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jcho
Joined: 05 May 2010 Location: Guam
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:41 pm Post subject: Is Yonsei KLI sufficient? |
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I'll be starting the 8level Regular Program at Yonsei KLI this fall. My plan is to attend Yonsei as an undergrad after I complete the program.
Anyone with experience: will my knowledge from KLI be sufficient enough to become a student in a Yonsei undergrad program?
and just to note: I plan to study my butt off. |
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the_beaver

Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:15 pm Post subject: Re: Is Yonsei KLI sufficient? |
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jcho wrote: |
I'll be starting the 8level Regular Program at Yonsei KLI this fall. My plan is to attend Yonsei as an undergrad after I complete the program.
Anyone with experience: will my knowledge from KLI be sufficient enough to become a student in a Yonsei undergrad program?
and just to note: I plan to study my butt off. |
It really all depends on you. |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 8:55 am Post subject: |
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One of my friends, an American, completed Yonsei's language program. He is now a graduate student in Yonsei's school of economics. Needless to say, his Korean is decent. If you manage to complete the language program, then yes, your Korean should be good enough to attend university here. |
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misher
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:08 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
It really all depends on you. |
Yep that pretty much sums it up.
I know people at Sogang University in level 3 that can speak, write and listen better than some people in level 6. why? Because they work their tails off and don't speak any other languages other than Korean.
A language program isn't going to do it for you. Even if you manage all the BASIC requirements for each level that still doesn't GUARANTEE that you will be able to handle a Korean course load. Heck, I know guys who've completed the KLI and the Sogang program that admit they do not have the confidence to tackle an undergraduate course in Korean. They might be able to hack their way through it but it would be painful as hell.
In my opinion if you do a uni language program straight through (1.5 years?) and take an additional year to learn the necessary vocabulary for your major and perfect your Korean writing style for the average person, an undergrad course will be doable. Therefore in my opinion it takes the average blow joe like me what 2.5-3 years of hard study? I'm 8 months in and feel like I'm scraping the surface.
If you think a 1.5 years of Korean language study starting from nothing (if you are a Kyopo or mixed and exposed to Korean at a young age in any way this post doesn't really apply) is going to be enough and you aren't some kind of prodigy then you better be prepared to do a crap load of work on your own and get a Korean girlfriend that doesn't speak a lick of English.
Also, Korean university standards are not as high and a lot of the courses offered by SKY unis are now in English so the guy who is apparently fluent enough to write an economics paper in Korean probably isn't as fluent as one would think.
HAte to be a downer but this language ain't that easy and I refuse to believe that some guy (unless he is a prodigy or has had some prior exposure to the Korean language through childhood or whatnot) can pick it up after 1.5-2 years and write a flawless paper on some economics topic.
my 2 cents. |
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Steffie183
Joined: 07 Mar 2008 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:01 am Post subject: |
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I went to KLI, if you really try to immerse yourself (many students did), then you will become proficient in Korean. The highest level is entirely in Korean and includes papers, presentations, and they discuss the newspapers and books.
Korean isn't neccessary however. The international studies school of Yonsei is entirely in English. If you are admitted, it will be to the international programs. You can take Korean courses but I wouldn't suggest it because academic Korean is vastly different regular conversation Korean.
Why do you want to take classes in Korean? All of the international students there speak English and score higher than a 110 or 114 on the TOEFL. |
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jcho
Joined: 05 May 2010 Location: Guam
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 10:11 am Post subject: |
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Steffie183 wrote: |
I went to KLI, if you really try to immerse yourself (many students did), then you will become proficient in Korean. The highest level is entirely in Korean and includes papers, presentations, and they discuss the newspapers and books.
Korean isn't neccessary however. The international studies school of Yonsei is entirely in English. If you are admitted, it will be to the international programs. You can take Korean courses but I wouldn't suggest it because academic Korean is vastly different regular conversation Korean.
Why do you want to take classes in Korean? All of the international students there speak English and score higher than a 110 or 114 on the TOEFL. |
Thanks for your input, I'm glad everyone has something to say while it's still early on. My purpose in posting is just because there's a lot I don't know.
From my understanding (and probably misunderstanding), international programs at Yonsei are only for transfer/exchange/visiting students. Please let me know if I'm wrong. Even if I were admitted as an international student, would I be able to take any courses? Are their GE courses in english?
Also, immersion is pretty much my entire reason for moving to Korea. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 11:37 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
HAte to be a downer but this language ain't that easy and I refuse to believe that some guy (unless he is a prodigy or has had some prior exposure to the Korean language through childhood or whatnot) can pick it up after 1.5-2 years and write a flawless paper on some economics topic. |
2 years to write a simple paper maybe, but 5-10 years for it to be 'nearly' flawness. |
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