Learning Korean with Rob Julien

by: Rob Julien for TheYeogiyo.com | Learn Korean Online

 

Make Learning Korean Significantly Easier By Learning How To Read And Write Easily And Accurately

 

(Note: this page is the exact page from the online class, that's why it might seem like it's written as if you've already signed up for it)

 

Hey,

Congrats on making the decision to learn the native language of the country you're living in. I promise you, you'll never have a single regret for doing so - after 6 years of being here, the regret concerning the language I've heard is for NOT doing so - so you're now already ahead of most.

Anyways, welcome to the first class of the beginner course. Before we begin, there are a few things I'd like to say about this course (it's worth reading once, but if you'd rather skip it, just scroll down and you'll find the videos).

First, this IS a course and should be treated as such if you are to get the most out of it. I understand that being online, it'll be much easier to put off the learning than if it were an in-class course scheduled for a particular time. So I do actually urge you to treat like an in-class course for yourself. Pick a certain couple of days a week, alot about an hour and a half that you can devote just to this class.

There will usually be between 4 and 6 videos broken into "oral tests," "target vocab," "reading," etc. I urge you to not just watch one or two videos and then come back later for the rest. 'Cause we both know that just might not happen.

When you sit down to study a class, go through all the videos if you can, as if you were sitting in the class and didn't have a choice.

Second, the first two classes will be aimed at getting you reading and writing. But after that, from the third class on, it will move away from that fairly quickly.

Although we will do a reading of the lesson in every class, and go over any of the rules we've covered, and any news we come across, the main point of that class will NOT be the reading, it will be to get you speaking.

Once the third class starts, I will almost never use English phonetics on the board. It will all be in Korean. I will certainly go slow and explain things, but if you haven't memorized the alphabet by then and are constantly having to look back at your sheet to see what character I've written and the sound it makes, you will struggle.

I've noticed again and again in classes I've had in the past that people who don't quite get the alphabet memorized in the beginning tend to fall behind in the class a bit, 'cause while everyone else is focusing on the actual lesson at hand, they're just trying to figure out what's being written on the board, and so are always missing out on the important points being made.

So after you watch this class, as soon as you can, sit down with the plan to lock the associations between the characters and the sounds into your head. The association when you're reading doesn't have to be fast, it just has to be accurate. The speed will come.

Then, the next day, review what you learned, and if you've forgotten a bit, take a bit of time and get yourself back to the point you were at. And on the following day, do the same thing. Put in the work in the first few classes and I promise you it'll help you get so much more out of the rest of the course.

Third, there is something I'd like to address. No, I am not a native speaker of Korean. I did start just where you are. I will admit that I'm not perfect. I understand that and want you to understand that I know my role.

This class is aimed at getting you speaking, and to a point where you can make sense of any book or class that you may read or attend in the future. I don't mean you'll necessarily know everything, but when a sentence is given to you, you'll understand just by seeing it or hearing it exactly how to break it down and be able to pick out the parts you don't know and ask about them.

But if you do happen to come across a point that people are telling you is a bit inaccurate, feel free to let me know about it. I have tried to iron out most of the wrinkles over the years, and have the lessons looked over by a Korean whenever possible prior to teaching them, but I'm still only human. Please don't call for be-heading or anything like that.

The first two months WILL get you reading, writing, and speaking. It'll work with a few of the most common verbs to give you a bunch of key phrases - both questions and answers - you can use around town, but the main purpose of the first 12 classes is just to get you comfortable with Korean.

It is a significantly different language, and so before we jump into the nuts and bolts of it, you need to be comfortable with it. Understand the basic sentence structure, how to form questions and answers, not know all of them but understand the way "attachments" work, and you need to get a working foundation of key phrases you'll use all the time.

So then, after the first two months, the class in the next two months will move into the nuts and bolts of it all. The part that I find most classes and books neglect to explain well enough. And that is when you'll be given way more verbs to work with, we'll get into different tenses, and you'll really begin to utilize and speak Korean.

I'll save what the following two months will bring, but if you're around long enough, I'll explain it in one of the videos.

Anyways, without further ado, happy studying - and remember to check below the last video to find out how to leave any comments or questions you might have. And please, remember that I am only one man, so if I don't get to your question right away, be patient. I'll get there. And I do have to say that if a bunch of questions come in all at the same time, I will give preference to the most common ones or the ones that I feel are the most pertinent to the class. Fair enough?

And away we go...

 

Video 1a: The Korean Consonants

 

(please excuse me for one sec while I change...)

 

Video 1b: The Korean Vowels

 

Video 1c: Reading The Vowel-Consonant Blends

 

Video 1d: Some More Writing Rules

 

Video 1e: Some Final Comments

 

So, there it is. I hope you found those classes useful. If you'd like to LEAVE A COMMENT (please) or ask any questions, you can click here to get to the questions/comments page.

And I'd like to finish off by saying (yes, one more time) that it is REALLY important - if you want to get the most out of this class - to sit down sometime today or tonight while the information is fresh and memorize the alphabet. I promise it'll serve you well.

And I'll see you in class #2 in five days,

Cheers!

Rob...