강미 | learning koreanPimsleur Comprehensive Korean Level I: The Short Review
I finished Pimsleur’s Comprehensive Korean Level I this morning.
If you’re a true beginner of Korean, this course is worth both your time and money (but please don’t pay list price). If you’re not a beginning learner, but don’t speak Korean very well (as I don’t), you still may find this course helpful. What I have to say in the upcoming comprehensive review of this course will be more helpful for the second group, as I’ll be fleshing out what you do and don’t get in the course.
This course is designed to get the learner to start speaking Korean as quickly as possible. There’s a reading section that I’ve scanned but not listened to. This course is not very helpful in either learning to read and write Korean, and really, it’s not designed to be.
True beginners will have difficulty in making out some of the words in the dialogues, but as the lessons pass, the pronunciation will become more familiar and some of those mysteries will be solved. The rest will be solved when the student learns to read Korean and takes another Korean course.
I’m a reader, so adjusting to pure audio was a painful process, even though I knew nearly all of what I was hearing. However, my one-year absence from Korean study may also have been a factor.
I used my solo commute time and a few lunches to study the 30 lessons in this level. I purchased the course on an Audiofy Bookchip and listened to it on my Palm Tungsten E (played through my car stereo) as well as a card reader plugged into my computer.
Having said all of this, if I didn’t know any Korean, and I was going to be in Korea soon, I’d buy this course (and again, don’t pay the $345 list price--I paid less than half that). It’s an excellent way to get a good, solid start on speaking Korean.
Full details (including caveats) in a later, comprehensive review. Please leave questions in comments, as they may help me to develop the review.
Where to buy
If you’re in an all-fired hurry and can’t wait for the comprehensive review, here are a couple of buying suggestions:
- The Ultimate Language Store offers a buyback program for Pimsleur’s comprehensive programs. See the buy back page for details. Even if you don’t opt for the buy back program, you’ll still only pay US$182 for the CD version. Otherwise, try Best Book Buys for some other buying options.
- Audiofy sells the Bookchip version for $159.95 and throws in a USB card reader for free. This version is great if you own an iPod, but I haven’t figured out if it can be transferred to any other MP3 player.
- As usual, it looks like residents of Korea will have to pay more. What the Book carries it, and I daresay readers will be quick to point out other places where it can be purchased.
Yes, it’s pricier than most other Korean language courses out there. But for the price, you’ll find it money well spent. You may be able to purchase it with a friend (or two), or your boss will pick up a copy for you, or you’ll find that the market will bear a decent resale price.
Posted by kangmi on October 16, 2006 at 12:31 PM1 comments
