Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jammer113]

I'm curious to hear people's experiences from the Sogang University Language course. I know everyone says it's the best University for learning speaking... but I'm curious about specific improvements you made...

For example, after doing levels 1 and 2, were you actually able to hold conversations with people on a variety of subjects?

Did you see a marked improvement after a single 10 week course in your day to day interactions with people?

Did you find yourself moving past various language barriers that you couldn't do with just self study?

I'm also curious about the evening program (as it is the only program I would be able to do while working). I see that it only has levels 1 through 4.... But it is also only a 60 hour program compared to the 200 hours of the regular program. What do they cut out? How do they make up for the lack of classroom instruction? Do they simply dumb down the higher levels? Does it just make it more difficult to go from level to level? Is there a lot more homework?

For the daytime program, is it possible to work full-time in the evening while doing the day-time classes, or are you expected to do several hours of homework every day for the lessons?

Also, I haven't level tested, of course, but I would probably fall somewhere between levels 3 and 5. If I'm, say... level 4.. and I do the level 4 class, is there just nothing else I can do after that?

Finally, for anyone who has finished all of the courses, what kind of language proficiency can I realistically expect after finishing every course. If I took off a year of work, and completely focused on the language program, could I expect achieving a near-native proficiency on at least day-to-day speech? I can already communicate on a day-to-day basis, but my usage of the language is often different than a Korean's (hence my intermediate level).

After finishing all the classes, would I be able to go to a university setting and thrive? I know they allow you to go to the university after finishing the program, but that doesn't mean you're capable of sitting in classes and understanding lectures.

I appreciate any responses. I'm looking for anecdotal stories here, so that I can kind of get a feel for how much real-world improvement can be expected with taking the classes.

[Insomnia]

I know other students that got into SNU after taking level 5, but for me personally no way in hell would I feel ready to take college classes.

Imagine a Korean kid who knew no English, took 5 levels of classes then putting him through an American university

[crazy_arcade]

Well, it's true that Sogang focuses on speaking and will help your speaking that actual amount that you improve really depends on you. In the end, the people that go out and really make an effort to speak with real life Koreans are those who improve the most. Sogang just gives you more opportunity to speak and drill in class.

It really can go either way. Yonsei spends very little time on speaking, but if you were to go out and really immerse yourself with Koreans at the same time I think you would improve just as much, if not more (and certainly have a deeper grasp of the grammar).

I've met people who are in levels 3/4/5 who can all converse very well in Korean. I've also met people in levels 3/4/5 who can barely converse at all (sometimes you have to wonder if they've ever even met a Korean in their spare time).

[createasaurus21]

I'm on day 4 of week 1 after transferring from Yonsei, and I have to say, it is a million times better than the Yonsei program. Not only Yonsei's emphasis is dry, but so is the material. At Sogang, we play language/speaking games in class almost the whole time and it really works well for making the material stick.

I would HIGHLY recommend Sogang. Don't waste your time at Yonsei.

side note: hotter girls at Sogang too! especially Japanese

[createasaurus21]

Sogang classes are a lot more fun too, I really look forward to going to class every morning!

The only con I can think of overall at Sogang is the cafeteria food is not as good as Yonsei. That's the ONLY thing I can think of... I can think of a ton of reasons the other way around.

[SeoulMan6]

I did level 3 at Sogang. It was ok, but not great. The major complaint that several classmates and I had was that there was ZERO free talking time. It was all very structured with little room for deviation. While that might be ok for levels 1 and 2, at level 3 and higher we are able to do more and wanted that opportunity. Because of that we were a bit frustrated.

The quality of teachers was up and down. I actually dropped down a level so I saw 6 different teachers: 1 super, 1 very good, 1 good, 2 average or a little below, and 1 absolutely terrible. Though that's NOT including my above complaint which is probably more related to the program than the individual.

Re: homework. If the level is right for you, an hour or so a day is probably ok, but if you are struggling in the class you could easily spend 3-4 hours previewing / reviewing.

All in all, I'd recommend it as a way to get started with the language and to meet some pretty cool people (mostly from China and Japan.)

[Jammer113]

[Zantetsuken]

I just want to know how much cash you guys are dropping on these classes every semester...how much does it cost?

[curlygirl]

The cost went up so now it's just over 1.5 mill (from memory).

I'm doing level 3 right now and am definitely improving in small leaps and bounds. Yes I can hold a conversation for a long time with my classmates on a range of topics, though I make plenty of mistakes. My high point happened a few weeks ago though, when I was walking on the treadmill next to an adjumma. We started chatting and after 6 more minutes my time was up so I said goodbye. During that time we talked about travel, the price of fruit in my country vs Korea, in fact a whole range of topics. This lady made my day by understanding every word I said ^^ And that was after I'd completed level 2. To give you some idea of your own potential proficiency, I'd say I'm about middle level in my class (plenty of speakers better than me and a few lower than me). Additionally you'll be able to understand a lot more of the buzz of conversation that goes on around in the subway and elsewhere by the end of level 2.

Of course, as another poster said, it really does depend on how much you try to use your language outside of the classroom.

[SeoulMan6]

I think I was a bit different than most students in that I had advanced to about level 3.5 without a class. Where I improved most was my fluency - just getting more comfortable with the language. Having a "safe" place to learn and practice made it much easier in the real world.

How much did I improve? Hmm... I'd say not that much because I was actually repeating grammar. I needed more free speaking practice, which I didn't get. My classmates, I think, improved a lot though.

"I'm glad to know that most of the students are chinese and japenese... that will force us to all use Korean language in class..."

Haha! Except a lot of them speak English too and want to practice THAT outside of class. But it makes friendship easier. What I really liked though was making Japanese friends with Korean. Cool!

Class (at least at level 3) is 100% in Korean.

Will you improve? Yes, you absolutely will improve.

Is it worth the 1 million+ won? That I'm not sold on. I think you'd be better off doing what I did and buying the Sogang textbooks (online or at Kyobo) and self-studying the grammar and vocabulary, then doing a language exchange with a local university kid. It's SO easy to find - just put up a few flyers near the English office. Spend the money on coffee or food while you chat.

[Insomnia]

[Zantetsuken]

[Looney]

[Privateer]

[crazy_arcade]