[Review] TOPIK Essential Grammar 150 (Intermediate – English version)

This is my attempt to make a review of this Korean language learning material. I’ve been using this book for quite a long time already but I haven’t finished it yet. So here are my thoughts about the book TOPIK Essential Grammar 150 (Intermediate -English version).

This TOPIK 150 has three different versions-English(green), Chinese(red) and Japanese(blue). I saw my Japanese room mate using the Japanese version while my Taiwanese classmate is using the English version. I visited the book store in Eunhaeng-dong but there’s only one stock of the book and my friend bought it already. I decided to just order in GMarket and it is proven that it is cheaper to buy online. From the original price of 21,000won(19.79$), I only bought the book for 18,000won(16.97$).

The book is around 431 pages and it comes with a booklet which contains a summary of the grammar patterns that you can find inside the book. You can use the booklet as a reviewer if you don’t want to bring your book because it’s quite heavy. Too bad that I forgot where I placed my booklet so I wasn’t able to take a picture of it.

TOPIK Essential Grammar 150 Intermediate English Version – 21,000won

Here are the details of the book:

Title of the Book: TOPIK Essential 150 Grammar (Intermediate-English version) + free booklet version of the book

Number of pages: Roughly 431 pages

Cover: Paperback

ISBN: 978-89-5518-939-1

Price: Korean won – 21,000 won; USD – roughly around 19.79$

The book contains 150 Korean grammar patterns that are frequently used in TOPIK. The red stars that you can see is how frequent that grammar pattern is used in TOPIK- three stars means that the pattern is the most frequently used and one star means the pattern is the least used.

The book is divided into 29 units. Each unit consists of Basic Grammar review, so you can re-check you basic grammar patterns. Each grammar pattern is explained with its Usage, More in Detail (detailed explanation), Self-Check(sample question). At the end of each unit, there are Practice Questions for you to be able to assess if you understood the lessons.

Table of Contents

Here are the pros and cons of the book:

Pros:

*For me, the price of the book is reasonable. It gives you a summary of  150 frequently used Korean grammar patterns for a cheap price.

*The examples given by the book for each grammar pattern are easy to understand.

*The grammar patterns are categorized under one big category depending on the situation it is used. For example, the grammar patterns used for determining “Purpose” are grouped together for better understanding.

*The book comes with a booklet that you can carry around so you can study Korean grammar patterns anytime, anywhere.

Cons:

*One big issue with the English version of this TOPIK Essential 150 are the translations. It’s quite difficult to differentiate each grammar pattern if you’re only going to depend on the English translation. I think it is better to study the Korean explanations of each grammar pattern.

*The self-check part is quite easy. The answer for each question is really predictable because you will only look for the grammar pattern that you’ve studied in the given choices. I just find it quite funny. I wish they’ve included tricky questions for better learning of the grammar pattern.

*There are explanations that says that Grammar Pattern A can be interchanged with Grammar Pattern B or C. If you’re a beginner in studying Korean, you might find these explanations quite confusing. And as a linguistics major, I just felt that even though Grammar Pattern A and Grammar Pattern B are interchangeable, there are still differences with the way they are used.

Where to buy the book?  I checked Seoul Selection but I think they don’t have the copy of the book in their site. The last time I talked to them, they say that you can request books from them and they will try to look for it. You can also check out GMarket or Kyobo Books for copies of the book.

TOPIK Essential 150 Grammar is still a helpful book despite the translation problems. I still find it very useful now that I am cramming for the TOPIK on April. I wish that they will  release a new version of the book with better translations and self-checking activities.

Book Rating: 3.8/5

Have you tried using this book already? Share your thoughts!^^

건강을 위한 다이트: 땀과 눈물!

First post for the year 2013! Hooraaaaay! Late Happy New Year greetings everyone! I am just not in the mood to make a post and I’m quite busy in school after the Christmas vacation. This year 2013, I have goals that I set and I really want to accomplish them. One of those goals is to lose weight. 

Way back in year 2010, I weigh around 55-58kg but after a year in college and a year in Korea, I gained 10-15kg. Imagine, in 2 years time, I gained that amount of fats! I really enjoyed eating Korean foods in Korea and when I went back to the Philippines, I kept on eating at Eat-All-You-Can buffet like Seoul Garden. I didn’t think about losing weight because I believed that when I go back to school, I will lose weight because of stress. But I was wrong. The more stressed I am in school, the more I tend to eat junk foods and chocolates. It’s said that I wasn’t able to wear mu old clothes anymore. Some of the jackets, cardigans and shirts that I bought in Korea doesn’t fit anymore and it made me feel sad and depressed.

I am not getting any younger anymore so I wanted to become more fit and to go back to my old figure. I am in my 20’s so I should be more careful of what I eat before I regret it when I become older. My parents also became health conscious when they found out that they are both hypertensive and my father is diabetic. I admire how most of Koreans take care of their health and body. Well, not all thinks about being healthy but only being thin but older people in Korea thinks differently. They need to be fit to be healthy.

I guess crash diet won’t work for me so I wanted to have a long-term diet plan. And I really thank my relatives for supporting me with my goal! Last week, I started trimming down my daily food intake especially rice. I also eat more fruits and vegetables compared last year. Instead of munching chips and chocolates, I eat apples or bananas. I also started to do some Tae-Boxing again because it’s effective for me. A lot of health and fitness blogs say that drinking water is a good way to eliminate fats and other unwanted toxins in the body so I drink more than 8 glasses of water everyday! And hooray! After a week, I already lose 1 kilo. Even though I just lose a kilo, I am happy that I was able to continue my diet plans. 1 kilo a week makes 4 kilos a month, so I guess that is a huge decrease in my weight!

I put the title “Diet for the health: Sweat and Tears” because it is really difficult to lose weight! But for the sake of a healthy lifestyle, I need to change the food I always eat. I am not saying that I will not eat pizza, chocolates or meat, I only need to eat the right amount and do more exercise. And I really wanted a figure like SNSD’s Sooyoung! LOL. I need to work really, really hard to achieve that figure though, Haha! For now, I only want to be more healthy and to lose some weight. 🙂

Let’s go for a healthier 2013!!!!!!

cr: weheartit.com