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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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 Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:58 am Post subject: Learning Korean at Seoul National University - good idea? |
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I'd like to get some decent Korean language tuition and am looking at SNU's evening classes, 2 nights a week for 3 hours each. Has anybody done this course and was it worth it?
http://lei.snu.ac.kr/english/pages/SD00019_00.jsp
I work full time so money's not an issue, but I live in Pundang, Sunae-dong, and travelling to SNU twice a week is a long haul for me (3 hours travel plus three hours classtime per session). Before I commit so much time and money to this course I'd really like to know if it's worth my while. What's the quality of the tuition like and is it well structured? |
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Drew345
Joined: 24 May 2005
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:30 am Post subject: |
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I studied there for a couple of semesters. It was structured fine. The classes have about 10 or 12 students but there is good pair work in every class. They wrote there own book and it seems well organized.
One complaint is that I think they cut a class down to 2 days a week by reducing the in class practice time, while maintaining the continuous march to the next "grammar point". But I think every class that meets twice a week will be guilty of this.
The other complaint would be that since everyone in the class speaks English, there will invariable be talking in English going on, and a few people asking irrelevant questions "about" the language. I found I was much happier once I started studying with a bunch of Japanese students and English was eliminated from the class. Again, not the schools fault, they try to keep it Korean only.
The first semester will be learning the alphabet, time, dates, prices, etc. Certainly no problem to start there the first semester anyway. |
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zpeanut
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Location: Pohang, Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:55 am Post subject: |
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I completed a course at Choengju University where the SNU text was used. The text was good. Can't help you with the classes tho..
but I wouldn't be too worried about SNU, it IS the best university in Korea.
Three hours travel time is a killer! Will you be able to keep it up?
I guess you could use the travel time for study... but the days when I get tired.. |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:24 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the comments thus far guys; very useful. Anyone else want to weigh in? |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:05 am Post subject: |
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So, it's not as though you will meet future SNU contacts so become wealthy through association with them nor be able to flick the Graduation Student of SNU paper around at interviews to automagically get the crusty jobs?
Do they charge more than other places? I found KLA the best and as someone above said, with four male Japanese students. I didn't hear them speak Japanese once. |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Actually the biggest problem is a logistical one. I finish work at 5 and the SNU evening classes start at 6.30. I did a 'dry run' the other day and made it to SNU with maybe 10 minutes to spare. All the unis are in Seoul (I'm in Pundang, Sunae-dong) so there's no point signing up at Seogang or Yonsei as they're even further away and I'd never make it to classes on time. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| How do you get to SNU? Try looking for an alternative route. |
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i4NI
Joined: 17 May 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| PeteJB wrote: |
| How do you get to SNU? Try looking for an alternative route. |
I don't think there is a better way. I also have a classmate from Bundang and it takes her just as long.
I attend the day classes btw, if you have any questions let me know. I'm very satisfied with the teaching and the courses. |
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Hank the Iconoclast
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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| zpeanut wrote: |
I completed a course at Choengju University where the SNU text was used. The text was good. Can't help you with the classes tho..
but I wouldn't be too worried about SNU, it IS the best university in Korea.
Three hours travel time is a killer! Will you be able to keep it up?
I guess you could use the travel time for study... but the days when I get tired.. |
I can commute to Cheongju pretty easily starting this fall when I move near there (if it all pans out), does anybody know if some of the universities in Daejeon use the SNU textbook? I bought level one and two and have done some self-study but I want actual classes. |
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i4NI
Joined: 17 May 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| The SNU textbook isn't so great. It's only good when the teacher knows how to properly explain the grammar. It doesn't go in depth into the grammar explanations so you'll likely need to get another reference book for that or pay close attention to the teacher. Level 3 and beyond in fact doesn't even explain the grammar in English at all, only a few will be explained in the back.The good is the book has many practice activities and dialogue, along with listening practice(cd needed outside the classroom). Also we use a practice book which is excellent. |
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curlygirl
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Location: Pundang, Seohyeon dong
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| i4NI wrote: |
| PeteJB wrote: |
| How do you get to SNU? Try looking for an alternative route. |
I don't think there is a better way. I also have a classmate from Bundang and it takes her just as long.
I attend the day classes btw, if you have any questions let me know. I'm very satisfied with the teaching and the courses. |
I should have been more clear - it takes 1.5 hours to get to SNU and the another 1.5 to get back, so 3 hours of travel in total (yuck).
My main concern is indeed with the quality of the teaching. I'm also not certain that the day classes and night classes follow the same format. i4NI, can you tell me roughly how the classes are structured i.e. aside from just getting you to listen and repeat, what kind of activities do the students do? |
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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 12:50 am Post subject: |
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| I heard from some friends that just did these courses that Sogang is better if you're looking for more conversation/understanding skills, and Yonsei/SNU if you're going for more grammer and writing ability. Of course all those do a pretty good job, just some slight differences in emphasis. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:46 am Post subject: |
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| I think kangnam is significantly closer than seouldae and there is a korean language hagwon there. |
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i4NI
Joined: 17 May 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:49 am Post subject: |
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| curlygirl wrote: |
| i4NI wrote: |
| PeteJB wrote: |
| How do you get to SNU? Try looking for an alternative route. |
I don't think there is a better way. I also have a classmate from Bundang and it takes her just as long.
I attend the day classes btw, if you have any questions let me know. I'm very satisfied with the teaching and the courses. |
I should have been more clear - it takes 1.5 hours to get to SNU and the another 1.5 to get back, so 3 hours of travel in total (yuck).
My main concern is indeed with the quality of the teaching. I'm also not certain that the day classes and night classes follow the same format. i4NI, can you tell me roughly how the classes are structured i.e. aside from just getting you to listen and repeat, what kind of activities do the students do? |
Yeah I realize the 1.5 hours thing, like I said my good friend has to come from all the way near Ori station everyday.
The quality of teaching is great in my opinion. All my classmates from what I know have never had any complaints either. As far as night classes , I can't tell you, but the day classes are structured like this (from my experience in level 2 and 3):
First hour - Go over the previous days assigned practice book, about 4 pages worth of activities (not as bad as it sounds). Listen to the audio cd as a class, and students read the answer out loud, encouraged in level 3 to just say the answer without reading it. Then the next 2 pages people are randomly called, sometimes by other classmates who just read, to answer the next sequential question. Depending on the day, another short activity might follow.
10 min break
Second Hour - Start a new chapter in the book. Listen to the dialogue, then read the dialogue a few times either with a partner or as a class or sometimes both. The teacher will go over the vocabulary words in the chapter briefly and explain the grammar with plenty of examples. Then do some practice activity usually with the person next to you. Then after that, you usually repeat the activity as a class.
20 min break
Third hour and fourth hours depend on the day really. Some days we have to do presentations, role plays, watch short movie clips, do an activity related to todays lesson. Then there's a listening activity at the end for each chapter.
You are graded on HW, midterm, final, role play, and presentations. Also too many absences and you flunk automatically. You can still advance to the next level by taking a placement test. I feel there's a good mix of everything; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. If you are starting at Level 1 I heard it's not bad at all. Also you can get a free tutor for a couple of weeks.
Also, from what I hear, SNU and Sogang are the best. Haven't heard many good things about Yonsei, including from people on here. If you just want to learn to write Korean and be in a more social environment, then go with Yonsei. Hope this was helpful. |
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Lynns
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:00 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, the KLA hagwon in Kangnam is pretty good! I've studied at both Sogang and KLA, and I think they're both fine. I preferred KLA because the class size was smaller, so I got more individual help and more speaking time. |
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