Learning tip: Become Korean

[trutherous]

From my list of 'How to Speak Korean Like a Native: tips 1&2

1. Become Korean

If you are 'American, or German, or French, or whatever, and you learn Korean you will almost always speak Korean like a foreigner because your self image is 'I am ~~this/that country person~~ who is speaking Korean.' In order to speak like a native you must become a native, but you were born and raised in another country and your genetics may be 100% NOT Korean -- so how can you be Korean? The answer is in your heart.

I was born and raised caucasain, in the United States, but when I fell in love with Korea things changed; I would like to tell everyone here that 'I AM Korean now." If you ask me how that is possible I will tell you 'I am Korean in my heart.' Therefore, it is only natural that I speak Korean, have a Korean name, eat Korean food, listen to Korean music, watch Korean drama, attend a Korean church; it is only natural that I have pride in my country's history, her heroes are my heroes, her culture is my culture, her preservation and prosperity are constantly in my prayer. Her peaceful reunification is my heart's desire.

If you approach the study of foreign language in this manner you will find great success because it will no longer be a 'foreign language' that you are studying.

2. Learn the History & Culture

An immense amount of any language is tied into history and culture. You should become familiar with at least a basic outline of the country's origin and history to the present date. Knowing the great figures in Korean history is also very helpful; to think that someone might be learning Hangul without knowing its origin is almost humorous.

Likewise, the culture, customs, and cultural etiquette is extremely important in learning Korean language. For example, the very structure of the language itself is greatly influenced by Confucian ethics that were formally adopted at the beginning of the new Josun dynasty circa 1400. So if you know the "why" it will help greatly with the "how."

Just sharing..

나영훈 -AKA George

[timandyou]

Wonderful, George~~!!

How wonderful it is to share your insights with all KoreanClass101.com friends.

I must say you are almost Korean.

Thanks George~~~!!

[trutherous]

Thanks.

I'm sure the above mentioned 'tip' works for learning any language.

It seems to me there are three basic types of people who learn foreign language:

1. The serious student: one who must, or is absolutely determined to become totally fluent in the target language. This type of student doesn't shy away from difficult tedious work, and is constantly (and consistently) trying to improve their ability. Eventually they will enjoy great success and exciting adventures using the skills they acquire.

2. The half-hearted student: one who has a passing interest in learning because of a love interest, friends, or current popularity of the country's products or language. This type of student will do some work as long as it's fun, but does not have a real goal -fun IS their goal. As things change, and popularity gives way to the next fad, they loose interest and discontinue study. A few years down the road they forget most of what they learned and pronunciation of what they do remember usually degrades.

3. The wishful thinker: one who says 'I wish I could speak such-n-such language' but isn't willing to do any work and makes excuses like "I have no time to study" while spending time doing a myriad of other activities. In the end they might learn a few words. These are the ones at age 50 who say, "Oh you speak Korean - I wish I could - do you know 아-뇨-하-시-여 요-보-세-유 가-삼-니-다?" --ah... ok... bless them for trying at least that.

What kind of student are you? Are you in it for the long-haul? Will you go all the way?

나 -나영훙

[timandyou]

You just mentioned about 3 types of students wanting to learn Korean.

Here are 3 types of people (in general) that I know.


1. There are people who make things happen.

2. There are people who see things happen.

3. There are people who say, "what happen!?"


Every single thing is connected to each other in life. Those people who believe in the power of making good choices in their lives will win over their lives. Every single thing happening everyday is caused by the sequency of our action. In life, there is will and my action (choice). That's a secret!
George, you seem to know this secret~~!! Great to have you here, George~~~!!!

[sunny003]

HAHA Koreanclass is the best!!

[joesp]

Study Buddhism and becoming Buddhist will help, too. Going to temples in remote places. Reading hanja with the prayer books.

[giraffe]

Base on George's 3 types of learners. Can I say I'm a Mix/ parts of all of them =p.
Sometimes I'm #1 other times # 2 and then sometimes but rarely #3 haha.

I'm #3 because I tell myself "I wish I could speak Korean ( better)" and then I have a list of reasons why I don't speak as well as I probably should. The typical like Working over 12 hours a day, spending time with non Korean speaking friends after working, taking care of myself and my wife. I'm like this when I'm most busy with things i cannot postpone. I also make a fool of myself for trying to say thigns in korean that arent always correct which sound like the way your 50 something speak like =p.

I'm #2 When I'm no so busy with work. I watch lots of Korean media/ movies , spend time with Korean friends and I love learning Korean when its easy and fun =p. Usually at the point where the Korean I'm learning is hard to learn I get REALLY busy with work and go back to #3. When work isn't busy anymore i review the hard stuff and it becomes fun and easy then i learn more new stuff and its hard again , i get busy and the process starts over again =p.

I'm #1 because I never give up. I'm serious about it because my wife is Korean and most of her friends/family don't speak any English. I really don't want my wife to translate for me/them so i really want to be able to communicate with them. I wish i could be #1 all the time and motivated and be able to ONLY concentrate on Korean for a few years but unfortunately it doesn't work out that way for me right now. Maybe when and if i move to Korea I'll have no choice. For now I can only put in so much time and Cannot always be consistent but i try as much as i can.

[Happypie]

I don't know what kind of learner I am, it's true that I started learning Korean because my partner is Korean, but I see him as less of a reason to learn but more of a cause. I think that even if our relationship ended (heaven forbid) I would want to continue learning. I want to become fluent if I can, or at least close.

but I am too young to know my future yet, at least for now I can find enjoyment in watching myself progress bit by bit, and the look on peoples faces when I say "감사합니다!" in my local 한국 식당

[paekdusan]

George, it's like we're on the same wavelength sometimes. I'm always very happy to see your posts. And they go a long way in reassuring me that, although I still have a long way to go, I'm at least on the right path.

Sometimes when I get into a heated debate or passionate discussion with someone -- whether it be about something Korean or something Japanese -- I find myself accidentally saying "we" when referring to Japanese or Koreans, despite the fact that I'm a middle-age white male. My friends usually laugh at me when I make this "error". (My friends, by the way, are unrelenting in their abuse and they use these comments later to poke fun at me and get me spun up. It usually works. Especially when my Korean friends begin playing the "Japan/Korea card" to see where my loyalties lie. ^^)

[manyakumi]

I'm just wondering why you don't use Korean in this forum at all. (except George ^^)
As an ESL student, I always try to write something in English for helping KSL students here.
I am also busy working all day and writing in English is always a stress for me as well.
But I'm sure these little activities make my sense of using English stay with me for long.
Even if you are not in Korea right now, just make yourself in Korea for a short amount of time everyday. It works!

[trutherous]

giraffe - if you never give up you are a #1. We all need our times of rest and repose.

Happypie - if you would continue your study of Korean even if your relationship ended (I agree, "heaven forbid!"), you are definitely a #1 *** It just may be that someone (not mentioning any myself names, or parents that might have been vehemently opposed to an international marriage ) may have started out under that type of circumstance... and now 23 years still happily married to my, not first but ever deepest, Korean love

paekdusan - your words made me smile. Sometimes after a long weekend spent totally absorbed in some Korean drama from start to finish, 20-30 hours sitting until my feet start to go numb, I get shocked when I look in the mirror and see this white guy looking back at me.

manyakumi - yep yep yep! Anyway your English language skill is quite formidable. While reading your many wonderful posts I wondered at first if you were an American with amazing Korean skills or a Korean with amazing English skill. Finally I surmised that you were Korean but I still had my doubts, that is until you very clearly answered the question in one of your many posts. Anyway, I think that we "students of Korean" are very fortunately to have your input here on the forums. -Thanks!

[timandyou]

George, thanks for your wonderful topic and comments.

Let's study Korean~~~!!! No, let's have fun with Korean~~!!!^^

[manyakumi]

Thank you for the compliment, George.
But I know that I still got far away to go.

[joesp]

저도 여러분과 함께 한국말로 의견을 나누면 좋겠어요. 사실은 영어가 길게 나오는 글은 못 읽고 넘어가요.

[trutherous]

Joesp 선생님 안녕하세요. 길게 영어로 쓴 것 죄송한데 얼마 전에 이 포럼에 참요하는 사람들이 별로 없어서 남의 흥미를 끌려고 시작한 거지요. 아무튼 걱정할 것 없어요 -억지로 읽게 안 할되니까요.