How much have you ACTUALLY learnt from KC101?

[Alexis]

I'm not too sure where else to put this topic...

But I'm just wondering... how much have people learnt from KC101 alone? I know quite a few people here have been to Korea to study for a bit, or they've at least been able to take Korean classes at uni. I haven't done any of these things, nor do I have the capabilities to do so right now. But I still want to know quite a lot and be somewhat proficient in Korean...

Do you think you're really able to learn enough to have a full conversation from KC101? Since I only just started quite recently, I thought I'd ask what other people's experiences have been like. So far, I'm quite pleased with my progress, but how far can you actually get learning this way? I'm just curious...

Since I don't really have any opportunities to practice conversations with people, I'm finding a good use for my YouTube account! LOL. But something tells me that's obviously not as effective as having a real person to practice with!

[Keith]

I think Hyunwoo can attest to this! I think he's learned 3 or 4 languages from podcasts and supplemental material (i.e. textbooks). But pretty much all self study. But then again, he only sleeps like 4 hours a day. haha!

[Chriss]

I've learnt a lot from this site, especially grammar, but I honestly don't think you can only learn a language from one source, because different courses have different foci. For instance, I think this site is excellent for grammar and listening comprehension. On the other hand, it tends to use mostly core vocabulary, which gives you a good basis, but limits what you're able to talk about. So although I think you can learn a lot here, it's always nice with a little change and a different focus.

As I said, though, I feel like I've learnt a lot, and it really is great for getting started, but once you're above the newbie level and start to get a good grasp of the beginner level, I think one need to expand one's horizon a little. ^ ^

Might I suggest Sogang's online lessons? ^ ^

[Taliana]

Keith: It's the Hyunwoo version of 'sleep five hours and fail, sleep four and pass'! Sleep five hours a day and speak Korean, sleep four and speak every language in the world! XD


Alexis: I have learnt huge amounts from this site. Listening to 2 lessons a day for a week had me learning, remembering, and enjoying a lot more than a month of textbook/selfstudy books.

I agree with Chriss, the site is excellent for grammar and listening comprehension, but although it may only stick to fairly core vocab I have found that the Learning Center gives me a lot of handy things that I can use to not just bring everything together, but also to expand on what's learnt.

I have also found writing little posts on Lang-8 to be extremely helpful. Even if they are just one or two sentences, it's great practice and there are native Korean speakers on hand to correct you VERY quickly. If you post something, you will get corrections on it within hours. I've also had a horde of Korean users adding me as a friend on there, so that they can correct me every time I post. Putting together these posts, and getting corrections on them, has helped me tremendously.

[hyunwoo]

Like Keith said, I learn the most from listening to podcasts especially if I don't have time to sit down for studying. But no matter how good and helpful KC101 is (although I hope KC101 will keep getting even better!), honestly I don't think you can rely 100% on a single podcast or a single for your learning. Listening to podcast lessons has to be followed by some effort to try to make your own sentences (and make lots of mistakes and then get corrected).

That's why I think we should have more homeworks going on in the forums and on the site as well.

If you ask me about the amount of input of new Korean expressions that you need to get in order to really make your Korean better, I think what you can get from our lessons is actually enough (in amount) to keep making your Korean go up in level, but that is only if you use those new expressions very soon in your practice

화이팅!!

p.s. And 윤선, I think you're doing a great job

[matthew254]

I'd like to echo Taliana's response and add that "core" vocabulary is essential. Programs that claim to introduce a million words a day are doing just that - introducing those words. That doesn't mean anything in terms of reproducing those words appropriately. It doesn't take much to realize that introduction and mastery are not the same. I love it when a new lesson uses prior vocabulary because it reinforces previously learned material while introducing one or two new concepts. Coming from an ESL teaching standpoint, I applaud KC101 for their approach.

Might I suggest Sogang's online lessons? ^ ^

I must be the only one in history that got absolutely nothing out of these lessons - and I usually do quite well with self-study.

to each his own, right? if something works - stay with it!

[Alexis]

Thanks, guys! I'm going to reply to you all now...

Keith and Hyunwoo: Thanks so much for replying! I feel so special when you guys reply! LOL.

Chriss: Actually... a couple of years ago, I tried learning from Sogang's online lessons, but I got so bored so quickly that I gave up... I need something much more interactive to learn well. I'll probably go back to their site as additional resources, but for a primary resource, I just get too bored too easily...

Taliana: Yeah, I've used lang-8 a little bit, but I've sorta stopped for now... because I don't know a lot of Korean yet, I found some corrections to be extremely confusing and I simply didn't understand what people were saying to me! LOL. I thought I'd go back there, however, once I've gotten through more KC101 and just generally... learnt a bit more! ^_^

Hyunwoo: Thanks! ^_^ I hope I'm doing OK! LOL. Although sometimes I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I totally admire you guys who are learning multiple languages at once! I honestly don't know how you do it!!! In my own writing practice/s, I've been trying to write/say my own things, using the knowledge I gain from here, which is where your Korean dictionary really comes in handy! But it'd still be helpful to have the homework thing. ^_^

matthew254: Yeah, I think KC101 has done really well. I love, also, that they're willing to take on our suggestions and incorporate them into the course. I find the interactivity really quite invaluable.

Keep it up, guys!!!

[Taliana]

That's why I think we should have more homeworks going on in the forums and on the site as well.

YES! I totally want this, it would be great.

[Chriss]

Might I suggest Sogang's online lessons? ^ ^

I must be the only one in history that got absolutely nothing out of these lessons - and I usually do quite well with self-study.

to each his own, right? if something works - stay with it!

Yeah, different folks different strokes, as they say (really cheesy expression. XD) I got very little out of the Newbie series here before I'd learnt basic grammar, but they work wonders for a lot of people.

Alexis,
The Sogang lessens aren't terrible entertaining, I'll admit that. But as a poor student, anything I can get for free is good enough. ㅋㅋㅋ

[kyuree]

During the last 9 months I was able to catch up a lot that I somehow never learnt. Korean school just didn't work very well for me (plus that was aaaages ago), mostly because they always made me skip classes (since I was "too old") and didn't explain a lot (and 1/3 of the classes were playing...).

KoreanClass101 helped a lot with the catching up and now that I'm taking Korean classes in the embassy again (Sogang book 3B) there seem to be no new grammatical structures in our textbook that I didn't learn through KoreanClass101 already (and I think it's the last book of the Sogang series?).
I also learnt new vocabulary.

Well I guess KoreanClass101 doesn't help so much w/ speaking (and I'm the kind who has to be forced to speak...).
What ever happened to the video homeworks? You had them back then.

Also I'm hoping for the day that KoreanClass101 introduces Upper Intermediate Classes (like SpanishPod101 and JapanesePod101) - between the Intermediate and the Advanced classes seems to be a huge gap - at least for me .
And it seems that the grammar points are repeating themselves since this year. (But I guess this is off-topic...)


on-topic: I agree w/ the others, it's always best to have several resources

[gracielish]

Hey Alexis!

I haven't taken formal classes, just been learning on my own for the past year using many resources online. I've used Koreanclass101.com since last fall, and found I was able to form sentences a lot more easily and my listening improved significantly. I think it's great that the podcasts also explain a little of the culture behind the vocab as well, not just the English translation. Good job K101.com guys (and girls)!

I also agree with the others that it's good to use different resources.

For vocab, I'd recommend naver.com's dictionary which gives examples on how a word is used, not just the meaning. It's all in Korean, but the link here takes you straight to the English Translation search box: http://endic.naver.com

And if you can find someone to talk to via Skype, or a language exchange group, that will help a lot, since it forces you to make your own sentences.

Also, try watching some Korean dramas and movies with subtitles, which helps for learning a variety of vocab and colloquial expressions, and as listening practice.

[Alexis]

Kyuree: I think more video homeworks would be good, hey? I think the main issue I have with KC101, though, is that I'm nowhere near up to date with the latest podcasts/updates, so whenever I do the given homework and such, it's months after it was issued... I kinda think this is the biggest issue with KC101... for me, anyway, which is why I think posting our homework on the forum would be kinda good.

...OK I went a bit off topic there... LOL.

BTW what is this Sogang text book you've been talking about?

[maxiewawa]

Just listening doesn't work... You need to practice! I think Alexis has the right idea though, putting up videos every now and then (I gave you 5 stars for your last one!)

Luckily KoreanClass has enough people to practice with and there's always some homework assignment/forum question/message board question that is waiting for you to answer/memorise/whatever.

[matthew254]

BTW what is this Sogang text book you've been talking about?

http://wiki.galbijim.com/List_of_Korean_textbooks is this what you mean?

[Alexis]

Yeah, I'm kinda finding that since learning a language online is really quite a solitary thing, I need all the practice I can get... so videos sorta provide for that. ^_^ It also means I can get feedback from you guys! ^_^

maxiewawa: Yeah, thanks for the rating! ^_^ It's nice to know people are watching the things! LOL. It's also good getting feedback from people who may know more than me!

matthew254: I'm not sure... LOL. I've just seen people around here talking about the Sogang text books, and I wasn't sure what they were talking about!!