Rosetta Stone Korean - 1 Month Update

So, I am a month into studying the Rosetta Stone Korea method and I can already say that my language skills have improved.  What I especially like about this software is how it not only teaches new vocabulary and phrases, but it quizzes you on grammar, too, to ensure that you are retaining all of what you are learning.  I spend about 30 minutes per day and I find the pace easy to follow.  There have been a couple of times when I got a bit overwhelmed with a day's lesson, so I reviewed the same section the following day to make sure I wasn't going too fast.

I finished Level I - Part I with a 96%!

Since there are no accompanying books to go along with it, I am also keeping a notebook.  I bought a small Mead 5-Star 2 subject notebook.  In the front half of the notebook, I take notes on the new words and phrases that are introduced.  After the day's lesson is complete, I go into the back half and make vocabulary charts based on the new material that I have learned.  At the top of the page, I write the topic, then I list the words in Hangul on the left with the English words on the right.  I have a page for family members, colors, verbs, foods, clothing, etc.  Then, the next day, I review my vocabulary and the previous day's notes before I begin.

My only frustration is that the software does not explain the special suffixes that Korean uses.  Luckily, I can ask my wife what they mean, and sometimes we look them up in the Korean/English dictionary so it is all clear to me.  I would recommend anyone using Rosetta Stone Korean to have a dictionary, too, to help with this.

I plan to provide updates once per month on my progress- watch for more in April.

See also:
Rosetta Stone Korean
Best Method for Learning Korean

Rosetta Stone Korean

I’ve done it!  I’ve finally decided to give the famous Big Yellow Box a try and learn Korean through Rosetta Stone!  I just began last night, so I will keep you updated on my journey…

See also:
Best Method for Leanring Korean

First Impressions of Korea

The first time I visited Korea I was traveling with my wife.  It was exciting to fly overseas, even though the flight was a good twelve hours.  The announcements on the plane were all done in English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese.  For each meal, you had your choice of a Korean meal of a Western meal.  The service was fairly decent and the movies were pretty good.  We even got some decent sleep on the flight.  After we landed at the Incheon International Airport (it is actually outside of Seoul), we made our way towards the customs and immigration area where there were only two large signs:

KOREANS                             FOREIGNERS

That pretty much sums up how it is: Korea is a homogenous society with one language, culture, food, etc., and everything else is foreign.  That is what makes it so interesting to visit Korea as a foreigner, at least for me!  Everything is so different than anything in America.  Anyways, I remember seeing these signs and thinking, “Well, now I will be a foreigner for once so I will know what it is like.  This should be interesting.”  After passing through immigration, we collected our baggage, changed a few dollars into won, and passed into the large atrium at the ground transportation level.  For me, this was like passing into another world!  Everything was in Korean- Korean TV, Korean announcements, Korean advertisements, Korean snack shops, and everybody speaking in Korean.  I was so happy I had my wife with me, because it was a little disorienting, but amazing nonetheless.  If I was on my own that first time visiting Korea, I think that it could be overwhelming without having a good knowledge of the Korean language.  The other thing I noticed right away was how many people were there.  It was packed!  There were so many people gathered and I didn’t realize how sparsely populated America is until I experienced this crowd.

We purchased tickets for a “limo bus” that would bring us to the neighborhood where my in-laws live where we would be picked up by my brother-in-law.  The seats reclined on the limo bus, so it made for some smooth riding and we even caught a few winks of sleep.  Looking out the windows, all of the road signs were in Korean.  Everything, I mean everything, was in Korean!  I saw a speed limit sign with the number “120” on it and I just about panicked!  I asked my wife, “Do the buses really drive 120 miles per hour?”  She just smiled and said, “They sure do.”  I thought for a minute, then realized that Korea must use the metric system, at which point my wife burst out laughing!  It was a pretty good joke, albeit at my expense.

I don’t remember a whole lot else, since I fell asleep pretty soon after that, but I do remember these three things from my first trip to Korea:

1.      Everything is different from America.

2.      It’s crowded.

3.      They use the metric system.

More adventures to follow from my trips to Korea.

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.