Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Morticae]

Hi,

I've been studying a little bit using some online resources and the Ganada Korean for Foreigners Elementary. I decided it wasn't really working out too great for me, so I have enlisted the help of a Korean friend. They are not a tutor, they have no knowledge or skill in teaching language, but he sure is good at learning other languages (great English skills).

1. How can I utilize the 'tutor' effectively?
2. What would be the best book that we can work through together?

As another poster recommended, I'm thinking about getting "Korean Made Easy For Beginners" for self study. I'll mix in online resources and get a decent vocab book to study from. That's my new plan for self study.

I know a native Korean helping me on the spot must be a valuable resource, I'm just not sure how to take advantage of that resource the best. I'm certainly not at conversational level yet. So I'm kind of thinking working through a book together would be best (Not sure if Korean Made Easy for Beginners would be good to work through together, I haven't seen it yet).

Thanks for any advice/recommendations.

[crossmr]

A lot of it has to do with how you learn.

Even if someone doesn't think they are much of a teacher, they may actually be quite helpful.

Most people who don't train to be language teachers are often unfamiliar with technical terms for various things, however they do know how to use those things naturally and can probably speak on them and guide you given an example or two.

What a native can do for you is:
1. help you ensure you're making correct vocabulary choices given certain situations. It's one thing to look in a dictionary and find the work for "try (v)" it's another thing to apply the correct one to various situations. You might ask him for help as to when to use certain words in certain situations vs other situations.

2. Grammar wise they can do something similar. It's second nature to try and translate things directly from English to Korean, but you're missing context and culture when you do that. There are certain ways that Koreans say things that differ from English.

For example, Koreans will often say "목이 아파요" (My throat hurts) rather than saying "I have a sore throat"

One way to really learn Korean grammar is to listen to Koreans speak english. The mistakes they make often come from direct translation. Translate their mistake back and you'll have an idea of how a Korean expresses that kind of idea.

3. pronunciation - especially with some of the more unfamiliar sounds they can really give you an opportunity to listen clearly and carefully and help you learn to make those sounds.

These are just some starting points.

In terms of a book, well, whatever feels right for you. I like "Korean Grammar in Use" for grammar, as well as "6000 Essential Korean vocabulary" which is based on word frequency.

[Morticae]

Thank you kindly for the suggestions!

I ended up getting 4 books. The two you suggested, as well as another vocabulary book and Korean Made Easy for Beginners.

Surely between all of these resources and 2-3 hours of studying a day I should be able to increase my language skills a bit.

I'll certainly use the tutor for a lot of pronunciation help! I've noticed if I mispronounce a word in Korean, many Koreans don't have any idea what I'm saying, whereas if they mispronounce a word in English I can usually figure it out.

[crossmr]

[UknowsI]

I have used two books, Practical Korean and the Sogang books. I found the Sogang books to be much better for studying with a tutor. The Sogang books are however not good for self study, so you would need an additional book for that.

[beison]

Good for you on learning the language!!

When I first started studying, I was going to a Korean Language class as well, and it was good for learning vocabulary, and some basic grammar forms. The thing is, if you want to really become conversational, you need to practice conversation. And a hell of a lot of it!

You mentioned how to best utilize your native korean speaking friend. Well for me, the point when I really began making a breakthrough with my speaking ability was when I made a very good Korean friend who couldn't speak english. If I wanted to converse with her, it NEEDED to be in Korean. Through that necessity, my Korean skill grew really really fast. I think that the best way to utilize your friend, is when you learn Korean from him/her, only speak in Korean. Pay attention to how they talk. When you phrase your ideas a certain way and they don't get it, try to notice why they didn't understand. Then when you rephrase, notice what you changed that made them understand.
It may be a little frustrating, but if you combine that with your own vocabulary/grammar studying (that you can do solo if you're dedicated enough), you'll see your skill literally shoot through the roof in a short amount of time.

Perhaps the biggest thing to keep in mind, is that Korean is a completely different language than English. More than just a different language, it is a completely different way to structure your thoughts. Before you can comfortably speak in Korean, you need to learn how to comfortably think in korean. And the only way you can do that, is through repetition. Good thing you have a native speaking friend to help you!

[jamo]

ww.talktomeinkorean.com is by far the best and most enjoyable way/site to learn korean....even comes with a free workbook and their videos are entertaining and sometimes even funny.

another way that keeps me committed:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=16629832052

good luck!

[Morticae]

Thank you for the additional comments.

@ UknowsI I tried looking up the Sogang books and it appears they are entirely in Korean, correct? If that is true, I see why they aren't very useful for self-study, haha. I will consider that an option if these other books don't work out well for us.

@beison As I begin to establish a small foundation in Korean I will try to practice speaking it! I'm always telling my students they need to speak more English, so I will follow my own advice while learning Korean. At this point I just don't know enough to string together a proper sentence haha. Once the grammar/vocab books arrive (out for delivery!) I will begin studying. Initially, I plan on texting my tutor friend with random Korean sentences for practice. Knowing him, he will also force me to speak Korean after I start to show signs of limited Korean speaking intelligence.

@jamo Yes, I have been using that website too! I enjoy it, I've done around 9 lessons or so. Some of the podcasts have been a little drawn though! And confusing. I was frustrated after the topic/subject marking particles lesson.

[goosechase]

I had a language exchange partner for a few lessons who gave me the book "Active Korean". She was a korean teacher at yeonsei and knew her stuff pretty well. I probly had false starts with about 4 or 5 textbooks before finally finding that one. It was by far the best, the most useful, the least "입니다" of all the books (any book that starts with 입니다 should be immediately burned imo).

Whatever book you're using, make sure you use the listening sections. It's generally the hardest, and also the most realistic. You can know all the vocab you want, but until you hear it used by a korean speaker and have to catch what they're saying, it's basically useless.