아싸!!

A quick update on my Korean learning.

But first, a fun fact: Korean is one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn.

Keeping this in mind has helped me immensely whenever I've felt frustrated, disgruntled, disappointed, and saddened by my abysmal Korean skill.

After that disaster with my language partner, I was sort of self-studying but not really getting anywhere, and certainly not practicing the things I was learning so I got myself a new language partner/mr. ideal. But I really missed taking classes, or going to school, or learning. Or all of it.

I find myself sometimes wishing I could go back to school. Not in the pursuit or anything else except the things which I find interesting and beautiful. It is such a luxury to be able to go to school. To spend your days steeped in the exercise of your mind.

Part of my frustration with learning Korean is that I just can't seem to have the disciplined structure I want to really buckle down and learn it. I want class time, I want hours of homework, I want a safe environment to practice, I want constructive feedback. At most, I can give over a few hours every other day to brushing up vocabulary and grammar. I can't help but long for the time when I would sit in coffee shops all day long and actually feel like I'm learning something.

So I decided to start up korean classes again. I've switched schools--not for any other reason that YBM (my former school) was not offering my level, and this new school is free!--to a once a week course held in downtown. The classes are free for foreigners, and you have to take a placement exam in order to take a class.

When I registered, I wrote down that I had taken a few months of class at YBM. I had heard from friends that the test was something like 20ish questions of beginner level, multiple choice. I didn't really study for the exam as much as I just skimmed some grammar points a few hours before the test. I entered the exam room, and they sat me down at the far end of the room and passed me an exam.

Holy crap was the test hard. The thought occurred to me that the test was going to be so unfair to those who were true beginners, but I didn't spare too much thought because my heart was racing in a sheer panic over just how difficult the test was. At a certain point, right after I had to write in an answer, I gave up trying to read the test and just do what I always do on a MC test, make a pattern with my answer sheet.

Oh, I haven't used a "1" in a while, so I think question 19 I'll fill in "1"...

That kind of thing.

Our tests were graded on the spot, and my heart fell when I saw that out of 20 questions, I got exactly 3 right. I was getting ready to crawl into a whole and die of shame.

I was with a friend, and when we compared answer sheets, I realized what had happened. Apparently I was placed in the group that was given a more difficult exam. My friend's exam was really easy! I was appalled & shocked. But I was also relieved, because that I meant I wasn't such a disgrace after all.

But afterwards, they made me do a speaking test. Excuse me? A speaking test? I hadn't anticipated this. I hadn't prepared anything. If I had to rank myself on the four skills, it would be like this: listening, writing, reading, speaking.

I was petrified. But in I went. And it was laughable at best. But somehow, they placed me in beginners level 5, the highest level for beginners. Purely on my speaking ability. This didn't make sense to me. That speaking test was probably the longest korean conversation I've ever had and I know for a fact that I made about a billion mistakes.

On the one hand, I was really happy to have gotten in so high, and especially when my proctor said I had natural Korean expressions, but I'm dreading the class. Beginner 5. I think the level is too high for me, but I'm going to go the first class and see how it is.

I'm no where near the level I'd like to be, because I think it'd be really awesome to be conversation in Korean, but it's a step :)