Yonsei Korean

[maxiewawa]

I'm working my way through Yonsei Korean's textbook. It's ok, lots of pretty pictures, but it's a little confusing. There's very little English at all. There are almost no definitions, which is difficult.

For example, we are told in unit 2 that the word for "large" is "끄다". Well we aren't actually told, there is a cartoon of a big bag. It has 끄다 written next to it. I had to look up in my dictionary what 끄다 meant which kinda defeated the whole purpose of buying the textbook but that's my whole point. Anyway...

Later on a sentence appears: 좀 끈 건 없어요? but no explanation is shown for the change from 끄 to 끈...

What's the deal? And is anyone else using Yonsei Korean? I'm finding it just ok... it would be good to have someone to walk you through all the exercises (and there are a lot) but they are entirely in Korean and hard to follow.

[John]

Hey Max I bought the "An introductory course in Korean" by Fred Lukoff from Yonsei University Press. It is probably exactly what you wanted to buy instead of what you have...I got mine through www.amazon.com

[steved]

The textbooks that I used originally were the "Speaking Korean" series by Francis Park. Here is the link:
http://www.hollym.com/product_detail.asp?idx=620&keyword=Learn%20Korean%20Language%20Speaking%20Korean%20Book%201%20with%20CD
I think I mentioned this series in another thread. I haven't looked at it in quite some time but now I think I am going to have to dig it out of storage.

[John]

was it worth it? It's a bit pricey.

[steved]

I have the first edition without the CD. The lessons are set up, as I recall, with an introductory paragraph in Korean and then an English translation. There is a new vocabulary list and then typically a new verb form. The first two volumes are pretty good, the third volume adds Chinese characters. I am not familiar with volume four.
Here is a link to an Abebooks search. A few sellers have some at reasonable prices and some are way over priced. I have had good luck ordering directly through Abe for hard to find books.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=francis+park&sts=t&tn=speaking+korean&x=28&y=21

[John]

Cool I'll check it out thx.

[steved]

Max, I think you are confusing the verb 크다 (to be big) and 끄다 (to turn off). But I knew what you meant .
크다 changes to 큰 (건) when it becomes an adjective, here modifying 것 (thing). 건 is a contraction of 것은. So it becomes "big thing": "Don't you have a little bigger one (thing)?" Does that make sense?

[maxiewawa]

Hey thanks Steved선생님 that makes a lot of sense. 감사합니다!

[javiskefka]

it's because the Yonsei textbooks are designed to be used by English, Japanese, as well as Chinese speakers.

[the_haunted_boy]

http://www.hanbooks.com/yoko1envewcd.html
Here is an English version of that book,
Tell me how it is, I never read it, my friend has it, but she wont let me borrow it until she finishes, and she reads slow.

[boatdrinks]

Try 'Integrated Korean: beginning 1' by Hawaii University Press.

It gives English explanations throughout the text as well as plenty of examples of usage in Korean.