Korea one-o'-one: studying in a Korean language institute

Hello guys !

I'm gonna start my new "Korea one-o'-one" series with the, probably, most obvious topic. It's a big part of my life here right now, it's something I definitely know how to write about and have a lot of stuff to tell, and it's also something I get asked about like, on a daily basis. I think this is also very important topic to write about since 90% of the people who are planning to come to Korea need to take language courses to, you know, be able to actually live and study here. 

The internet is already full of stories and reviews about different kinds of language schools and institutes and whatnot, but I'm still gonna share my views on what it is like to study in Hanyang, moreover in the language institute in Hanyang university, in 2015. These programs are changing and evolving all the time, so many of the stories you see around internet might be a bit outdated even if they were written only few years ago. 

The most common way to study korean is to enter a language institute held by one of the Korean universities. Almost every university (at least in Seoul) offers a wide range of different types of language programs. They have summer programs for high school students, evening programs, 3 month programs, and so on. The most common one, and the one I'm gonna be concentrating on, is the intensive language program. It consists of 6 levels altogether (which pretty much go with the levels of TOPIK, Korean proficiency test), one level, aka semester, being about 10 weeks, 5 days a week, 4 hours a day. These levels are offered around the year, and you can take 4 levels max. in one year. One on spring, one on summer and so on. There's a 3 week vacation or so between every semester. 

So how to find the most suitable language program for your own needs? That's probably the most difficult part of the whole process. Most universities do offer descriptions of what kind of curriculum they follow in their language program, but I wouldn't blindly relay on that info. Even if they teach the same things and same grammar, there can be huge differences on how they teach it and what kind of books they use. What you also have to keep in mind is that different people learn in different ways. A book that might be completely useless to you might be a really good for someone else, or the other way around. 

For example, I've heard a lot of opinions about Yonsei university's language institute (Yonsei being one of Korea's best universities). Good and bad opinions. I've also heard of a person who studied all the way up to Yonsei language school level 6, but when coming to Hanyang had to start from level 4 because even though his writing (which is apparently what they focus on a lot in Yonsei) was almost flawless, he was really poor at speaking. In Hanyang's language institute speaking plays a really big part in our studies, and we have to, for example, memorize and hold a speech in front of everyone every other week. In my opinion, and what I've heard from other people, Hanyang's language program is one of the most difficult ones. By this I mean that the stuff we learn at level 3 might be taught at level 4 at some other language school, and the amount of new words we get daily is huge and they're really, really difficult at times.  So there are huuuge differences  between these programs. 

The reason I chose Hanyang had nothing to do with their language program, to be honest. I already applied to Korea university and got in, but then heard that Hanyang university has this system where you can apply as an undergraduate student, take a Korean test which you obviously fail because you cannot possibly be advanced enough to study in a university in Korean, and then they will automatically put you in their language institute. So you can come to Korea without having to worry about whether or not you will be accepted to the university after studying Korean in the language institute. I don't know about other universities, but for example Korea university does not offer this kind of option. I would've had to apply for the language school first, and after completing my language studies apply again and as an undergraduate student. This, in my opinion, is a lot more complicated and time consuming and nerve-wracking. So that is purely the reason how I ended up studying in Hanyang university, but I couldn't be happier that I chose Hanyang. The way they teach here and the books we use have turned out to be really effective and a good way of learning, personally speaking. 

I am studying on the level 3 out of 6 at the moment (School ends in 2 weeks though). To be able to start my major studies I need to pass level 5 at the language school or pass topik level 4. I'm planning to start my university studies this fall, so I'm going to take the topik exam late this summer after finishing level 4 at school.

 We use 3 books in total. A main book, a homework book, and a writing practice / word book. We use the main book during the classes. Every day consists of two hours of grammar practice, one hour of speaking practice and one hour of reading. We have different kinds of themes for every day, for example handling bank business, health care, job interviews, talking about dreams and future plans, visiting the pharmacy etc. Along with these themes we have a really long list of the new words introduced in that chapter, and get 4 pages of homework along with an essay to write everyday. Yes, every single day. So needless to say, attending a language institute here is not a joke. You're gonna have to work hard but when you do, you'll also notice your Korean getting better so fast it's amazing.

Like I said at Hanyang we practice talking a lot, and 90% of the stuff we do during classes are done with a partner. So, a lot of speaking is involved. We also do small playful plays while practicing the grammar or just have random conversations to practice speaking generally. 

Oh, and something totally worth of mentioning, this might be self-explanatory to some of you but everything, 100% of the classes are in Korean. There is no English involved whatsoever. Everything except the word book word lists are in Korean. At first it might feel really weird and awkward, but it also helps you to learn ten times faster. 

Besides the regular daily classes we also have one outdoor class & one culture class per semester. This semester our outdoor class was a cooking class in Idae Ranee cooking academy, wrote a post about it here. And the culture class was a day in the Korean folk village. Wrote about that, too, here. We also had to make a play in groups and then last Friday we had a play competition with the other classes. It was really, really fun and the plays everyone had made were just hilarious. And as I mentioned above, every other week we have this one day when everyone makes up and memorizes a speech and has a presentation in front of the class. So there's a lot of other activities, too, besides just studying by burying yourself  in grammar and books, which is in my opinion a really good, different way of learning Korean. Most universities also offer mini courses like "topik exam preparation course" and "university preparation course" that are quite helpful, but also last only for few days or a week and can cost a lot. 

A little bit about exams! We have midterm exams, and final exams. They consist of 4 different exams in total. Speaking, writing & grammar, listening and reading. You need to get over 70% correct from these to pass the level. We do not have word quizzes or anything like that. 

Getting into the language institute is not a complicated thing. You apply there like you would apply to any school. Send out some papers, pay the fees and so on. That's probably the most simple thing about this whole project. The fee for one semester is always about the same, about 1000 dollars. Quite pricey for 10 weeks, but in my opinion, totally worth it. 

In general though, it doesn't really matter which university you choose to attend a language institute at. They are all very good and if you study and try hard, you'll learn. It's not the books and teachers that make you learn, your own motivation affects your learning more than anything else. So while choosing for a university to attend, I'd pay more attention on  if  they offer the subject you want to study, if you're planning to attend the university, too, later on. If you're looking for just a language institute to attend, my suggestion is, of course, hanyang university! (Not a sponsored opinion, haha) 

So that's all I have for you this time! I tried to write down everything important, but if you still have some questions or something you're curious about please leave me a comment! 

xx,
Julia