Korean Job Discussion Forums

mithridates · Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:09 am Post subject:

I think it's possible as long as one has already spent a year here and has picked up the basics. Don't forget that two hours spent studying at night really tired and stressed out from the hagwon isn't equal to two hours spent studying in the afternoon in a coffee shop, fully rested and with no work the next day. Basically I think of it as a being like a magnifying glass reflecting the sun's energy; the longer you spend in one position the better. Moving it into focus, then out, then back in, then out, will just let things cool down again and there is very little forward momentum.
Or like launching a plane - there is a certain speed one reaches where it can fly on its own with very little effort. There's a point one gets to in a language where one doesn't forget it anymore. It may not be perfectly fluent but what is left over to study is just the odd word here and there, a few terms one hasn't picked up and so on, but that can be done with the minimum of effort. Learning a language is equivalent to creating an entirely new mentral structure within your head, and a few months spent doing *only* that (ie, no going off to Itaewon to chat with one's English friends) can definately be enough if one works hard enough.

sistersarah · Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Location: hiding out

Mashimaro · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: location, location

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

I have to agree with mashimaro here. While mithridates may have been able to learn Korean very quickly, I don't think it would be realistic for others to expect the same results. When mithdirdates started to learn Korean, he was already fluent in Japanese and knew thousands of kanji. I have a hunch that he also has a better memory/aptitude for languages than most of us mere mortals. While there's a lot we can learn from his methods (pay attention to roots, study every day, use music as a mnemonic tool, integrate the new language into your life, develop hobbies around your target language), I doubt that many people could pull off what he has in Korean as quickly as he has.

Still, I'm sure that devoting 6 months to either self-study or on of the university intensive programs would allow for much faster progress than us hogwon jockeys can usually accomplish.

mithridates · Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:22 pm Post subject:

I couldn't say as I've never looked into Sogang or Yonsei myself. I have met a few people from Yonsei though and they were Japanese; after class they would all get together and hang out in Japanese, do some homework and go to school the next day. Same for most of the English-speaking students I knew from there.
During my three-month stint when I learned most of what I know I probably spent a total of three hours speaking in English. I have an aptitude for languages and I did know kanji before I studied it but I don't have a photographic memory...
Can anyone else claim to have spent a full three months in continuous study? I dated three Korean girls during the time, lived in a goshiwon with all Koreans (and a Chinese girl learning Korean), watched the World Cup, and also read Dostoevsky's The Demons (is that the English title? 950 pages). That took me about a month at five hours a day.
I think I just have the ability to stay focused. I rarely get bored.

Mashimaro · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: location, location

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

The human brain has limits, no matter how hard you study.

mithridates · Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:19 am Post subject:

Well, it does depend on the person to a certain extent I suppose. I have personally taught Korean to a few people before and one of them took lessons three times a week, picked it up quite quick and in a year can converse quite well (not fluent though), and another didn't take lessons quite so much and we would basically just review every time.
The main point however was that taking a few months off between contracts can be good, and I would recommend it in spite of the fact that most people just want to get out of the country as quick as possible when their contract is over.
May I ask what you did for the six months? I assume it was a hasuk?

manlyboy · Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:56 pm Post subject:

Does anybody know what's up with http//:korean.sogang.ac.kr/ ? I haven't been able to open it for ages. What's the deal?

Mashimaro · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: location, location

waggo · Joined: 18 May 2003 Location: pusan baby!

mithridates · Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:47 pm Post subject:

I can email them tomorrow when I'm on a computer that doesn't suck. I'm using the lemon (otherwise known as a Macintosh) now.
��~

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

Did anyone find out what happened at Sogang???

jjurabong · Joined: 22 Jan 2003

Any word on what happened at the Sogang site?

inthewild · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Location: Korea

http://club.sogang.ac.kr/ is what it redirects me to now... I remember that old site, it was great. Crying or Very sad