More TTMIK Lessons!

Yesterday, before I was in Thanksgiving hell, I bought three more TTMIK lessons. I keep saying it, but Talk to Me in Korean is the BEST source of information for anyone who is learning to speak Korean. I bought their first textbook and Level 1 review kit already. I downloaded all their podcasts (and just moved all the PDF files to my Kindle). I swear by their lessons. They are amazing.

I cannot do a review on the lessons I just bought because I haven't had much time to look at them yet, but I did browse through the PDF files and from what I've seen so far, they will be very helpful. Let's talk about what they are and why I chose these particular lessons.

100 Top Phrases in Korean Movies

This lesson includes phrases found in the top ten most popular Korean movies of 2009. The teachers included 100 phrases and two sample sentences for each phrase. It comes with 10 MP3 files and one PDF file.

I purchased this lesson because I figured that if these are the 100 most frequently used phrases, they are probably worth knowing. And from what I have seen so far, they definitely are. (I'll save examples for when I begin studying them.) 

Slang Expressions in Korean - Volume 1

The description of this lesson is as follows: Learn 30 slang expressions, their meaning, different ways to conjugate them, common usages, and much more with Part 1 of Korean Slang Expressions! 

Included in this lesson are 4 MP3 files and one PDF.

I thought this lesson was important because these are phrases that you will not learn from a dictionary. If you overhear them in every day conversation, you may not be able to figure out what they mean.

My Weekly Korean Vocabulary - Week 4

Each weekly Korean vocabulary lesson includes seven words, one for each day of the week. Each word includes twenty other phrases using that word, that are commonly used in everyday conversation. This lesson includes 7 MP3 files and one PDF file.

Why did I choose week 4 instead of starting at week 1? The vocabulary words in this week were all words that I would use often. Some other weeks had words I wouldn't use in every day conversation (though they are still worth knowing and I will buy them later on). Included in this set are:

1. 기분 (feeling, mood)
2. 조용하다 (to be quiet)
3. 사람 (people, person)
4. 시끄럽다 (to be noisy)
5. 공부 (studying)
6. 열다 (to open)
7. 지하철 (subway)

My Weekly Korean Vocab Mini E-book

This book is free and it includes images based on keywords and sentences included in My Weekly Korean Vocabulary Weeks 1 - 10. You will find 70 words/sentences in this E-book. I would definitely recommend downloading it, you can't lose with this one.

Before TTMIK, I didn't really have much use for my Kindle, aside from bringing it with me if I were travelling. Now, it actually has a purpose! I've added all the PDF files from these lessons to it, and as I mentioned before, the PDFs from the podcast as well. I have also added all the audio files from each lesson to my phone so I can study wherever I am from now on. If I have ten free minutes, I can just get out my headphones and Kindle and review everything.

If you are interested in any of these lessons, they can be purchased from My Korean Store.

When all else fails. Cats.

I'll have a book review up soon...Hopefully. This is a really busy week.

Until then, here's a picture of Bogart ruining Monopoly.

TTMIK SUPER INTENSE REVIEW KIT (LEVEL 1)

I just bought TTMIK's Level 1 review. You can find it here: http://mykoreanstore.myshopify.com/collections/ttmik-review-kits/products/reviewkit1

I have not really had a chance to use it yet because...Well. The obvious, I just bought it. And I am still working on Level 1. I was doing really well for a while, studying every day. But then I had family visiting all throughout September. My cousin was indirectly responsible for spraining my foot, so I was not spending a significant amount of time on the computer during the first couple weeks in October because I couldn't keep my foot elevated at my desk. And then TTMIK announced the release of their first textbook, so I figured I would wait for that to arrive. And now it has! So I am going to get back into my routine starting tomorrow night and then when I feel confident that I have learned all the material from Level 1, I will come back and review the Review Kit!

I can say that the PDF file is 27 pages long. I put it on my Kindle. It also comes with five audio files that  are 15:00, 17:40, 13:46, 17:05 and 11:48 minutes long respectively. I have added those to my iPhone. I really like being able to store them somewhere other than my computer. There's no way I can fit every lesson from the podcast on my iPhone, so it's nice to have something I can take with me everywhere so that I can review what I have learned regardless of where I am.

I do not even know where to start with Silent Hill Revelation. Should I talk about how bored I was through 90% of it? No? Okay. Then let's start by discussing the plot because I guess it's important to mention what this movie is about, even when it really isn't about much of anything.

Silent Hill Revelation is inspired by the events in Silent Hill 3 (you know, it's a video game). Except...It's not. I can't explain the differences without giving away spoilers for either the movie or the game, so if you are really curious, go look up a plot synopsis for the game and I'll tell you what the movie is about. Members of a cult are searching for Heather, for reasons I won't even begin to explain here, and they kidnap her father so that she will go to Silent Hill to find him.

The movie follows the game enough to irritate fans of Silent Hill 3 with its inconsistencies and confuse people who have never played the games so that they cannot put together what is going on. I have never understood why people take so many liberties when making movies based on video games. Why bother if you are not going to stay true to the source material? It is not like this movie was just inspired by the Silent Hill mythos, it is clearly based on Silent Hill 3. And they could not have changed the storyline to make it more understandable to people who have not played the games because if anything, the movie makes even less sense.

I will give them credit where it is due. They did a nice job of showing the relationship between Heather and Harry and the Lakeside amusement park segments stayed close to what was depicted in the game. It would have been nice to see the Borley Haunted Mansion included, but it's not as if that is relevant to the plot, it is just a fun (terrifying) little section from the game. The soundtrack was great, but that should go without saying.

There was also this exchange, which is probably the only part of the movie that is even worth noting. When prompted to share information about herself with her new classmates, Heather says, "Let me make this easier for you. This is the fifth school I've been to since I was eleven. Me and my dad, we move around. So I do this. A lot. So don't bother trying to remember my name because I'm sure as hell not going to remember yours. Don't talk to me, we won't be friends. I won't IM you, or Facebook you or tweet you. Read your blog. And whatever you're thinking of saying or doing, don't bother because I've seen it before and I'm just guessing here, but I don't think there are too many original thinkers in this room. And by the time any of you have found out anything about me that's worth knowing, I'll have moved on." Vincent is then asked to introduce himself, to which he replies, "Are you kidding me? I can't follow that."

As for the negatives? Well. The whole movie is basically one long negative. I constantly found myself wondering when it would be over because it did not hold my interest at all. Again, they changed the story for no reason other than the fact that they thought they could. The ending was anticlimactic, even with its references to other games in the series. But there is one semi-major issue I had and a MAJOR, world-ending issue I had.

The semi-major issue was Pyramid Head. He makes another useless appearance as if he's the only important enemy who has ever been in this series. They don't even explain why he's there, what he signifies or where he came from to begin with. People who haven't played the games probably wonder why he is there and it is never explained in either movie. They just include him because he "looks cool" and they assume the fans want to see him.

My biggest issue was Vincent. If you don't already know, Vincent is my favorite character from the entire series. He is a villain who is in NO WAY a teenage love interest for Heather. He's not even kind to her, he plays mind games with her to make her think she is killing people rather than monsters. In the movie [SPOILERS], Vincent is still part of the cult, but he is clearly not the same character he was in the game. Why even include a character named Vincent in a movie clearly based on Silent Hill 3 then? Just create a new character for Heather's unnecessary love interest. I do not understand what their reasoning was, but as a huge fan of the series and that character, it annoys me more than anything else they have done in either movie.

Still, I don't hate Silent Hill Revelation as much as some other people seem to. It is definitely not the worst video game inspired movie I have seen, but I'm not impressed. I want to see a  fan made movie because they seem to be the only people who know how to handle it properly.

For example:

Talk to Me in Korean Level 1 Textbook

I have already mentioned Talk to Me in Korean on my blog several times. Mostly because, I absolutely love their podcast and website. They offer such a great way to learn Korean, and it is completely free. Their podcasts come with PDF files so you can read the words as you are hearing them. (Their website is http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/ and you can find the podcast on iTunes.)

I was away for a few days following Hurricane Sandy (that is a topic for another post) and when I arrived home today, I was SO EXCITED to see that my TTMIK textbook had finally been delivered.

As you can see, this book comes with a companion audio CD, so you can hear the pronunciations of the words as you are reading them.

If you have been following TTMIK's podcasts, this lesson probably looks familiar. It is almost exactly the same as the PDF file for this lesson in the podcast. So why should you pay for this book when you can get it for free online? You mean, besides to support the TTMIK teachers for putting so much work and dedication into these lessons for us? Okay, I'll tell you.

For each section, you are told which track from the audio CD goes along with each lesson.

Perhaps the nicest aspect of this book is the addition of review sections. You will be asked questions to test your knowledge on the lessons you have learned. It will give you an indication of what you still need to study and what material you have mastered. The answers to each question are included in the back of the book, so you can even grade yourself.

While you may not NEED this textbook, it is a nice addition to your studies and it is beneficial to your learning experience. It is really nice to have the lessons in book form. Now, you no longer have to be at your computer to learn Korean. You can copy the audio CD to your phone/iPod and bring the book along with you wherever you go. If you have five minutes free during work or in between classes, you can review a lesson.

The TTMIK textbook is beautifully put together. The pages are very nice (not cheap at all).  The lessons are divided perfectly, with each one including sample dialogue and a review at the end. It is 152 pages long, so it is not bulky (again, making it very convenient to take along with you wherever you go).

If you are a beginner, this is the perfect textbook to help you get started. And it is affordable, unlike some other Korean textbooks. You can purchase it here: http://mykoreanstore.myshopify.com/products/ttmikbook1

감사합니다, TTMIK!