Content and Time Management for Speaking
Many students struggle to talk freely and fluently during their speaking exam. The main reason for this is the lack of content students can come up with in a stress situation.
What I usually teach my students is a simple way to think about content, most importantly for Part 2 when you have to talk freely for at least 2 to 3 minutes.
The following steps will help you to overcome this issue:
Create a story:
– Past – present – future
– Description – emotion – experience
For any part of the speaking, you should start at “the beginning” (past) and finish at “the end” (future).
You’ll notice that you can apply this technique to almost any exam question.
Good luck!
– Danny Ruch (IELTS Speaking Teacher)
Seoul and shopping
Seoul, South Korea has many shopping centres and markets throughout the city. The largest market is the Dongdaemun Market, which supplies stocks to thousands of retail fashion shops around the whole of Korea. Near Dongdaemun market are several large mall complexes that specialize in fashion goods of all sorts, from formal attire to casual, and from clothes to all kinds of accessories including bags and belts. Some of these are Migliore, Hello APM and Doota.
Myeong-dong is Seoul’s prime shopping and entertainment area in downtown, which contains some of the city’s top stores and fashion boutiques. The area has been subject to much investment and many of the financial institutions such as banks and investment companies are located in the area. Nearby is the Namdaemun market named after the Namdaemun Gate, a large market famous for selling “anything under the sun”. Insa-dong, a narrow street is also known for its antique stores, traditional teahouses art galleries.
Let’s get wet in Song kran Festival!!
Songkran is a Thai word that means “move” or “change place” as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. Songkran or Water festival in Thailand is coming in mid of April between 13th -15th which is the hottest month of the year. As people believe water will clean away bad luck. In the other hand water is cool down for this hot peak season.
Before Thai is adapted to international New Year. Songkran is traditional Thai new year celebrate by visiting temples, sprinkling water on Buddha images in reverence, and sprinkling water on each other’s hands as an act of wishing good luck. During Songkran occasion Bank, office and family related business all most close. A lot of Thai resident are go back home to their family. This is an occasion for family and friend re-unions and spending time together by religion activities such as go to temple in early morning to pray and bathing the Buddha image by pour fragrant water over Buddha statues. In Thai culture is strict in respect senior people such as elder people, grandparent especially family members. A ceremony known as “Rod Naam Dum Hua” is young Thais seek the blessing of their elders by pouring scented water over their hands. After that it’s a water-throwing free-for-all – traditionally, the custom was to pour water gently over other people.
Why Chinese characters?
After learning Chinese for a while, many students feel that the more they learn, the more confused they sometimes get about this language. For example, pinyin “tā” can mean “he”, “she” or “it”，and “jī” can either mean “chicken” or “machine”. However, when we have a look at their according Chinese Characters, we will find though they have exactly the same pinyin, they actually have different Chinese characters to go with them. That is the reason why start from pre-intermediate course, we are introducing more and more Chinese characters during the lessons.
Moreover, through learning Chinese characters, it will not only help the students get a better understanding of the Chinese language, but also introduce them cultures and ways of thinking of Chinese people. Let me take an example of the word “女(nǚ)” (meaning woman or women), which is actually a pictographic word whose ancient form looks like 
. This original form for woman depicted her in a bowing position with two arms crossed together like a servant. It is shows humbleness and inferiority position of women in Chinese culture when the word was created. In ancient Chinese culture, women neither went to school to receive education nor went out for work. Instead, they were the group who are doing the housework and serving their husbands. Of course, things have been changed for so long and in modern China women generally have the equal right for education and work as men do. But still, in some parts of China, especially in rural areas, people still believe only sons can carry the family lines and therefore much more important than daughters.
Would it be interesting and helpful to learn some Chinese culture through learning Chinese characters?
By Anne Ma (Mandarin Language Consultant)
How to Improve Your Language Learning
1. Practice makes perfect
Always keep in mind that learning a language is a gradual process – it doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, the more time you spend studying, the better you will become.
2. Define your learning objectives
What do you want to learn and why? Once you set your goal and know exactly what you want to do, it becomes easier to reach it.
3. Make learning a habit
When learning becomes a habit, it will become part of your daily routine so when you don’t do it, you will feel like something is missing. Creating positive study habits can mean great advantages for you.
4. Choose appropriate learning material
Once you have the right learning material, you will find it much easier to acquire the knowledge that you need. Learning a new language can be time consuming, so having appropriate reference books and resources can help you save plenty of time.
5. Efficiency
How often do you study? One hour a day or once a week? Sometimes, spending more time studying does not necessarily mean you can learn more compared to someone who studies less. The key is how efficiently and effectively you do it.
6. Group work
Some people find it quite boring or lack motivation when they study alone. Studying with a partner or in a group may be a good choice because you can discuss and help each others while working as a team.
7. Move your mouth and say it out loud!
Sometimes, understanding a word doesn’t mean the muscles of your mouth can pronounce that word correctly. Therefore, it is essential to practise speaking loudly so that your mouth can get used to the new vocabulary
8. Make the most of the Internet
The Internet is actually the most interesting, unlimited source that you could take advantage of and it is right at your fingertips. Just type the thing you want and click “Search”. There will be a whole world of material which is quite useful for your language learning.
9. Write a news diary
Daily writing about one’s own routine can be boring, but what if you write about the news that you read and listen to everyday instead? There will be a big difference! You will improve your vocabulary and grammar for sure!
10. Move out of your comfort zone
When I say move out of your comfort zone, I literally mean move. Get up out of your chair, hop on a bus, hop in your car or put on you walking shoes and just go. Take what you have learnt in your language study and try and put it into use by visiting a restaurant or supermarket and ordering something to eat or even exchanging a simple greeting. It may feel awkward at first but you will be amazed how people will open up and help you when they see you are making an effort to speak their language. You may even find a new friend.
11. Reading
Read anything that you can get your hands on; it doesn’t have to be a book. Magazines and graphic novels with lots of pictures can be really useful. You may not understand the word but will get a feeling for it through the pictures.
12. Writing
Write a simple story with the words that you already know and add pictures to help you associate the two. It doesn’t matter if the story is silly but it is fun to have a go and will definitely help you remember new words.
13. Listening
Try listening to the radio in the language of your choice (eg. BBC World Service), watch a movie or something fun like YouTube that can be spontaneous and harder to understand than a usual language learning CD.
14. Speaking
Practise your new vocabulary out loud by making up simple sentences and phrases with the words you have learnt. It doesn’t matter if the cat is the only one listening!
Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK)
I am very pleased to introduce one of my Korean students, Mr. Johnny Yuen, who has proudly accomplished his very first TOPIK test later last year. Johnny was only a beginner2 student when he took the test. Thus, I would like to share this information with more potential candidates who wish to get it for studying / working in Korea in the future. Furthermore, it is still worthwhile to diagnose your learning progress.
TOPIK, or Test of Proficiency in Korean is a Korean language test offered twice annually to foreigners in Korea and people studying Korean in other countries. TOPIK is administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (i.e. 한국교육과정평가원).
The test is divided into four parts: vocabulary & grammar, writing, listening, and reading. There is currently no oral section. Two versions of the test are offered: standard (S)-TOPIK and the business (B)-TOPIK. There are three different levels of S-TOPIK: beginner (초급), intermediate (중급), and advanced (고급). Depending on the average score and minimum marks in each section it is possible to obtain grades 1-2 in beginner, 3-4 in intermediate and 5-6 in advanced S-TOPIK. In B-TOPIK the scores in each section (out of 100) are added together to give a score out of 400.
In addition to Korea, TOPIK is available in the following countries: Japan, Taiwan, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Paraguay, Argentina, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Czech Republic, Egypt, Belarus, Russia, Brazil and Cambodia. Please visit www.topic.or.kr for the latest updates and news. Good luck to you, all!
– Ashley Jang (Korean language teacher)
Korean Names
Traditional Korean names typically consist of only one syllable, due in part to the Korean Naming Laws of 1812. There is no middle name in the Western sense. The three most common family names are often written and pronounced as “Kim” (김), “Lee” (이), and “Park” (박). Unlike English style, Surname comes first, followed by First name. First names can be started from single letter such as “박봄” and “김범”. The most common style for first name would be the one with two letters, such as “이민호” and “이승기”. Rarely, some people have more than three letters as you can find it from “박산다라”.
Many Koreans have their given names made of a generational name syllable and an individually distinct syllable, while this practice is declining in the younger generations. Married men and women usually keep their full personal names, and children inherit the father’s family name.
Korean names can be either sino-Korean names which have adapted from Chinese letters (e.g. 장은경: 張恩京) or pure-Korean names (e.g. 朴봄).
Why don’t you give yourself one cool Korean name? It will facilitate your Korean learning!
– Ashley Jang (Korean language teacher)
Korean New Year’s Day
Korean New Year, commonly known as 설날(Seol-nal) is the first day of the lunar calendar. Along with Chuseok it is one of the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year’s Day. Korean people also celebrate solar New Year’s Day on January 1 each year, following the Gregorian Calendar. The Korean New Year holiday lasts three days, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year’s Day.
Korean New Year is typically a family holiday. The three-day holiday is used by many to return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives where they perform an ancestral ritual. Many Koreans dress up in colorful traditional Korean clothing called hanbok. But nowadays, small families tend to become less formal and wear other formal clothing instead of hanbok.
떡국(Tteokguk) (i.e. soup with sliced rice cakes) is a traditional Korean food that is customarily eaten for the New Year. According to Korean age reckoning, the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating Tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your Tteokguk, you are one year older.
Sebae is a traditionally observed activity on Seollal, and is filial-piety-oriented. Children wish their elders (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents) a happy new year by performing one deep traditional bow (rites with more than one bow involved are usually for the deceased) and the words새해 복 많이 받으세요(saehae bok mani badeuseyo) which translates to Receive many New Year blessings, or more loosely, “Have a blessed New Year.” Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children new year’s money, or “pocket money,” (usually in the form of crisp paper money) and offering words of wisdom, 덕담 (deokdam).
King Sejong and Hangeul
Have you heard about “King Sejong the Great” and “Hangeul”?
King Sejong the Great (May 7, 1397 – May 18, 1450, who was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea) profoundly impacted Korean history with his introduction of hangeul, the native phonetic alphabet system for the Korean language.
Before the creation of Hangul, only members of the highest class were literate (hanja was typically used to write Korean by using adapted Chinese characters, while Hanmun was sometimes used to write court documents in classical Chinese). One would have to learn the quite complex hanja characters in order to read and write Korean. Further, despite modifications to the Chinese characters, hanja could prove cumbersome when transcribing the Korean language, due to considerable differences in grammar and sentence order.
King Sejong presided over the introduction of the 28-letter Korean alphabet, with the explicit goal being that Koreans from all classes would read and write. He also attempted to establish a cultural identity for his people through its unique script. While creating the alphabet, King Sejong encountered opposition of courtiers. First published in 1446, anyone could learn Hangul in a matter of days. Persons previously unfamiliar with Hangul can typically pronounce Korean script accurately after only a few hours study.
Each hangul letter is based on a simplified diagram of the patterns made by the mouth, tongue and teeth when making the sound related to the character. Morphemes are built by writing the characters in syllabic blocks. The blocks of letters are then strung together linearly.
There was a drama called “뿌리 깊은 나무” which was about King Sejong and the origin of Hangeul. This drama won “The best Korean drama award”. I would like to recommend it if you are a huge Korean drama fan.
Honorifics in Korean
When talking about someone superior in status, a speaker or writer usually uses special nouns or verb endings to indicate the subject’s superiority. Generally, someone is superior in status if he/she is an older relative, a stranger of roughly equal or greater age, or an employer, teacher, customer, or the like. Someone is equal or inferior in status if he/she is a younger stranger, student, employee or the like. Nowadays, there are special endings which can be used on declarative, interrogative, and imperative sentences; and either honorific or normal sentences. They are made for easier and faster use of Korean.
Honorifics in traditional Korea were strictly hierarchical. The caste and estate systems possessed patterns and usages much more complex and stratified than those we have now. The intricate structure of the Korean honorific system flourished in traditional culture and society. Honorifics in contemporary Korea are now used for people who are psychologically distant. Honorifics are also used for people who are superior in status. For example, older relatives, people who are older, teachers, and employers.
Latest Comments