()
If you’re looking to learn Korean during your tour here but have a limited time to do so, there is a new language program specifically designed to help people learn Hangul at a rapid pace: 90 Day Korean.
“We attempt to make learning fun by spicing up the lessons with some humor, colorful graphics, motivational messages and stories to help make the material more interesting to read!,” says 90 Day Korean founder Blake Miner.
Miner said the on-line program incorporates weekly challenges where students can earn award points for completing their tasks Earn enough points and they are given a gift bag. Miner said this encourages students to use the language outside of their private learning time.
“The bonus here is that the same features that make the lessons fun also helps you to memorize words and concepts more easily, thereby increasing your retention rate,” he said. “Although learning a new language is never easy and takes a lot of hard work, we believe … that learning should always be fun and never dry or boring.”
The course lessons are online and each student have a private coach in which they have unlimited email access to.
“We are 100 percent confident that if a student goes through the material, does the exercises and challenges as recommended over the 90-day period, they will be able to hold a 3-minute conversation in Korean,” said Miner, who said students can get a complete refund if they are not satisfied during the first 30 days of the program.
The 90 Day Korean staff said it is confident its short language program will be a long-term success because there is a demand for it
“We saw a need for a well-designed course for beginners that hand-holds them step-by-step through the learning process from day one, without the need for a tutor or teacher directly present” Miner said, explaining that the program is “hands on,” even though everything is done over the internet. “We wanted a way to bring this style of teaching to everyone via the internet.”
And they did.
The 90 Day Korean program can be found online at https://www.90daykorean.com
Evan Bleker and Sean Cowan are two foreigners living in Korea who have used the 90 Day Korean program to learn the language. Here’s their thoughts on the program.
1. Why did you decide to try the 90 Day Korean Program?
Bleker: I had been living in Korea for a number of years and hadn’t progressed to the stage where I could really speak Korean outside of knowing some basic phrases and vocabulary words. I wanted to learn to speak Korean and a friend had recommended the program to me. When I first found out about 90 day Korean I had already been living in Korea for 3 years. Up to that point I had learned many useful daily sentences but I was still far from where I wanted to be in terms of language ability. I also had many friends that began speaking fluently around me. I saw how quickly their lives changed in Korea. One of my friends was able to quit his ESL job and began working for a foreign branch of LG. There social lives also improved as they were making more Korean friends and contacts. One of my friends mentioned that he had used 90 Day Korean. I knew immediately I had to give it a try.
Cowan: Before my language level was quite basic. However after the course my Korean had become basic conversation level. I could speak with a Korean friend at a coffee shop and go back and forth between Korean and English. This was very exciting. Also once I started doing the program I noticed that my brain was able to make word connections quicker.
2. After working through the program in 90 Days, what was your Language Level in Korean? (basic conversational level, intermediate, advanced?)
Bleker: I feel my language level is now intermediate. My coach really helped push me to speak it more as I was going about my daily routine, and I feel that helped me to progress to this point.
Cowan: Before my language level was quite basic. However after the course my Korean had become basic conversation level. I could speak with a Korean friend at a coffee shop and go back and forth between Korean and English. This was very exciting. Also once I started doing the program I noticed that my brain was able to make word connections quicker.
3. Would you recommend this program to others?
Bleker: I would definitely recommend the program to others, especially if you are living in Korea or have a chance to practice on a daily basis.
Cowan: Before I took this online course I had tried many Korean language schools. However the classes moved so slowly that I would use motivation. The schools would also teach many boring sentences. The themes were based on food or where class items were. It was impossible for me to focus. I would recommend this program for anyone that has motivation to learn a language. You can go through each lesson as quickly as you want. However, you have to pass each test in 90 Day Korean before you get a new set of words and sentences. Therefore I would extra hard because I wanted to get ahead quickly.
4. What was something really positive about this program?
Bleker: My coach was so helpful and I thought this was one thing that really stuck out about the program. Before trying this program, I had bought text books but there was really no one to converse with or to ask questions to. The coaching helped motivate me to continue as well.
Cowan: Personally I believe the best aspect was that I could use the lessons in conjunction with language exchanges. I no longer needed material. I could just use the 90 Day Korean classes. This caused the whole process to go much smoother and faster. One of the most positive aspects was that many of my Korean friends noted that my Korean was greatly improving. This was super exciting to hear. I had not been complimented like that before 90 Day Korean.
5. What was negative?
Bleker: I felt everything was great as is, but one thing I would change for the future would be adding the English word into the audio instead of just the Korean. It would be helpful for those who are not in front of the materials at the time of listening.
Cowan:. Nothing comes to mind. I think some people may struggle not having a language partner. However, I really wanted to learn Korean so I didn’t need someone sitting beside me through the entire process.
6. Overall, what was your experience with this program?
Bleker: Overall, I would say I am very satisfied with the program. I hope to continue into Module 2 when I have put a bit more practice time into Module 1 and I feel everything is more or less automatic.
Cowan: 90 Day Korean worked perfectly for me. I went through the process and found that if one applies themselves with the lessons, 90 days is about the time period of an actual change in language ability.
7. Do you have any other thoughts? Or anything more you would like to say?
Bleker: You truly get what you put into the program, and if you go through the exercises as they recommend your level will increase. The way they have it set up is very motivational and I highly recommend it.
Cowan: I would compare 90 Day Korean to playing the guitar. It takes most people 3 months to get good enough that they can play around people and maybe start a band. However, most people never make it to this point because they get impatient and don’t see any progress. If they would just hang in there, by 90 days their brain will have obtained and developed the new skills over time. I learned to play guitar when I was 14 by going to many guitar lessons and practicing on my own. I was able to properly speak Korean by going through the steps, practicing and seeing it all the way through with 90 Day Program. Great program for anyone that is serious about learning Korean.
