Aug 24, 2010
With a focus on practical language skills and cultural context, the KORUS House Korean Language Program offers a variety of classes that build skills in speaking, reading, listening, and writing Korean. All classes are of limited size and led by native Korean-speaking instructors with teaching experience at major U.S. universities. Classes primarily teach language skills, but also introduce students to aspects of the traditional, modern, and social culture of Korea.
Fall 2010 Overview
Fall 2010 classes begin the week of September 13 and end the week of November 29. Each class meets once per week on a designated day, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at KORUS House. All classes meet a total of 12 times. Up to two make-up classes will be added to the end of the session, if necessary; as a result, the last possible class day for Tuesday classes is Dec. 14, and for Wednesday classes, Dec. 15.
The tuition for each class is $240, which includes an in-class catered Korean dinner party at the end of the session, Korean snacks during each class break, free parking at the embassy, and additional class and KORUS House materials. Purchase of a textbook, available from KORUS House, is also required for each class (details below). All classes are contingent upon a minimum enrollment, and tuition is not refundable after the second class.
FUTURE CLASS SESSIONS: Classes are held throughout the year in fall, spring, and condensed summer sessions. To be notified of upcoming classes by email, please click here to join our language class mailing list.
Fall 2010 Classes
Beginner 1
When: Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm (first class meets Sept. 15)
Instructor: TBD
Textbook: Active Korean Vol. 1 ($20)
Description: This class is designed for those who have no previous experience learning Korean. Students will be introduced to the Korean writing system (Hangul), basic sentence structures, simple vocabulary and conversation, and Korean culture. By the end of the semester, students will be able to read and write Hangul, exchange greetings, count numbers, and ask and answer some basic questions. Cultural aspects will also be included in the course content, so that students may grow in their understanding of Korean culture and share their cultural experiences. Students are encouraged to speak Korean in class through different communicative activities often carried out in pairs. There will be short weekly assignments to review what was covered in class.
Beginner 2 (Section A)
When: Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm (first class meets Sept. 14)
Instructor: Sunyoung Lee
Textbook: NEW Sogang Korean 1A ($30)
Description: This course is a continuation from Beginner 1 and is appropriate for beginner learners who only have minimal prior experience learning Korean. Students are expected to be able to read and write the Korean alphabet (Hangul) and understand basic survival Korean such as exchanging greetings, counting numbers, and some simple wh- questions. The course focuses on developing basic conversational skills needed for daily communication using varied action verbs in Korean. Students will learn to talk about daily activities, use time and location expressions, ask and answer basic personal information, describe simple past events, and make requests. Students are encouraged to speak Korean in class through different communicative activities carried out in pairs; there will be simple weekly assignments to review material covered in class. Various cultural aspects will also be included in the course content, so that students may broaden their understanding of Korean culture and share their cultural experiences.
Beginner 2 (Section B)
When: Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm (first class meets Sept. 15)
Instructor: Sunyoung Lee
Textbook: NEW Sogang Korean 1A ($30)
Description: This class is exactly the same level and description as Beginner 2 (Section A) above, but meets on a different day of the week.
Intermediate 1
When: Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm (first class meets Sept. 14)
Instructor: Young A Jung
Textbook: Active Korean Vol. 3 ($20)
Description: Intermediate 1 is the next class after Beginner 1 and 2; it is appropriate for those who have completed both of those courses, or 1-2 college-level semesters of Korean. This class emphasizes practicing diverse settings of conversation, broadening vocabulary, various styles of conjugation including the future tense, honorific speech style, and cultural understanding of historical and contemporary written texts. Students who register for this class need to have basic level grammar knowledge including three basic tenses, informal and formal speech styles, numbers, about forty action verbs, and basic sentence structures. This class includes additional Korean cultural exposure.
Advanced 1
When: Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm (first class meets Sept. 15)
Instructor: Hei Sook Yoo
Textbook: Korean in 100 Hours Vol. 3 ($35) by Yonsei University, and class handouts
Description: This class is designed for advanced learners (particularly those with Korean family/heritage or who have taken 3+ college-level semesters of Korean) who would like to improve their Korean reading, writing, advanced grammar, and comprehension skills. This class helps to achieve a systematic understanding of high intermediate-advanced Korean grammar and to promote an active use of the language both in and out of class. During this session, students will focus on speaking skills that are based on a specific topic for each class, reading & writing Korean texts, emphasizing contextualization of grammar, and new vocabulary, including colloquial idioms, current terms, Korean slang, new Hanja (Sino-Korean characters), and other common Chinese characters, etc. To foster cultural awareness, this class are also introduces some Korean pop songs related to famous Korean poems, television news programs and newspapers, and other essential information about Korean culture using a variety of authentic materials.
This class should be suitable for students who can speak Korean well in everyday conversation and already know broad basic grammar, but who need to improve reading and writing with use of advanced vocabulary. For a reading sample and syllabus details, please click here.
Registration / More Information
To register for a class, or if you have any questions, contact program coordinator Adam Wojciechowicz at AWOJ(at)koreaembassy.org or (202) 587-6168. Initial registration for Fall 2010 ends one week before classes start for each session. Prospective students are welcome to observe the first day of a class which is not already full and then join if space is still available, but please contact Adam in advance.
KORUS House is located at 2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC, 20008. Free parking in our private lot is available to registered students, and the KORUS House is bus route-accessible or a 15-minute walk from the Dupont Circle metro station. For a map of the Embassy and the KORUS House (at location B) click here.
