안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! A long time ago I made a lesson on the form -겠다, but looking back on it, it’s not a great lesson (I’ve learned a lot about Korean since I started this blog!), so I decided to remake it! Even I’m not that familiar with all of the usages that I list, so any corrections are welcome :) I hope this is helpful!

1. -겠습니다: Expressing Intention

Let’s start with how to use -겠습니다. The first nuance this could have is expressing your intention to do something. It’s usually translated as “I will” in English, but has a stronger nuance than the plain future tense form, -ㄹ/을 거예요. These sentences tend to be more formal-sounding too. I’ve also heard that aside from set expressions like the ones below, this usage is not very common. Let’s see some examples:

잘 먹겠습니다. = I will eat well. / Thank you for the food.

You’ve probably heard this expression before – it’s said right before starting a meal when the food is served. This sentence expresses your intention/will to enjoy the food.

열심히 하겠습니다. = I will work hard.

You might say this when given a new project/task to do. This expresses your strong intention to work hard at it.

2. -겠어요: Guessing; Assumption

-겠어(요) is a way to use -겠다 less formally. It can express your guess or assumption about the way something is or might be. For example:

(from Tammy Korean – I really recommend this video!) 내일 날씨가 좋겠어요. = It looks like the weather is going to be nice tomorrow.

The actual sentence that Tammy Korean features is 내일 날씨가 좋겠네요. In my opinion, ending it with -네요 sounds more natural.

Here, you’re making a guess that the weather is going to be nice tomorrow. Maybe you watched the weather forecast and saw that it’s going to be warm and sunny.

민지 씨의 고양이는 죽었어요. 너무 속상하겠어요. = Minji’s cat died. She must be so upset.

Here, you’re making an assumption about how Minji feels based on what happened.

그 수학 수업은 어렵겠네요. = That math class must be difficult.

You’re guessing that this math class is hard. Maybe your friend tells you they’re taking a calculus class, which sounds very complicated.

3. -겠다

-겠다 is similar to the above usage. I’m not sure if there’s much of a difference in nuance, but I think that -겠다 sounds even less formal/polite than -겠어요 (someone correct me if I’m wrong though!). Let’s see some examples:

맛있겠다! = It looks delicious!

This is another phrase you’ve probably heard before. It expresses your guess that the food will taste good based on the way it looks.

남자 친구가 생겼어요? 좋겠다! = You got a boyfriend? Lucky you!

좋겠다 here literally means something like “it must be nice,” or even in this particular sentence, “you must be happy.”

4. -아/어/여야 (하)겠다

In my experience, I think I’ve heard this usage the most. It combines -겠다 with -아/어/여야 하다, which means “have to” or “should.” If I were to compare this with just the plain -아/어/여야 하다, I would say it is usually used when you’re talking to yourself, as if to tell yourself you should do something. Here are some examples:

오늘밤 일찍 자야 하겠다. = I should go to bed early tonight.

Often, this form omits the 하. This can be shortened to 오늘밤 일찍 자야겠다.

숙제를 지금 해야겠다. = I should do my homework now.

You might say this to tell yourself to do your homework.

That’s about it for this lesson! I hope it’s helpful and better than my original lesson lol. As usual, if anyone has any corrections or questions about this grammar point, please let me know! See you in the next lesson! 다음에 또 봐요!

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requested by: various anons requests: grumpy x sunshine OTP prompts, grumpy character realising their "strange feelings" are from falling for the sunshine character

Feel free to use and reblog!

#1 - sunshine is humming and singing constantly, while grumpy at best just tolerates it quietly

#2 - grumpy is giving in to fulfil sunshine's wishes after they have been begging for hours

#3 - sunshine is babbling happily & grumpy is listening

#4 - grumpy: "So? What do you wanna do?" sunshine: "Ice cream! I want to have some ice cream!" grumpy: "But isn't that very... sweet?" *slight look of disgust*

#5 - grumpy is frowning all the time but sunshine can see they're happy

#6 - grumpy is complaining but as sunshine gives them a scalp massage they actually don't find it too bad (that doesn't stop them from complaining)

#7 - sunshine: "Aww! A PUPPY!" grumpy: *jaded sigh*

#8 - sunshine is giving grumpy countless hugs & grumpy enjoys it silently

#9 - grumpy: "No, we can't do that." sunshine: "I know we will do it. You won't say no. You never do."

#10 - sunshine is down and not lighthearted at all for a moment & grumpy is trying to cheer them up by taking on the sunshine role

#11 - sunshine: "Oh, you're the best!" grumpy: "I don't know about that."

#12 - sunshine being a morning person and bringing grumpy a coffee to wake them up because they don't want to spend the morning alone

#13 - grumpy is feeling a lot less irritated about the annoying things in life since sunshine is chirping their cheesy things into their ear all the time

#14 - grumpy is realising what a different (and much more pleasant) life it would be if sunshine was by their side all the time

#15 - grumpy is feeling a distinct void in their chest when sunshine isn't around

#16 - grumpy: "You know about all this soft stuff, right?" sunshine: "What do you mean?" grumpy: "Well, for example, can you tell me what's love?"

#17 - grumpy getting all heart-eyed when sunshine is being adorable

#18 - grumpy: *realises their feelings* "Oh, shit!" sunshine: "What is it? Did I do something wrong?" grumpy: "No, you didn't. I guess that's the problem."

#19 - grumpy: *tries to make a sweet gesture* sunshine: "What is that?" grumpy: "It's supposed to be a cake. Isn't it obvious?"

☾ Grammar 

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Hi! I just finished my first year of college and I definitely have to credit the studyblr community for all the useful information and tips! I currently closed the year with a 4.0 and don’t plan on stopping!

 In high school I was an ok student but I decided to change all that when I started college. So, whether you’re in high school or college, it’s never late to change and attain academic excellence! So here are my tips! 

Try to get an early start on your day and sit closest to the front as possible. Studies show that sitting in the front of class will improve your grades and knowledge! 

A study showed that those who sat in the front achieved an average of 80% while those in the middle achieved an average of 71.6% on their exams. And guess who did even worse.. unfortunately those in the back scored an average of 68.1%

Distractions are decreased because there’s no one sitting in front of you, just the lecture which basically forces you to pay attention.

This increases the likelihood of your professor getting to know you. Why is that important? Well, in an accounting course I once took, I sat in the front, attended extra tutoring sessions hosted by that instructor, and generally put in extra effort in the class. By the end of the semester everyone was really struggling, over 20 students flunked out, and even my tips weren’t getting me to that A I wanted. Well, because I had established who I was and that I was serious about the class, my instructor bumped my final course grade from an 88% to 93%! She said she noticed the effort I put in so she gave me the grade she thought I deserved

Seriously, sit in the front!! 

Ok, now that you have a good spot in the class, make sure you take great notes! The Cornell notes system is great but do whatever works best for you. 

Abbreviate often

Date your notes at the top so you can order them chronologically. This will make studying a breeze later on. 

Find a color coding system that works for you. Highlight main ideas and vocab. 

Find a notebook that works for you. I was lucky enough to score 20 moleskines at my local thrift store at 1 dollar a piece so I’ve been using those. 

If you prefer loose leaf paper, buy a bunch and stick it into a flexible binder so you can organize and reorganize your paper. 

Use post-its and sticky tabs to add extra info that you might have left out during class. Use sticky tabs to find certain notes faster. 

These are some of my favorite note taking supplies:

These Pilot G-Tec pens are some of my favorite pens ever! They are super smooth and the lines are really fine. This 5 pack costs around $11 which is pretty affordable!

Mead notebooks are a classic staple. Seriously these are super durable!

These sticky post-it tab hybrids work really well for marking a page and highlighting important info. 

Mildliners are really nice and the colors are not to bright. A pack runs around $7 and a 3 pack is $15 on Amazon. 

If you want to go the extra mile, retyping up your notes is a great idea. That way your in class notes can be messy and it won’t matter since you’re going to type them up anyway. One Note is awesome for notes. 

I developed my own system for deciding on how I will study and how often I will study. It goes something like this:

Rank your classes in order of difficulty into three sections:

Easy, medium, and hard….

Easy classes get one point

Medium classes get two points

Hard classes get three points 

Is the class math related? ….. add 2 points

Is it science related? …… add 2 points

Is the class a subject that you struggle with? ….. add 3 points

is the class AP? ……… 3 points 

Add up the points for each class. 

Classes with 1-3 points: 

these classes are generally easy and have an easy instructor, contain info you already know, etc. 

These classes get 45 minutes a day in your schedule and minimal studying on weekends. 

Classes with 4-8 points:

These classes might need some more effort so try to…

Set aside an hour a day and 30 minutes on weekends. 

Classes with 9 points and up:

These classes are usually more intense, have daily assignments, have a strict instructor, etc. 

Set 2 hours a day and an hour or more on weekends. Consider going to free tutoring provided by your school, join a study group, or go to your instructor’s office hours. 

Plan your months, weeks, and days in advance! Keep a planner, calendar, or bullet journal. I personally use a bullet journal and keep a calendar printable in each binder I have for my classes. 

Include due dates, exam dates, when your rentals are due, etc. 

Look at it everyday!!! That way you won’t forget important events. 

If you want to, make it pretty! Decorate it with stickers, pictures, polaroids, etc. to make it more personal.

If you prefer minimalism, keep a simple planner or bullet journal system.

If an electronic system works better for you, go for it! But I’ve noticed that writing it on paper works best! 

Here are some great planners or journals to use:

Moleskines are always a great choice! 

This hardcover Yoobi journal is comparable to the Moleskine and comes in pretty colors! The price is awesome, each one runs at $6! 

Bando makes super pretty and trendy planners. They run from $20 and can get pricey though. It’s definitely worth it though!

This Sugar Paper gold polka dot planner is really cute and super affordable!

The AT-A-GLANCE planner has a monthly view and daily sections with plenty of room for writing in important dates and decorating with cute stuff! 

Kikki K has amazing planners. If you want to splurge consider their stuff. I’ve always wanted one but it’s around the price of a textbook :( 

While Studyblr has so many resources and tips, in case you haven’t noticed, a lot of the pretty pictures use muji pens, staedtler fineliners, and those cute lil’ backpacks. Remember that you have to use supplies that work with you. Here are the essentials to carry with you:

Notebooks and binders

A sturdy and comfy backpack. I use the Borealis backpack by The North Face on discount. Make sure it has comfortable straps, back support, enough room for all your stuff, and compartments for your food and water bottle. 

A phone charger. Keep it in your backpack. My phone has died on me so many times and it sucks, especially if you have to take the bus. Invest in a portable charger.

Earbuds are a must, especially if you take public transportation. Also great for when you’re at the library, gym, etc.

As previously mentioned, a water bottle and FOOD! Pack a lunch but also have backup snacks like granola bars or nuts. You need food and water for energy.  

Keep extra change. You never know when you need it!! 

Your planner. 

Pens, pencils, etc. Especially a stapler if you have homework that you regularly turn in!! Its really awk when someone doesn’t have a stapler and everyone in the class doesn’t either..

A laptop, seriously a must! Chromebooks are affordable! 

Hope that’s helpful! Looking forward to another year in college and staying in the Studyblr community,

will this choice propel me towards an inspiring future, or will it keep me stuck in the past?

will this choice bring me long-term fulfilment or short term gratification?

am i standing in my power or am i trying to please another?

am i looking for what’s right or am i looking for what’s wrong?

will this choice add to my life force or will it rob me of energy?

will i use this situation as a catalyst to grow and evolve, or will i use it to beat myself up?

does this choice empower or disempower me?

is this an act of self-love or self-sabotage?

is this is an act of faith (love) or fear?

I saw a post circulating claiming that these two grammar points are interchangeable, and I’d just like to take a second to say: no, they’re not.

-는데도 can be thought of as a the abbreviated version of -는데 그래도.  With this in mind, we know that the result in the second clause following -는데도 is contrary to what we would expect based on the information in the first clause.

나는 주연 씨를 매일 만나는데도 친하지 않아요.  I meet Ju-yeon every day, but we’re not close.  (Even though I meet Ju-yeon every day, we’re not close.)

From the first clause, you know that I meet Ju-yeon every day, and following that, the logical assumption is that we’re close.  However (this is where 그래도 kicks in), the truth is that we’re not close at all.  The information in the first clause has no bearing on that in the second.

방을 하루종일 청소했는데도 아직 더러워요.  I cleaned my room all day, but it’s still dirty. (Even though I cleaned my room all day, it’s still dirty)

열심히 공부했는데도 시험에 떨어졌어요. I studied hard, but I failed the test.  (Even though I studied hard, I failed my test.)

-더라도 is similar in that the information in the first clause has no effect on the information in the second clause.  However, with -더라도 we are working with a hypothetical scenario.

약 맛없더라도 꼭 먹어야지. Even if the medicine tastes bad, you should take it.

In this sentence, we don’t know what the medicine tastes like, presumably because it hasn’t been taken yet.  However, regardless of whether it tastes good or not, the speaker is advising that the medicine must be taken.

방을 하루종일 청소하더라도 더러울 거예요.  Even if I (were to) clean my room all day, it’ll be dirty.

열심히 공부하더라도 시험에 떨어질 거예요.  Even if I (were to) study hard, I’ll still fail the test.

When used in the past tense, -더라도 has a feeling of inevitability when it comes to the final outcome: regardless of whatever past action taken, the result would remain unchanged.

방을 할루종일 청소했더라도 아직 더러웠을 거예요. Even if I had cleaned my room all day, my room still would’ve been dirty.

열심히 공부했더라도 시험에 떨어졌을 거예요. Even if I had studied hard, I would’ve (still) failed the test.

Again, we can see that the information in the first clause of the sentence has no influence over the result in the second clause of the sentence.

The difference between the two grammar points can be summed up thusly: -는데도 can be translated as “Even though”; -더라도 as “Even if”.

summer:

invest in a book of short stories for each language you’re studying, and keep the book(s) on your bedside table. take advantage of the free time while out of school to get in the habit of reading through the short stories whenever you can. just a few minutes of reading the short stories every day will immensely improve your foreign language skills and keep you from forgetting the vocab & grammar over summer break

acquire a list of the books you’ll be reading for school in the fall and start reading them. to get the list of books, try asking someone who’s already taken the class, your future teachers, or a school counselor. reading the books ahead of time will not only put you ahead of the rest of your class by giving you time to work through the material in advance; it will also significantly lessen your workload during the school year.

this applies to the school year as well, but especially when you’re reading books in advance, keep a journal and pen at hand every time you read. write down the major plot points of the section you’re reading, what you like/agree with, what you dislike/disagree with, and one or two quotes that summarize the main themes of the section (make sure you include page numbers!!!!). when school starts & you’re assigned an essay on that book, you’ll already have the main points of the book laid out, and lots of great quotes—with page references!—to use in your essay.

two weeks before school starts:

take a look at your syllabus and get started on your first assignments. if you start now, you can stay at least one week ahead on all of your assignments throughout the year. this is a HUGE lifesaver when something comes up unexpectedly during the school year—like getting sick or having to go out of town for a few days at the last minute—and you don’t have time to get homework done, because if you’ve done it in advance then you won’t have to worry about falling behind.

get a planner app for your phone. i like egenda, but you can use any app where you input homework assignments in advance and it alerts you at various intervals of time before they’re due. it’s impossible to get a good grade on an assignment if you forget to turn it in on time, so just alleviate that issue altogether.

throughout the school year:

take notes. have a notebook open in every class, and write down all important names, dates, quotes, formulas, and theorems. write the current date at the top of each page, and have a separate notebook for each subject. if a teacher repeats something more than once in a class, underline it, because those are the things that appear on midterms and finals.

help yourself memorize things by writing essays about them. even if you’re not assigned an essay about a topic, try to write/type two or three paragraphs every week to summarize what you’re learning in a class. writing things in your own words is one of the best ways to remember them, and it will also help you to improve your writing skills. additionally, this should be applied to all subjects, not just literature or history (because even if you’re studying a STEM field and writing isn’t a huge part of the curriculum, you should still have the ability to write about STEM concepts in a way that is understandable and engaging).

befriend the smartest person in the class. figure out who always has the right answers and make yourself their ally. be a good friend to them, and then when you’re struggling with a concept, they will either explain it to you or—if they don’t know what the explanation is yet—they’ll help you search for it.

take advantage of indexes. almost all books have one, and they can be lifesavers if you don’t know the answer to a question. especially in history class, when there are a bunch of names that are super difficult to memorize. i know this is a pretty basic tip (if you can even call it a tip), but i’ve had a lot of friends completely forget about indexes, so this is just a brief reminder. :)

participate in class. this might sound super obvious, but you cannot retain information without discussing it! if you’re like me and participating in class sucks because of social anxiety, try to force yourself out of your comfort zone & remember that you are your own worst critic, but it’s also okay just to discuss things with a close friend or family member instead. the important thing is that you’re repeating what you’ve learned out loud and practicing explaining it to someone else, which will really help you to grasp the concepts.

three weeks before midterms/finals:

now is when all of your notes come in handy. go back through the notes for each class and study them, particularly the parts you’ve underlined. you shouldn’t try to memorize the pages, but you should study them enough that—by finals week—you could summarize the contents if someone asked you pointed questions about them. this is also when it becomes extra helpful to be friends with the smartest person in the class, because they will be an excellent study buddy. just make sure that you reciprocate if you ask them to help you study.

fill in any gaps in your notes by talking to your teachers and attending all of the office hours that you can. many teachers will give you a study guide if you ask for one, and you can literally go through and fill it in with info from your notes. remember, most of your teachers really do want you to do well, and they’ll try their best to help you achieve the best scores possible.

if any of your quizzes are open book, ask your teacher if you can put completely blank sticky notes on pages. bookmark the pages that have important events, quotes, facts, etc., and then if you forget something on a test you can refer to the book & it will be much easier to find the information. personally, the only open book finals i’ve had are the kind where you just write three 1000 word essays in 3 hours, but we are required to have at least 5 quotes in each essay, so if that’s the case for any of you guys then this tip is super helpful for bookmarking those quotes as well.

while taking a final/midterm:

read through the whole test first. figure out how long it is, how much time you have, and how many points each question is worth. if you’re worried about running out of time, start by doing the problems that are worth more points, and then out of whatever’s left do the ones that look easiest first. this will guarantee that you make the best use of your time & get the highest grade possible

Happy #NationalBookLoversDay to all our literary fans out there! Here at the Archives, We’re very shelf-aware of our love of all written records! To celebrate this wonderful day, here’s a look at some of our favorite literary holdings!

As all lovers of fiction know, a good book can transport you to other lands. And speaking of literary travels, here’s #ErnestHemingway’s 1923 passport photo.

Nothing warms our hearts more than seeing young people having fun in libraries! Here’s a 1940’s photo of children checking out books from the Benjamin Franklin Library.

Sometimes all you need is a great book and a little space. No one knows this quite like Astronaut Janice Voss! Here she is enjoying “A Man on the Moon” while exercising on an ergometer on the middeck of Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105.

It wouldn’t be a proper #NationBookLoversDay celebration without highlighting some of our favorite American authors. Here’s a photo of #JamesBaldwin and #MarlonBrando at the Civil Rights March on Washington.

To all the Edgar Allan Poe fans, this one’s for you! Here’s a look at Poe’s enlistment documents.

Is there a skill you’ve always wanted to master someday, but kept procrastinating on? A language you started learning – then abandoned? A topic in class you’ve never quite grasped? Or maybe you just want to expand your horizon and try something new? Distract yourself from your usual studies?

This challenge is the perfect opportunity to achieve that! Pick a skill and see how much you can improve and grow in 30 days – or really start working on your to-read list (I know those books have been piling up), your portfolio for that dream job in Illustration you want, or your blog you’ve been meaning to post more original content on.

Self-growth and development are so, so important, which is the main reason why I created this challenge.

The idea of this challenge is that people from all communities come together to gain knowledge, add skills and just have fun with the amazing amount of resources out there. This way, we can all support and motivate each other, whatever field you might be interested in.

Post an introduction with the hashtag #30dol with your goals and expectations for the month (starting June 1st), and what your current level is. (Of course, you can join in later as well, but it’s fun to start a the same time!) In the end, you’ll be able to compare and see how much has changed!

Rules:

choose a topic or field you want to concentrate on

post an introduction to #30dol 

define your goals or aspirations

update daily or weekly, we want to hear from you! ♥

post a picture, a sketch, or audio, whatever you deem fitting to show us all your progress for the day/week

Here are some ideas for you:

bullet journaling (read about it here on @emmastudies, here’s an amazing online course on it) 

books/reading (if you don’t have a personal to-read list, here is one with the best books of the 20th century, best series with a gay plot/subplot, and books everyone should have read at least once)

coding (here are some sites to learn html, css, data science, python 3, java, etc.: x x x x)

design/illustration ( stickers and illustration, character illustration, Ink Illustration, 45 best adobe illustrator tutorials, 

business/freelance/open your own shop (tips on how to open your own sticker shop, digital skills: web analytics and marketing)

languages (apps like lingodeer, duolingo, lingvist, busuu, blogs like @lovelybluepanda. there are also so many pdfs and amazing websites out there depending on your target language!)

online mass education courses (edx, coursera, skillshare, futurelearn where universities and professionals teach you about their subject - be that astronomy, engineering, ancient greek history, artificial intelligence or medicine!)

social media (learn to take iphone photos for your tumblr or instagram, and here’s a great post by @studyquill on how to start and maintain a studyblr!)

photography (travel street photography, find photographers you admire like annie leibovitz or henri cartier bresson and read about their path, or browse youtube channels like negative feedback which specialize on photography)

creative writing (there are tons of workshops online - you could also try to set yourself a piece or word limit similar to nanowrimo) 

culinary (check recipe websites, or challenge yourself to try one new recipe a day, or dedicate the month to a specific cuisine)

music (learn music production, andrew huang has also made a video on how to start making music here)

film and filmmaking (karsten runquist’s channel is wonderful for film analysis,  learn about cinematography basics here and film history here)

painting (acrylic painting, sketchbook illustration. you could challenge yourself to fill an entire sketchbook/create a piece every day or week, or to improve a specific technique) 

Every resource linked is free (if you click on the links you can get Skillshare for free for two months and cancel anytime), so all you need is some free time and lots of motivation!!

I’m very happy to be announcing this to you all, and will be working on my Japanese for this challenge – so excited to see what you all and I will do and how far we can come!

Use #30dol as the general tag, and add your field (your specific subject, or writing, painting, lang(uages), pho(tography), film, book, design) to find people doing something similar! Though honestly one of the things I’m most excited about is the multidisciplinary aspect - we are such a brilliant and colorful community :)

Tips for when studying is the last thing you want to do!

1. Write out on sticky notes the name of objects in your room, then go ahead and stick them on everything. Next time you turn on your light, make yourself look (or at least glance) at the word. Next time you open your drawer, look at the note. Any time you turn on your lamp, your laptop charger or your speakers, you’ll always have that vocabulary there and you’ll learn each of them in no time.

2. Play the radio/podcasts or a Korean show for background noise. Most of us don’t like to sit and scroll through Facebook in total silence. I recommend 슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다 (which is available on youtube!) as it is centred around children and any vocabulary you pick up will be helpful. Others include:

• 2 Days 1 Night

• Hello Counselor

• 이웃집 찰스

• Hello Baby

3. Write down phrases on flash cards. Break down the words. Some people have more success reading phrases on flash cards rather than just single vocabulary. Stick these in a place you’ll sit at often, or you could also stick them on items they pertain to just like in tip #1.

4. Just once a day, when you’re out and about or even just at home, search the dictionary for a word. Say you’re out eating, and you don’t know the word for “to order”. Whip out that phone, search it up and try to commit it to memory. One word a day is 365 words a year, and odds are you’ll pick up more than that anyway!

5. Google Play has a selection of multi-language books. Buy a Korean and English children’s book and try to read it (if you’re up to it). The English translation will always be there, so it’s less brain power for you to go and search up everything you don’t know! Plus, you might learn some small phrases in the process.

6. Watch Korean YouTubers. YouTube is fun to watch, so why not watch it in Korean? - 영국남자 (Korean Englishman) is an English man who is great at Korean, he always has English and Korean subs on. By the end of a few episodes you’ll know what “ 남자답다” and “살아 있네!” Means! - Pony’s Makeup is a great channel if you love makeup. You’ll pick up makeup related vocab and phrases, as well learn new techniques and styles. - Maangchi is a Korean lady who teaches you how to cook Korean food. It’s mostly in English but she talks about Korean words sometimes. - 꿀키 is another cooking channel, however there’s no talking, only the blissful sounds of soup boiling and onions frying! She puts small instructions on her videos in both English and Korean. Take notes!

7. Download a widget on your phone that gives you a new word every time you swipe to unlock. Simple, easy and there in your pocket.

8. Fill your social media with Korean. Follow Korean study blogs (though don’t rely on them 100% as most are run by non-fluent speakers), follow Korean daily vocab twitters and Facebook pages. Everything you see will be Korean and you’ll start to pick up on words that you see all the time.

Want to maintain or improve your writing skills in your target language this summer? Try this 30-day writing challenge for June: Every day, answer the following prompts in your target language (in a personal journal or in a tumblr post). Good luck!

Write a short letter to someone you haven’t talked to in a while.

What are your future career goals?

What’s your favorite childhood movie? Why?

If you could learn to cook anything this summer, what would it be and why?

List 5 (or more) things that make you happy.

What is your morning routine?

What is your night routine?

Who is one influential person in your life? Why?

Write a poem about someone (or something) you love :)

List 5 of your pet peeves.

What’s something about yourself that you want to improve?

What’s one place you’ve always wanted to visit? Why?

What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this summer?

What’s one of your favorite things about yourself? Why?

Write a haiku about summertime.

Describe a memorable dream you’ve had.

Who’s your celebrity crush? What do you like about them (besides how cute I’m sure they are lol)?

What’s your favorite summer memory?

Translate 3 of your favorite quotes into your target language.

Write 3 things that scare you and why.

Write about a challenge you’ve overcome!

Who is someone, dead or alive, you would love to meet? Why?

Who is your best friend and why do you love them?

What is your favorite item in your room?

What’s one book you had to read in school that you DIDN’T like? Rant about it.

What’s one good memory from school?

List an insecurity, then refute it by reminding yourself how great you are :)

How do you think someone would describe you?

How do you relax after a stressful or difficult day?

What was your favorite part of this month?

Hi everyone, I’m back with another writing challenge for you! I tried my best, but please let me know if I had any repeats from last month. 

If you don’t know about this challenge: Want to maintain or improve your writing skills in your target language this summer? Try this 30-day writing challenge for June: Every day, answer the following prompts in your target language (in a personal journal or in a tumblr post). Good luck!

Translate the first few sentences of your favorite book into your language (make sure to include the author and title!!).

If you could live in any era (i.e. the roaring ‘20s), what would it be and why?

Write a summary of your favorite TV show or movie.

List 3-5 facts about your country (or your family’s country of origin).

What are 5-8 songs that would be on your summer playlist? Translate their titles into your target language.

Look up and list 3-5 slang terms in your language.

Describe your favorite summer outfit.

Name 3 things that have made you smile this week.

Write today’s to-do list in your target language.

How will you improve as a student next year?

What is one goal you hope to achieve by the end of this month?

Name a funny childhood memory.

Where is your favorite study space? Why?

Translate a few lines from a favorite song.

Give a basic physical description of yourself (if you are posting online, protect your own privacy - don’t list anything super specific!!).

Briefly describe some of your personality traits.

What’s one nice thing that you’ve done for someone else recently?

Why do you want to learn the language you are studying?

List 3 useful phrases in your language (such as “Where is the bathroom?” or “There is an emergency.” I feel like we never learn these things in class lol)

Name some terms and phrases that are specific to the career you are pursuing.

Describe your favorite scene from a book, show, or movie.

What would you do with $100? Why?

What’s one good thing about the world in this day and age? What’s one bad thing?

What are some things on your bucket list and why?

What is one thing (food, a scent, a stuffed animal, etc.) that is nostalgic/brings back memories? Why?

What is one thing that stresses you out, and what do you do to de-stress/avoid stress when you have to deal with that thing?

Write a short letter to your past self (maybe 5 years ago?).

What is your Myers-Briggs personality type? Describe it? Is it accurate?

What is one worry/problem you have right now, and what are you doing/going to do to fix it?

What is the nicest thing someone has said to you/about you?

Favorite memory from this month?

The four skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Don’t be discouraged by slow progress!

Listening

Practice listening! Infants “listen” for more than a year before they can say anything close to “mom” or “dad”. 

Watch videos and listen to music in your language.

Try to recognize words, even sounds. 

Don’t bother trying to understand, just get used to the sound of the language.

When others in class speak, listen for what they say and mentally build images of their answers—in the language itself.

Speaking

Read aloud: think of it as training your mouth to make the new sounds.

Learn a short standard sentence, then substitute vocabulary/

Subject and verbs can change (I am going; you are going; etc.)

Objects can change (I buy a car; I buy a CD; etc.)

In class, if your “answer” does not come to mind, repeat the question in the language.

 Stay in the mind set of the language, giving your brain time to work in the new language.

Reading

Do not read word-by-word, or translate word-by-word.

Prepare yourself for a reading: 

study its vocabulary first; 

review the advance questions.

Then put aside everything and just read, even twice.

Do not look up vocabulary while reading.

Do not write in your text book - separately develop a vocabulary list

Go beyond your textbook!

Children’s books are illustrated and easy to read!

Websites are rich opportunities to explore your hobbies in other languages, 

Read/sing song lyrics of the language!

As you advance, read novels- but read for the story, not vocabulary.

Writing

Some languages have unfamiliar alphabets, so practice!

Write out sentences you have practiced orally.

Carefully construct patterns and then write out the sentences with substitute words–multiple times. 

If you have spell check and the “autocorrect” grammar feature in your word processing, use it!

When you get corrections, re-write them.