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FSI Korean Basic Course - any thoughts??

  Tags: Vintage | Korean | FSI
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13 messages over 2 pages: 1 2  Next >>
liddytime
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 Message 1 of 13
09 April 2010 at 2:08am | IP Logged 
Has anyone tried to learn Korean from the FSI course?

I have heard mixed reviews. I actually enjoy the "drill to kill" method of the FSI courses and am not put off by
that aspect of the course. I'm also not afraid of the odd romanization system that is used.   

What worries me a bit is the reported "outdated formality" of the material. I have heard that the course is much
too stiff and formal for anyone wanting to actually communicate with people in Korea today.

The DLI course from 1965 looks great but I can't find the audio anywhere...

Any thoughts??

THANKS!!
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Johntm
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 Message 2 of 13
09 April 2010 at 3:35am | IP Logged 
Try a torrent site, like thepiratebay, this stuff is public domain anyway so it's not piracy. That's how I got my FSI Korean (haven't used it though).
1
2
They are the same thing, both have the same stuff.

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newyorkeric
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 Message 3 of 13
09 April 2010 at 4:42am | IP Logged 
I think Liddytime is asking about the DLI audio, not the FSI audio.

Also, there is no need to go to a torrent site for the FSI material since it is available here: FSI Korean.

Edited by newyorkeric on 09 April 2010 at 4:44am

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liddytime
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 Message 4 of 13
09 April 2010 at 12:58pm | IP Logged 
Whoops,

Sorry for the confusion. I do have the complete FSI course ( and the DLI text, no audio for that one).

I was just curious if anyone has actually gotten through the course and if it is still a reasonable method to learn
Korean.   I'm sure it was fine in 1968 but the criticism I have heard is that is is so stiff and formal that people would
consider it odd there. eg: if someone said in English...

" Dost thou be wanting to pursue thine hamburger deluxe at yonder golden arches? " for

" You wanna get a Big Mac at McDonald's?"
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Warp3
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 Message 5 of 13
09 April 2010 at 5:32pm | IP Logged 
I haven't actually gone through the FSI course but I have looked through several lessons and the speech levels are higher than in most modern courses. Much of the FSI course is in the "formal polite" ~ㅂ니다/~ㅂ니까 speech level, whereas most modern courses heavily bias the "informal polite" ~요 speech level instead and reserve the formal speech level for select phrases like "I'm sorry." and "Thank you." which still commonly use the high form.

However, learning to change a sentence to a different speech level isn't really *that* difficult (and it is better to learn too high than too low). At the very least, I would make sure you check out the revision notes on THIS PAGE which includes helpful info like: word X is out of use; word Y is now used instead
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Johntm
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 Message 6 of 13
10 April 2010 at 7:17am | IP Logged 
newyorkeric wrote:
I think Liddytime is asking about the DLI audio, not the FSI audio.

Also, there is no need to go to a torrent site for the FSI material since it is available here: FSI Korean.
Sorry! My mind was focused on FSI for some reason. As for DLI, I don't know :(
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liddytime
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 Message 7 of 13
10 April 2010 at 2:00pm | IP Logged 
Warp3 wrote:
Much of the FSI course is in the "formal polite" ~ㅂ니다/~ㅂ니까 speech level, whereas most
modern courses heavily bias the "informal polite" ~요 speech level instead and reserve the formal speech level
for select phrases like "I'm sorry." and "Thank you." which still commonly use the high form.

However, learning to change a sentence to a different speech level isn't really *that* difficult (and it is better to
learn too high than too low). At the very least, I would make sure you check out the revision notes on
THIS PAGE which
includes helpful info like: word X is out of use; word Y is now used instead


Thanks!

That is kind of what I was thinking; that it is easier to learn the formal speech first and tone it down than learn
the less formal and unknowingly insult people.

The revision notes are very helpful as well! :-)

I think I am going to try and get through Pimsleur I and II first and then attack the FSI course.
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Ichiro
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 Message 8 of 13
15 April 2010 at 12:23pm | IP Logged 
Additionally, my Korean wife tells me that the man's accent is rather strange and old-fashioned - harsh and monotonous. She said he sounded North Korean rather than South; or possibly South Korean from a very rural area. The lack of inflection is more like modern Japanese delivery than modern Korean.

She also tells me that some of the vocabulary identified as being old-fashioned is still in use among the Korean community in Japan, eg Japan-resident Koreans still say uphyənkuk where mainland Koreans now say uchaəkuk.

***********************

In my opinion, the less formal speech is much harder to learn than the formal speech. In informal speech there are many more verb endings and they have much greater semantic colour. They're also much harder to catch when listening. Even after you master the formal speech in the FSI course you still have a considerable barrier to cross before you can start to have semi-formal and informal conversations with Koreans.

I don't think Koreans expect superformality from foreigners; I believe it would be better to learn too low than too high. But I don't think you have a choice, I don't know of any course which focuses on the informal speech in a concentrated way, you have to pick it up from context or from grammar books.


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