Korean Job Discussion Forums

[antoniothegreat]

This is a continuation of the "americans cant speak korean" thread.
From my experience, it is quite hard to find a good teacher, book, or school to teach Korean. Most books suck ars.
Most teachers cannot even explain the difference between 는 and 은, or they just want to practice English and don't care about you, and most schools just want to suck as much money out of you as possible.

one guy I know was paying 800,000 won for a Korean course, when the students had a question, the teacher's reply was "I don't have time to answer, we have to finish the book."
yeah, now that is how you teach a language...

so, has anyone actually found a satisfactory way to learn korean that is not a highly inefficient method (meaning, meet for 2 hours, but only learn 10 words because the "teacher" only wants to practice english)

btw-i have found some good books/teachers, but on the big part, most are pretty bad.

[I'm no Picasso]

Take a class that's taught in Korean.

[abigolblackman]

They have free classes in Yeoksam at the Gangnam Global Center. The teacher, whose name I forget, was awesome. She answered every question we had and did not mind to stray from the book. She even taught us the difference between 는 and 은.

The only problem is I don't think she is still teaching there. Her boss and the center in general had beef with her, probably because she was actually an efficient teacher and we actually learned things. They cut her hours in half and she could not teach the intermediate level anymore (our level) so I quit the program.

From what I understood, she had other teaching opportunities that would net her more money which she didn't take before because she liked teaching us (she been offered these positions multiple times over the past 2 years). I hope she went for the money, I'm sure she would still be a good teacher no matter where she went.

abigolblackman

[ThingsComeAround]

I've taken two classes at Korean language hakwons.
You are correct- there isn't much of a push for NETs to learn the native tongue. 3D workers even get a 2-week quickie lesson so their boss doesn't have to speak English

I've taken class in Apgujeong and in Ilsan. Apgujeong was by far the superior class however due to its location I had to stop taking it (I live in Ilsan)

the Ilsan class I have recommended to others, however due to problems with the manager (fat greedy cow trying to cheat us) there is no longer a class in the evening. Her loss.

[DIsbell]

For a couple months I was taking beginner classes at the Suwon YMCA. The class was two days a week for 1.5 hours each time, for a paltry 50k a month. It closed due to low enrollment though.

I thought the instructor was very good. Her surname was Choi and I believe still teaches the weekend classes there. She kept things varied, incorporating many different activities and definitely wasn't opposed to breaking off on tangents and answering questions. I really liked how we could walk into class and say "umm, I don't really know the days of the week" or "can you explain how we should give directions to taxi drivers?" and she'd oblige.

My favorite was when we asked how to text in Korean. Maybe the most useful individual lesson I got there, haha. Instantly opened up phone dictionaries to us and we could impress friends with texts in hangeul.

[Oreovictim]

I can't stand learning a language that's not in at least some English. I went to one hagwon where the teacher would speak nonstop Korean, minutes at a time, at a break-neck speed. The whole three of us just looked at each other, wondering what was going on. Then I remember the teacher stopped and said really slowly, "'가족' This means 'family'." After that incident, I empathize with my students. I speak slowly to them now. And since my Korean has improved, I try using it in class when I need to.

I work with a lot of Russians. I found that they're better at teaching Korean than the dozen or so Koreans I've met for tutoring and language exchange. I would learn a rule/word/sentence on my own and use it in class, and most of the Koreans would never say anything. Weeks (sometimes months) later, I'd use it around a Russian, only to find that what I had learned was completely useless or awkward sounding.

I also recommend this to the foreign guys: don't be like a lot of Koreans and hire based on appearance. The last thing that you want to do is learn the language from someone that's really hot. Throws your concentration off.

[Neil]

SNU has a teaching Korean as a second language major. I think it's a growing market, Samsung/LG ect want skilled teachers to go over and train the factory workers in China.

Anyway I approached some of the students taking that course and got excellent lessons, worth paying a bit more (and still far cheaper than what Korean students pay for English lessons). After all it's like an ESL student getting a class from a teacher who majored in ESL from the best uni in their country.

[adventurrre]

[crossmr]

[Junior]

There used to be quite a good teacher at the LTRC in Gwanghwamun. However she was a hottie so it was hard to stay focussed.

[endo]

[dunc180]

I've had a couple of good experiences.

I spent about a year, on and off, at BestFriend Language and Cultural Exchange Center in Sinchon. I had a couple of good teachers there. The books are a little outdated, I think, but the good teachers can make the most out of them. One-on-one lessons there are around $20-25.

I also did two 10 week courses at Ewha Language Center. I had one really good teacher there and the lessons are taught mostly in Korean (at least from level 2). Class sizes are between 10 and 15 students and, because they come from a variety of countries, it makes for some interesting conversations and perspectives. From memory, it's around 500 - 600,000 won for three 2 hour classes a week (10 weeks).

I'm surprised more NETs don't learn Korean while they are in Korea. It's such a great opportunity and it really enriches your experience. Before Korea I spent a year in Japan and really regret not putting more of an effort into learning Japanese.

[furtakk]

[Easter Clark]

Sogang's program was the best I've attended. A bit pricey and demanding though. Metro Korean Academy was nice too...much cheaper and you could go once a week.

Haven't tried any other programs, but would love to find a Korean hagwon in Incheon.

[kabrams]