College Korean

Rating:
Summary: An okay book
Review: College Korean was an okay book if you are taking a class and the book is assigned to you. However, because all of the words passed the first lesson are in Korean so, it makes it inconvienent for self study

Rating:
Summary: College Korean
Review: First of all, I am not a college or high school student so I didn't get this book for some school assignment which meant I had to learn everything on my own. Second, after I looked through this book, it seemed pretty easy to understand hangul and read in hangul. They teach you vowels and consonants which I believe is the first step to read in hangul. Also, there is a glossary in the back where you can look up the words in English and Korean. I personally think that this book can be used by high school students and up. It's very easy to read hangul scripts if you follow the grammar rules which is also very easy. The one thing that I have a problem with is the Chinese character section. I didn't get any part of that which kinda got me confused. It doesn't teach you how to pronounce them. But in other ways to describe this book, yeah, it is a good recomendation for beginners who wants to learn Korean. I would also like to recommend the "Rosetta Stone: Korean" CD-Rom because it also teaches you how to pronounce Korean words using real sounds and pictures.

Rating:
Summary: Better than a lot of books but not the best
Review: First of all, I like this book. That is because its content is very solid and it is well laid-out. The pronunciation rules at the beginning are detailed and correct, and some of the best I have seen. The fact that the book is written in hangul and not roman characters is a definite plus for the serious student. However, I do not back it completely.

First of all, the book lacks a comprehensive list of irregular verbs, so the reader is left unsure about how to conjugate any verb not covered in the example sentences. There are verb tables, mind you, but they are far from complete. Second, many of the lessons focus on difficult or obscure words ("continental climate") while not including many that a foreigner living in Korea would likely need (such as the common -l/ul koeyo/kosimnida future form). Thirdly, it is difficult to look things up because the index is not very user-friendly. I have other complaints, but these should suffice to show the inadequacy of this book as a stand-alone reference for anyone thnking of residence in Korea.

I recommend Francis Y. T. Park's "Speaking Korean" series. Of all texts I have seen, it is the most practical, the most complete, the easiest to use, and the most comprehensive. It is far more pricey than College Korean, but comparing the two is like saying that a car is more expensive than a bicycle. However, Speaking Korean is a 4-book series, so start with the first book and move on as needed. (...)

Rating:
Summary: As a college student...
Review: I found this book difficult to understand if you don't already have a basic knowledge of Korean. A lot of the pronunciations that were spelled out phonetically are incorrect if said without some experience in the sound of Korean. I found the grammar explanations incredibly confusing and was incredibly annoyed that the directions for the exercises were not in English after the second lesson and often new vocabulary that was not listed in the beginning of the lesson was randomly thrown into the dialogue. In addition, the lessons taught have nothing to do with what would normally be spoken of during conversation. Unless you normally speak of the classes you're taking, how interesting they are, and how different the weather is during the four seasons in Korea, I'd strongly recommend seeking another book.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly for Self Study
Review: I got this book to teach myself Korean. I was somewhat disappointed. I expected to find answers to the sample problems at the end. I found none. I wanted some explanation of why some things were this way or that. I found a straight assertion that things were just like that, but sometimes different...the end. Very frustrating. You can generally make out the answer to the exercises because it is very good about making sure all the words used are ones you already know from the chapters, but you can't be 100% positive you got it right.

This looks like a book that would be good in a Korean class, where you can get explanations of things in more depth, but for self-study, I'd avoid.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a book that an English thinker can understand
Review: I've been married to a Korean lady for 18 years now, and lived in Korea for 4 1/2 years. I've had numerous Korean teachers. From my wife, I had learned the alphabet, and over the years had developed a pretty good vocabulary, but one thing has always been missing in my attempts to learn Korean: Someone who understands thinking in English, and so understands how the structure of the Korean language has no equivalent in English, and so becomes practically nonsensical to a native English thinker - even though he may understand all the words.

This book is the first book I have found that approaches the Korean language from the perspective of someone who can think in English. For the first time, things that give us problems (Like construction of complex and compound sentences, the difference in the use of different conjunctions that are nearly the same, and translate to the same word in English, complex comparison sentences,etc.) are explained and taught in such a way that the rules make sense to me.

I am finding that FINALLY - after 18 years of trying, and after years of being able to understand most of what was spoken to me, but never being able to answer back with more than just childish sentences - FINALLY, I am breaking through the barriers in my understanding and becoming able to read more complex material, speak maturely with my elders in church, write material above a childish reading level, etc.

The only thing I could possibly find to criticize the book on is the explanation of pronunciation. I know there is a lot of discussion about how to transliterate the pronunciation (And pronunciation actually varies quite a bit from Seoul to Pusan), but the rules of characters such as ¤¸,¤µ, ¤©, and ¤¡ are just not quite what I normally hear - maybe they cannot be explained without hearing the language from a native speaker.

Still, it is a very good book for someone who thinks in English to help them to a point where hopefully they can actually think in Korean. A helpful Korean speaking friend will probably be all the additional help you will need.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent book for learning Korean
Review: Other then that it's a good book. As mentioned it's probably not any good for self study. For self study I recommend the rosetta stone series to get started off on.

Rating:
Summary: This is arguably the best textbook for learning Korean
Review: This comprehensive textbook intended for beginning or intermediate students of Korean is presented in a logical format divided into twenty-six lessons. Each lesson begins with a short Korean dialogue (which one may translate) and follows with step-by-step linguistic/grammar rules replete with examples. The authors--college proffesors themselves--articulate themselves quite nicely, so that one may work alone with this book and still learn the language. A detailed pronounciation guide is included, and 140 Chinese characters (used in addition to the Korean alphabet) are also introduced. I can guarantee that any serious student using this comprehensive textbook will be reading, writing, and speaking adequate Korean in less than six months.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book to help learn Korean
Review: This is one of a couple books I have been learning to use Korean. Very well laid out, concise and to the point.

I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn Korean. Make sure you use this book in conjunction with audio tapes or something else that lets you hear the words.