Our new apartment
On 28th February I moved to Bundang, and Songsu and I just dumped the boxes in our new apartment and slept on the floor. While I was back in the UK waiting for my visa for my new job, Songsu bought a sofa, a bookcase, a TV and most importantly a bed. (Oh and a microwave too). Already the place feels like a home, and we are both very pleased with it.
I arrived back in Korea Friday 23rd March (yesterday) and Songsu left for Thailand today. So I have the place to myself for the next 5 days *yawn...stretches luxuriously*
posted by Louise @ 11:25 pm
Hehe, nice little place. And nice to see an update! Don't you mean 23rd March, though? :-) Ah, Louise, I'm curious how you learned Korean. If there is any tips you can give or recommend material. Or mind-control tips, haha. I'm not in Korea yet, but hoping to grasp a fair bit before going!
Pete
Hi Pete,
Thanks for telling me about my mistake....I wrote this jet-lagged...still am!
Most of the Korean-language books are rubbish but there are a couple of good ones. The Seoul National University books are very structured and give you lots of practice with the grammar, the down side is from the third book on there are no grammar explanations. But by the second book you can hold a simple conversation anyway. The Seogang University books throw in more grammar and vocabulary per unit, but I find it too rushed for me...I prefer the small step by small step in the Seoul University books. However many people like the Seogang books.
The best thing to do is teach yourself the Korean alphabet before you arrive, (you can use the internet for this) and then go to a bookshop such as Kyobo bookstore in Seoul and peruse through the languange study books.
Mind control? maybe we should Kim Jong-il about that one! Class control? If you are teaching kindergarten, sticker charts leading to rewards is really useful, jokes and hugging allows you to bond with the kids (can't do this in the UK!). Reward systems work with first graders too, but by second grade they should be growing out of it.
Thanks for the input! I'll look for those books. Though I can already read the Korean alphabet (for the most part). I guess my vocabulary already extends to about 500 words, with some basic grammar to go with it. I've learned mainly from phrasebooks, Arirang TV, and watching Korean TV / Listening to music. Part of the problem is motivation and recalling things ;-)
Pete