My study routine

On a normal day I study for about 2 hours. Studying Korean is always one of my biggest priorities – to be completely honest, I have a tendency to focus more on my Korean studies than on my normal school studies – and even though there are days where I just can’t find that much time, as well as days where I study for a lot longer, I always split my time in two.

1) ‘Must do’ time.
2) ‘What ever I feel like’ time.

During the ‘Must do’ time, I basically just follow the rules I made for myself.
1) I always start out with something light to get the Korean part of my brain, started. Lately I have started my study sessions with TTMIK’s Everyday Korean Idiomatic Expressions and Korean Slang Expressions, and the rule I made for myself is to go through two expressions from each book, everyday.
2) After this I move on to my next rule, which is to go through two grammar points in my Korean Grammar In Use (Intermediate). This is also something I do every day. I read the chapters, make the assignments, practice more if I feel unsure, and make flashcards if I find them difficult to memorize. These things changes every day, depending on how difficult it is, and how well I already know the grammar.
3) Find and read an article on Naver. I look up all the words I don’t know (and there’s quite a few of those) and write the most reoccurring words down in my vocabulary notebook, along with a sample sentence or two.

Of course all of the above varies from time to time, depending on what books I am currently using, but I always have 2-4 ‘Must do’ things, to go through. After doing these things I move on to the ‘Whatever I feel like’ part, and as you can probably guess, I just do what I feel like doing. Here’s a few examples:
– Write essays in my essay notebook (Yes. I’m addicted to notebooks.)
– Practice intonation and pronunciation by shadowing audio files from native speakers.
– Going through more points from my ‘Must do’ books.
– Study with my other books (Lately I use my TOPIK preparation books).
– Record myself reading or saying ‘short’ sentences and have my online language partners correct whatever needs to be corrected.
– Read. I am currently reading a 웹소설 on Naver. Like with the articles, I look up the unknown words and write the most reoccurring ones down.
– Take TOPIK Moct Tests
– Review things I have gone through earlier.

There’s plenty to choose from!
Lastly I also have my weekly ‘Must do’ goals.
1) Every friday I have a skype session with a native speaker through Italki.com.
2) Every week I must read one chapter in my book (This is a new goal and I’m still waiting for my book (어린왕자) to arrive. If the chapters are short then I’ll probably make some changes to this goal.)
3) Write at least 3 essays in my notebook.

Of course I also have several things that I do whenever I have time, or because I simply enjoy it. I love k-pop and k-dramas, which of course is also helping me learn. I always have a TTMIK workbook in my school bag, and I also have several apps on my phone that I use when I’m waiting for the bus. In the mornings I always listen to a podcast (TTMIK or ones that are completely in Korean) while I’m on the bus, and I have made many good Korean friends through the HelloTalk app, whom I talk to on a daily basis.

I’ll give an update on the book when it arrives.