My Korean Life #16: Welcome to Autumn - reflections on learning Korean thus far

*DISCLAIMER*

The below are my personal opinions/views and have no intention of communicating qualities, good or bad, about the program I am currently enrolled in

*END DISCLAIMER*

Finally we have entered autumn. It is probably my most favorite season here in Korea. The weather is comfortable and not humid, the leaves begin to change, etc. Anyway, I thought I would take this moment to reflect on my experience learning Korean so far. It's almost been 4.5 months since I moved here and about 4 months since I've been learning Korean.

• The expectations are high. This is somewhat expected as the program is marketed as intensive/immersive however, if you are struggling, it can be a challenge to find people able to explain concepts in your native language especially if you do not speak English, Japanese, or Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese/other widely spoken dialects).
• There is little focus on explaining things like passive versus active voice, what a perfect tense is, and so on - I think this is because it really doesn't make sense to do in an immersive environment where, among the students, there could be 5+ native languages. Instead, there is a focus on what I will call sentence constructs. Simply, how to make certain sentences using, for example, because or expressing hopes/wishes.
• You are given a moderate amount of time to practice concepts in class but it seems like the pace is faster than level 2. I'm guessing they expect you to practice a lot outside of class but some sentence constructs require you to disagree with someone or quote someone's speech. I'll say I'm not that creative and repeatedly use similar sentences with new grammar. 
• I'm also getting quite bored talking about the same things (school, home, my home country, self-introduction). Luckily in level 3 we start talking about more real world applications (finding a place to live, describing personality and appearance more in depth, meeting co-workers/students/etc, interactions in the workplace).
• More focus is being put on our pronunciation and intonation. During our review days our teacher has us memorize dialogues and gives us pointers on our pronunciation and intonation. The memorization is not the hard part but sounding like a native Korean is...

That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for more. Until next time.

~

My Korean Life #15: The start of my second term at 서강대...3급!

From the other Korean language learners I've talked to, they say that level 3 is challenging. The difficulty jump is supposedly large from level 2 to 3. So far it's been manageable but I find myself dedicating more time to reviewing and previewing compared to last term. We've actually just completed the first full week of class (the past two weeks have only included a few days of actual class). I'll give my initial impressions of level 3 so far...

쓰기 (Writing)

• The expectations just keep escalating - sentences are supposed to be long and prioritize all the grammar we learn in level 3. The more I study Korean, the more it seems like making REALLY long sentences equates to an advanced level of comprehension. Korean sentences can be very long due to the many ways there are to connect sentences together.
• There is only one writing book that we get this level (level 2 had two separate ones). Most of the exercises have us write quite a bit compared to level 2.
• We have two essays we have to write in level 3. This is the first time that we have a requirement to write a more formal composition.

말하기 (Speaking)

• Speaking class is fairly similar to level 2. We go over the days grammar lesson and then follow it with examples, the chapter dialogues, and various other activities. Just like level 2, we do a lot of "get-up-and-talk-with-people-at-other-tables" activities. 
• There seems to be more vocabulary...just judging by these first 3 chapters in the level 3A book.
• Our teacher said they are emphasizing intonation, fluency, and pronunciation more this level. When I say fluency, I simply mean speaking smoothly (no pauses, hesitations, etc) - not necessarily being highly proficient.  
• Today we got to socialize with other classes of level 3 students which was fun.

읽기/듣기 (Listening/Reading)

• This class is also fairly similar to level 2. The listening has gotten more difficult (the pace is more at what people might consider 'normal' speed). The reading seems to be manageable so far but I'm expecting it to get harder as the term goes on. I've been doing a preview of the listening the night before due to the new vocabulary and pace at which we have to listen. Since the book comes with a CD of all the dialogues, listening, and reading - one could preview pretty much everything before class. This CD is also helpful with speaking intonation, pronunciation, and proper speaking speed. 

Other notes

• I'm the only male out of 13 total students in my class. 청일점이에요.
• Some of the students in my class are really good at Korean. Some are bilingual or trilingual. 
• I feel I know a decent amount of Korean but still have trouble forming ideas and speaking. This may be due to lack of practice or a combination of lack of practice and having English as my first language. 
• I have met some students that have skipped whole levels (one that skipped level 2 and one that skipped level 3). I find this amazing. Korean in my opinion is hard enough, let alone trying to study in order to skip levels.