Korean Job Discussion Forums

[red_devil]

How quick have you been able to pick up Korean if you come to Korea with only basics? 6 months? 12? At what point do you feel comfortable in any conversation? Also were there factors that helped/hindered your learning curve? How much has teaching English affected picking up Korean?

The things i've heard is that:

- there are Korean classes you can take
- try not to have English only friends
- watch Korean TV, movies, etc. as much as possible
- smaller cities are better than larger ones for the language

[i]

I've been married to a Korean for 12 years, lived here over 3 and level tested as a beginner for taking Korean classes. Problem in a school with several native speakers, or one in Seoul is that you never have to speak Korean. I need to learn, but all I can do now is read, order in a restaurant, take a taxi or talk to children.
If you get a really crappy job in a really small town as the only foreign teacher, you'll learn Korean. I've met people like that who had to to survive.

[Ginormousaurus]

I don't know anyone who has just "picked it up". Sure you can learn to order, give pleasant greetings etc. But don't expect to hold conversations without putting in a serious amount of time and effort. I studied 3-4 hours a day at a Korean university for a year and a half and now I can hold conversations. However, I know I'm still speaking somewhat broken Korean.

I guess a lot will depend on how well you learn languages though. I'd imagine at least one person on this board will have had an experience that contradicts mine.

[aka Dave]

Not a lot of people use these books and the mp3s. If you want to learn Korean at a level approaching fluency, I would recommend them.

http://www.hawaii.edu/uhpress/mp3/klear/

I've been slacking as I was teaching an intensive summer course. I finished today (Horray!) and really to make substantial progress you need to do 2 hours/day with the listening exercises. Once you get to the point where you can start watching the news, dramas, effectively you can do that. I'm aways from that, just a beginner.

[red_devil]

Have any of you gotten to the point where you're dreaming in Korean?

[Bryan]

[Omkara]

It'll take daily and faithful work. Even then, it'll take about two years of work to get fluent, assuming you have an ability with language. Korean takes much more time and effort than other languages by a long stretch.

The only way to speed this up is to completely immerse yourself in the language. That's both tough and expensive.

You've got six months? You'll need two years here to get solid.

[IncognitoHFX]

I'm pouring myself into Korean now and I can testify to what the last poster said. It will take two years, or somewhere between one or two.

To learn quickly though, which is what I'm trying to do and what others whom I know before me have done, you need to use multiple sources at the same time. So right now, I'm studying from two textbooks, a website (http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/), day-to-day life (hear a word, look it up) and I'm watching learning Korean videos on Youtube.

I'd recommend this approach.

[robot]

[aka Dave]

[i4NI]

Hangeul is really easy to learn, you can learn to read it comfortably in only a few days, I used Steve Revere's "Survival Korean" to learn to read Hangeul. It will teach you the basics, then as you progress you will learn the more special cases of pronouncing certain words and consonant assimilation(don't worry too much about that now). For now all you need is the basics.

Survival Korean also has a vocabulary book which is helpful instead of getting out a dictionary and trying to guess which word is appropriate.

You'd be surprised at how many people learn a decent amount of Korean for dramas. These days I never watch tv and it holds the same in Korea, but I really need to try it out. Also getting into Korean music has helped me learn a lot of new words and by far the easiest way for me to memorize them.

The best plan obviously is to attend a language program such as what Seoul National University and Sogang offer (I heard bad things about Yonsei's program). This however might be hard for people working, but it's the best method IMO.

Also don't be afraid to speak no matter how bad you may initially be! Practice makes perfect as we've all already heard, but so true. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

Also a grammar reference book is always good to have around when you start learning a decent amount of Korean, the Yonsei grammar book for foreigners is actually good.

Korea is a much more enjoyable place when you know a decent amount of Korean. Contrary to what some people think, hanging out with foreigners only in Korea is not the way to go. You're in another country, try to experience Korean friends and Korean women.

Best of luck, hope this was helpful.

[Fresh Prince]