Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jomiro]

hey there,

i would like to return to studying korean. i'm currently at beginner level 2, i would say and therefore i was wondering, if you could recommend me any books.
i'm specifically looking for a book that explains grammar well and has good vocabulary lists. since it will be self studies i'm engaging in, i won't have an opportunity to ask a teacher or seek someones help. the place i live in now is literally free of korean. therefore good explanations in the grammar section are very important.
also, i was thinking about getting a work book.

i have previously used the ganada books but wasn't too happy with them. the grammar section is not really good and therefore i had a harder time to understand it than actually necessary.. the fact i liked about them were the cd's they had included. was a pretty good exercise for listening comprehension.

should you know of a book that fits my purpose, please tell me. id greatly appreciate you help.
i'm currently not in korea anymore and therefore it is kind of hard to figure out adequate literature. hence i'm asking you for your help.

thanks a lot!

s.

[duke of new york]

The best one I have seen is the Integrated Korean series <http://www.amazon.com/Integrated-Korean-Beginning-Textbooks-Language/dp/0824834402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320175334&sr=8-1>. They move pretty slowly, and the grammar explanations are thorough and easy to understand. There is a web site with audio of all the conversations and reading passages used in the book, as well as the vocabulary list for each chapter. There's also a supplementary workbook that you can get that follows the lessons in the book.

[FloridaGator314]

Is there anywhere in the Seoul metro area to purchase Integrated Korean in person?

[jomiro]

they have it at kyobo book....
at least thats what i think, since they sell it through their webpage.

so id go check out gwang hwa mun or gang nam for that.

[shostahoosier]

if you're interested in the Integrated Korean textbook, and you're having a hard time getting a copy of it, you dont have the buy the book right away.

The people who made the book have made a website: kleartextbook.com

The website has the grammar and vocabulary for each lesson from the book.

The grammar is broken down extremely well using slideshows (dont freak out, you dont need to download any .ppt files) and they have a vocabulary lists you can print out for each chapter (pdfs).

You can even get listening comprehension files from the website (the same ones used for the book)!

Obviously having the textbook is better as you get more supplemental vocabulary and culture lessons, but the website is really good and covers the same material as the book.

Its also helpful to have the workbook.

I've used the Yonsei book, but it's very light on English which is good for learning vocabulary but very bad for learning grammar. I've heard that the Sogang book is more enjoyable but I havent been able to check it out as they're shrinkwrapped and I didnt want to open a copy.

It's really a shame that there are so few good textbooks for learning Korean like you have with Japanese (Genki, Nakama, etc.).

[jomiro]

hey,

thanks, i will check out their site.
btw. integrated korean has apps out for your smart phone as well.
they are free.
i got them yesterday and they are pretty helpful in terms of vocabularies.
they have several topics and i think each topic has up to 15 words that appear on flash cards (english/korean).

pretty helpful for those who wish to improve their vocabularies.
they offer a beginner level and an intermediate level.

[shostahoosier]

[World Traveler]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=211989