Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ratslash]

and watch the bewildered looks!!!

has anyone else found this? that korean kids can't use a dictionary? i've witnessed kids flick through the dictionary for minutes just trying to find the intial starting symbol!

[tomato]

No, but I've noticed that they're not familiar with the typewriter keyboard.
When a child uses a Korean word which I can't understand, I ask the child to enter that word on my ���� ����. They have to hunt for the right keys.

Then they try to enter the entire sentence or the entire question.
So I have to explain to them that the ���� ���� only takes one word at a time.

[sadsac]

I only let my kids use an English dictionary. It takes a while for them to begin to understand its function. I find that the comparative definitions with a Korean/English dictionary can be confusing.

[ulsanchris]

I"ve had that problem tomato. always leaves me a bit bewildered.

[Son Deureo!]

[OiGirl]

[Son Deureo!]

[schwa]

Is there maybe a different take on dictionary use in general? All through my schooling I was required to own one & I've kept a good dictionary near at hand ever since. Use it frequently.

Koreans in my experience regard them simply as translation tools. I teach a lot of teachers & surveyed them once about dictionaries. None of them owned a Korean/Korean dictionary. One commented: "Why would I need that? I already know the language."

[jajdude]

The kids really need dictionaries I think, E-K especially, and K-E. But many elementary students are not used to them. A few have them in class. I have one in class. Some kids have trouble finding English words because they have to think through the alphabet for the letters. Let's see, "praise" means... ok I have "P", now where is "R".....

[ffl007]

That is the worst thing you could do. Give'em an English-English dictionary, and American English at that.

[jajdude]

Sorry,

Got to agree with SOn Deureo! When they are quite basic, what's the point of giving them a word to look up in an English only dictionary, so they can find just more words they don't know? "Praise" means "to compliment" for example---- er, compliment means... "to give a generous remark"... er, "generous" and "remark" mean.....

[tomato]

Here you go, Oigirl.
I think this is what Son Deurero was referring to:

On page 33 of Elementary Korean by Ross King and Jae-Hoon Yeon, it says:

There are three variations on the South Korean ordering:

1. Ignore double consonants except where entries are otherwise the same.

2. Ignore double consonants except where entries are otherwise the same, but keep a difference for final double consonants analogous to that of the singlets:

k �� kk �� ks �� n �� nch ��
l �� lk �� lm �� lp �� ls ��
lth �� lph �� lh �� p �� ps ��
s �� ss ��

3. Recognize double consonants both initially and finally, making separate places for the initial double consonants (as in parentheses on the preceding page), and keeping the final double consonants in the order shown in item two.

On page 31:

Korean dictionaries eomploy a bewildering variety of han'gul alphabetizations. However, they can be divided into two broad types. The first is most common in South Korea, the second is official in North Korea. The South Korean dictionaries imbed all the vowel signs under the letter ��; whereas the North Korean dictionaries relegate the letter �� in its zero reading (i.e., preceding vowels) to the back of the dictionary.

Again on page 33:

In North Korea, the doubled consonants and all the vowel signs are placed at the back of the dictionary.

Shall we take a trip to North Korea and buy a dictionary?

[OiGirl]

I have taught my little ones (Kindergarten through 2nd) to use a picture dictionary. They don't have alphabetization skills anyway, and it allows them to write without constantly asking me words in their first language or asking me how to spell words. It's part of a gradual process of scaffolding information and leading students to find ways to help themselves. I'm careful to always refer to the picture dictionaries as "dictionaries," so I can try to transfer their enthusiasm for these word books to the "real thing" down the road.

[ajuma]

One of the problems with a Korean-English dictionary is that the definition isn't always correct. I KNOW that "hangover" is wrong...as is the definition for "juvenile"!!!