Hi. My name is Ana and I am currently self studying/teaching myself Korean. My native language is English and I do/did/have done a few others. Languages are my passion and I dream to one day become a professional interpreter or translator!!!
I have mastered the hangul aspect and Korean and I can read "most things" although I am a bit slow. I do listened to K-pop and am able to sing a few song with ease. (Yay!) I hope this will better my pronounciation. I am currently working on my vocabulary with a few grammar drills here and there, but I believe I am lacking is a companion (Lol). I have no-one to practice my speaking with and as such, I believe I lack conversational skills and although I try, learning about Korean culture and why a cetain word or sentence is the way it is, is completely different when watching a video than when learning firsthand from a native. (Off topic).
I don't believe that I will ever become fluent in the Korean language, but I hope to become proficient in the language enough so that I when and if, I travel to Korea, I will be able to enjoy my time there as the natives do....
So......dear Italki members and anyone who happens to read this...How do I go about my goal. All advice and tips will be duly noted and used to the best of my ablities. I am currently a student and I havevery important exams coming up next year (June) that determine my college placement etc and I may not be able to dedicate as much time as I believe is necessary, but I will try....I also do Spanish (4 years) and unbelievably, I MAY mix things up. (thinking in one instead of the other). I believe that alanguage should not be a bore ( Spanish at school= Tears) and I try to make Korean as interesting as possible (I am...a bit easily distracted) and I make the effort to put the time required (Rome wasn't built in a day) Sooo...again, I ask if anyone is out there will to take the time to teach a young (eager+ determined) student, who may not be able to pay them financially (Is there another way?) Please, take me as your student. I know I may be a bit challenging, but I promise, I will do my best. Give me a chance. Thank You and Good Day....
The language you speak doesn't have to be the one that speaks to you...(a bit paraphrased. I think it is from G-Dragon.)
Sincerely,
Ana
Hi Ana, you seem to be very aware of what you need to do to achieve your goals, and you certainly seem willing to work for it so that is great. Please be aware though that it may be very difficult to find someone to be a fully-fledged teacher to you for free. As an English teacher myself, I work very hard all day to teach this language and the last thing I want to be doing in my spare time is teaching more, but for free, haha. Teaching a language takes a lot of time and effort and most people simply can't dedicate that amount of time for free.
What I would reccomend to you would be to find a language exchange partner as opposed to a teacher, and help them practice their English in return for them letting you practice Korean with them. In the meanwhile, study by yourself and just practice what you study with your language exchange partner later so that you can get that much-needed speaking practice.
Another alternative if you really do want a teacher and can spare a little bit of money (and no, they aren't paying me to say this) is to find a paid one through this website. The Korean tutors here don't charge much, and having been taught by two of them (Rosa and Jee, both amazing teachers), I'd really reccommend it. If you're serious about a language and have the money to spare, this would be the best route, but otherwise, self-study combined with language exchange will work well, too!
Best of luck!
Fantastic!
cool
