Best Method for Learning Korean?

What is the best method for learning a foreign language?

Every time I sit down to study Korean, I wonder if there is a better approach out there.  I hear a lot of different chatter on different methods that are available to help foreigners learn how to speak Korean, or any foreign language, for that matter.

· Classroom.  Many larger universities offer Asian Studies courses and expanded foreign language programs, including Korean language classes.  The plus side to taking a university course is that you get the daily regiment of learning from a professor and speaking in Korean with other students.  The daily assignments will also keep you focused and help you progress.  On the other hand, the time commitment is pretty intense with an entire quarter or semester lasting several weeks, plus a minimum of one hour in class every day, making it unfeasible for most working folks, but very convenient for college students.  Also, there is the issue of applying for college and paying tuition.  Of course, you could always audit the class for no credit.

· Audio Methods.  These offer the convenience of being able to study a foreign language at times when sitting down at a desk or going to the library to study, such as while you are out jogging or driving to work.  They are usually pretty reasonably-priced, too, or you can borrow CDs from the library.  The downside would be that you don’t learn how to write or spell in the language.  For a language like Korean, being able to learn how to write in Hangul is very important and this element is lost in an audio-only method.

· Book Methods.  Basically, an independent study.  This gives you the benefit of being able to study on your own whenever it is the most convenient.  Books can help you learn grammar, writing in Hangul, and many provide cultural information as well.  The downside is that the conversational element is missing, and being able to hear a language spoken is just as important as being able to write it.  Some book methods have accompanying recordings so you can practice conversations and listen to the accent.

· Software-Based Methods.  These provide an interactive learning environment that includes writing, listening, grammar drills, flashcards, and some even have an option where you speak into your computer's microphone to participate in practice conversations.  This seems like a great environment, with the only con that I see being that you have to have access to a computer.  Many people swear by these computer-based foreign language programs.

· Immersion.  Totally immersing yourself in another culture is always a learning experience and by surrounding yourself with the language, you will be sure to learn a ton of new words and phrases.  The best way to do this would be to move straight to Korea and enroll in a Korean class for foreigners living in Korea.  This way, you will be able to practice every day and put the new things you learn to immediate use.  But, maybe this is not practical, or you are travelling to Korea to teach English and you want to get a leg up on the language and culture.  There are ways you can immerse yourself in Korean culture, even in America, before you travel.

• Make friends with Korean people.  This might be hard if you live in an area without a large Korean population.  If you are in college, see if there is a Korea Club or another student organization that is focused on Asian cultures that you can get involved with.  Or you can find a few pen pals that you would like to correspond with by e-mail, instant messaging, or Skype.
• Watch Korean movies and TV shows.  There are several websites, such as http://www.mysoju.com/, that offer free streaming movies and TV shows from Korea with subtitles so you can follow along.  Korean dramas are among the very best in the world and are very exciting to watch.  My personal favorites are East of Eden, Queen Seondeok, Yi-San, Iris, Athena, All In, and Temptation of Wife.
• Listen to K-Pop (Korean pop music).  Using iTunes, you should be able to locate some popular artists and download some music.  Check out the lyrics online and see if you can follow along with the translations.
• Read blogs that are written by expatriates, living abroad and working or teaching in Korea.  See how they manage on a daily basis and how learned, if they learned, how to speak Korean.

All in all, it seems to me that the best way to learn a language is to live it.  Being fully-immersed in the language, seeing it, hearing it, and necesarily speaking it every day makes it natural to absorb the language and understand it fully.  This requires the learner to arrive in a foreign country with an open mind, though; even though I haven't done this myself, I know that once arriving in another country for an extended period of time, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, lost, and isolated.  The danger with feeling isolated is that someone could easily keep to themselves and not venture out much.  Besides leading to what I would think to be unimaginable loneliness, the golden opportunity to learn the language is lost.

Some day, when we find the opportunity to move to Korea, I plan to take Korean classes at a special hagwon for foreigners (they have a lot of these!) and try to speak Korean every day.  For me, having my family there will help, but I would not want to lean on that advantage entirely.

Good Sleeping Weather and Death by Fan

"Good sleeping weather."

Back home in Minnesota, this phrase could often be heard when the weather started to turn a little cooler night.  Even in the North Country, the nights can be stifling with the high humidity and it often be too warm and sticky for sleep until late, late into the night.  Mid to late August means nights growing a little longer, daytime highs lowering, and an all around cooler night, making it much easier to fall asleep.

Where I live now definitely has had some good sleeping weather these last few nights.  It’s getting down into the 50s at night and with the windows open, the cool breeze throughout the house really makes for a nice environment.  I have awoken the past few mornings feeling very refreshed and well-rested.

The human body naturally prefers a cooler temperature in order to fall asleep.  The process of cooling down the core temperature lulls one into a comfortable state, making it easier to start catching Zs.  This is not folklore; it is medically proven that a body sleeps better cold than hot:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/cant-sleep-adjust-the-temperature

Now cool may be a relative term, with some people getting cold when it is 70 (like my wife) and others not needing a sweater until it is nearly freezing (like me; no, seriously, I would leave the windows open until it was single digits if I could get away with it!).  Either way, turning on the fan, lowering the air conditioning, or having the windows open can go a long ways to making it perfect to drift off into slumber land.

This is where my wife and I get into disagreements.  The believes that having the fan or air conditioning on at night can lead to death, a cultural phenomenon labeled as “Fan Death.”  The first time my wife mentioned this, I laughed, but then I realized that she was not fooling around.  I tried to reason with her, but no, Fan Death is real, she claimed, and we have to sleep warm.

Check out the website dedicated to Fan Death: http://www.fandeath.net/
The View From Over Here: http://smileyjkl.blogspot.com/2008/07/fan-death-watch-out.html
And Snopes.com’s article debunking Fan Death: http://www.snopes.com/medical/freakish/fandeath.asp

I can’t find much research that has been done on the origins of Fan Death, as most of the articles out there seem to be more concerned with attacking the logic than finding the root of the idea.  From what I have been able to find, it looks like it was originally exposed in the 1970s with the ulterior motive of conserving energy.  That just makes me wonder how much energy was truly conserved versus how many Koreans had to suffer though unbearable heat at night, terrified of Fan Death.

But don’t argue that with a Korean; Fan Death is real.  Now, I don’t mean to poke fun at the Korean culture.  I know that there is far more to make fun of in American culture no doubt!  But Fan Death is the one little thing that I can’t get on board with, mostly because I can’t sleep when it’s hot.

Anyways, the weather is good for sleeping now.  Sweet dreams.

Cooler weather finally!

Finally a day when it won't be so hot!  I'll enjoy sleeping with the windows open tonight.

Chug and Thug

New slang for everyone: "chug and thug," meaning to have one drink and leave quickly afterwards.

There is a background on this one.  At work, we use the word "thug" meaning to depart, as in "I'm going to thug out of here" and "let's thug."  It's very similar to "bounce."  So, chug and thug refers to chugging a beer and thugging immediately thereafter.  Not to be confused with "dine and dash," a chug and thugger always pays his own bill.  Here is the new slang used in a real-life situation:

"Hey, do you have time for a beer after work today?"

"I really need to be home by 6:00 tonight because we have something going on, so... well, I think I can make it for one.  I'll have to chug and thug."

Enjoy.

Mannerisms

Being married to a Korean and around so many Korean friends, I have found myself absorbing and integrating many little cultural elements into my everyday life, so much that I find myself behaving in certain ways around Westerners that is completely Korean!  Most of the time, I don't even notice it, except for when somebody points it out to me.  Let me elaborate a little bit on this:

• I offer and accept objects with both hands.  Everything from pens, cups of coffee, menus, cash, it all is transacted with two hands.
• I say "아이고" instead of sighing.  This raises a few eyebrows from people who either don't know me very well or aren't Korean.
• I don't mind sharing a dish or double-dipping.  I do make sure to check with someone, first, if they are comfortable with this.
• I hesitate before calling someone older or more senior than me by first name.  I feel like I need to add a 님 whenever I do this.
• I bow when I meet someone for the first time.
• I think American food can be too sweet, too greasy, or too salty.

These are just a few observations.  I'm sure there are more that I am not aware of or are subconscious.

Heat Wave

It is so hot outside!  They say we're supposed to cool off over the weekend, but I am melting away!  I get so irritable when it's hot like this and it has been absolutely stifling.  I think I’ll go off on a rant about summer, as long as we’re on the subject!

I hate summer.  I always have and I think that I always will.  Summer gets all of the attention for the best season: sunshine, sunglasses, pretty drinks with umbrellas in them, pools, lemonade, ice cream…

You can keep it, summer.  Except for the ice cream, that belongs to me.

To me, summer means one thing: heat.  I hate heat.  I hate being hot and sweaty.  Why is summer painted as the most romantic and exciting season?  I don’t think of long walks on the beach, I only think of long lines of sweat trickling slowly down my back and pooling up on my waist, leaving a mysterious stain on my shirt.  I hate it!  I can’t stand the heat, and yes, I will stay out of the kitchen!  Unless the air conditioning is on.  The only thing I like about summer is barbecue.

The thing is, I always liked being in school, so having all of that free time was nice for a few weeks, but then it was boring.  I liked camping for a few weeks, and then I would miss school.  Autumn is my favorite season because I like the fall colors, going back to school, football, the smell of burning leaves, apples, pumpkin pie, turkey… the list goes on.  I like wearing a sweater and feeling cold.

Summer, go away!  I detest you and your heat.

Top Ten Baby Things We Bought

#7 - The First Years Deluxe Fold N Go Diapering Kit

One of the first pieces of advice I received when I was a father-to-be was this: "Don't waste your money on a changing table.  It's a big, dangerous, expensive, and unnecessary piece of furniture that you can't re-sell once your child grows out of it."

Some people argued against this, but let’s take a look at the idea of the diaper changing table and my friend’s claims against using one.

• It’s big - This is true, diaper changing tables are big pieces of furniture that take up a lot of space in the nursery.  Any extra space in the baby’s room for toys, books, playing, etc. most parents would probably welcome in a heartbeat.
•  It's dangerous - Well, it could be dangerous.  You have to have a pad on the table so Junior isn't getting his diaper changed on a hard slab of wood, and this pad needs to have a strap on it so he can't roll off the table and get hurt.  There are two problems with this, though: 1) it assumes that the parent always straps the baby in, and 2) it assumes that the baby can't loosen the strap on its own.  If either one of these things were to happen, there could be a potential fall.  So, if someone were to change a baby on the floor, the risk of falling would be taken out.
• It's expensive - These things range from $75 to upwards of $500; that's a lot of money for a poopy diaper station!  I can think of a lot of other things to spend that much money on (like another box of diapers).
• It's unnecessary - Debatable.  If standing up while changing a diaper is important to you, you will need a piece of equipment that physically allows you to change a stinky while you are upright.  If you are willing to change while kneeling or sitting down, the table would just get in your way.
• You can't re-sell it once your child grows out of it - Most likely 98% true.  I would never buy a used piece of furniture whose sole purpose was for changing diapers.  I can only imagine the nastiness that has passed across its surface and have no need for this.

Considering all of this, we decided to try using the changing pad that we bought for the diaper bag as our at-home changing station.  It has worked out beautifully!  We have a small caddy that has diapers, wipes, and diaper rash cream that stays on top of the baby's dresser.  When it's time for a change, we pull the pad out of the diaper bag, grab the caddy, find a bit of space on the floor, and she is clean and dry in no time at all.  We clean the pad with soapy water once a week to make sure it stays germ-free.  Since there is always a floor available, there is no need for this clumsy piece of furniture in the nursery.

We got The First Years Deluxe Fold N Go Diapering Kit from Target.  It folds up nicely to fit into a diaper bag and comes with a portable wipe box.

http://www.target.com/p/the-first-years-deluxe-fold-n-go-diapering-kit-pink/-/A-13037055?reco=Rec|pdp|13037055|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency&lnk=Rec|pdp|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency