To-Be-A-Polyglot

10 Useful Verbs + How to Use Them [pt. 2]

Enjoy part two to this long journey! Check out [pt. 1] here! 

This list will go over: (15/100)      1. 마시다 - to drink      2. 배우다 - to learn      3. 앉다 - to sit      4. 가르치다 - to teach      5. 걷다 - to walk      6. 달리다 - to run      7. 춤추다 - to dance      8. 자다 - to sleep      9. 일하다 - to work      10. 쉬다 - to rest

마시다 – to drink

Present Tense:     casual – 마셔      low formal – 마셔요     high formal – 마십니다 Past Tense:      casual – 마셨어     low formal – 마셨어요      high formal – 마셨습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 마실 거야 // 마시겠어      low formal – 마실 거예요 // 마시겠어요      high formal – 마실 겁니다 // 마시겠습니다

Example Sentences: (declarative // conditional) 1. casual: 마시자 ~! – let’s drink! 2. low formal: 집에서 주스를 마셨어요 – I drank juice at home 3. high formal: 우유를 마지막 한 방울까지 마실 겁니다 // 마시겠습니다 – I will drink every last drop of milk

배우다 – to learn

Present Tense:     casual – 배워        low formal – 배워요     high formal – 배웁니다 Past Tense:      casual – 배웠어     low formal – 배웠어요      high formal – 배웠습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 배울 거야 // 배우겠어      low formal – 배울 거예요 // 배우겠어요      high formal – 배울 겁니다 // 배우겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 학교에서 나는 문법을 배워 – at school, I learn grammar. 2. low formal: 저 아이 때 영어를 배웠어요 – I learned English when I was a kid 3. high formal: 한국어를 배울 겁니다 // 배우겠습니다

앉다 – to sit

Present Tense:     casual – 앉아      low formal – 앉아요     high formal – 앉습니다 Past Tense:      casual – 앉았어     low formal – 앉았어요      high formal – 앉았습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 앉을 거야 // 앉겠어      low formal – 앉을 거예요 // 앉겠어요      high formal – 앉을 겁니다 // 앉겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 앉아 주세요 – please sit 2. low formal: 저는 전정국 앞에 앉았어요 – I sat in front of Jungkook! 3. high formal: 저 이 침대에 앉을 겁니다 // 앉겠습니다 – I’m going to sit on this bed

가르치다 – to teach

Present Tense:     casual – 가르쳐      low formal – 가르쳐요     high formal – 가르칩니다 Past Tense:      casual – 가르쳤어     low formal – 가르쳤어요      high formal – 가르쳤습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 가르칠 거야 // 가르치겠어      low formal – 가르칠 거예요 // 가르치겠어요      high formal – 가르칠 겁니다 // 가르치겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 언제 가르치? – when do you teach? 2. low formal: 제 한국 친구는 제게 한국어를 가르쳤어요 – my Korean friend taught me Korean 3. high formal: 한국에 가서 영어를 가르칠 겁니다 // 가르치겠습니다 – I’m going to teach English in Korea

걷다 – to walk

Present Tense:     casual – 걸어      low formal – 걸어요     high formal – 걷습니다 Past Tense:      casual – 걸었어     low formal – 걸었어요      high formal – 걸었습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 걸을 거야 // 걷겠어      low formal – 걸을 거예요 // 걷겠어요      high formal – 걸을 겁니다 // 걷겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 빨리 걸어! – walk quickly! 2. low formal: 어제 가게까지 걸었어요 – I walked to the store yesterday 3. high formal: 학교에 걸을 겁니다 // 걷겠습니다 – I am going to walk to school

달리다 – to run

Present Tense:     casual – 달려      low formal – 달려요     high formal – 달립니다 Past Tense:      casual – 달렸어     low formal – 달렸어요      high formal – 달렸습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 달릴 거야 // 다리겠어      low formal – 달릴 거예요 // 다리겠어요      high formal – 달릴 겁니다 // 다리겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. causal: 달려!! – run!! 2. low formal: 다리기를 했어요 – I ran (운동하기 – exercise) 3. high formal: 학교에 달릴 겁니다 // 달리겠습니다 – I will run to school

춤추다 – to dance

Present Tense:     casual – 춤춰      low formal – 춤춰요     high formal – 춤춥니다 Past Tense:      casual – 춤췄어     low formal – 춤췄어요      high formal – 춤췄습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 춤출 거야 // 춤추겠어      low formal – 춤출 거예요 // 춤추겠어요      high formal – 춤출 겁니다 // 춤추겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 기뻐서 춤춰 – dance with joy // jumping with joy 2. low formal: 저는 3시간 동안 춤췄어요 – I danced for three hours 3. high formal: 저는 그와 함께 춤출 겁니다 // 춤추겠습니다 – I’m gonna dance with him!

자다 – to sleep

Present Tense:     casual – 자      low formal – 자요       high formal – 잡니다 Past Tense:      casual – 잤어     low formal – 잤어요      high formal – 잤습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 잘 거야 // 자겠어      low formal – 잘 거예요 // 자겠어요      high formal – 잘 겁니다 // 자겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 잘 자 ~ - sleep well ~ 2. low formal: 저 10시간 동안 잠을 잤어요 – I slept for ten hours 3. high formal: 저는 항상 제 침대에 잠을 잘 겁니다 // 자겠습니다 – I’ll always sleep in my bed

일하다 – to work

Present Tense:     casual - 일해      low formal - 일해요     high formal - 일합니다 Past Tense:      casual - 일했어     low formal - 일했어요      high formal - 일했습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 일할 거야 // 일하겠어      low formal – 일할 거예요 // 일하겠어요      high formal – 일할 겁니다 // 일하겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 열심히 일해! 파이팅! – Work hard! Fighting! 2. low formal: 저는 주말 내내 일했어요 – I worked all weekend 3. high formal: 지금부터 더욱 열심히 일할 겁니다 // 일하겠습니다 – I’ll work harder from now on

쉬다 – to rest

Present Tense:     casual - 쉬어      low formal - 쉬어요     high formal - 쉽니다 Past Tense:      casual - 쉬었어     low formal - 쉬었어요      high formal - 쉬었습니다 Future Tense:      casual – 쉴 거야 // 쉬겠어      low formal – 쉴 거예요 // 쉬겠어요      high formal – 쉴 겁니다// 쉬겠습니다

Example Sentences:  1. casual: 이제 좀 쉬어 – get some rest (lit. now rest a little) 2. low formal: 너무 많이 쉬었어요 – I relaxed too much! 3. high formal: 저는 집에서 가서 쉴 겁니다 // 쉬겠습니다 – I will go home and rest!

Enjoy this (much longer) list of 10 useful verbs and how to use them! If you like these, lemme know! I have more time and am willing to create more posts like this! Happy Learning :)

Linguistic diversity challenge

Langblr culture challenge

Langblr vocab list challenge

Original langblr content challenge

Composition challenge

Translating challenge

There are many times when the quantity of work can become quite intimidating, so it’s really important to keep organised. Here are a few tips!

Schedule

A schedule is vital, and can be really effective when you find one that suits you. Schedules will help keep you on track and you’ll find that by sticking to a routine, you will actually be more productive when you sit down to study. It can take a while before you make one that works really well, since plans change often, and for the busy individual; an adaptable schedule is quite handy.

However, if you’re more prone to random energy spikes than long methodical routines, then perhaps it can be beneficial to create an adaptable plan for when you are most active. Try and use it to your advantage.

The important thing to remember is to start small, and as you complete your intended agenda, add more to your planner! Having a schedule overloaded with plans and study dates can be quite off putting, so try and make one you know you can honestly stick to, and go from there!

Calendar

Calendars are a great tool, and I use them for almost everything. Write out your plan so it is always visible, keeping it somewhere you will always look at it. You’ll be more inclined to do the things you’ve planned if it’s always staring at you!

Not only is a calendar a great tool for marking down important dates, or study days, but it is a great way to keep track of the information you’ve learnt. For example, I keep a specific calendar with the vocabulary from BitesizeKorean written in each box, just so I can keep track of it and refer to it when needed. I do the same thing on another calendar but for any grammar I learn.

Write down important grammar points you learnt that day, and whatever you feel is important to note. More often than not, it is a great idea to mark the day you learnt something and a date later in the week; using that as your revision day. This will help reiterate the important things you’ve recently learnt, or to touch base with anything you didn’t quite understand.

This is why I make the Weekly Vocab Recap every week. It’s a great way to remind yourself and myself of the vocabulary we’ve learnt during the week.

Notebook

Notes are a great way to record information, review it, and are also an amazing tool to actually learn. So it is very important to keep your notes organised, neat and legible.

I know it’s not a problem for everyone, but sometimes note-taking can seem useless or burdensome, and that’s usually because people tend to focus on the quantity of information they are writing down, rather than the quality. You have to be concise, and straight forward with note-taking; paying particular attention to the words you are writing, since you’ll be more likely to remember it. But for those of you that need a little info of effective note-taking, here are a few links I thought have some really useful advice.

University of Manchester

The Open University

The Conversation

I also know there are the few of you that might not even be a fan of taking notes at all, but it really is a great tool for learning! Which is why you might find it really motivating to buy a notebook you like - whether it’s covered in sparkles, leather-bound or personally doodled - it doesn’t matter. So long as you have a book you like, it will encourage you to actually use it, and look after it!

Something else I recommend is to take note of everything, even the things you think you know. It doesn’t matter if you think “I will remember that without writing it down” because it is always better to take note of it. It doesn’t hurt, and is often just a great way to reaffirm something you already know.

Also, it’s really helpful to try and brighten your notes with highlighters! You can even try to colour coordinate information.

Post-It Notes

They are beyond handy. Try writing small pieces of information you want to learn, whether it’s vocabulary or a grammar point and leave them around places you know you will see them regularly, like your desk, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom etc. The point is, the more you see it, the more likely you are to remember it. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be so annoyed at seeing colourful pieces of paper everywhere, that you’ll learn them just so you can get rid of them!

Try Making Cheat Sheets

This means making a list of everything you know, as simplistic as possible, for quick reference. It will help your brain into simplifying perhaps the most complicated of grammar points into something you can easily understand. The effort alone will help aid your memory, and it is always a nice backup to jog your memory in the future!

Keep Your Study Area Clutter Free

I often feel as though a cluttered work space is a cluttered mind. So try to keep your desk organised, neat and clean. You’ll notice a giant spike in productivity if you try to keep everything in order!

Make To-Do-Lists

I am personally a huge fan of list making.. And sometimes even lists about lists. But it is by far one of the most motivating systems to make sure you can check off tasks and successfully complete your intended criteria. It will help to keep you on task and help encourage you to keep going.

Create a Reward System!

The human brain is literally wired around the idea of work and reward. Every video game is build with a specific ratio of work and reward to keep the player interested, motivated and intrigued. So try applying that to your studies! Allow yourself a reward for completing study.

For example, if you finish writing up those grammar notes that you wanted to get done, you are allowed to eat that bag of gummy bears, or treat yourself to that new dvd you wanted! It can be the tiniest of things, but it is a reward none-the-less and it can help motivate you.

Balance

Studying is all about balance! If you overwork yourself for long periods of time, your brain will eventually tire, and your concentration will begin to fade. So the best approach is to study in moderation.

Study for an hour, take a break, study for another hour, take another break.. Or even split your study into tiny pieces throughout the day! You will find that it is often more effective than a 10 hour study block.

So try studying in manageable quantities and you hopefully shouldn’t encounter any repercussions such as what I call “study block”, when despite your best efforts, nothing you try to learn will be comprehended or remembered. Study block can be very frustrating and demotivating, so it’s vital to not overwork yourself!

Don’t Rush

Everyone learns at their own pace, and it’s important to learn at a speed you are comfortable with. If you try to learn too much too quickly, it will often be wasted effort. Don’t let the progress of others make you feel inadequate or disheartened, try to remember that everyone started at the same place! Encourage yourself to study as often as you feel you want, and/or need to. Pushing yourself past limits is never wise. The important thing is to remember to have fun with it!

Those are the tips I try to learn by. Although I’ve been super busy recently, so I haven’t managed to squeeze in more than five hours a week.

I hope this helped, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Wishing you luck with your studies!

Ready for the ultimate challenge? If you’ve been following from the start, then this year’s worth of vocabulary shall prove a mighty challenge for you - see how many words you can remember. Otherwise, if you’re new, here is a very long list of vocabulary to get you started! Good Luck! 

꿈: Dream

여행: Travel

시험: Exam

계획: Plan

찾다: To find

기분: Feelings

쉽다: To be easy

고민: One’s worries

의자: Chair

차: Car

책: Book

탁자: Table

도시: City

건물: Building

잡지: Magazine

나라: Country

가방: Bag

선생님: Teacher

나무: Tree

창문: Window

문: Door

의사: Doctor

Ready for the ultimate challenge? If you’ve been following from the start, then this year’s worth of vocabulary shall prove a mighty challenge for you - see how many words you can remember. Otherwise, if you’re new, here is a very long list of vocabulary to get you started! Good Luck! 

꿈: Dream

여행: Travel

시험: Exam

계획: Plan

찾다: To find

기분: Feelings

쉽다: To be easy

고민: One’s worries

의자: Chair

차: Car

책: Book

탁자: Table

도시: City

건물: Building

잡지: Magazine

나라: Country

가방: Bag

선생님: Teacher

나무: Tree

창문: Window

문: Door

의사: Doctor

Ready for the ultimate challenge? If you’ve been following from the start, then this year’s worth of vocabulary shall prove a mighty challenge for you - see how many words you can remember. Otherwise, if you’re new, here is a very long list of vocabulary to get you started! Good Luck! 

꿈: Dream

여행: Travel

시험: Exam

계획: Plan

찾다: To find

기분: Feelings

쉽다: To be easy

고민: One’s worries

의자: Chair

차: Car

책: Book

탁자: Table

도시: City

건물: Building

잡지: Magazine

나라: Country

가방: Bag

선생님: Teacher

나무: Tree

창문: Window

문: Door

의사: Doctor

Ready for the ultimate challenge? If you’ve been following from the start, then this year’s worth of vocabulary shall prove a mighty challenge for you - see how many words you can remember. Otherwise, if you’re new, here is a very long list of vocabulary to get you started! Good Luck! 

꿈: Dream

여행: Travel

시험: Exam

계획: Plan

찾다: To find

기분: Feelings

쉽다: To be easy

고민: One’s worries

의자: Chair

차: Car

책: Book

탁자: Table

도시: City

건물: Building

잡지: Magazine

나라: Country

가방: Bag

선생님: Teacher

나무: Tree

창문: Window

문: Door

의사: Doctor

Ready for the ultimate challenge? If you’ve been following from the start, then this year’s worth of vocabulary shall prove a mighty challenge for you - see how many words you can remember. Otherwise, if you’re new, here is a very long list of vocabulary to get you started! Good Luck! 

꿈: Dream

여행: Travel

시험: Exam

계획: Plan

찾다: To find

기분: Feelings

쉽다: To be easy

고민: One’s worries

의자: Chair

차: Car

책: Book

탁자: Table

도시: City

건물: Building

잡지: Magazine

나라: Country

가방: Bag

선생님: Teacher

나무: Tree

창문: Window

문: Door

의사: Doctor

Hello, it’s optomstudies here with a multi-part masterpost with study tips to make you fluent in any language! These will work at any level, whether you’re just starting out or are an advanced learner!

LISTENING SKILLS

There’s also a lot of colloquialisms that are a part of everyday spoken language which is rarely ever encapsulated in a standard textbook. I would suggest finding books which actually collate idioms, proverbs or slang, e.g. “Chinese Idioms and Proverbs”.  

When you’re just starting out, work on listening to vlogs or podcasts first because these often have a simpler entry level of speech. Listen to music as well, but be aware that music is not always a good representation of the way the spoken language is, as there is a loss of emphasis and pauses.   

Listen to talk shows once proficient. Both radio podcasts and news interviews are important because they show how people from a range of educational topics speak. You can watch interviews on financial experts or medical doctors as well as just fun ones by celebrities and everyday witnesses.  

SPEAKING SKILLS

Join a debate club in your target language. If you are looking to study spoken word (because some languages have written vs spoken differences) the level of language used is at a higher level than what would usually be used in everyday language because of the need for technical, logical, and persuasive explanations.  

Like your study journal, you can make a study audio recording by speaking aloud a diary entry which uses those new words. It helps with fluency if you use it on an everyday basis, and you can re-listen to the recordings later on if you’re working on perfecting your accent!  

There’s also the important matter of emphasis! Emphasis within a word can change the meanings of homonyms, words that have the same spelling but different meaning. I know this is common in Japanese. Emphasis within a sentence can change the meaning, like in this sentence here. Try saying different variations aloud, so you know when you come to use an emphasis, it comes out naturally and means what you intend it to mean.  

Reading novels in your language is also good for picking up on slang in the dialogue scenes! Especially witticisms since dialogue is often written to be succinct and intended to be impactful.

Think in your target language! Once you are able to, this vastly improves the quality of your fluency so that getting words out of your mouth is as natural as your native language, and is critical for mastery, much more so than for reading, writing or listening. Those who are stuck translating in their head will never advance to that zenith. This also enables you to experience dreams more frequently in your target language, a sign of mastery. 

Enhancing Your Vocabulary: Part 1 (Link) Reading and Writing Skills: Part 2 (Link)

MY STUDY TIPS AND LANGBLR POSTS

How to Format Language Study Notes

BTS: 봄날 (Spring Day), Outro: Wings, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Not Today, Run

SM Entertainment: Rookie - Red Velvet,  I Got Love - Taeyeon

Requests: 예뻤어 (You Were Beautiful) - Day6, A Lie - B1A4, Don’t Recall - K.A.R.D

Other Artists: Rain - Soyou x Baekhyun, TT - Twice

My study tips directory (web only) for the full list (over 60+ original posts/guides!)

Feel free to start these at any time you want, and have fun! You don’t have to do every part of every challenge if you don’t want to.

Read a news article in your target language. Write down any words or phrases you don’t know. Take note of what kind of speech is used when describing the news. Write a summary of the article, rephrasing it in your own words.

Record yourself speaking in your target language and listen to it, taking note of your pronunciation. See if you can find ways to make your speech sound more clear and natural.

Watch and episode of a tv show or a movie in your target language, without subtitles. Try going for something you haven’t seen before and see how much you understand. Write down any phrases and words you don’t know with what you think they mean, based on context. You can check the meanings after you finish watching. If you have time, feel free to watch it again and see how much you understand now that you’ve checked these words.

If you are currently studying something other than language, research the vocabulary for that subject in your target language (for example, I’m a music major, so I’d research vocabulary and phrases used to describe music in my target language). If you don’t have any other focus of study, choose a hobby.

Research idioms in your target language.

Come up with and look up puns in your target language.

Listen to songs in your target language. Note how phrasing is manipulated to make the words fit with the music.

Look up synonyms for words you already know. See if you can find slight differences in meaning or connotation between the words.

Read poetry in your target language. Study the phrasing and usage of words. See if you can write your own interpretation of the poem.

Note everything you do throughout the day. If there are any verbs for things you did that you don’t know in your target language, look them up. Same goes for objects you use.

If you are studying a language, make sure you can describe the language itself in the language you are studying. Look up grammatical terms and expressions.

Sit down somewhere (a place with a lot of people would probably be easiest to write about) and observe. Describe what you see as detailed as you can. Take the time to find the right words (make use of adjectives and adverbs!) to describe what you see.

Write a diary entry in your target language. Focus on describing thoughts and emotions.

Give yourself a spelling quiz.

Read a fictional story. Take note of what kind of speech is used (like poetic or writing techniques specific to the language) when telling the story.

Write a story, using the techniques you’ve noted the previous day.

Practice translating from your target language to your main language, using an article or a few pages of a book.

Read a blog entry in your target language. Blog entries are often more casual, and use expressions that resemble spoken language more than written language. Take note of how spoken language is written down.

Write a dialogue in your target language. Focus on different speech patterns between different people.

Write a letter to someone in your target language. If you don’t know who to write to feel free to write to yourself. Or to me!

Practice translating from your main language to your target language.

Watch a TV show in your target language with subtitles, and compare the translations. See if you agree with the written translations, and if not, think of how you would translate it yourself.

Pick a set of words in your target language and define them in that language.

Look into the different dialects of your target language. Note the similarities and differences.

Listen to a professional speech in your target language. Make note of any specialized words or words you don’t know.

Think of an everyday interaction you might have (for example, going to the bank) in which you do not yet have the vocabulary you would need. Look up the vocabulary you would use in such a situation (cultural differences are also worth noting!)

Time to focus a bit on culture! Look into popular entertainment or businesses in your target culture that are of interest to you. Do as much of the reading in your target language as you can.

Look up children’s games (such as word games) and songs. If you can, find someone to play them with you.

Try to describe people you know. Include appearance, personality, habits, etc. Look up any words you do not know.

Read an excerpt of an academic source in your target language. Note any vocabulary or grammar you don’t understand.

I’m on a roll today, so I bring you, my personal recommendations for Korean language learning! Most of the stuff/links here are what I used myself, and for me, it’s quality over quantity. (Though quantity over quality comes to when you actually have to learn it, in which, repetition is key, etc.)

So, here we go! And yes, all of them are free!

First of all, learn hangeul. 

90daykorean (a hangeul pdf)

busyatom (hangeul-learning yt playlist!)

how to practice your hangeul/kana (on my wordpress blog)

personally, I forgot how I learned or what site I used, but I think reading kpop idol’s tweets (or fanart artists’ twitter) helped a lot. So once you get a gist of how to read hangeul, just try your hands (or eyes?) on reading the simple tweets! It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand most of it yet, but learning the alphabet will help you a lot in the long run. ^^

Romanizations don’t always sound the same with the Korean pronunciation when you read it, so hangeul is the answer, alright? 

if you have any recommendations, feel free to tell me!

Next, my favourite, grammar. Most of these are downloadable PDF files.

TTMIK lessons (it seems intimidating at first but trust me, you won’t know unless you try! the lessons are bite-sized and straight to the point and i find them very helpful! also, i have the full pdf until level 8, so if you guys want me to upload it in bulks then do tell me~)

Monash University textbooks (book 1, book 2). //my fave!!! (the actual website is down, so the download links are mine, for now.)

Korean From Zero! (you can also learn hangeul in this pdf)

I’m not a fan of online lessons but you can try koreanclass101!

I used to hoard almost EVERY online pdf for language-learning, but when I think again, “when the hell am I going to use these?!”, so yeah, stick with quality over quantity ;)

Aha, vocabulary! 

LearnWithOliver (flashcards, helpful flashcards, neat flashcards that are not in flashcards form. haha.)

Memrise

Anki (I don’t use this but it might be helpful for you!)

Naver Dictionary 

Google Translate (though a full sentence translation is usually bullshoot and I don’t recommend it, the pronunciation function and one word translation are very helpful.)

My method: Learn a grammar lesson from any of the pdf files, make my own notes, then use post-its/sticky-notes for new verbs and put it where I’ll see them. 

You can also learn from hearing a vocab multiple times in K-pop songs/K-variety shows. You guys know what ‘사랑’ means, right? ;)

Videos to aid your learning (though I prefer reading than watching, but these are the ones I really recommend!)

BusyAtom (also has hangeul lessons huhu.)

TTMIK (see how much I love them)

GO! Billy Korean

Websites/Blogs you gotta check out, for language exercises and helpful tips!

ohmykorean (omg i love this, though you have to have a firm grasp of hangeul first and bits of vocab here and there.)

90daykorean

Master3Languages

learn-hangul

TTMIK also have free workbooks for the first few levels. 

Not to forget, motivational/useful tips posts!

Language hacking tips on fluentin3months

10 effective language learning strategies

10-ways to language learning success

not improving? wrong. 

25 ways to stop feeling overworked and overwhelmed (because I think this is important as well)

Also, my personal language-learning methods: 

When studying, I read the whole grammar lesson, try to understand it, then write down the notes word by word as I pronounce the vocabularies along the way. I understand better after making notes as I process the lesson in my brain. (well, since I’m a read-write learner hehe.)

I use Memrise for vocab. 

I read Korean manhwa raws (manga, but Korean version. you can google these.)

I try to form my own sentences like, “She has a cat”, “I have three brothers”, since I don’t have any language-learning partners (sadlyfe) but if you’d like to, let’s be friends and practice together!! 

Always, always pick up bits and pieces from songs and k-variety shows. (2d1n gives me lyfe!!) 

Scheduling language-learning into your life is the way to go! Even if it’s as short as 30mins a day or 2hours full of concentration, as long  as you do it continuously. There will be days when you think you can’t make it, so it’s fine to take a break once in a while! 

Last but not least, my personal tips/motivation: 

Language-learning doesn’t have to be a chore. It’s something you should enjoy! I remember stumbling over the pronunciation of words like ‘후회할‘ and ‘되‘ yesterday and I laughed at myself, but it was fun! So take things one step at a time, okay?

“Don’t learn too fast for the sake of finishing the textbook.” 

If you think you’re slower than everyone else at reading hangeul or even remembering grammar, don’t worry. You’re NOT dumb nor slow, you’re a wonderful human being! Even trying to memorize one letter/verb a day shows that you’re working hard on it, and I’m proud of you! Good things come to those who work hard! ♡

Always remember to pick yourself up again. Take your time, and believe in yourself! If you really want it, go and get it! You can do it!!!

Even a session of Memrise course a day goes a longgg way, you know. ;)

Shia LaBeouf’s “JUST DO IT” because we all need it. 

I’ve been learning Korean on and off for almost three years (wow even i cannot believe) and although it’s hard, I’m getting there. It’s never too late or too early to start what you love, you know. It’s your life, so you decide whatever you want to!!!

Also, instead of looking for more resources and motivation, I think you should really start on opening that textbook/pdf/memrise course, you know. ;) Eheheh. 

I remember the moment I read a whole tweet of an idol (Red of M.Pire, I doubt you guys even know him aha) and actually understood it. The joy!! brought tears!! to my eyes!!! 

If you have anything else to add, then please feel free to do so! You can also drop me a message if there’s anything you’d like to know, or if I’m missing something, etc. I can also do a Japanese resources masterpost (lol nadia pls) if someone asks for it. But anyway, hope this post has been helpful, even if it helps just one person! 

information encyclopædia britannica - german language omniglot - german orthography wikipedia - german language wikipedia - german phonology phrases fluentu german-online omniglot transparent language wikitravel apps/websites ankommen deutsche welle deutsch-lernen duolingo german.about ielanguages learn german easily memrise mindsnacks [not compatible with ios 11+] slow german wikibooks german textbook vocabulary deutsched vocabulary germanvocab learnalanguage lingolia

grammar/verbs lingolia university of michigan deutsch 101 grammar verbformen verbix dictionaries bab.la collins dict.cc duden langenscheidt linguee pons wissen encyclopædias enzyklo klexikon stupidedia wikipedia blogs deutschlernerblog deutschmusikblog german4free jabbalab smarter german transparent language

This post will act as a directory for native/fluent speakers, it will be updated frequently. I’ll be putting the list under a read more for easier editing. Fluent, but not necessarily native, speakers will be marked with little stars [ ** ]

If you would like to be added to this post, send me a message (please include your language and any specific dialects you speak)! You just have to be willing to talk about your language. I made a little faq if there are any other questions.

Websites / Videos to help you practice!

Mock tests, previous tests & audio (all levels)

Mock tests & audio (all levels)

Audio & mock tests (Youtube) (all levels)

Speaking, listening & learning (Youtube) (beginner levels)

Listening, speaking, sentence patterns and vocabulary (Youtube) (intermediate and above)

Grammar lessons & listening (Youtube) (Mostly HSK 3 & 4)

Pronunciation, various lessons, listening (Youtube) (Mostly beginner, most levels)

Flashcards & games (all levels)

Vocabulary (all levels)

Learning a language is much easier if you actually use the language, get to know the culture better and do stuff on your own. My own experience is that I learned English at school, but then I started to watch a lot of stuff on YouTube, watch as many movies as possible in English and read in English and became top of the class. 

This masterposts consists of my favorite German things. I added some more stuff, so not all of this is what I am usually interested in, but they are mainstream and classics that everyone knows. 

I’ve always wanted to do a masterpost of german stuff I would recommend to those who want to learn German or more about the german language :)

So, stay tuned for my personal recommendations! (links are bold)

Listening

Radio:

N-JOY (northern Germany)

1LIVE (Northrhine-Westphalia) (these two are only the hitradio stations, for younger people. If you want something else, look through the different stations of the WDR and the NDR)

DASDING.de (the livestream is easy to find)

SWR3 

MDR Sputnik 

Kiraka (for the kids)

Podcasts:

Ohrenbär: stories for children

Sanft & Sorgfältig (cancelled, but you can still listen to every episode): the hosts, musician Olli Schulz and comedian Jan Böhmermann discuss lots of different topics (they are funny and down to earth, but speak very fast, so this one is nothing for beginners)

German music:

Pop/Rock: Sarah Connor (Album: Muttersprache)  Andreas Bourani Silbermond Olli Schulz AnnenMayKantereit Spotify Deutschpop playlist

Rap/Hip Hop: Alligatoah Namika Kollegah K.I.Z.  Karate Andi Genetikk Cro Dendemann German Rap Playlist 1  German Rap Playlist 2 History of German Rap

Reading

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) (really a lot of coverage of diverse topics)

taz.die tageszeitung  (more progressive)

Die ZEIT (really huge tbh, but interesting stuff about so many topics)

Spiegel Online (one of germany’s most famous news magazins)

Die Welt (more conservative)

BILD.de (boulevard press, but the language is easy and the articles aren’t too long I guess) 

BuzzFeed Deutschland 

Watching

News

tagesschau    tagesthemen (ARD)

ZDF heute       ZDF heute-journal 

TV shows

Die Sendung mit der Maus (For children. Information and entertainment. It’s a classic and pretty much everyone’s childhood)

Wissen macht Ah! (For 9-12 year olds whose childhood was Die Sendung mit der Maus and who are not ashamed. I used to love this show.)

Tatort (a crime series, THE german classic. Every bigger german city has its own team. I personally recommend Münster)

heute-show (Satire in the style of a News TV show with an audience. Inspired by the Daily Show. Hosted by Oliver Welke, starring many other German comedians, check them out if you like them. 10/10 would recommend.)

PussyTerrorTV (Cabaret by Carolin Kebekus. Not the most famous thing but I love it and she deserves to be on this.)

NEO MAGAZIN ROYALE (Late night. Hosted by Jan Böhmermann. For younger people, as I said he speaks very fast. Don’t watch this if you don’t understand satire. Also featuring Dendemann from earlier on this list. Listed because it’s one of my favorites. If you want to get to know the style of the show, some of the songs are in English (x) (x) (x))

I would love to show you Circus Halligalli, it’s one of the best things on german television and very funny, but its rights belong to ProSieben, a private TV station, which means you cannot watch it online. But here is what came before: NeoParadise (late night and comedy, starring Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf)

(yeah, the only stuff I watch on TV is news and comedy.)

YouTube 

Rocket Beans TV they someohow brilliantly manage to blend the lines between TV and vlogging which is really cool, check them out!

SPACE FROGS / SPACE RADIO two guys from Berlin. Comedy, commentary on different topics, cooking, gaming and much more.

theclavinover  synchro, music, comedy and more

Sarazar gaming 

Joyce Ilg a nice vlogger

LeFloid news coverage and commentary, talks VERY fast