Courses

The Korean Language Program is divided into six levels of proficiency, from beginner to advanced. The average class size is twelve to sixteen students per class. Classes meet five days a week, from Monday through Friday, for four hours each day, so students receive twenty hours of classroom instruction per week.

Beginner Level 1 (KLP 1)

Students with little or no prior knowledge of Korean learn how to read and write Korean (Hangul). Students will become familiar with the Korean system of pronunciation, identifying initial consonants, vowels, and final consonants. They will learn basic grammar such as parts of speech and sentence structure. Using basic expressions for everyday situations they will practice these skills with listening, speaking, reading and writing exercises.

Beginner Level 2 (KLP 2)

Students with basic Korean proficiency in conversation skills necessary for everyday life or those with roughly 200 hours of Korean language classes improve 4 skills acquired in level 1. Students will work on pronunciation and phoneme rules in sentences and be able to construct complex and compound sentences. Using the vocabulary provided and accurate expression usage students will apply the target language to practical situations through role-play and games, with various listening comprehension and speaking exercises.

Intermediate Level 1 (KLP 3)

Students with enough Korean proficiency in conversational skills necessary to conduct basic social activities or those with roughly 400 hours of Korean language instruction will learn how to read Korean dialogues fluently and understand Korean pronunciation rules. They also acquire correct usage of various tenses and suffixes. Students will be able to communicate with little difficulty in daily life, freely presenting opinions using sentences for both daily and formal situations. Students will practice conversation in real life situations by learning more vocabulary and grammar to cover the expanded topics.difficulty in daily life, freely presenting opinions using sentences for both daily and formal situations. Students will practice conversation in real life situations by learning more vocabulary and grammar to cover the expanded topics.

Intermediate Level 2 (KLP 4)

Students with enough Korean proficiency in conversational skills necessary to conduct various social activities or those with roughly 600 hours of Korean language instruction will learn how to speak naturally despite pronunciation and intonation. They will be able to speak in various tenses easily and have good command of ending-connective style. They will be able to understand Korean ways of thinking and Korean culture and can speak naturally in a variety of situations. Students will be able to understand Korean language spoken at a regular pace, and make new sentences freely. Students will be equipped with advanced language skills through vocabulary of abstract concepts, and practical usage of the language through multimedia with special focus on improving listening, reading, and writing.

Advanced Level 1 (KLP 5)

Students with enough Korean proficiency in conversational skills necessary to flawlessly handle daily situations or those with roughly 800 hours of Korean language instruction will have a good command of Korean language taking into account time and place, colloquial style, written style and both formal and informal expressions. They will be able to understand idiomatic expressions and take part in debates where opinions are stated clearly and correctly. Students will cover formal essay writing and research paper presentations, participating in topical discussions creating formative opinions.

Advanced Level 2 (KLP 6)

Students with enough Korean proficiency in conversational skills necessary to fluently in social activities or those with roughly 1000 hours of Korean language instruction will be able to pronounce Korean like a native speaker, with no grammar issues. They will participate in professional activities at the same level as Korean under graduate students. Students will read various styles of writing, including reading newspapers and discuss current events. They will use real-life situations for listening comprehension exercises, learning Korean history through multimedia, writing reports in a thesis format, surfing the Internet and posting messages on the web.