My first review ^^
I will be trying reviewing Korean Grammar In Use – Intermediate grammar book!
I’m really glad I bought this book (:
First impressions! its not a very big book so carrying it around is not a big deal ^^ you can lag it around and study when you have some free time away from home or where ever (: and the paper is really good quality its like a smooth quality paper ~ glossy is the word I am looking for ….but because the paper is really pretty I can’t bring myself to write in the textbook ㅠㅠ I prefer to write in my notebook XD
/Structure of the book/
Chapter 1
- Grammar point presentation
- introduction (with short dialogues introducing the grammar point)
- investigating the target grammar (different tenses and types of speech)
- restrictions and/ or irregularities with the grammar point
- a comparison using the grammar pattern being learnt
- (Make a Dialogue) section to make a dialogue of your own!
- practice in target grammar
- double-check ( at the end of each chapter) for review of the grammar learnt and bonus is that the questions are in the form of the TOPIK test paper to help familiarize with TOPIK ^^ #awesome
And! that handy CD that brings the whole book together ^^ there is accompanying audio files for all the dialogues ^^
Grammar Explanations
This is my first ever Korean grammar book so what other explanations other grammar books have I don’t know ~ I only know this one (:
And when I first paged through the book it was the first thing I noted /explanations/
was that they were all in Korean 😀 /scary/ for me as a somewhat in-between levels I found that very intimidating at first but looking at it made that all go away because the explanations of grammar although are not in English/ or much of anything they are visual explanations which are better I think (: even for me who is pretty much a beginner when it comes to thinking 😀
Dialogue
the dialogues are awesome to me because they make learning less intimidating and bring the whole grammar lesson together ; then add the CD with the dialogue spoken and you get a trunk full of happiness when learning grammar ㅋㅋㅋand I like the “Make your own dialogue” section allows for thinking (: and expansion with the topic (:
Great!
What I like
How informative the book is ;so far I am on Chapter 4 and not once have I come across something that is explained in a way that makes me completely confused …and pushes me into an “omfg….this is insanely difficult” moment! none of that stuff which is awesome it gives you more motivation and confidence when the book itself is a simple layout 🙂
The supplementary CD ; it’s the perfect touch to this book because most times when your reading something your most likely repeating in your head to make it sink in?! but you’re not actually 100% certain of the pronunciation that your making but with the CD you hear what they are saying and it brings the whole thing together (the grammar ; the dialogue ) so when you get to the practice questions and “create a dialogue” section your pretty much set for the job ^^
What I don’t like
Sometime although the usage of visual explanations actually works best it can also be a huge downer when you would prefer to read it : so I don’t like how sometimes it can be vague when it comes to meanings ~ I’m not in the author’s head so when there is a slight difference of thought I feel like I have missed the point of the whole grammar point just because my thinking is different! But that’s a minor problem …actually not even a problem it’s just a thought (:
Book info
Price : 23,000₩
ISBN : 978-89-277-3078-1
Publisher : Darakwon
Bottom line
It’s a good book and even though it is labelled as an “Intermediate” book and it is Intermediate in my opinion but it is still usable for someone who is somewhat in beginner to intermediate transition mode (a.k.a me I dunno where I am :D) it has its challenges which are always a driving force to be better ; if you don’t have a challenge sometimes you can just give up on things but with this book its challenging enough and engaging that you never stop, I actually over read it the first few days but I loved it I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a push forward plus anyone studying for TOPIK ….which I am sadly not doing ㅠㅠ but one day (maybe even this year!!!!!) I will write it right now though I don’t feel like I can do it ^^
I have one question though ~ a lot of people mention the TOPIK 150 book does anyone know where I can get that book?!
This reminds me… I need to do a couple of book reviews. >.> *looks at pile of books* … *looks at college books* Darn you college! DX
I’m gonna search around a bit for that Topik150 book. I found it here: http://www.yes24.com/24/goods/4260142?scode=032&OzSrank=1 buuuutttt I dunno if they ship outside Korea and if they do, how much shipping will be. >.< I also found it on Gmarket and the book was around $16 from one seller, but with shipping to America (I forgot what country you're in @.@) it comes up to a little under $40.
Haha!! we will all wait for you to do a review coz honestly your hilarious so I would love to read that 🙂
And thanks a lot for the link because I really want that book so I might have to ask someone to buy it for me thennnnn send it on to me 😀 and oh god if shipping to the states is $40 then to me I dunno if it will be more like 60$ or something like that coz I am really far (Zimbabwe) but I think I am closer than the states I’m not sure 😀
Yay, I’m hilarious. XD I’m not sure about the shipping there either. o.o This is why if I ever get the chance to live in Korea, I’m gonna do lots of shopping on Gmarket because almost all inland shipping is free. I’d come back with a new suitcase of stuff. XD
Yeah! Same here If I went to Korea (no when I eventually DO go) I’m gonna come back home with a couple suitcases full of lots of Korean goodies (books,pens,notebooks)
Thank you so much!!! I am looking forward to your review of this book very much >:D<
Actually, I do not trust totally on any specific grammar book. When I come across any new Grammar Structures, I will look it up in many grammar books and also on the Internet until I can understand how to use the grammar point. If you have any trouble with the grammar points, you can post here and we will discuss together ^^
By the way, about Topik 150 grammar Book, I only had a photocopy of that book from my friend because I could not afford to buy the original one :((( I was worried very much about the shipping fee.
Thanks 🙂
No your right actually trusting only one source is actually moronic 😀 you can never get the full picture using multiple sources is a good idea so that you can learn diff methods of the way grammar is used and stuff ^^ internet is actually my best friend I remember a couple of weeks ago I had no Wi-Fi and I nearly died LOL but luckily I got through it with my other book!!! 😀
Sure that’s an awesome idea I actually have a post like that in my drafts about grammar points and what confuses me -_- and I hate it when I get stuck on things makes me so #angry!
About the TOPIK 150 was it a good book anyway?! if it is I would be more than willing to have someone buy it for me and send it to me (of course me paying for the freight charges to me) here there is no place to buy books and stuff so ONLINE is by BFF XD
Your book title is “Grammar in Use”, so maybe that book aims for practical usage. However, with Topik 150 grammar, it just covers the most grammars that appear in Topik. While “Grammar in Use” has dialogues and CD, the Topik 150 grammar doesn’t have that part. In Topik 150, it just includes “Usage, More in Detail (detailed explanation and comparision, some notes, tips), Self-Check(sample Topik question)”. One good point is that Topik 150 has a small cute booklet that summarizes the grammar points.
I think that first you try to cover all the grammar points in the “Korean Grammar in Use” Then you tried some previous Topik papers to check if the grammars you’ve learned are enough or not. Then you will consider whether to buy the topik 150 grammar or not.
P/S: Do you think people try to attract us with the title 150 grammars or 1000 words needed for Topik?
Hmm! I see …since I am a bit beginner (trying to move out of beginner level) so getting the TOPIK 150 seems like it will throw me into confusion DX but that booklet sounds really handy so I dunno I think maybe I should just buy the book to check it out and see …and if its too difficult for me then I just wait a while and continue with everything else and then use that one 🙂
Oh! and yeah I think that is used as a marketing idea : stick 150 Grammars of TOPIK ; 2000 Essential Korean Verbs and what-not and you be surprised it the first think you think of /oh that book says it got 2000 essential Korean words I need it/ and you go out and buy it!
Its a smart play but sometimes selfish in a way you paying for something you don’t actually need!
hi…
can you tell me where to buy this book?
i’ve read many recommendations for this book, and planning to get one. thanks 🙂
Yeah sure I got mine at Hanbooks 🙂 and it a good investment into your Korean ^^
How long did it take to complete the book ?
I’ll let you know when I do haha xD I did get to page 143 in about 2 months but then I slowed down using this book started using Yonsei 4 (which was harder) then came back to page 1 of this book :p