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Paradigm Busters "You Speak Korean" books | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| IronFist Senior Member United States Joined 6438 days ago 663 posts - 941 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 9 of 15 05 February 2012 at 8:39am | IP Logged | ||
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Wait, I read in a few threads that said the Sogang course is available online for free.
Does that mean the books are online or can be downloaded? Edited by IronFist on 05 February 2012 at 8:39am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| 이희선 Groupie Australia Joined 4970 days ago 56 posts - 97 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian | Message 10 of 15 05 February 2012 at 9:11am | IP Logged | ||
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Sogang made an online course, but that isn't necessarily the same as it books. It is free but it is all web based. You
cannot download the books through it, since they are different things. Personally, I don't think the online course is very good at all. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jtdotto Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5230 days ago 73 posts - 172 votes Speaks: English*, Korean Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, German | Message 11 of 15 14 March 2012 at 8:14am | IP Logged | ||
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I am a former student of Soohee Kim (the author) at the University of Washington. This is not a shameless advertisement, so please don't read it that way :)
These books are hands down the very best Korean resource for a native English speaker trying to learn Korean. Trust me, I've seen pretty much every textbook out there. The books out of the Korean University presses are designed for their language institutes and are not really all that great for self-study, and are certainly a far cry from the kind of detailed and nuanced explanation one needs to really grasp the quirks of the language. The Integrated Korean series is good as an overall series, but some books, and certainly some chapters are better than others. Paradigm Buster's series is not only strong as a series, but each indivdual book, and each individual chapter has the glean and detail of a master craftsman (craftswoman in this case). I own and have read cover to cover all four books. The series starts off as any book should, with hangul. From what I remember, the first two books are a bit more tailored for classroom use, but they can work great as self-study materials, and with access to a native speaker for reinforcement and practice, real progress can be made. It's book 3 and 4 where this series really shines. Intricate vocabulary explanations (of how to and how NOT to use certain words) begin each chapter, leading into dialogues that read as though they were transcribed from a real life recording. There are no wooden, unrealistic sentences that drag down the Yonsei series (thinking books 4 and up). After the dialogues come the bread and butter of the series (I would consider the vocab explanations the necessary kimchi you should be eating along with this bread). The grammar notes are less notes and more like full on linguistic lectures (not boring!). Side notes referencing the evolution of certain grammar points, regional variants, even generational variants spice up the pages, and are great tid bits of information that really bring this textbook series to life. For each grammar point there is an abundance of sentences with crystal clear - and grammatically correct! - English translations (albeit some of the translations are a bit too direct, but this is understandable considering these two languages rarely ever line up parallel). Reading a chapter two or three times even brings out more and more nuance, because each page is packed with information. Useful appendixes with more explanations of the grammar mechanics, along with fun exercises and extra dialogues fill up the rest of the pages. There are 3-4 pages in the fourth book that have so much grammar information it's kind of overwhelming. But the student is expected to be at a level where they can internalize that information, and as I said, multiple readings really bring out the nuances, and with a good native speaker at your side, you can learn far more than I think anyone could have imagined. I've played the recordings for Korean friends, and they all say that the PB recordings are by far the most natural. That being said, they are being read by speakers who are concious of the fact that foreigners will be using them to study, so there is a bit of a scripted feeling to it, but this is easily overlooked (and for a small company, it's really a homerun as far as listening materials go). For me personally, these have helped me so much with listening. I started memorizing certain parts of the conversations (especially from the upper levels) from listening to them so much, and later on I would hear pieces of the recordings VERBATIM in conversation. I can't say the same for the upper level Yonsie or IK materials. The genius behind these books is Professor Soohee Kim, whom I've studied under for a few years now. Her grasp of Korean grammar - and her unparallel ability to express those nuances in English - put her far ahead of the pack for Korean teachers. I hear over and over again from Koreans that my Korean is the most natural Korean they've ever heard from a foreigner - going so far to say if they weren't looking at my face, they would have thought I was Korean. I've heard comparisons between me and other foreigners and I'm told that I don't speak Americanized Korean, with awkward English expressions translated in Korean and the use of words in the wrong context. I'm told that I say things as Koreans would say them. I am not bragging by any means, I am simply trying to give you guys a sense of my level, and I can attribute much of this achievement to the teachings of Soohee Kim. My understanding of the difference between 에 and 으로, my firm grasp of how manner is expressed in Korean (with the use of auxillary verbs and 의성어 and 의태어 or onomatopoeia), my understanding of the differences between 할 수 있다, 도 되다, 잘 되다, etc., all of this is because of her. Of course I have encountered all these things with my Korean friends and ex girlfriends, but it was just that - an encounter. Nobody ever explained why or the nuance being transmitted and what the parallel is in English. That is nobody except for the author of these books. This is a must have for anyone serious about learning Korean as a foreign language. I recommend these books for everyone, but especially for two types of people: 1) Those who are studying by themselves with limited access to Korean speakers (but with some access) 2) Those studying in Korea The reason I recommend these books for students studying in Korea is because as someone else mentioned, grammar is not explained particularly well at the institutes here. In fact, teachers often just ask students to come up with one or two sentences of their own, fix them, tell them to memorize the correction and move on. Kind of antiquated and ineffective if you ask me, especially if you've experienced something of the quality the PB books have attained. Give them a shot, you will NOT be sorry! 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Haksaeng Senior Member Korea, South Joined 6199 days ago 166 posts - 250 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean, Arabic (Levantine) | Message 12 of 15 14 March 2012 at 11:46am | IP Logged | ||
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I have looked for it but haven't seen it at the bookstores here. Do you happen to know if it's going to be available at places like Kyobo?
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| vermillon Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4679 days ago 602 posts - 1042 votes Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, Mandarin Studies: Japanese, German | Message 13 of 15 14 March 2012 at 2:41pm | IP Logged | ||
Thanks a lot for this message, that really is useful. Is there anywhere we can buy these? And possibly see the summary of each book, so as to know which level we're at at the moment and buy the right one? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Haksaeng Senior Member Korea, South Joined 6199 days ago 166 posts - 250 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean, Arabic (Levantine) | Message 14 of 15 15 March 2012 at 2:17am | IP Logged | ||
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vermillon, there's a website in the opening post of this thread. The website includes table of contents for each book and many sample pages, and even sound files.
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| jtdotto Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5230 days ago 73 posts - 172 votes Speaks: English*, Korean Studies: Spanish, Portuguese, German | Message 15 of 15 15 March 2012 at 7:14am | IP Logged | ||
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You can definitely find the books at Kyobo, I've seen them there before. Either that or you can order them online, though I don't know how quickly you'll get them...
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