영어 공부는 어떻게 하지???
막막한 분들을 위한 글 (#맨밑에 한글로 요약본 있어요#)
In this writing, I want to show you how I study English, how I became to study English, and the new sight I gained by studying English.
I loved English since I first read the novel, Narnia. It was my Christmas present, waiting for me underneath the Christmas tree on the very morning of the 25th day in December in my 8 years-old days. And that pack of books, piled up in the darkness, glimmering by the Christmas lights, changed my life, actually built my life. Books made me travel through unknown times and places that I never could have imagined. They opened up a whole different world. And when I first read Alice in wonderland in English, it opened up another world. The style was different, the expression was different, and even the sound coming out of my mouth when I read it out loud was different. I figured out that it was the language that made the difference. And I became to like the subject of English and to properly study it. So I recommend you to study English related to your passion. For me, novels were my passion, and when connected two things, it was the best method to study English. Study English in a way that's related to your passion.
These days, I listen to lectures, solve problems in AP English Language & Composition books. First, I just highlight the words that I don't know and solve problems. I collect those words and make a list on the Quizlet site and memorize it. And when you solve problems, there are always terms that I don't understand in the answer options, I search about its definition and examples, and post a summary of it. Sometimes I also take a note from the lecture and post it here.
When I read books in English, I don't usually search for words right after I find them, because it bothers the flow of reading. Reading is very good for accepting the word, not based on definition, but feeling. You can guess the word's meaning by the surrounding sentence or storyline. And by doing that, you'll learn words like you've learned words when you were a kid, by feeling. Also reading a book is good for you to build the ability to make more profound sentence expressions.
I want to share one last thing. It's about my educational view. By listening to English Lectures performed in the US; Highschool ELA lectures, or College lectures of English literature, I came to notice some differences between Korean education and US education. In Korea, teachers have absolute power over students, and 'teaching' is the process of putting knowledge inside of students' brains. But the US teachers, explain things to students so students can take a look at things from where teachers are standing. They don't teach, they extend the view, show the bigger picture for students to think of. And these lecture styles surprised me.
So when you study, don't just put definitions in your head, think through it, make a process of thinking gradually. It will help you study deep.
That's how I studied English. I hope it helped and thank you for reading.
P.S. I marked the main sentences by writing them in a heavy character!
- 자신이 열정적인 것과 연관해서 영어 공부하기: 저는 책을 좋아해서 영어 책을 읽는 방식으로 영어를 시작했어요.
- AP 공부할때 지문에서 모르는 단어는 형광펜만 칠하고 나중에 단어를 퀴즐렛 사이트에서 암기했어요. 그리고 객관식 고를때 선택지에서 모르는 용어들은 조사하고 예시를 찾아서 정리한 내용을 브런치에 올렸어요. 가끔씩은 영어 강의도 요약해서 올렸구요.
- 영어 책을 읽을때는 집중에 방해가 되니까 단어들을 바로 찾지 않았어요. 영어 책 읽기는 단어를 문맥과 주의 문장들에 의해 감각적으로 이해할 수 있고 좀더 심오한 문장표현을 할 수 있게 해준다는 점에서 좋은 공부 방법이에요.
- 뜻을 무작정 외우지 말고 이해하고 생각하는 시간을 갖도록 해요.
영어 공부 힘들겠지만 자신만의 방법을 찾길 바랍니다. 다시 만나요!
