Korean Language Classes
Pasadena Language Center offers Korean lessons for all levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced and conversation. Learn Korean in a comfortable, casual environment and make it a fun, enriching experience! We serve the areas of Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Alhambra, San Gabriel, South Arroyo, Altadena, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Glendale, Burbank, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, La Cañada, Montrose, La Crescenta & Sun Valley.
About the Korean language
Korean is spoken in South and North Korea by about 70 million people. There are about 3 million Koreans in China and Japan and smaller numbers in Russian and the ex Soviet States of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as in the United States. Korean like Japanese is not known to be related to any other language. Korean grammatical structure is somewhat similar to Japanese, and more than half of its vocabulary has been borrowed from the Chinese. Korean used Chinese characters long before the invention of the Korean alphabet and continued after its invention to use the two together.
Curriculum and Structure
The Korean weekly classes are structured into three levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Each level is divided into four sub-levels: A, B, C, and D.
For the beginner and intermediate levels we use "Integrated Korean Beginning I (3rd edition)" and "Integrated Korean Beginning II (3rd edition)" by the Hawai’i University Press.
Beginner A (Introduction, lessons 1-2)
Topics: Han´gŭl, greetings, the university campus
Grammar and usage: equational expressions, omission of redundant elements, comparing items, yes/no questions, negative equational expressions, the subject particle, expressing location, changing the topic, verbs vs. adjectives, the polite ending, introducing oneself, describing another person, inquiring about something, asking about the location of something or someone, etc.
Beginner B (lessons 3-5)
Topics: Korean language class, at home, at the bookstore
Grammar and usage: expressing possession, the honorific ending, the object particle, omission of particles, alternative questions, numbers, noun counters, expressing possessive relations: N1 (possessor) N2 (possessed), vowel contraction, the locative particles, the basic sentence pattern, irregular verbs; inquiring about someone's well-being, talking about someone's major, describing people, making requests, inquiring about hometown and family, asking and telling about quantity/counting, saying good-bye, asking and telling about destination and purpose, coming and going, etc.
Beginner C (lessons 6-8)
Topics: my day, the weekend, in Seoul
Grammar and usage: "by means of N", irregular predicates, past events, the negative adverb, probability, "what (kind of) N" vs. "which N", the clausal connective, negative questions, seeking agreement, demonstrative expressions, deferential style, "toward N"; talking about how much time something takes, talking about habitual and past activities, talking about daily activities, asking reasons: "why?", talking about weekend plans, talking about likes and dislikes, conversing and inquiring about someone's background, asking and giving directions, etc.
Beginner D (lesson 9-11)
Topics: birthday, at a professor's office, living in a dormitory
Grammar and usage: expressing goal or source, the noun-modifying form Adjective + N, honorific expressions, the subject honorific, clausal connectives, expressing desire, sentence endings, the noun-modifying form Verb + N, the progressive form, intentional, asking someone's opinion; talking about important dates, dates, days, and schedules, giving/making/sending and receiving, organizing a birthday party, visiting a professor's office: how to start a conversation, giving one's biographical information, expressing reservations, making an apology and giving reasons, meeting someone by chance, extending, accepting, and declining invitations, setting up a get-together, etc.
Intermediate A (lessons 12-14)
Topics: family, on the telephone, at the airport
Grammar and usage: the sequential clausal connective, conjectural structure, sentence endings, irregular predicates, noun-modifying form: verb + N (past), benefactive expression, expressing obligation or necessity, noun, expressing intentions, "because it is N", adverbial forms, negative commands; talking about family, ordinal numbers, describing clothes, describing colors, making telephone calls, making an appointment, describing illness or pain, making a polite request/question, taking a taxi, writing letters and postcards, etc.
Intermediate B (lessons 15-17)
Topics: shopping, at a restaurant, hobbies
Grammar and usage: 'can/cannot', compound verbs, 'while -ing', noun-modifying form Verb + N (prospective), clausal connectives, 'try doing', nominalizer, giving and offering, negation, (an act of) -ing, the conditional 'if, when', the comparative 'more than', 'know/not know how to'; asking about prices, buying things, expressing frequency, making suggestions, ordering food, describing tastes, talking about favorite activities, describing feelings, etc.
To find out about the material used for Advanced levels, please contact us.
For the beginner and intermediate levels we use "Integrated Korean Beginning I (3rd edition)" and "Integrated Korean Beginning II (3rd edition)" by the Hawai’i University Press.
Beginner A (Introduction, lessons 1-2)
Topics: Han´gŭl, greetings, the university campus
Grammar and usage: equational expressions, omission of redundant elements, comparing items, yes/no questions, negative equational expressions, the subject particle, expressing location, changing the topic, verbs vs. adjectives, the polite ending, introducing oneself, describing another person, inquiring about something, asking about the location of something or someone, etc.
Beginner B (lessons 3-5)
Topics: Korean language class, at home, at the bookstore
Grammar and usage: expressing possession, the honorific ending, the object particle, omission of particles, alternative questions, numbers, noun counters, expressing possessive relations: N1 (possessor) N2 (possessed), vowel contraction, the locative particles, the basic sentence pattern, irregular verbs; inquiring about someone's well-being, talking about someone's major, describing people, making requests, inquiring about hometown and family, asking and telling about quantity/counting, saying good-bye, asking and telling about destination and purpose, coming and going, etc.
Beginner C (lessons 6-8)
Topics: my day, the weekend, in Seoul
Grammar and usage: "by means of N", irregular predicates, past events, the negative adverb, probability, "what (kind of) N" vs. "which N", the clausal connective, negative questions, seeking agreement, demonstrative expressions, deferential style, "toward N"; talking about how much time something takes, talking about habitual and past activities, talking about daily activities, asking reasons: "why?", talking about weekend plans, talking about likes and dislikes, conversing and inquiring about someone's background, asking and giving directions, etc.
Beginner D (lesson 9-11)
Topics: birthday, at a professor's office, living in a dormitory
Grammar and usage: expressing goal or source, the noun-modifying form Adjective + N, honorific expressions, the subject honorific, clausal connectives, expressing desire, sentence endings, the noun-modifying form Verb + N, the progressive form, intentional, asking someone's opinion; talking about important dates, dates, days, and schedules, giving/making/sending and receiving, organizing a birthday party, visiting a professor's office: how to start a conversation, giving one's biographical information, expressing reservations, making an apology and giving reasons, meeting someone by chance, extending, accepting, and declining invitations, setting up a get-together, etc.
Intermediate A (lessons 12-14)
Topics: family, on the telephone, at the airport
Grammar and usage: the sequential clausal connective, conjectural structure, sentence endings, irregular predicates, noun-modifying form: verb + N (past), benefactive expression, expressing obligation or necessity, noun, expressing intentions, "because it is N", adverbial forms, negative commands; talking about family, ordinal numbers, describing clothes, describing colors, making telephone calls, making an appointment, describing illness or pain, making a polite request/question, taking a taxi, writing letters and postcards, etc.
Intermediate B (lessons 15-17)
Topics: shopping, at a restaurant, hobbies
Grammar and usage: 'can/cannot', compound verbs, 'while -ing', noun-modifying form Verb + N (prospective), clausal connectives, 'try doing', nominalizer, giving and offering, negation, (an act of) -ing, the conditional 'if, when', the comparative 'more than', 'know/not know how to'; asking about prices, buying things, expressing frequency, making suggestions, ordering food, describing tastes, talking about favorite activities, describing feelings, etc.
To find out about the material used for Advanced levels, please contact us.