Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yeongil]

I've got the Korean language learning blues.

I'm a US gyopo. I went to Sogang the past 2 summers, taking Korean Level 1 and 2, and I did well. But I'm starting to have doubts continuing to the end of the program.

I didn't learn to speak until I was 4, and it was English only (mostly), and even so, it was accented English. My parents were told to only speak English to me at home because of my difficulties. I was in speech therapy throughout elementary school because of my accent. I went to Korean school on Saturdays from 3rd to 8th grade, but I wasn't interested in learning Korean then, and so I didn't learn much.

Two years ago I went to Korea for the first time (!) with my parents, and I ended up feeling embarrassed that I couldn't speak Korean with my relatives. That gave me the motivation to start going to Sogang the summer of last year. Like I said, I did fine, and when I went last summer the relatives I saw were impressed with how much I learned already.

But like I said, I have the language learning blues. I can only go to Sogang during the summer quarter because of my job in the US. I have only two Korean speaking friends, and a number of relatives living in the US. Because of my job I don't have the time to practice & listen on my own, and I don't see my friends or relatives much. So I'm slipping farther and farther behind. This wasn't that much of a problem going into Level 2 this past summer, but it will be going into Level 3 next summer.

I knew that I was always a shy person, but I'm starting to realize that I don't like talking to people much, in any language. I actually get physically tired when talking a lot (even in English), and I get the feeling of wanting to get away from everyone after awhile in a social gathering, just to be alone. It's as if I have a people battery and it gives out very quickly. There are probably other psychological issues that I have that I'm not aware of. (Maybe I should get evaluated.)

I guess the question is, if you were in my shoes, would you quit Sogang? Obviously I haven't registered for Level 3 yet, but I probably will still go next summer -- on the report card Level 3 is the end of the Novice levels. I had this grand plan of going every summer until graduation from Level 6, but with the little time I have outside of summer to practice, and my apathy towards talking to people in general, would you ditch this plan? I would appreciate your thoughts on this.


01

[Bread]

This isn't really something that someone else can decide for you. Just ask yourself if you want to do it. If your immediate answer is yes, then do it. If it's no, then don't. It won't be the end of the world either way. And this isn't the sort of thing that you can't change your mind over, either. You can quit or go back to studying any time you want.

[jkelly80]

You could have an anxiety disorder, or maybe you're just shy. Maybe work on your written Korean?

[PeteJB]

You can't slip behind, just read your books and listen to material so that you don't forget any words you've learned. As for social blues, I understand COMPLETELY how it feels. It may have something to do with the kind of people you hang around with. Some people have a wavelength problem in social situations, and if you don't feel comfortable enough with someone then you begin to tire of being in their presence.

Question, why can't you just stay in Korea to study levels 1-6 straight through? You can't take a break from your current life? If you are a student, you could take a gap year.

[yeongil]

@Bread - I wasn't looking for someone else to decide for me. I was wondering if anyone else in my shoes, with my problems, would he/she quit?

@jkelly80 - I am extremely shy and I probably have an anxiety disorder. I won't know unless I get evaluated, I guess. Actually, my written Korean isn't bad for someone who's finished level 2.

My spoken Korean, on the other hand, sucks. Amazingly enough I pulled off an A in the interview portion of the exams. How? The teacher gave us students a list of questions beforehand, I wrote the answers down, and I read them out loud repeatedly. I even recorded myself speaking the answers and listened to the recordings to. So during the interviews I could keep the conversation flowing more or less. But under other circumstances I still think of what to say, translate in my head, and try to say it in Korean, which is not the way to go.

@PeteJB - Despite my issues I'm a HS teacher in the US, so I can't come to Korea except in the summer. I am eligible for taking a sabbatical at my school, but it's unpaid, and I couldn't afford coming to Korea unless I work during the school year.

It occurred to me that my job also shows how I get physically tired and how I want to be alone after being around people. I am always putting on an act in the classroom, appearing confident, competent, enthusiastic, encouraging, and so forth, to my students, when usually I feel the opposite. So I am exhausted when I get home every afternoon. After a week in school I'm usually not in the mood to go out with friends, never mind my Korean friends or relatives.

I actually have a Cyworld page, and I try to write in the diary at least once a week, in Korean. In fact, I think I'll cut this post short and write in it now.


01

[crazy_arcade]

You're a Gyopo and a HS teacher. What about taking a sabbatical
and coming over on an f4 visa for a year. You could study at Sogang for the 4 hours in the morning and then pick up a few evening SAT prep courses in Kangnam or Apgujeong and rake in the money. As a gyopo you have such a good option for studying Korean ans working at the same time that so many of us wish we had. The fact that you're a trained teacher is just icing on the cake.

If that's not for you, then why don't you take advantage of Sogang's online listening materials? You could also immerse yourself in Korean media....listening to Korean music, watching Korean movies and dramas without subtitles.

[some waygug-in]

I can't speak for other people, only for myself. I found Sogang's on-line program to be very difficult to actually learn from. It's way too fast and too much moving on to new grammar forms without enough practice with previously learned materials. I have no idea how this compares with the real classes.

The grammar explanations often are not clear and leave me feeling more confused than anything.

There are a number of video series on youtube that I've since found helpful.

Here they are; "old series lsk" lessons 1 - 60. (basic formal Korean)

"2007 lsk lessons 1 - 130. ( a bit goofy at times but useful)

"Let's Speak Korean lessons 1 - 200 or more" (these are a bit hard to follow sometimes, but they can help)

"EBS TV hello korean 1 - 130. (probably the best i've found)

You're probably way above the level of these, but check them out and see if maybe the higher number lessons could help you.

I've found that for myself, I can't review basic things too much, meaning ... reviewing some simple basics is helpful.

There are some free on-line lessons available on this site as well.

http://kr.yahoo.com/insidekr/ik_en.html

Hope this helps.

[jajdude]

OP:

Sounds to me like you are just really introverted. No worries, that's pretty common and helps explain the anxiety you feel socially. Quite a lot of us need our alone time and can get easily overstimulated when we socialize for any considerable length of time.

I'm not sure if many extroverts can really grasp this.

[PeteJB]

Yep, something of an introvert myself - extroverts definitely cannot understand it, because I've tried to talk about it in the past. Only those with the experiences understand it.

[Jammer113]

It sounds to me like you're pretty normal. You've got a stressful job, it makes you stressed and tired.. Just out of curiousity, what subject do you teach? Also, jumping straight from a stressful job during the school year to a stressful foreign environment every summer is bound to wear you down. It sounds to me like you've been doing pretty good, all things considered..

I took two years of Korean in college. The second year was taught 80 to 90% in only Korean. At the end of it, while I could understand all of my material in my books, my general conversational ability was atrocious. And that was with having Korean friends to practice with. I'm getting better.. the only way to get conversational ability is to keep trying to use it, again and again and again.

I have two suggestions. First, try looking back into those Saturday Korean classes. Even if you're in a different city than when you were young, lots of cities have them. It has the added advantage of getting you up early saturday morning and not wasting your day away.

Second, hit up your parents. I'm sure they'll be excited to help you learn Korean. Tell them you want to practice speaking, and that three times a week, you want to call them up and give them a very short description of your day. Five to ten sentences. No conversation, no painful and frustrating listening practice, just speaking practice.

Even if you have to write down the sentences before you call and practice them, and even read them to your parents... pretty soon, you'll be covering the same material over and over again, and you'll start gaining fluency. Then you can start building stuff into that. Don't try for a book at first, just simple stuff, and move into more complex stuff. "My students were bad. They were fighting. In third period, one girl did her homework. She never does her homework!" Then go on to more complex sentences and answering simple questions like "how was it?" or "what next?"

For listening, I like watching korean movies with english subtitles ON. That way, I don't get lost. My brain naturally works at trying to understand whatever it can.

Anyways, good luck!