Korean Job Discussion Forums

[misher]

DOes anyone have any experience studying at SNU?

I'll be moving to the area and don't feel like commuting more than an hour to SOgang every morning. Also, I wish to enter SNU at some point in the future so satisfying their language requirement will be a lot easier if I just attend their institute.

I heard it is less communicative and boring along the lines of Yonsei's KLI.

That isn't a problem for me. I just completed level 3 at Sogang and feel like I need more reading, writing and grammar. TOo much time is wasted on speaking and drilling and not learning actual material. This was great for the first few levels to get some confidence but now that I can speak a bit I find that practicing with Koreans is much better which I do almost everyday.

ANyone have any experience there? Dull?

misher

[taobenli]

I did levels 4-6 there (I also studied at Sogang before). I didn't find it dull, and my reading and grammar improved tremendously. I had had heard criticisms that like Yonsei, SNU didn't focus enough on speaking, but I didn't actually find this to be true. I think SNU is a happy medium between Sogang and Yonsei- it's not a perfect program, but then none are.

[misher]

tao how would you rate your Koran now? Solid intermediate? Were their expectations super high once you got to the upper levels? How about handling an undergrad course in Korean?

[noraebang]

Why are Yonsei and other programs critisized for not doing enough speaking practice?

I mean, you're paying thousands of dollars for Korean instruction, I think I would rather learn something in class with the teacher rather than spend 2 hours speaking sloppy Korean with a Chinese student. Especially considering you can speak all you want, with actual native Korean speakers, all afternoon and evening in your free time.

[the_beaver]

[NaD00D00]

I did level 1 at Yonsei, and level 2 and 3 at SNU.

I'm switching back to Yonsei.

At SNU, there was less speaking practice, less writing/reading practice, and overall the classes were really sloppy/less structured.

There are more assignments, but it's just writing/memorizing dialogues and monologues, along with recording speech. The homework is pretty weak...

It's *really* boring, too.
I rarely felt like I didn't want to be in class at Yonsei, but I felt that almost every day after one point at SNU.

I'd try and talk during class, you know, to try and practice/improve. Eventually, I got the vibe that my teachers got tired of me always trying to talk, and they'd always kind of blow/write me off when asking questions to answer, or they'd make me go last because I "talked a lot/too much."

You're better off staying at Sogang and just buying Yonsei and/or SNU books, and studying them on your own. As long as you have someone to explain the grammar forms, and you practice on your own time, there really is no need to go to SNU classes (or at least, in my opinion).

Oh, and the speaking tests are much easier than Yonsei's.

[Milkman Dan]

I had the unfortunate pleasure of attending their Level 1 evening classes and I was totally disappointed.

The textbook is actually pretty good, and their website and online resources are also not too shabby either. The main problem I had with the program was the actual classes themselves.

The main office was pathetically unprepared on the ifrst day of class. They did not have enough textbooks for sale, and had to sell photocopied versions to some students. Also, the first day of classes was a complete clusterfuck - resulting in no one knowing where the classes were located. The front office was painfully unprepared and inadequate.

I had two different instructors. One was a man who could barely speak English, and would get visibly annoyed and upset when people would ask questions and or ask him to repeat himself. My other teacher was a woman who was all over the place and used a completely disjointed teaching method.

From what little experience I had at SNU, I highly recommend against studying there. The administration was pathetically unprepared and inadequate, the instructors sucked, and it was a complete waste of money for me. Thank god for their good textbook and supplementary material on their website...

[taobenli]

I want to chime back in here and say again that I thought the instruction was good at SNU, though Sogang was better about giving consistent feedback about progress (at SNU it's a little more "Korean ed style," and if you want more feedback you need to push for it). In level 4 at SNU I learned far more grammar than in Sogang level 4, and since I also studied Sogang's level 5 book on my own, I would also venture to say that in level 4 alone at SNU we covered more grammar than level 4 and 5 together at Sogang. This solid foundation (that I didn't feel I got at Sogang) has helped me a lot.

I'm not bashing Sogang's program, as I think it's a great program in Korea to start with. I think it's also probably the best program for the majority of English teachers in Korea (at least those who don't plan to use Korean for more academic/job purposes). But I heard a lot of criticism at Sogang about the usefulness of the upper levels. And I didn't tend to hear this criticism at SNU.

I would agree with the poster who complained about the quality of the beginning levels (1 and 2, maybe including 3) at SNU. My husband took levels 1 and 2 and found them both extremely stressful (too fast for a Western learner without a background in Asian languages) and not very effective. I think Sogang is better at the lower levels, and SNU better at the upper levels. I haven't done Yonsei's program so can't speak to that.

Sadly, Korean language education EVERYWHERE is lacking. Particularly for advanced learners, there are no programs that can match those in China, Taiwan or Japan (for those languages, of course). They are simply not as well organized or as well-researched (sometimes it seems they have no clue about how people of different backgrounds approach Korean). It's sad but true, and frustrating when trying to make progress in this language.

[taobenli]

Oh, and to answer the OP's question, I feel like I could handle an undergraduate course now (probably staying for level 7- the "research class"- would have helped, though), though I would likely need a tutor to check grammar in any essays I would write. I'm auditing a graduate seminar now, and I don't have any problem with comprehension, anyway.

[misher]

Wow,

Thanks for all the responses guys.

Tao,

What I'm looking for is more grammar, foundation, reading and writing. Sogang is a great program and got me off the ground by doing levels 1-3 but I got sick and tired of memorizing dialogues and firing them back and forth with my classmates. I DON"T NEED speaking practice anymore and I want to start preparing for TOPIK and improving my writing.

Did SNU level 4 have a lot of dialogue memorization? I find doing that kind of thing is absolutely useless at upper levels but that is just me.

Also, do you have a Korean background? Or did you start learning Korean from scratch. The reason why I'm asking is that even though my Kyopo friends are terrible at speaking Korean, because mom yammered at them in Korean at a young age, they seem to understand EVERYTHING whereas I just sit there clueless when 2 native Koreans banter back and forth.

What kind of classes are you taking in Korean?

[raindrop]

I've been looking at the various Korean language programs offered by the universities and am not sure if it's do-able. I'm moving to Seoul in June and want to begin the September term at Level 1. But here's my deal... I'll be working full-time at a hagwon in Gangnam from 1:30-8:30. This means I would have to take the morning class from 9-1 since all the evening classes I've seen take place during my work hours. Of course I have to factor in the commute from the university to my work place and I'm not sure if it's possible to leave class at 1, take the subway/bus + walk and get to work by 1:30. Also, is it just too much stress to take a 4 hour language class then come to work until 8:30? When would I have time to do homework? I'm afraid this would be overkill and I'd be too drain, but I really do want to learn Korean.

What other options do I have to learn Korean other than the ones offered at the universities? Are there programs that offer shorter class hours in the mornings or on weekends?

[misher]

raindrop,

generally, level 1 and 2 will be doable. The upper levels will be too intense as the vocabulary gets more difficult, your fluency is expected to be better and you will be studying Japanese and CHinese students mainly that are on scholarship or that don't work. They will improve quickly and study a lot leaving you in the dust.

Even ifyou have the time after you finish work, your energy will be sucked out of you. I worked part-time only (4 hours 6-10 M-F) and I barely made it through level 3. Im also easily the worst student in my class as my Japanese/Chinese/Mongolian friends have left me behind.

ANother thing too is that speaking English 8 hours a day at work is not going to help improve you fluency. In level 1 and 2 your fluency isn't really expected to be that high but after level 3 other students will be yammering away like the locals and you're expected to be on par with them. This has been my experience at Sogang at least.

My advice?

do level 1. Maybe level 2. Finish your contract and study the level 3 book sin advance on your own. Then with your money saved do level 3 and 4 WITHOUT working. You will get the most out of it.

[taobenli]

Misher-

Level 4 at SNU is basically learning hundreds of grammar patterns. It got tedious toward the end but it gave me the foundation I realized I lacked at Sogang. To my relief, level 5 continued reinforcing grammar but switched gears and really built up advanced vocabulary. Level 6 was reading essays, viewing history documentaries and discussing them, writing short essays, and reading and discussing newspaper articles. I can't remember memorizing a single dialogue in level 4- like you, I got sick of that at Sogang. The only thing I recall was a little skit we had to do at the end, but it wasn't a big deal. The speaking tests encouraged talking freely based on an outline rather than memorization.

I am doing a PhD in social sciences and right now am auditing a history class. Though I'm still hesitant to speak at length (academic Korean with lots of theory is another ballgame, just as academic English is), I am pleased to see how far I've come with reading and comprehension of discussion.

[hostness]

I have a couple questions about the Yonsei program for those who've taken it recently.

Does anyone have any of the books for level 4 or 5? I believe they're new books and just wanted to know if the books I have are the right ones. Can someone verify the titles/subject/topics of the first few chapters of those books.

Also, is it on a 6 level program? Their website says there's 6 and 8 level programs, but it makes no sense. Seems like 6 levels is normal and 8 is for those who take a bit longer to learn the language but i'm still not sure.

I'm pretty sure I want to do the program at yonsei but can't PM people who've done because of the post limit so I have a lot of questions. Are they flexible with letting you choose which level you want to go into if you fall between two levels? What is the makeup of the class in relation to foreigners / gyopos / and countries they're from in the higher levels (4-6) and ages, class size, etc.

I have a ton more questions but yea those are the big ones, if anyone could answer them. Thanks for the help.

[the_beaver]