이 지 투 리 드

[Epistemology]

I'm living in a small town full of pretty much nothing but young children and old people. I find it excruciatingly difficult to learn korean this far out in the boonies as I only really have a textbook. There are no classes for me to attend and the most korean i can realistically use is for buying and ordering things at shops and restaurants. the old people speak in a dialect so thick that its incomprehensible to me with my feeble knowledge of Korean right now(i dont blame them for it, though, its just the way they grew up). At school i cant use it, even with the teachers because one of my co-teachers will always politely remind me that I am being paid to teach english, not learn korean so I should do my best to talk to the teachers in English, not Korean, which leads to alot of awkward silences at the lunch table.

Honestly, I need someone to sit down with me on a regular basis and teach me, either 1-1 or in a class. the other teachers are far too busy to do that with me, so my only option is to move to a city at the end of this contract and take classes or even be tutored.

[SpaceRook]

I'm still struggling with reading. It's not necessarily 'easy' for everyone to learn. I just can't get my head around the letters for some reason, but I'm signing up for Korean lessons, my coteacher is also trained to teach Korean to foreigners (she's brought in some letters to help me practice) & I do pretty well at remembering phrases to get by in, which is what I need more than anything - to be able to communicate with people!

Don't feel bad....it is definitely not something you'll learn in a day, despite the claims.  I used to ALWAYS forget stuff like 워, 와, 왜, 왜, 웨, etc....  Even ㅕ,ㅓ,오,요,우,유,야,아 are hard at first. 

People who say they "learned it in an afternoon" usually mean they "learned the basic consonants in an afternoon."  Quiz them on the vowels and I think you'll see the limits of what they know.   

Here's a trick, though: start remembering words where troublesome letters appear.  For example, once I noticed the 워 in 원 ("won", which is written everywhere), I always remembered the ㅝ sound. 

[SpaceRook]

Honestly, I need someone to sit down with me on a regular basis and teach me, either 1-1 or in a class. the other teachers are far too busy to do that with me, so my only option is to move to a city at the end of this contract and take classes or even be tutored.

When I first arrived, I bought Darakwon's "Korean Made Easy" book.  My apartment was owned by an ajumma who lived on the 2nd floor.  Twice a week, we'd meet to practice English/Korean.  We'd basically watch the news and just chat in English for 30 minutes, then we'd crack open my book and start practicing Korean.  It was a great way to start. 

Most Koreans will *not* be able to help you by themselves.  They talk too fast and have no language awareness.  But if you have a book to go by, and they have patience, you'll be able to get some really useful help. 

[siamagoo]

I'm still struggling with reading. It's not necessarily 'easy' for everyone to learn. I just can't get my head around the letters for some reason, but I'm signing up for Korean lessons, my coteacher is also trained to teach Korean to foreigners (she's brought in some letters to help me practice) & I do pretty well at remembering phrases to get by in, which is what I need more than anything - to be able to communicate with people!

In college, I had Korean class every day, but it was second semester before I felt like I had my head around the basic vowels. I still can't pronounce ㅟ correctly. And don't get me started on ㅈ, ㅉ, and ㅊ!

Easy compared to Chinese and Japanese, sure. But Chinese and Japanese are some pretty hard languages!

It's soooo completely worth it, though. Just keep things fun and don't be discouraged!

[lvhtink]

Yup it's the vowels that hate me! Anything in my name or town I know, (&ㅟ) anything else & I'm lost. But we practiced spelling yesterday & I'm getting more confident...

[JABU NXAU]

the writting part is interesting too

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

Been here 6.5 years and still can't read the Korean script.  Hasn't hindered me in any way as I can speak and understand enough to get by.  There were free lessons at my last school but i just couldn't pick it up.  Would instantly forget each character the next day.  Same when I was studying Japanese I just couldn't get myself to learn the kanji even though I excelled in the class at speaking.

Kind of lucky in that I had a Korean gf in my first year so learned a lot about Korea that helped me 'learn the ropes' so to speak.

[naturegirl321]

I honestly still find Chinese easier to speak than Korean.  I've spent the same amount of time, yet can carry on a converstaion and even bargain in Chinese.  In Koraen, I'm limited to ordering at a resturant and even then it's sketchy.  I will say that in my opinion Chinese are more likely to heap praises on you even if you can say one word in Chineses.  It's the opposite here.  I've taken Korean classes and for now have given up.  I just finished another MA and am relaxing until the baby gets here.  Maybe next year I'll start studying.