LearninKorean

Thanks for linking to the TTMIK videos. I have a ton of their audio podcasts downloaded to my phone to listen to when I'm out and about, but I always forget about all of the other great resources they have.

In fact, you don't even need to use the notification center if you just want a summary when you log in. If you click the "Replies" button that is in the upper left of the screen between "Unread" and "Logout", it gives you an update on all new posts in threads that you have posted in. I check that and the Unread section every time I come back to the site.

Miya, I feel like that happened with Japanese, and many people started learning the language as well. To be perfectly honest, I started watching kdramas and Korean variety shows and that was how I got interested in learning the language. Pink Glitter, I'm not in school any more, but I have looked around at the colleges and universities around my area from time to time. None of them seem to offer Korean classes. I think there still isn't enough interest yet.

I hadn't heard of that before, so I just googled it and read up on it. That's really interesting. I wonder how effective it is. (It sounds like there are mixed feelings about it.) I use cursive all the time when I'm making notes for myself at work. I really don't notice a speed difference between print and cursive, I just like to change things up occasionally. I also kind of like the idea that enough people don't remember how to read and write in cursive, that people can't quickly read over my shoulder.

I think what mostly matters is that your teacher understands both your native tongue and the language they are teaching very well. It also helps if they have sat down to learn a language themself, rather than just growing up bi-lingual. That's part of why I like the "Talk to me in Korean" podcasts. One of the main hosts doesn't have any particular accent when speaking English, so I think he's Korean-American. He will often point out things that I've wondered about, like how the "m" sound in Korean often sounds like a "b" to Anglo ears. The other host doesn't hear how similar they sound, because it's inherent to the language. On the other hand, she definitely learned English in school (she has a small accent), and will point out things that seemed strange to her when learning English as a way to emphasize that what we are learning in Korean works differently than English.

That's really unfortunate, Trellum. Looking back on it now, were there signs that it wasn't a legitimate program? I'd love to know what to watch out for.

I've just got the cost of Rosetta Stone right now. I've tried looking for Korean classes, but I don't think the language is quite popular enough. I haven't seen classes offered in any of the local colleges, and google searches haven't yielded anything either. Once I get some more spending money I may try Craigslist for a tutor. In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to see what the going rate seems to be.

I started out using Rosetta Stone, but I picked up some Pimsleur lessons on a whim when Audible was having a BOGO sale on them. I think Pimsleur has been good for pronunciation and learning syntax, but they actively discourage trying to read or write. (They do seem to assume that you would be reading and writing in the Roman alphabet.) Rosetta stone isn't much better for reading and writing, but it at least exposes you to the alphabet.

I haven't tried to learn much Japanese or Chinese, but I have to believe that Korean is easier. The Korean alphabet is phonetic and specifically designed to be easy to read. Chinese and Japanese both have a different character for each word, which is much more memorization and much more difficult. From a pronunciation standpoint, I think Japanese and Korean would be fairly similar. Chinese is a tonal language, so I think that adds a level of complexity. Also, since there are several different types of Chinese that are linguistically completely independent, you would need to specify which one you are asking about for a true comparison.

I have a couple of them on my phone. Unfortunately the names of the apps are not unique, so I can give you further manufacturing info or links if you are interested in any of them. I use Hangeul, a boxing game style reading game, to practice my sight-reading. You can also use it for some vocab, but I find their selection of words and definitions to be odd. I use the Flashcards app for learning vocab words. It has a lot of different categories like Numbers, Colors, and Shopping. Nothing too complicated, but I'm not very advanced yet. I only use apps to supplement other learning methods, so none of these will do more than re-enforce other lessons and facilitate memorization.

I have Rosetta Stone for learning Korean, and I have found it to be really good if you use it fully, but that gets more expensive. You have to buy not just the access to the computer program, but also the website access. The website access gives you access to lessons with instructors where they will correct your pronunciation and help you to clarify things that might be tripping you up. I actually haven't been able to use it much lately because my online trial ended, and the program is installed on my husband's computer. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't teach you the alphabet quickly enough. I get that that's more of a memorization thing, which can get kind of boring, but when everything is written in hangul, you need to be able to read it.