Language Learning: The Truth About Vocabulary Part IV

List Learning
List learning is the method of choice for teachers across the globe because it goes hand in hand with the translation method, so immediately you should be questioning its effectiveness. What list learning is effective at is getting vocabulary into your head fast. This is a highly inefficient method because what you actually end up learning is the list, not what the words actually are.
Think about the alphabet. You can say it from a-z but what if I ask you which letter is the 8th or the 21st? You probably have to count on your fingers starting with ‘a’. Or if I ask you ‘what’s the letter before ‘q’?’ or ‘the letter after ‘g’?’ You probably have to say a ‘chunk’ of the alphabet before you can tell me. This means that when you learn with a list, you’re using other words to find the word you want, making you reliant on the list to help you remember. So the time when list learning is most useful is when you have a lot of information and a short amount of time to learn it - and enough time to unpack the information from the list. Basically, list learning is best for exams. There are numerous ways to learn a list, one of the best is the ‘link method’, a quick google search will help you find out how this works.
Another time you need to put a lot of information into your head fast is at the beginning of your language learning, when you need to start practising as soon as possible. List learning can provide a solid springboard that makes you independent from writing things down/a teacher and it enables you to say your first words, phrases and even have your first conversations. When you’re starting out practise is much more important than accuracy, so it doesn’t matter that when you’re learning a list you’re not learning the words properly.
The best kind of vocabulary to learn through a list are the most common words, because you will encounter them more frequently, making it easier to detach them from the list. Another way to make list learning more useful is to learn words that are already in lists your head – the colours of the rainbow for example, or numbers. Numbers in particular are very easily learned through list learning. You encounter them all the time in real life, you can use them to have countless conversations and their meaning is perhaps the most universal across all languages.

Learning by Association
List learning, collocation and pronunciation all work in a similar way. They help you to associate ‘meaning’ with something else. When that something else is encountered (heard, read, said) the meaning returns and you remember and hopefully understand. Your memory and understanding is reinforced the more you hear, read or say a word.
List learning is by far the most impractical method, partly because it is inevitably used hand in hand with the translation method and partly because in order to access the meaning or remember it, you need to remember the order of the list.
By practising the pronunciation you are working on training your brain to hear new words better, increasing the amount of words you encounter as opposed to things your brain simply overlooks. It also increases your chance of saying words properly and therefore making you better at being able to distinguish different meanings.
Collocation is the most powerful method because meaning is associated with other words, multiplying explicatively the amount of words you use, encounter and remember. Coupled with actually learning how to hear and say the words by practising their pronunciation, this way of learning vocabulary is by far the best.
However associating meaning does not need to be restricted to these things – and it shouldn’t. When you encounter new words, phrases and sounds, associate them with the time, the place and who said them. If you really like lists then don’t write down translations – draw pictures of the meaning, draw someone who would say the word or write down a short phrase that is related to the meaning. By taking this little bit of extra effort at the time of learning, you will be reinforce your memory and gain a much deeper understanding of what the words actually mean and how you should use them.

Language Learning: The Truth About Vocabulary Part III

Continued From Part II

Applying the knowledge – effective learning techniques.
Just because words are neither fixed in their meaning nor in their pronunciation, does not mean that vocabulary learning is now more difficult.
On the contrary, by no longer worrying about individual words, and learning words as things that change, you are now ready to learn two, three, even four words at the same time. Your listening and understanding will improve as you start thinking about words as sounds and not only meaning. And finally you will be amazed at how you can remember things so much more easily than before. What follows are some basic techniques to really improve your vocabulary skills.

Collocating
Since the meaning of a word is not just contained within that word, you should avoid learning one word at a time . Instead learn two or three that go together in a short phrase – at least one of which should be a new word. This can be done to learn set phrases e.g. for letter writing, but it really should be done with all words that you encounter while reading or learning from text.
This is called collocating and it’s a fantastic concept. Collocating means ‘placing with’ and that’s exactly what you do – with new vocabulary. You choose a word that is new and you feel is important. Then attach a few words to it to make a short phrase with as much meaning as possible. Make sure those other words are ones that you are familiar with.
From a text (book, article, poem etc.) just remember the sentence it’s in, if it’s in a longer sentence, remember the qualifiersQualifiers are anything like adjectives or adverbs. If the new word is ‘dress’ in this sentence: ‘she was wearing a red dress that night’ - learn ‘red dress’ as part of your studies, not just ‘dress’. it comes with. Do the same for vocabulary from a conversation/lecture. Obviously don’t write the whole sentence, just the words that go around the one you want to learn, and make sure that the one you want to learn is the only one that you have never encountered.

Practise Pronunciation
I wish I could say ‘this goes without saying’ but it doesn’t. Human beings are very good at spotting things they already know. That’s why there are such things as confirmation bias, and we see faces everywhere including the moon! The same goes for language – we’re very good at ‘hearing’ sounds we know.
Essentially we are trained to hear certain things – and as a result exclude other things. This is why foreign languages are difficult, they contain new sounds which we can’t just pronounce, our minds ignore these sounds because they are unfamiliar, and we sometimes never hear them at all. How do you remember something you haven’t heard? So when you learn a new word, or better, collocation, focus on the pronunciation.
Break the word down into its phonemes (sounds) and say them individually.This is a skill which improves amazingly fast, so at the beginning it’ll be slow but if you practise a lot, it will become very easy. Then slowly start saying them together. Say the word faster and faster. Notice if it’s hard to say fast, slow down at that point and focus on saying it right, not fast. Then get a native speaker to do the same thing. Look at their mouth, and see if it’s in a different position. Look at your mouth and say the word again. Once you’re good at it, say the word in a phrase. Then practise saying it loudly, softly, angrily, like you’re in love!
Then think of other words with similar sounds say them, make a little poem or rhyme. All this practise will reinforce the new vocabulary in your mind because you are learning to hear and then produce the new sounds. You can only remember something when you have learned what it is.

Language Learning: The Truth About Vocabulary Part II

Continued from The Truth about Vocabulary Part 1.

Lost Concepts
The first concept is that the pronunciation of words is not exclusively contained within the word. It actually changes depending on the sounds that come before and after them. The extent of this varies from language to language, but English is a great example.This explains why English is so difficult, because as words join together new sounds are added – these sounds are not written and never included in vocabulary lists
The words in the phrase “go away” are not pronounced “go . away”, its pronounced “gowaway”. Don’t believe me? If you’re a native speaker, say it slowly in front of a mirror and look at your mouth as you say it. Otherwise, get a native speaker to say it slowly to you.
What this means in practical terms, is that if you believe words are unchanging pieces of language, you won’t understand them when they have changed, or when you have to change them. Instead you have to waste your time completely re-learning the same word every time it’s encountered. By focusing only on vocabulary you also overlook the fact that the meaning of words is not fixed to the word itself, but the interaction of the word within the wider context. The meaning of an individual word changes depending on countless factors including speaker, volume, environment, other words etc. etc. If you say “I love my Mum” does ‘love’ mean the same thing when you say “I love cake”?
If you’re only focusing on the word, outside all contexts, you will never understand the often complex situations that words change in. You will be constantly confused about what words mean and don’t mean, and you will speak erroneously and unnaturally, even with the words that denote the simplest concepts.The phrase ‘take medicine’ is almost never said by speakers of Korean or Chinese. They say ‘eat medicine’ because instead of learning the phrase, they just learn to translate the individual word ‘eat’ which in their languages goes with medicine, and assume it’s the same in English.

The Translation Method
The main reason that language is so misunderstood is because the translation method is used almost exclusively in schools across the globe. This method makes the appalling assumption that language is just ‘vocabulary + grammar’ and then makes an even grosser misunderstanding and assumes that all vocabulary and grammar across all languages is the same, it’s just that the pronunciation is different.
This is complete nonsense, and in order for a learner to improve any language skill, the translation method needs to be rejected in its entirety. Translation should never be used to learn a new language, especially not vocabulary. Instead, always remember that individual words change in their pronunciation and meaning – there is no ‘vocabulary’ in a fixed sense and meaning is dependent on many factors, not just words, which are simply one way of dissecting language. If you are able incorporate this knowledge into your vocabulary learning, and use methods that exploit it, you will have tangible improvement in all your language learning, within weeks.

Language Learning: The Truth About Vocabulary Part 1

Vocabulary? No Such thing!
Vocabulary learning is something that a lot of language students and learners focus on and worry about. Traumatic testing experiences at school might well be a major factor in this, but the main reason that vocabulary creates problems is that the division of languages into words is a highly impractical way of understanding – and therefore learning language. Once you understand that ‘vocabulary’ is just one way of understanding and breaking down language, as opposed to actual language, vocabulary learning will become infinitely more rewarding… and fun!

No words in the past
If you look at the most ancient examples of writing that we have, there are never any spaces between different words. Pictograms in scripts like Ancient Chinese or Egyptian Hieroglyphics are separated by image, and for alphabetic scripts like Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, the letters are all spaced equally apart. Through the lens of history, you realise that the concept of vocabulary is actually pretty modern. This is vitally important. When you believe that language is made up of only words (vocabulary) you miss out on two fundamental concepts and as a result can be terminally held back.

Saying "because" and "so" in Korean: part 3, the difference between 아서/어서 and -(으)니까

Once you've got your head round the fact that you say everything backwards, you won't be surprised to hear that there's another ending which also means "because" or "so" in English: -(으)니까(-eu)ni-kka. This follows these rules, but basically if there's a consonant (받침bad-chim / a written final consonant) at the end you write -으니까-eu-ni-kka and if there isn't you add -니까-ni-kka.

-(으)니까(-eu)ni-kka goes in exactly the same place as -아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo and also the order is backwards in exactly the same way. But the meaning is very different and this difference does not exist in English.

The difference

This is long, but bear with me, and I hope it helps you understand.

I was waiting for someone in the freezing cold, and I thought to myself, "how do I know when they've arrived?". The bus stop was further up the road from me, so I knew if a bus went by it could mean my friend had arrived. But I didn't know which bus and what time exactly. So when two buses went by, I thought to myself "My friend has arrived because at least two buses have gone by (she must have been on one). But she didn't arrive on either one! So the two buses actually did not mean she had arrived, they only made me think she had arrived. She could be on any bus!

And then I realised: in Korean we would say 버스 두대 지나 갔으니까 친구 왔어요beo-seu du de ji-na gass-eu-ni-kka chin-gu wass-eo-yo / because two buses went past my friend has arrived because how the hell can two buses directly mean that someone has arrived! only one bus can mean that! (unless you can travel on two buses at once)

-아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo is used for things which are caused directly. It rains so you get wet, you're slow because you're fat etc. etc. -(으)니까(-eu)ni-kka is used when you think things are caused, or do things because of something. The two buses going by made me think my friend had arrived. It didn't cause her to arrive, because she wasn't on them.

This is a bit difficult to get your head around, but have a look at these sentences in English and think about it. Does the situation make you do something (-(으)니까(-eu)ni-kka), or does the situation cause something to happen(-아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo):

• Because It's raining, I brought my umbrella-(으)니까 because rain doesnt cause you to majically have an umrbella!
• I ate a lot because I was hungry-아서/어서 because hunger causes you to eat, there is a direct relationship
• He drove badly because he was really drunk-아서/어서 because drinking does make you drive badly - they are directly related
• The lady drove carefully because it was snowing-(으)니까 because snow doesn't automatically make everyone a good driver. but if you're talking about someone who IS a good driver, then you can use -아서/어서
• It's dangerous because there's lots of snow--아서/어서 because snow DOES make driving dangerous
• She's beautiful because she has big eyesBOTH!!!! hahaha

I included the last one to show that both are possible in some cases. If her big eyes are the cause of her beauty, then we use -아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo but if her big eyes make you think she's beautiful (but she isn't according to everyone) then we can use -(으)니까(-eu)ni-kka.

As with anything complicated like this, to learn the difference and use these things properly, it just takes time. I've been speaking Korean for a year now, and it only hit me now, exactly what the difference was. What you have to do is constantly practise and think about what you're saying and doing.

If you're still confused, read on, you can get in touch and I will give more details, examples and explanations

Saying "because" and "so" in Korean: part 2, -어서/아서

The second difficulty is the fact that there is no direct translation of "because" or "so", instead you have to add a verb ending! Craziness! (but actually you could argue that the word ending is a word in itself, so it's not that crazy).

"to rain" in Korean is 비 오다bi o-da / literally: rain comes. To make it mean "because it is raining" we need to drop the -다-da and add -아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo:

• 비 오다bi o-da / literally: rain comes->비 와서bi wa-seo / literally: because rain is coming

Be Careful! When you use -아서/어서-a-seo/eo-seo you have to change the verb a bit. Follow this link for the rule. Though actually it's just the -아요/어요-a-yo/-eo-yo ending with out the -요/요-yo.

So now you have 비 와서bi wa-seo / literally: because rain is coming you can complete the sentence by adding "I got wet" 젖었어요jeo-jeoss-eo-yo / I got wet.
after changing the sentence order, changing a verb, and adding and ending you finally have a basic sentence!

• 비 와서bi wa-seo / literally: because rain is coming 젖었어요jeo-jeoss-eo-yo / I got wet

Now practise completing these simple sentences, to help you get used to saying things backwards in Korean. To make it extra fun think of three different endings for them!:

• 뚱뚱해서ddung-ddung-hae-seo / because he's fat...
• 아침 못 먹어서a-chim mot mo-geo-seo / because she didn't eat breakfast...
• 친구 만나서Chin-gu man-na-seo / because he met his friend...
• 김치 싫어해서kim-chi si-reo-hae-seo / because she hates kimchi...
• 자동차 없어서ja-dong-cha eops-eo-seo / because he doesn't have a car...

Just like if you want to brush your teeth with your left hand, even though you understand the principle, and know it has the same effect/result on your teeth, you're just no good at it without practice. So you need to practise!!!! Start with very simple and logical sentences with simple vocabulary you already know and just practise saying them in Korean. Writing simple sentences like this is not nearly as helpful as saying them aloud.

Saying "because" and "so" in Korean: part 1, sentence order

Giving reasons / saying because and so in Korean is difficult for native speakers of English and other European languages for three reasons. The first one is that Korean people say things backwards!!!
When we give a reason for something in English, we start with the effect and then the cause

• I got wetWhat happened? (effect) becuase it's rainingWhy?(effect)

But in Korean, it's always the other way round

• Because it's rainingWhy?(cause), I got wetwhat happened?(effect)

When you want to express any reason, causes, effects in Korean, you essentially have to turn everything upside down, and think backwards. Because your brain is so used to thinking one way, you have train it to think the other. Just try brushing your teeth with your left hand to see what I mean.

In order to practise, and I know it's weird, just say English sentences like one above with Korean sentence order. For example don't say "he's slow because he's fat" say "Becuase he's fat, he's slow". How do you change this one? "He's Korean because he has a Korean passport". Try doing this with as many things as you can think of.

Things are going to get a lot more complicated, so once you've got your head round how to say things backwards in English, continue on to the next bit Saying "because" or "so" with "-서/해서"

Bring and Take - 가지고 오다/가다

In Korean there is no one word for "bring" or "take". This actually means Korean people find this difficult in English and non-Koreans also find it a little confusing in Korean. In Korea a combination of 가다/오다ga-da/o-da (go/come) with 가지다ga-ji-da (have, possess, own) is used. No points for guessing which combination means "bring" or "take"!

• 책(을) 집에 가지고 갔어요check-(eul) jip-e ga-ji-go gass-eo-yo / I took the book home (this means the speaker is NOT at home)
• 책(을) 집에 가지고 왔어요check-(eul) jip-e ga-ji-go wass-eo-yo / I brought the book home (this means the speaker IS at home)

In both examples 가지다ga-ji-da drops the -다-da and attaches -고-go. -고-go really means "and" so the ultra-literal meaning of this phrase, rather than being bring or take, is I possessed the book and came/went.

In English we can say "I brought the book home" when we are not at home, but because Korean contains the words come and go we have to be precise. If we are in the same place we brought the thing, it's got to be 가지고 오다ga-ji-go o-da and if we are not in the same place we have to use 가지고 가다ga-ji-go o-da.

• (here you are NOT in the library)책(을) 도서관에 가지고 갔어요check-(eul) do-seo-gwan-e ga-ji-go gass-eo-yo / I took the book to the library
• (here you are IN the library)책(을) 도서관에 가지고 왔어요check-(eul) do-seo-gwan-e ga-ji-go wass-eo-yo / I brought the book library

Why is Korean architecture so unappealing?

From the outside they are angular, grey cubes, filled with oversized, opaque windows. Inside, glossy and unnatural wood panelling gives no remote hint of imitation. Plastic flooring proudly heats the cold. But Concrete walls radiate it, and the heat in the summer. Metal-framed windows shut out the winter, shut out the seasons. Modern Korean buildings are ugly and badly designed.

There are practical reasons for this. These buildings are cheap and easy to construct. Rapidly increasing urbanisation has meant people need somewhere to live fast. The booming economy means their inhabitants don’t need to worry about the air-conditioning and heating bills. But this doesn’t explain why modern Korean buildings are so ugly.

Korea’s Confucianist principles play a significant role. They dictate austerity and practicality, so there is no historically based tradition of building anything attractive.
Korean temples are bland compared to their counterparts in other parts of Asia. The royal palaces in Seoul are large and sprawling but show little aesthetic flare.

Korea’s neighbours, or perhaps Korea’s relationship with its neighbours, have also influenced Korean architecture, albeit indirectly. Koreans are very keen to distinguish themselves from the Chinese and Japanese. When rebuilding after the war, Korean architects outrightly rejected their architectural styles.

This also means that they must disregard their own traditions. China’s significant cultural influence means that old-fashioned Korean buildings have a very Chinese appearance, and apart from being impractical in the modern world, their appearance is inappropriate.

But Korean architects cannot look to the West for inspiration either. Japanese colonial architecture copied Western and European buildings of the time down to the finest detail. For a Korean, a quaint 19th century train station is a brutal symbol of tyranny and oppression.

Without any historical aesthetic tradition to draw from, and a total rejection of all other architectural styles, it is no surprise that Korean buildings are so unappealing.
Growing wealth coupled with unequal supply and demand, Korean architecture has become a horrid mishmash of any and every tradition. It combines a total rejection of the past with a steadfast continuation of Korea’s long standing principles and ancient beliefs.

Modern Korean cities are blocky grids, practical yet characterless. But don’t be deceived. Behind the endless coffee shop chains, past all the white and grey cars, inside the dull buildings the Korean spirit still dwells, stronger and more powerful than ever.

Guide to studying Korean in Korea

Courses
Part time courses are great for the basics like saying hello and asking how much. It's also important that you do your homework for them, because you don't get that much class time. But they will only take you so far.

Full time courses are intended to get you to a high level of proficiency in regards to academic work like writing and doing presentations in a university environment. Often they are based around the TOPIK test. These courses are much more intensive and will teach a lot of vocabulary and grammar as well as conversational basics.
You can get a 6month or year student visa very easily for the full time courses

Costs
Full time course costs vary depending on where you apply. The most expensive I found was Yonsei University (in Seoul) which was W 1,600,000 for 10 weeks. The cheapest(obviously not in Seoul) I found was 1,000,000 for 10 weeks.

Part time course costs depend on how many hours a day, and how many days a week. But expect a minimum of 100 000 a month.

Rent really varies, but I would say it can costs upwards of 200,000 a month for a crappy studio apartment in a cheap city, to probably a minimum of 350 000 a month in Seoul. Remember there's also a deposit, normally minimum of 1,000,000. And bills are negligible (max. 50,000 a month)

Korean life (for full time students)
Living In Korea as a foreigner is very easy, and Koreans are very welcoming. The university I attended provided excellent customer service and care, so if it's your first time in Korea, don't worry. The university should help you find accommodation and even organise travel arrangements.
Korea is a modern, first world country with all the luxuries and of home, like phones, fast food, clubs etc. It also has a fantasitc train and bus system which is affordable and efficient, putting the rest of the developed world to shame.

Part time work as an English teacher, is easy to find and you can actually earn a higher hourly rate than full time! At the moment the law says a student can work legally 20 hours a week. You will need all the necessary paperwork (criminal check, degree certificate) to work legally, just take them to the immigration centre and start working immediately

In terms of homework expect a lot. And I recommend you do it too. Learn vocabulary every day, and factor this as an extra hour after class.

Which university?
I attended an awful university and really wasted my time and money for the better part of a year. I would recommend doing 6 months and then seeing how much you're learning. By that stage, provided you're a motivated student, you can just learn Korean outside class!

To Seoul or not to Seoul?
If you want to live in a more globalised, modern, happening city with a lot of things going on all the time, then you should study in Seoul.
If you want a more "authentic" Korean experience and don't want to meet so many foreigners and perhaps don't mind a quieter old fashioned way of life, then I don't recommend Seoul.
I didn't live in Seoul and loved it, but some people really didn't and I can see why.

After your studies: working In Korea
To put it simply, if you're a foreigner there are three kinds of jobs available to you in Korea: English teacher, US soldier, South East Asian factory worker. Outside Seoul there are no other job opportunities. In Seoul there are a tiny amount, but they are extremely hard to find. You probably don't believe me, but after a year you'll see what I mean. Oh sorry I forgot, you could be a russian prostitute

Kyemyung University review: The course and Bad points

The course: Teaching methodology

To sum up the course at Keimyung University in one word is simple. Terrible. Before I joined the course I did not expect anything except the traditional teaching methods of Korea, and to this extent, my expectations were met. The teacher explains everything (grammar, vocabulary etc.) until they think the students understand, and then the students write and repeat example sentences. This is the standard from level 1-6.
Despite this, the promotional materials promise “speaking, writing, listening and reading”, in reality the lessons are structured as follows: 80% listening to the teacher “explain” things, 10% reading, 5% writing, 4% actual listening, and 1% speaking. This makes the classes incredibly boring, as 80% of the time is spent sitting in silence “listening” to the teacher.

The course: The materials

The terrible course and teaching is partly due to the awful Keimyung published and produced textbooks. Up to level 4 they use the same format of: no. 1 a dialogue, no. 2 grammar and vocabulary, no. 3. writing example sentences, no. 4 listening, no. 5 reading. And repeat for chapter 2. And chapter 3 and chapter xxx, and level 1 and level 2 and level xxx. That translates as the same thing every day for 40 weeks! I got to level 5 and we started using a new textbook, published by a Seoul university. But my hopes were soon dashed when it was obvious the teachers had no idea how to use it. They successfully managed to do the impossible and made the class even more boring than before!

The course: Teachers

In fact what I found the most surprising was the sheer unprofessionalism and incompetence of the teachers themselves.
The teachers see the (adult) students as little children, and treat them as such. We are discouraged from mentioning or discussing, politics, current events, history, literature. Even colloquialisms are out of the question.
This is only the top of the iceberg though. From the first day of class the older teachers pick which students to talk to and like, and which students to ignore and hate, carrying on like this until the end of the 10 weeks.
The younger teachers are generally friendly but completely incompetent: I saw a teacher actually wandering around the class doodling on a piece of paper, pretending to listen and take notes! Other teachers spend ages rustling through pieces of paper, or standing in silence for 5 minutes, pretending to think before abruptly ending the class when the clock hits the right time.

The course: Results

The abysmal materials and teaching methods are not just my opinion. Absence and lateness are common among students, 10 minute break time becomes half an hour. Many students fail the in-house tests and have to repeat a level. But worst of all students on the scholarship program who have to get a level 3 score on the national TOPIK Korean test, fail in high numbers. In 2011, after 1 year of Korean study, 1 out of 4 scholarship students passed. This year there are 60 new scholarship students. If the trend continues that means 45 of them will fail this year!

Kyemyung University review: Introduction and Good points

Keimyung University is the third university in Daegu, Korea’s 4th city. Situated on the Western edge of the city, the extent of the university's reputation is a beautiful campus and its pretty girls.
The Korean language course takes place in the 어학당eo-hak-dang, a privately run “language school” that houses a Confucius Institute and a recently opened Goethe Institute. Apparently the 어학당 is not directly affiliated with the university, but rather is contracted out to teach foreign languages to the students, essentially operating separately from the university. In addition to its international partnerships the 어학당eo-hak-dang has recently become affiliated with the National Scholarship program, becoming one of three centres where international scholarship students are sent to learn Korean before joining another university.

Facts and figures
The promotional material for the “intensive Korean language course” promises speaking, writing, reading and listening in the classroom as well as cultural events including trips and in school activities.
At the cost of ₩1,000,000 (+₩100,000 for registration) the 10 week, 4 hour a day intensive course works out at exactly ₩5000 a lesson. It runs from level 1 to 6 and you can join the level that suits your ability.

In the classroom

The classrooms in the 어학당eo-hak-dang are standard. There are desk-chairs to sit in, a whiteboard and a computer with a large plasma screen. Rooms are spacious, but the chairs are a little small. The university management is stingy with heating and air-conditioning, but this is apparently nationally mandated, and students across the country are made to freeze/boil depending on the season.

Outside the classroom

The 어학당eo-hak-dang building is a standard modern Korean building. There’s a small computer/hang-out room that closes at lunch time. In a close-by building there’s a small shop and “international lounge” where you can sit and have tea/coffee/snacks. There are also lots of cheap student-restaurants throughout the university. The area around the university is student friendly with a lot of cheap accommodation, student restaurants and even 3 foreigner bars.

Cultural events & class trips

Once or twice a semester (every 10 weeks) some kind of event is held for the whole 어학당eo-hak-dang. It’s normally a talent show, a Korean quiz and Game day or a Sports event. They’re actually really fun and everyone (except the teachers) gets involved. They’re always followed by FREE lunch!
In addition to this there are trips throughout the year during and out of class time to cities and places around Korea. During class time they go to places like 안동Andong - a very touristy city and 경주gyeong-ju - another touristy city and weekend trips to cultural conferences and international shows. The class trips you don’t have to sign up for, but the weekend ones you do. Everything is free!

to "close" one word in English, many in Korean!

This is perfect the perfect example of why Korean is so difficult, all the different words for essentially one in English. In English once you know the word close you can say: "I close my eyes", "I close the door", "I close the book", "I close the curtains". In fact the European languages that I know also use close for at least three of those phrases.

Korean is not a European language so it doesn't!

• to close your eyes -> 눈을 감다nun-eul gamda
• to close the door -> 문을 닫다mun-eul dat-ta
• to close a book -> 책을 덮다chek-eul deop-da
• to close the curtains -> 컽은을 치다keo-teon-eul chi-da

So these basic expressions are in essence harder because they all contain many words. BUT in the long run, if you put in the effort to remember these words, it will be easier, because 덮다deop-dameans "to cover", 치다chi-da, "to remove" and 닫다dat-ta means "to close". So you actually learn three words for the price of one.
Ok so 감다gam-da only goes with eyes...but this is Korean, don't expect it to be completely simple!

korean grammar: -다/-다가 2: -았/었다가

In the last post I wrote about -다(가)-da-ga on verbs. This can also attach to the past tense of verbs too.

• 시내 갔다가 친구를 만났어요I went to town and met my friend / shi-nea ga-tta-ga chin-gu-reul man-nass-eo-yo
• 버스에서 내렸다가 지갑을 주었어When I got off the bus I picked up the wallet / beo-seu-ae-seo nae-ryeo-tta-ga ji-gap-eul ju-weoss-eo-yo
• 속옷 샀다 너무 저거서 환불청 구했어요I bought the underpants but they were too small so I got a refund / sok-ot satt-da neo-mu jeo-geo-seo hwan-bul chan-gu-haess-eo-yo

Just like on the present stem ending, the subjects have to be the same, but the difference is, that the first action is definitely completed. If something is completed there are usually effects: you're happy, late etc. you find something. So often rather than the expected outcome, another outcome is written after -/-았/었다(가)att/eott-da-ga. Otherwise why would you want to transfer the narrative/story/action to something else?

This ending in these cases is a little harder to understand, because our past tense is more about the past than completion. The important thing to remember is that the first action is 100% complete. This is why it is important not learn this ending as "I was... when...".

korean grammar: -다/-다가 1

In the last post I wrote about the ending -에다(가)ae-da-ga attaching to nouns to show that something has changed place, or has been transferred, in order to emphasize that it is a new place.

This ending -다(가)-da-ga can also be attached to verbs to show that there is a change of action. When you tell a story often, the action shifts from one event to another. The final event is the more iportant one.

• 집에 가다가 넘어졌어요jip-e ga-da-ga neom-eo-jeoss-eo-yo -> He was on his way home when he fell over
• 숙제 하다가 잠들었어요sur-je ha-da-ga jam-deul-eoss-eo-yo -> I was doing my homework when I fell asleep
• 납동생이 담배 다녀 가다가 선생님한테 잡혔어요nam-dong-seng-i dam-pe dan-yeo ga-da-ga seon-seng-nim-han-tae jap-hyeoss-eo-yo -> My little brother was going around with cigarettes when he was caught by his teacher

The important thing to remember about this ending that the first action is not complete, it was ongoing when you did something else. Often it can be translated as I was...-ing when I... But remember that the subject has to be the same:

• 비 오다가 일어났어요bi o-da-ga ir-eo-nass-eo-yo / It was raining when I woke up THIS IS WRONG!!!!
but you can say
• 잠 자다가 일어났어요jam ja-da-ga ir-eo-nass-eo-yo / I was sleeping when I woke up The subjects are the same

Just as with -에다(가)ae-da-ga on nouns, -에다(가)ae-da-ga on verbs, shows that there is a shift from one thing to another, but rather than it being in space, it is in action.

And finally translate it as "I was...-ing when I..." but please remember it doesn't mean this exactly. Just remember that it means a shift and a move from one thing to another.

korean grammar: 에다/에다가

This ending can be seen as an extension of 에-ae. 에-ae is used to indicate a location, either one where you are now, or where you are going, or where you are putting something:

• 집에 있어요jip-ae iss-eo-yo ->Im at home
• 집에 가어요jip-ae ga-yo -> I'm going home
• 가방을 집에 두고 놓았어요ga-bang-eul jip-ae du-go no-ass-eo-yo ->I put my bag in the house

In the first example it indicates place, so there is no movement. In the second you are moving yourself to one place. But in third sentence you move something from one place to another. It's here that you can add 에다(가)-ae-da-ga to the 에-ae.

If you want to stress that you have transferred something from on place to another, rather than just put it somewhere different, you use -다(가)da-ga. So for third example you're kind of saying "the bag was outside, but I put it inside the house".

• 김치 냉장고에다 놓았어요kim-chi neng-jang-go-ae-da sd-ass-eo-yo ->I put the kimchi into the fridge
• 책을 책상 위에다가 놓았어요chek-eul chek-sang wi-ae-da-ga noa-ass-eo-yo ->I put the book on the top of the table
• 책에다가 번호를 적어 놓았어요chek-ae-da-ga beon-ho-reul jeok-eo no-ass-eo-yo ->I wrote the number down into the book

This ending really stresses there is a change of place to a new, clearly defined place. It's grammatical name is the "transferentative" and is also found on verbs, doing pretty much the same thing.

Useful Korean phrases: (으)나 마나

In Korea people are very considerate so when you're meeting Korean friends it can take a long time to decide where to go and what to do, because they don't want to offend you. Of course you don't want to offend them but you don't know about Korea as much as they do so a very useful phrase to say is "it doesn't matter" or "it makes no difference" "it's the same" and even "I don't mind" if they suggest something.

In Korean it's the form -(으)나 마나-eu-na mana And it attaches to the stem of the verb like this 먹다meog-da -> 먹으나 마나meog-eu-na mana or 보다bo-da -> 보나 마나bo-na ma-na. You can either finish the sentence with this form by adding -요-yoor say make a little comment after it (look at the examples below):

• 먼저 은행 가나 마나요meon-jeo eun-heng ga-na ma-na-yo -> It doesn't matter if you we go to the bank first
• 일어나나 마나요i-reo-na ma-na-yo -> It makes no difference if I wake up or don't wake up
• 내일 오나 마나 또같아요ne-il ona mana ddo-gat-a-yo -> It's the same if you come tomorrow or not.
• 어머니 말 들으나 마나 애들은 숙제 안해요eo-meo-ni mal teu-reu-na ma-na e-deul-eun suk-jae an-he-yo -> If doesn't make any difference if they listen to their mum, the children don't do their homework
• 약 먹으나 마나 계속 앞아요yak meog-eu-na mana a-pa-yo -> It makes no difference if I take medicine or not, I'm still sick

When you want to use this, just practise answering a suggestion like "let's go to the bank first?" or "is it ok if we go to the bank first?". Then when you're comfortable with the meaning, you can try making longer sentences

As a final note the ending -나-na actually means "or". The verb 말다malda means "to not do", so a more literal translation could be "either if we do something or don't it it's the same".

-뜨리다 make something fall / go down / break

As with 맞다 no one ever taught me that -뜨리다ddeu-ri-da can be put on the end of lots of words and generally has an overal meaning which is: to make something fall, go down, even explode or break. It doesn't appear in the dictionary on its's own.

Just note, that the word that precedes -뜨리다ddeu-ri-da must be put in it's 아/어/여 form (look at the examples below).

• 터지다teo-ji-da / explode->터뜨리다teo-ddeu-rida/make something explode, let off
• 떨어지다ddeo-reo-jida / fall down->떨어뜨리다ddeo-reo-ddeu-rida / make fall down/drop
• 무너지다mun-eo-jida / collapse->무너뜨리다mu-neo-ddeu-rida / make collapse
• 넘어지다neom-eo-jida / fall over->넘어뜨리다neom-eo-ddeu-rida / make fall over
• 늘어지다neu-reo-jida / hang down->늘어뜨리다neu-reo-ddeu-rida / make hang down

Here are some examples which I have got from 100% non-textbook authentic Koreans sources

• 젓가락 떨어뜨렸어요jeot-ka-rak ddeo-reo-ddeu-ryeoss-eo-yo->I dropped my chopsticks!
• 폭죽 터뜨리다pok-juk teo-ddeu-ri-da->Let off fireworks (bangers)
• 다리를 무너뜨린 범인...da-ri-reul mu-neo-ddeu-rin beom-in->The criminals who made the bridge collapse...

There are many other words with the ending -뜨리다ddeu-ri-da, but now you know the pattern, when you come across new words it'll be much easier!

I've been in Korea for... / 한국에 온 지 ... 됐어요

It took me a long time to figure out how to answer the question "how long have you been in Korea?" properly. When I asked koreans how to say "i've been in Korea for 6 months" being the adorable little Koreans they are and rather than translating the meaning of the sentence, they translated the words themselve, and gave me: "한국에 6개월 동안 살았어요"han-guk-e 6gae weol dong-an sa-rass-eo-yo translating the "for" as "동안"dong-an / a word that kind of means while and for and during which is of course, fine, but not standard Korean, and not really what you say in this context.

Often the question "how long have you been in Korea?" Is rendered: 한국에 온 지 얼마 됐어요?han-guk-ae on-ji eol-ma dwaess-eo-yo This literally means "the coming to Korea time has been how much?" or perhaps the better way of putting this would "how much time is it since you came to Korea?".

So your answer needs to use the construction: ㅡㄴ/-은 지-n/-eun ji. This is a little complicated, grammtically, but it impresses people. So if you know how to say month/year/day I would recommend learning the phrase and inserting your own time into it.

Answers to: 한국에 온 지 얼마 됐어요?han-guk-ae on-ji eol-ma dwaess-eo-yo / how long have you been in Korea?

• 한국에 온 지 1년 됐어요han-guk-ae on-ji il-yeon dwess-eo-yo / I've been in Korea for 1 year
• 한국에 온 지 3개월 됐어요han-guk-ae on-ji sam-gae-weol dwess-eo-yo / I've been in Korea for 3 months
• 한국에 온 지 6주일 됐어요han-guk-ae on-ji yuk-ju-il dwess-eo-yo / I've been in Korea for for 6 weeks
• 한국에 온 지 10일 됐어요 han-guk-ae on-ji ship-ildwess-eo-yo / I've been in Korea for 10 days
• 한국에 온 지 1년 3개월 6주일 10일 됐어요 han-guk-ae on-ji il-yeon, sam-gae-weol yuk-ju-il ship-il dwess-eo-yo / I've been in Korea for q year, 3 months, 6 weeks and 10 days

Notice that we use the Chinese number system to count months, days, years and weeks. If you want to include months and days or years and months, just start with the longest one first: years, months, weeks, days.
finally if you want to give the short answer, which is much more conversational, you can drop the 한국에 온 지han-guk-ae on-ji / I've been in Korea....

The reason why Koreans are born at 1 year old

The last two posts were about the complicated way in which people count age and birthdays in Korea, but did you ever stop and wonder why Koreans are born at 1 year old? If you ask anyone who's been in Korea a while, the answer you will doubtlessly hear is that the 9 months the baby spends in the womb counts as 1 year. If you don't think about it, it seems to make sense, but give it a moment's thought and really is just total nonsense. Firstly How can 9 months be counted as a year? And if you don't know when the child was conceived, how on Earth can you start counting it's age?
The real reason is mainly mathematical, but has a lot to do with Korean culture too.

Korean culture is extremely conservative. Ancient practises, customs and habits have been fossilised into the fabric of modern korean society and they still shape attitudes today. For example In the 17th century some European sailors shipwrecked on the shore of Jeju-do were arrested and held captive in Korea for 13 years basically because they were foreigners. Not much has changed: just think about your friends with Korean wives! hahaha... Anyway Because Korean culture is so conservative many things which other cultures have forgotten about are kept alive. And one of these things is inclusive counting.

Before the invention and importation of zero to Europe and East Asia, inclusive counting was the standard. Remember Roman numerals? There's no zero there. When zero arrived a new counting system was invented and inclusive counting was forgotten, in most places, for ever.

Inclusive counting basically means that instead of counting from 0, you start counting from 1. And when people counted days, months, years, they used this system.

Today is Saturday.
Not counting inclusively, if I say "in two days" I mean Monday. Saturday is "0", Sunday "1" and Monday "2".
Counting inclusively Saturday is "1" Sunday is "2" and Monday is "3".
So that means if I wanted to say "in 2 days (on Monday)" using inclusive counting I would have had to say "in 3 days"!

It's exactly the same with years and if we count backwards.
It's 2012
Not counting inclusively if I say "three" years ago I mean 2009 -> 2012 is "0" 2011 is "1" 2010 is "2" and 2009 is "3"
Counting inclusively, 2009 is 4 years ago! ->2012 is "1" 2011 is "2" 2010 is "3" and 2009 is "4"!

So whenever you count anything inclusively the value is one more than not counting inclusively! Just like Koreans are normally one year older than their western counterparts born in the same year!

Although Korea doesn't use inclusive counting officially, it has been kept for counting birthdays, much like the lunar calendar is used for traditional holidays. So the real reason that Koreans are born at 1 and not zero is that they count birthdays using an ancient system of counting which has no 0 and therefore starts at 1.