I speak Polish, German, Swedish and English. 3 of them are Germanic languages so they were easy to learn because they are so closely related. Polish and German I learned as a child so it was kind of automatic.

Now I have to learn Korean and struggle so much! After 3 months I have learned about 100 words. Any tips how to get to the first 1000 words Ina reasonable time? Especially in a language where none of the words seem to resamle anything from my previous languages.

  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    5 months ago

    Menus.

    I find a menu from a local place and learn everything on the menu, I try to find a place with disposable menus so I can take home, and once I asked the restaurant if I could take their regular menu home to study.

    Food is going to be something I experienced daily anyway when I’m in a new country so it’s practical and helps me form a foundation.

    Once I know the food items, common questions become natural extensions of the food items.

    So menus are usually my base, and then I expand with a teaching app or YouTube videos and then I talk to people.

    An incredibly effective method that is boring but quick is to choose one movie in the language you’re studying, and watch it once per day, really paying attention to all of the speech.

    That boosted my Mandarin like crazy in comprehension, but it can be a slog for the four to 6 weeks it takes.