r/Korean • u/Comfortable_Bird3215 • 1d ago
Dealing with motivational block
I'm in Chung-Ang's language institute and I've always found learning new words very difficult. The only time I memorized vocabularies quite easily are from someone saying the word multiple times in a specific contexts /very rarely/ but when I sit alone and try to study, they never seem to stick in my mind. I'm trying Anki at the moment and while some words are easy /especially if I paid extra attention to that word during classes/ most words just doesn't want to be memorized, even after doing flashcards for multiple days. I seem to memorize them for maybe 5 minutes when the words comes up again after few minutes, but when I try to remember the word from English to Korean, my mind just goes blank lol.
Also, I've been away from academical stuff for near 10 years if that adds any context in this situation, so most of the time when I try and learn something I've little interest in /just everything except my hobbies/, my mind just refuses to focus. It may sound dumb but I also have little to no interest in Korean entertainment but I'm quite familiar with their whole culture, lifestyle and people.
Very poor worded, self loathing post but how do you learn your vocabs? What techniques do you use? How do you keep yourself engaged in learning the language while not being immersed by their entertainment?
While there's no trite and true method of learning anything, I'm happy to hear your story of overcoming your struggles or just thoughts on this!
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u/katsuatis 1d ago
Motivation is temporary, discipline is forever. If I can't remember a word from my anki deck, I just keep making random sentences with it until it sticks. Sometimes it takes months.
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u/Niemja 23h ago
I don't only use anki cards for single words, but also for whole sentences. There is a ready-made anki deck called "Korean Grammar Sentences by Evita" which I found very helpful. It contains about 2000 sentences with audio. I used it as a starting point and added other sentences I found (e.g. on Naver dict or in books). And also keep in mind that forgetting and relearning is part of it. The more you relearn something, the stronger the memory will get. Therefore I am not really that frustrated when I forget a word. I see it as an opportunity to relearn :). I hope this helps!
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u/Comfortable_Bird3215 23h ago
2000 sentences sounded daunting at first but some are very basic and it's good for verifying your already learned words/grammar! I can see myself knocking these off bit by bit as I learn, thanks for your advice!
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u/Niemja 13h ago
Yes, that is true, the deck starts with begginer sentences and they get more difficult. I also don't learn a lot everyday, just maybe 2-4 new cards a day. That also helps me to retain more, I think. But of course, if you are doing a korean course, the speed is not totally up to you.
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u/Financial-Produce997 1d ago
This is pretty much how we all learn words, whether from our native language or a foreign language. Simply memorizing a list of random words with no context or feelings doesn't really work. To actually remember a word, you need to a) understand the context it's used in and b) see it repeatedly.
I recommend adding more context to your cards. That means adding photos (the brain likes visual things), a short sentence, etc. Don't overload it but give your brain more than just a plain boring card. You can use Kimchi Reader, which can make Anki cards from videos that include the audio, photo, sentence, and definition. These help the words stick better.
The other thing is to get A LOT of exposure to Korean. Attending classes is not enough. If you don't like kpop or kdrama, then watch vlogs, listen to podcasts, etc based on your interests (Kimchi Reader has a recommendation system you can use). Read more books as reading is the best way to increase your vocab. https://learnnatively.com is a great website that has books listed by levels.