Discover Korean 101

This book was written by instructors of the Korean language program at the University of Alberta. Together, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the language teaching profession, and their insights have made this book a rich source of material for learners of Korean in a foreign language setting. One of its strengths is that it was developed inductively. It grew out of many years of reflection, dialogue and interaction between instructors, and also -importantly -between instructors and learners. This distinguishes it from other textbooks, which are developed deductively, reflecting only the instructors’ point of view. The instructors who contributed to this book have gathered learners’ reactions to course materials over the course of many years, and have continually revised and adapted their materials to meet the needs and expectations of those
learners. This book represents the culmination of their efforts.

Another advantage of this textbook is that it provides guidelines and teaching materials for Korean instructors. This is different from most textbooks, which mainly focus on learners. As the number of Korean programs grows throughout the world, so, too, does the demand for Korean language instructors abroad. This has created a situation in which many instructors start teaching Korean abroad without appropriate teaching materials and sufficient field experience. They spend long hours preparing for class, and many develop materials alone in an isolated working environment. The time they invest in class preparation may well leave no time for program development and expansion. This textbook is intended to help. Detailed grammar explanations for both instructors and learners complement the rich variety of classroom activities and speaking exercises. Novice and experienced teachers, alike, will find the text informative and easy to use.

Another feature of this textbook is that it has a customized curriculum which fits especially well into programs in North American universities, which tend to have 4 -5 contact hours per week at the beginning level. It also provides English explanations and examples to help learners understand the structures of grammatical concepts. Adult learners want to know ‘Why?’ when they encounter new grammatical expressions, and they demand specific answers. This textbook provides the answers they seek, making it an excellent resource for inquisitive adult learners.

In addition, this textbook provides plentiful opportunities for communicative interaction. It includes a rich variety of pair and group work activities, all developed by our professional Korean instructors and all designed to promote meaningful interaction. We believe this textbook is unique in the way it integrates practice, reflection, and instructorlearner interaction. We sincerely hope it proves useful to all Korean instructors, and especially those encountering difficulties teaching outside of Korea. We hope, as well, that it proves as interesting and useful to your learners of Korean language and culture as it has to ours.