여러분 오랜만이에요.
제가 마지막으로 영상을 올린 후로 많은 것이 바뀌었어요.
먼저, 저는 그 동안 잘 지냈어요. 지금은 서울에서 살고 있고 요즘 한국말을 많이 하고 있어요. 그래도 아직 그렇게 잘 하지는 못해요. 사실은 한국에 도착하고 한국어 공부를 빨리 시작 했어요. 하지만 제가 고등학생이었을 때나 아니면 좀 더 어렸을 때 한국어 공부를 시작했어야 했는 데 말이예요.
왜냐하면 여자친구의 부모님과 이야기 하면서 유창하지 않아서 좀 부끄럽거든요. 하지만 저는 이대에서 공부를 많이 하고 있기 때문에 괜찮아요. 그 과정이 저에게 많은 도움이 되었어요. 앞으로 더 많이 배우고 싶어요.
그리고 요즘 한국 역사에 관한 책을 많이 읽고 있어요. 언젠가 한국 역사를 가르칠 수 있으면 좋겠어요. 얼마나 멋진 일일까요?
한국에 사는 것은 언제나 즐거울 거예요. 여기 있어서 행복해요. 다음에 또 봐요. 바이바이!
originally posted elsewhere
My thoughts on the Korean Language program at Ewha Women's University.
Someone emailed me yesterday and asked me my thoughts on Ewha. What a great time to write about it seeing as how class just started again.
I've written about Ewha before and I would recommend reading those posts first. Also, I recently participated in a podcast recording over at LanguageCast that deals with my experiences at Ewha. I highly recommend listening to this mp3 if you're wondering what it's like to be a guy at a women's university. UPDATE: link up and running ^^
But like other people on the internet looking for a good 오학당, I was disappointed to only find info on Yonsei (연세) and Sogang (서강). Surely there must be others? Like you, I was disappointed about the lack of info on Ewha. I could only find reviews of Sogang and Yonsei.
While I can't speak directly about those university programs but I have friends who went to both programs and said "it was good, but..." as in good for speaking but not for writing and vice versa. When prompted to speak about Ewha, I have only good things to say.
In my opinion, Ewha is well-balanced. The program focuses on all four parts of language: speaking, listening, reading, writing. The textbooks is in all Korean with a lot of supplemental material in class. This means that 100% self-study is not possible through the textbook itself - you must attend class to get the point. The facilities are clean and accommodating. The textbooks are cheap (under 50 USD for textbook, workbook, and study guide) and are clearly laid out. The homework is mostly relevant. The daily work is very helpful. The in-class speaking activities are especially helpful. I have no real complaints about the program. It's very comprehensive and is of the highest quality in my opinion. Studying diligently on your own and taking the classes seriously has a strong possibility to produce some seriously fluent speakers.
Of course the classes are available to both men and women as the language center is separate from the actual university. The teachers are well-trained and clearly take their job seriously. Don't expect just some native speaker - these are qualified instructors who value your interest in learning Korean.
Since the classes are small, having no more than ten students at a time in my experience, the teachers are able to address each student individually. This small class atmosphere also helps to build good relationships with your fellow students, whom I ended up hanging out with plenty after class. Learning to only use Korean with fellow students (who may or may not speak English) was a great way to keep me on my toes.
Now for the good part - have I learned anything? As of this writing, I have been studying Korean for two and a half years (coming from no prior knowledge of Korean) and I'm able to speak conversational Korean. My accent isn't the best, my grammar isn't always perfect, and my vocabulary is limited. However, it's a process and I've seen huge levels of progress since last year.
So am I perfect? No way. But I have noticed crazy amounts of improvement from the classes. I highly recommend anyone in Seoul to take classes at this language school versus a 학원 or some other language school.
If anyone reading this blog has taken classes at Ewha also, please post your thoughts, too ^^
Which brings me to the present.
I'm in level three (3) now. How did I go from level one to level three without going through level two? Not sure but I like my class. I'm understanding at least 70% of all that my teacher is talking about at all times which is amazing for me. I like my classmates and it looks like this semester will be a productive one. Now, if I can just pay my tuition on time...
UPDATE: Night classes are tough but very productive. I highly recommend taking a class or two. Worth every penny.
I don't remember where I found this. I ran across it about a year ago and I'm looking for the original poster. Either way, it's a great little grammar point. UPDATE: found it. of course it was by none other than the superman that we all know as 선현우
I should have gone. 갔어야 했어요.
I should have gone a little earlier. 좀 더 일찍 갔어야 했어요.
I should have gone by myself. 혼자 갔어야 했어요.
I should have done it. 그걸 했어야 했어요.
I should have double-checked it. 두 번 확인했어야 했어요.
I should have helped him. 그 사람을 도와줬어야 했어요.
I should have studied more. 공부를 더 했어야 했어요.
I should have studied harder. 공부를 더 열심히 했어야 했어요.
I should have bought that book. 그 책을 샀어야 했어요.The reason why I bring it up today is that I was thinking to myself that i should have started studying Korean sooner. 한국어 공부를 일찍 시작했어야 했어. I wonder if this is right?
Watch the horror here. (Alt link)
It's been a year since I redid this speech. Goodness it seems like years ago.
I seriously need to work on my speaking skills. Granted it's been a year since this post, but I was (unrealistically) hoping to be crazy fluent. Perhaps I am and I just don't know it. I'm the worst judge of my own ability because I honestly feel like I can't speak Korean to save my life. It all depends on your perspective. Sometimes I hear "wow your Korean is amazing! You;re so fluent" and other times I hear "You have such a long way to go".
Allow me to put my own perspective. If one's goal is to order drinks at a bar, say cute things to kids and say a few Korean sentences to someone who is speaking English to you in an effort to make them feel more comfortable, then that's fine. I have no problem with that. But that's not at all what I want. I want as close to native speaking as possible. I want to be able to realistically convey all major ideas and opinions I have as well as debate historical interpretations and the like. I want to speak to my parents-in-law without ever skipping a beat. I want to speak to my future wife in 90% Korean and 10% English. These things may never happen. But that doesn't stop me from studying. Part of studying is charting your progress and looking to the past in order to look to the future. I can honestly say I've improved tremedously since this recording which was in fact a re-enactment of the speech that took place a year and a half ago. Confusing timeline aside, I am confident that if I continue to study I'll get there someday. Or close to it. I have a long way to go.
As it stands, I need to record more youtube. The lady-friend is out of the country at the moment which provides me for a distraction-free weekend that might actually produce a video. Fingers crossed.
The video makes this song five times more cute. Watch it now.
아~당근쏭!
Ah~ Ah~Ah~ carrot song!
나 보고싶니? 당근
do you miss me? (carrot!)* but it sounds like 'of course!' - kind of like a play on words
나 생각나니? 당근
do you remember me? of course!
알러뷰 유럽미 당근당근당근
I love you, you love me.. of course!
나 좋아하니? 당근
Do you like me? of course!
나 사랑하니? 당근
do you love me? of course!
알러뷰유럽미 당근당근당근
I love you... you love me.. of course!
너 변하지마 당근
Don't ever change.. of course!
언제까지나 당근
Never ever.. of course!
좋아해 좋아해 당근당근당근
I like you.. I like you.. of course!
늘 행복해요 당근
I am always happy! of course!
늘 즐거워요 당근
I am always joyful! of course!
사랑해 사랑해 당근~쏭
I love you.. carrot song!
때로는 짜증나고 때로는 힘들어도
When you are tired or annoyed,
너에곁에 언제나 웃고 있는 날 생각해
think about me who is beside you always happy and smiling.
때로는 슬퍼지고 때로는 외로워도
When you are sad or lonely,
너의곁에 언제나 함께하는 나를 생각해
just think about me who is beside you always happy and smiling.
This one is super cute and demands its own wikipedia page. Find the mp3 somewhere and smile.
산토끼 토끼야
Mountain bunny
어디를 가느냐
Where are you going?
깡충깡충 뛰면서
hopping (hoppity) as you run
어디를 가느냐
where are you off to?
산고개 고개를
mountain peaks
나 혼자 넘어서
I climb them by myself
토실토실 알밤을
Plump (juicy) chestnuts
주워서 올테야
I'll find and bring them
Yeah okay. Children's books to children's songs. Not the most creative step but hey I'm trying, right?
곰 세마리가
Three Bears
곰 세마리가 한 집에 있어
Three bears are in a house
아빠 곰 엄마 곰 애기 곰
Daddy bear, Momma bear and baby bear
아빠 곰은 뚱뚱해
Daddy Bear is fat
엄마 곰은 날씬해
Momma bear is skinny
애기 곰은 너무 귀여워
Baby bear is so cute
으쓱 으쓱 잘한다
Oh boy! They all do well!
