ver algo, y mañana y pasado 1 capítulo de 이번 생도 잘 부탁해.
EN
I want to get to 10h in May, so I signed up to the Listening Challenge again. That being said… I didn’t do any listening so far this week. All of my hopes are with the weekend. I’ll try to get something in today, and then 1 episode of 이번 생도 잘 부탁해 tomorrow and on sunday.
libros
기억술사 1 | L24??
Voy muuuuucho más rápido! Hace 3 semanas estaba preocupada porque leía excesivamente lento, pero ya por fin le he cogido el ritmo. De hecho no tengo que leer sólo este libro para estar al día del bookclub
Se van repitiendo palabras, estoy más familiarizada con la gramática, y no supone un esfuerzo mental tan grande como antes.
EN
I am going much faster! 3 weeks ago I was worried about reading too slow, but I’m finally grooving along. I am now able to read things other than this book and still keep up with the bookclub.
I’m much better of course at understanding the recurring vocab, I’m more acquainted with the grammar, and overall I don’t need to make as big of a mental effort.
사랑 이야기
Empezamos esta semana con el bookclub. No me está pareciendo nada fácil de leer. Leo un pasaje, y al día siguiente vuelvo a leer el mismo pasaje + un poco más, y así voy entendiendo. Por ahora no tengo opinión sobre la historia.
EN
The bookclub started this week. I’m not finding it particularly easy to read. What I do is I read a passage, and the next I re-read the same passage + some more, and I can understand a lot more. No opinion on the story so far.
escritura
Mandé una carta a mi nueva amiga de Corea y me contestó también la persona a la que había mandado la segunda carta! Hoy escribiré mi respuesta.
Mi método de escritura es:
Primero, escribo una frase, o un párrafo. Intento escribir sólo cosas que sé escribir, pero si en algún momento me falta una palabra, o no consigo la forma gramatical, uso papago para una ayuda.
Cuando tengo el párrafo, se lo paso a chatgpt preguntándole si es entendible. Me hace las correcciones que considere, y si veo que una de ellas es algo que ya sabía (me equivoqué de partícula, usé un conector pero me faltaba la desinencia de pasado, etc etc), lo modifico en mi texto. Si me dice que algo está mal dicho y me da una corrección con una forma gramatical que no he visto, no la uso. Modifico mi frase usando cosas que ya conozco, pero no quiero copiar y pegar algo que no entiendo.
EN
I sent another letter to my new friend in Korea! And also got an answer to my second letter, the person just took a bit longer to reply.
My writing method:
First, I’ll write a sentence, or a paragraph. I try to only write things that I can write (well, yeah), but if I ever need to look up a word or I’m having trouble with the grammar, I’ll do a quick look up on papago.
Then when I’m done with the paragraph, I’ll put it into chatgpt and ask it if it is understandable. It will correct it and explain the changes, if it is something that I knew or was supposed to know (used the wrong particle, used the right grammar but forgot the desinence, etc etc), I’ll change it in my text. If it is something I didn’t know (grammar I haven’t learned or seen yet), I won’t use it. I’ll rephrase my sentence, but I don’t want to copy and paste something I don’t understand.
speaking
yet another category: nothing to report for now but I signed up for a language exchange on saturday with Korean students here in Spain, we’ll see how that goes. I am really nervous, I’ve never spoken Korean with someone who wasn’t a teacher.
What’s the worse that can happen, you ask? They could talk to me. And then I would have to understand, think of an answer, and then say it out loud, with actual words. I do hope they speak some Spanish or this is going to be cut well short.
But it’s also so exciting!! I finally get to speak Korean with someone who isn’t a teacher! And I get to say things out loud! With words!
I’ll report back next week 
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Oh, I like this method; using only what you know in corrections seems like a solid move as well.
Ugh, I feel you. 
Good luck on your language exchange and have fun!
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Yes, I find quite effective. It’s a good way to get some feedback and start noticing when it constantly corrects you on the same thing. It also gives me exposure to new grammar points, because even if I don’t use it in my final version chatgpt does let me know “this sounds awkward for this and that reason, better to use [new grammar] in this case”. It’s a way for me to be aware of my blindspots.
Thank you! I’m equal parts excited and nervous, that is usually a good sign.
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I’ve also kinda hit on a similar method when I’m writing to friends. One of the things I will actually tell chatgpt when it spits out something I didn’t know is that I didn’t know that grammar point, and it will frequently rephrase what it said to be something that I could have said but is usually a lot more fluid than what I came up with. Just a tip that it’s pretty good at massaging the answer it gives you if you ask. 
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Ooh I hadn’t thought of that. I could also specify that I don’t want to use the grammar I don’t know, and if I keep the conversation tap open (free version) it wouldn’t suggest that same grammar point anymore. Thanks for the tip!
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Interesting! Is it a physical letter or an electronic one? Are you writing by hand?
I’m using the app Slowly, it lets you send “letters” to people around the world. They’re electronic letters, but the delivery time depends on the distance between the sender and the recipient. For examples the letters I am sending (from Spain to Korea) take 28h to be delivered. If I was writing to someone in Germany for example, it would maybe take 8 hours.
It’s fun! If it sounds like your thing I definitely recommend it
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Very good that does sound fun. I had visions of you trying to write by hand in Korean but that sounds a bit simpler! Interesting that the time the letter takes to arrive depends on the distance.
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Writing by hand in Korean really isn’t difficult, the alphabet is much much simpler than Japanese kana. I occasionally do write the letters by hand first on my breaks at work, and type them out once I get home, then go through the chatgpt process.
Sending them through the mail would be more of a hassle though
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