The title says “Hello!”.
You might have known, I’ve been learning Korean for a few years now.
First started with Basic Korean at Bt Panjang CC. The trainer was a native Korean, but the syllabus was too fast for a beginner (I had zero knowledge on Korean alphabets at that point of time). Although I attended every lesson and did all the homework, with the usual-favouritism on students who are more outspoken, the trainer taught very fast, assuming everyone were as knowledgeable as the girl who could interact with the trainer in Korean.
I gave up attending class after the 8th lesson.
A year later, Fen asked if I was keen to attend Korean class with her. Of course I said yes! So we started classes at Bt Batok CC this time round, under the trainer Jang In Suk (the founder of Jang KC Centre). I love her style, she was patient enough and made sure everyone understood what she taught. There was no favouritism (yay!) and everyone progressed at the same pace. It helped that I had Fen & Pat attending the class together.
Just as there this phase along the line of “nothing goes smoothly as planned”, I had to stop attending classes when I got posted to work in Hong Kong in 2011. By then, I’d already completed Intermediate-2.
A year in HKG, I attempted to self-study but time didn’t really allow me to do that.
When I came back to SIN, I attempted to go back to Bt Batok CC under Mdm Jang, but my busy schedule (on top of laziness) caused me to miss almost 70% of classes. And you might have guessed it right – I had no khakis to attend class with! It’s a waste on money I know.. Didn’t help that I’d registered myself for the Advanced-1 class when I retook Intermediate-2 class. I didn’t go for the Advanced-1 classes in the end, forfeiting the course fees (thankfully it wasn’t that expensive!).
Should I say Lady Luck was shining? Javin (one of my classmates from secondary school) texted me for advice on Korean language schools, saying that he wants to learn Korean too. After many weeks of discussion, we concluded that we will attend class together! Having shortlisted a few language schools, we decided on Sejong Korean Language School which is located at Tanjong Pagar – pretty central considering where we work.
I’ll be learning Korean from Basic-1 again. New school, new environment, new syllabus – it’s easier to start from beginning than to feel lost in class. Helps that I have a new partner to practise with! That should be enough motivation not to skip class now.
I can’t wait for classes to start on 7th May!