AALL: Korean Language Courses

Language Courses

Language Courses

Guidelines for Self-Placement in Language Courses

The Duke Korean program is developed on the basis of the instructional model that emphasizes communication and content learning as effective means to acquire language, while it also aims to work on developing students' awareness of some crucial linguistic characteristics of Korean. From the beginning, you will practice your new language by conversing about basic information and simulating typical daily transactions. In the intermediate course, you will develop interpretive and expressive abilities through the discussion of readings and the processes of writing experiential texts. You will read traditional folk tales and shorts texts about pre-modern Korea. The third year course gives you an opportunity to learn more about modern and contemporary Korea as well as to expand your language ability. You will read, research and discuss about the turbulent transitions in Korean history; from monarchy to democracy, from agricultural to modern industrial society.

We accommodate students coming from various backgrounds and experience levels. Students with prior learning experience at home and in college are encouraged to get a jump start with the second year course, thereby achieving a higher level of language ability. The first year course is designed to allow absolute beginners to receive appropriately paced instruction in basic language use and foundational grammar.

KOR 001 Elementary Korean-I
(Offered in the fall semester only, meets five hours a week)

Self-Placement

Designed for true beginners with no prior knowledge of Korean, introduces the basics of Korean in a very controlled manner. Starts with the sounds of spoken Korean, the writing system Hangul, and greetings, and proceeds to basic communication, fundamentals of grammar, and elementary reading skills for simple sentences. Students learn to communicate basic service needs and information such as everyday activities, time, numbers, and location. Daily homework assignments and frequent quizzes and tests are given to help develop mastery of the materials.

KOR 002 Elementary Korean-II
(Offered in the spring semester only, meets five hours a week)

Continuation of Korean 1. Develops speaking and listening skills for everyday personal communication, reads simple narratives and descriptions, and learns core grammatical patterns. Students learn to communicate past experiences and future plans and needs, and to express personal preferences, interests and concerns. Reading is practiced with texts tailored for beginning language learners or written for very young children. Regular homework assignments and frequent quizzes and tests are given to help develop mastery of the materials.

KOR 063 Intermediate Korean I
(Offered in the fall semester only, meets four hours a week)

Focuses on developing reading skills for narrative and descriptive texts, and writing. Practices listening and speaking in social settings with peers and colleagues, and develops complexity and sociolinguistic appropriateness in speech. Children’s stories and canonical folktales in Korean are utilized to develop reading skills as well as understanding and analyzing cultural values underlying the stories. Grammatical components include speech level, expressing viewpoints, and signaling information sources.

KOR 064 Intermediate Korean II
(Offered in the spring semester only, meets four hours a week)
Self-Placement

Listening and speaking about cultural practices and historical events, reading and writing informative and expository texts, and honing grammatical usage and vocabulary choice. There are four thematic units: Korean cities, dating and marriage, survey of Korean history, and pre-modern Chosun dynasty. The grammar component tackles error-prone usages such as passives and complementation. Students write weekly journals or essays and do regular reading and review assignments.

KOR 125 Advanced Korean I
(Offered in the fall semester only, meets three hours a week)

Focuses on listening and speaking about cultural, social, and political issues, reading and responding to authentic texts, and honing grammatical usage at the discourse level. The topics include food, internet culture, social networks, militarism, gender issues, and foreign workers. Through discussion of excerpts from a variety of sources including newspapers, internet and books, students will develop a feel of contemporary Korean society.

KOR 126 Advanced Korean II
(Offered in the spring semester only, meets three hours a week)

Introduces Chinese characters and focuses on reading and discussing authentic texts on modern Korean history and its social and cultural legacies. Readings and discussion touches on historical figures such as Rhee Sungman, Park Chunghee, Chun Doohwan, Kim Daejung, and Chaebol, and historical events including the Korean War, April Student Revolution, industrialization, democratization movements, and the recent North-South summit.

KOR 183 Topics in Korean I
(Offered in the fall of the even-numbered year, meets three hours a week)