BA Korean at SOAS: First Year (2022)
Hi 
)
If you've landed on this post, it's probably because you're thinking of or are interested in applying to SOAS for BA Korean.
When I first begun thinking about studying Korean at SOAS, there was very little I found online about what the course entailed or what the experience was like. Besides the basic overview of the Korean curriculum on SOAS' website (linked here) and the one post on TSR from the amazing Ella (linked here) detailing her experience of studying Korean at SOAS, I was pretty much at a loss.
So, I decided that for the next year, I'll be documenting what my first year experience at SOAS is like to somewhat allow you to gauge what you should expect as a prospective SOAS student for BA Korean from 2022 onwards.
For some context, I'll be living at home during my time at SOAS so I may not be the best person to question about student accommodation or what it's like to move to London. But I'll link as much information as possible about student accommodation in the contents below.
Please be patient with how often I update on here as I'll understandably be busy with both work and university. But I'll be sure to update anything that is important or that I think is relevant. If you do have any questions or anything specific you want me to write about, feel free to leave me a question or dm me.
)If you've landed on this post, it's probably because you're thinking of or are interested in applying to SOAS for BA Korean.
When I first begun thinking about studying Korean at SOAS, there was very little I found online about what the course entailed or what the experience was like. Besides the basic overview of the Korean curriculum on SOAS' website (linked here) and the one post on TSR from the amazing Ella (linked here) detailing her experience of studying Korean at SOAS, I was pretty much at a loss.
So, I decided that for the next year, I'll be documenting what my first year experience at SOAS is like to somewhat allow you to gauge what you should expect as a prospective SOAS student for BA Korean from 2022 onwards.
For some context, I'll be living at home during my time at SOAS so I may not be the best person to question about student accommodation or what it's like to move to London. But I'll link as much information as possible about student accommodation in the contents below.
Please be patient with how often I update on here as I'll understandably be busy with both work and university. But I'll be sure to update anything that is important or that I think is relevant. If you do have any questions or anything specific you want me to write about, feel free to leave me a question or dm me.
(edited 4 months ago)
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Welcome Week
Truthfully speaking, Welcome Week was a little bit bland – for me, at least. Besides attending my appointment for my Student ID card, attending my department's welcome talk & reception and the Student Life Induction talk (where we were given a free tote with a SOAS water bottle, pen and notebook), I didn't really feel compelled to attend any of the other sessions. Sure, there's definitely a lot going on (like advice on wellbeing, study abroad induction, academic writing workshop, etc) but, most sessions are designed to give advice on university life and how to accustom yourself to it. So, if you're looking for something that's a bit more interactive and fun, you'll be at a loss until Friday's Fresher's Fayre.
I didn't end up attending the fayre because I was busy but heard that it was packed with society tables offering free snacks and information on what joining entails. I'd say that the Fresher's Fayre is as interactive as Welcome Week gets besides the campus tours they offer during the week for new students. I'd definitely take a look at SOAS' SU page (linked here) beforehand to find out about the societies offered and find something that might be of interest to you.
I think that for the most part, Welcome Week is pretty much designed to somewhat allow you to familiarise yourself with the campus and as an opportunity to iron out any last issues (i.e. fees, enrolment, etc.) you may be having before classes start the following week. There'll be a schedule posted on Moodle so you can see all the events begin offered during the week. But if 2023's Welcome Week is anything like this years, you'll be able to get your hands on it only a few days beforehand ㅠ.ㅠ
Other than that, it's pretty much a chilled week in which you get to meet people on your course in a casual setting and ask your professors any questions you may have before classes start or book appointments to resolve any admin issues you may be facing.
Truthfully speaking, Welcome Week was a little bit bland – for me, at least. Besides attending my appointment for my Student ID card, attending my department's welcome talk & reception and the Student Life Induction talk (where we were given a free tote with a SOAS water bottle, pen and notebook), I didn't really feel compelled to attend any of the other sessions. Sure, there's definitely a lot going on (like advice on wellbeing, study abroad induction, academic writing workshop, etc) but, most sessions are designed to give advice on university life and how to accustom yourself to it. So, if you're looking for something that's a bit more interactive and fun, you'll be at a loss until Friday's Fresher's Fayre.
I didn't end up attending the fayre because I was busy but heard that it was packed with society tables offering free snacks and information on what joining entails. I'd say that the Fresher's Fayre is as interactive as Welcome Week gets besides the campus tours they offer during the week for new students. I'd definitely take a look at SOAS' SU page (linked here) beforehand to find out about the societies offered and find something that might be of interest to you.
I think that for the most part, Welcome Week is pretty much designed to somewhat allow you to familiarise yourself with the campus and as an opportunity to iron out any last issues (i.e. fees, enrolment, etc.) you may be having before classes start the following week. There'll be a schedule posted on Moodle so you can see all the events begin offered during the week. But if 2023's Welcome Week is anything like this years, you'll be able to get your hands on it only a few days beforehand ㅠ.ㅠ
Other than that, it's pretty much a chilled week in which you get to meet people on your course in a casual setting and ask your professors any questions you may have before classes start or book appointments to resolve any admin issues you may be facing.
Timetable
While my lectures had been made available on my timetable roughly a week or two before Welcome Week, I only received my allocated tutorial times on the Saturday before classes were due to start. As it stands, here is what my timetable for BA Korean looks like this year:
Monday:
K100: Elementary Korean Lecture: 9am to 11am
Reading & Writing East Asian Studies Lecture: 1pm to 2pm
Reading & Writing East Asian Studies Tutorial: 2pm to 3pm
Tuesday:
K100: Elementary Korean Lecture: 9am to 11am
East Asian Civilisations Lecture: 5pm to 6pm
Wednesday:
East Asian Civilisations Tutorial: 9am to 10am
Thursday:
K100: Elementary Korean Tutorial: 9am to 11am
Friday:
K100: Elementary Korean Tutorial: 9am to 11am
Following our return to university from Christmas break, the 'Reading & Writing East Asian Studies' module will be replaced by the 'K-Culture' module which, will run on Tuesdays from 3pm to 5pm.
While my lectures had been made available on my timetable roughly a week or two before Welcome Week, I only received my allocated tutorial times on the Saturday before classes were due to start. As it stands, here is what my timetable for BA Korean looks like this year:
Monday:
K100: Elementary Korean Lecture: 9am to 11am
Reading & Writing East Asian Studies Lecture: 1pm to 2pm
Reading & Writing East Asian Studies Tutorial: 2pm to 3pm
Tuesday:
K100: Elementary Korean Lecture: 9am to 11am
East Asian Civilisations Lecture: 5pm to 6pm
Wednesday:
East Asian Civilisations Tutorial: 9am to 10am
Thursday:
K100: Elementary Korean Tutorial: 9am to 11am
Friday:
K100: Elementary Korean Tutorial: 9am to 11am
Following our return to university from Christmas break, the 'Reading & Writing East Asian Studies' module will be replaced by the 'K-Culture' module which, will run on Tuesdays from 3pm to 5pm.
(edited 1 year ago)
This is awesome @sena_357!! My thread is already starting to look a little outdated and it's great you're bringing the perspective of someone who is staying at home for uni. I wish you all the best with your studies and hopefully I'll get a chance to check in now and then 
Original post by umbrellala
This is awesome @sena_357!! My thread is already starting to look a little outdated and it's great you're bringing the perspective of someone who is staying at home for uni. I wish you all the best with your studies and hopefully I'll get a chance to check in now and then
I look forward to it @umbrellala! Your thread was perhaps the most interesting/informative thing I found on studying Korean at SOAS – so, I'm genuinely appreciative as it gave me inspiration to write my own
Thank you for your support and for patiently answering my questions Hope you're doing well!(edited 1 year ago)
First Week of Classes
I know this is a little late, but I have little time to sit long enough to update here between work and university. But here I am finally - weeks later, haha. I can't believe how quickly time has gone past. We're now in week 5 of term, but in this section, I'll be talking about my first week at SOAS.
K100:
With K100, we jump right into learning. While we did have a brief introduction to the course overview at the beginning of our first lecture, by the second half, we had already begun what was set out in our curriculum. It wasn't anything too difficult, so I wouldn't worry about it all too much, but it would definitely benefit you to familiarise yourself with Hangeul before term starts. The first week of study was entirely dedicated to learning Hangeul, so for me, it was rather tedious as I have previously studied Korean, but I still managed to learn a few new things.
The professors teaching us this year are 이경은 선생님 (Professor Lee Kyung-eun), 이학경 선생님 (Professor Lee Hakk-young), 류시내 선생님 (Professor Lew Sinae). We see 이경은 선생님 on Monday for a lecture and on Friday for a tutorial. Though, after term 2, she'll only cover our Friday tutorial. I currently only have 이학경 선생님 on Tuesdays for a lecture, but she'll be taking over 이경은 선생님's Monday lecture after term two. With 이경은 선생님 and 이학경 선생님, we mostly look over grammar and vocabulary. We do often have brief speaking, writing and translating activities in their classes, but these are mostly the predominant activities in 류시내 선생님's Thursday tutorials. 류시내 선생님's classes are more of an independent class where you are encouraged to use what you've learned early on in the week in conversations and different tasks. At first, I was definitely really intimidated by 류시내 선생님's lessons, but now, they're my favourite class of the week because it is during those classes that I get to see just how much I've improved - plus, 류시내 선생님 is an amazing and very supportive teacher
East Asian Studies:
I can't even begin to express how much I don't enjoy the East Asian Studies modules ㅠ.ㅠ
These are compulsory modules if you take BA Korean or any other East Asian language as a solo degree. I'd suggest a joint degree if you're not interested in taking East Asian Civilisations or Reading & Writing East Asian Studies.
In the East Asian Civilisations module, we look over the history of East Asia (China, Japan and Korea). This would include religion, rulership and similar themes. I'm not too fond of history as a subject, so that may be why I don't enjoy this subject, but if this interests you, then you'll definitely enjoy this class.
In Reading & Writing East Asian Studies, we're taught how to write compelling essays and how to reference appropriately. That's it. Even still, I try to drag myself to these classes because our attendance is important - our tutorial professor explained that if we didn't meet a certain percentage of attendance, our assessments wouldn't be graded even if they were good. So, I'm left to eagerly count down the days until this module is over and is replaced with K-Culture.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment. Have a good day (:
I know this is a little late, but I have little time to sit long enough to update here between work and university. But here I am finally - weeks later, haha. I can't believe how quickly time has gone past. We're now in week 5 of term, but in this section, I'll be talking about my first week at SOAS.
K100:
With K100, we jump right into learning. While we did have a brief introduction to the course overview at the beginning of our first lecture, by the second half, we had already begun what was set out in our curriculum. It wasn't anything too difficult, so I wouldn't worry about it all too much, but it would definitely benefit you to familiarise yourself with Hangeul before term starts. The first week of study was entirely dedicated to learning Hangeul, so for me, it was rather tedious as I have previously studied Korean, but I still managed to learn a few new things.
The professors teaching us this year are 이경은 선생님 (Professor Lee Kyung-eun), 이학경 선생님 (Professor Lee Hakk-young), 류시내 선생님 (Professor Lew Sinae). We see 이경은 선생님 on Monday for a lecture and on Friday for a tutorial. Though, after term 2, she'll only cover our Friday tutorial. I currently only have 이학경 선생님 on Tuesdays for a lecture, but she'll be taking over 이경은 선생님's Monday lecture after term two. With 이경은 선생님 and 이학경 선생님, we mostly look over grammar and vocabulary. We do often have brief speaking, writing and translating activities in their classes, but these are mostly the predominant activities in 류시내 선생님's Thursday tutorials. 류시내 선생님's classes are more of an independent class where you are encouraged to use what you've learned early on in the week in conversations and different tasks. At first, I was definitely really intimidated by 류시내 선생님's lessons, but now, they're my favourite class of the week because it is during those classes that I get to see just how much I've improved - plus, 류시내 선생님 is an amazing and very supportive teacher
East Asian Studies:
I can't even begin to express how much I don't enjoy the East Asian Studies modules ㅠ.ㅠ
These are compulsory modules if you take BA Korean or any other East Asian language as a solo degree. I'd suggest a joint degree if you're not interested in taking East Asian Civilisations or Reading & Writing East Asian Studies.
In the East Asian Civilisations module, we look over the history of East Asia (China, Japan and Korea). This would include religion, rulership and similar themes. I'm not too fond of history as a subject, so that may be why I don't enjoy this subject, but if this interests you, then you'll definitely enjoy this class.
In Reading & Writing East Asian Studies, we're taught how to write compelling essays and how to reference appropriately. That's it. Even still, I try to drag myself to these classes because our attendance is important - our tutorial professor explained that if we didn't meet a certain percentage of attendance, our assessments wouldn't be graded even if they were good. So, I'm left to eagerly count down the days until this module is over and is replaced with K-Culture.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment. Have a good day (:
This is so interesting to see from a first years perspective! I’m currently in my second year at SOAS and I was curious what times the first years had their lectures haha. For EAC I found the AS2 to be the most interesting essay to write. And I happened to prefer it over the K culture module in term 2. You’ll also get 초롱 선생님 in term two and she’s so kind!
Original post by nenka222
This is so interesting to see from a first years perspective! I’m currently in my second year at SOAS and I was curious what times the first years had their lectures haha. For EAC I found the AS2 to be the most interesting essay to write. And I happened to prefer it over the K culture module in term 2. You’ll also get 초롱 선생님 in term two and she’s so kind!
우리 수업 매일 9시 오전에 시작해요 ㅠ.ㅠ 저는 진짜 피곤해요. 하지만 한국어 공부가 재미있어요! (If i made any mistakes, please let me know) 좋은 하루 보내세요~
Original post by sena_357
우리 수업 매일 9시 오전에 시작해요 ㅠ.ㅠ 저는 진짜 피곤해요. 하지만 한국어 공부가 재미있어요! (If i made any mistakes, please let me know) 좋은 하루 보내세요~
저는 이번 학기에 목요일만 9시에 수업이 있어요. 그래도 6시에 일어나기 너무 힘들고 마지막 수업은 4시에 있으니까 가끔 가기 싫어요 ㅎㅎ
I think 오전 has to come before the hour! But apart from that it’s great!
Original post by nenka222
저는 이번 학기에 목요일만 9시에 수업이 있어요. 그래도 6시에 일어나기 너무 힘들고 마지막 수업은 4시에 있으니까 가끔 가기 싫어요 ㅎㅎ
I think 오전 has to come before the hour! But apart from that it’s great!
I think 오전 has to come before the hour! But apart from that it’s great!
와 ㅠ.ㅠ 선배, 할 수 있어요! 힘내!
Also, thanks for the correction - I'm still super confused about where to place time adverbs like that when I want to say 9 in the morning or 5 in the evening. I'll get there though (:
I'm so glad you're still enjoying it! I was also intimidated by those speaking-heavy lessons at the start but they really are the best for consolidating everything you know. 류 쌤 is great too -- she was my personal tutor in third year and she's super sweet! I totally get not liking the other modules, I was never a fan of the other East Asia stuff and avoided it at all costs! I really think it's as shame that they've gotten rid of those open options because that was how I found what I loved at uni...
Also if you need help on the 오전/오후 thing it might help to think of it this way:
Look at the sentence 'Let's meet at 9 in the morning'. We know that 'at/에' is applying to 9 rather than 'in the morning'. We know that because you could remove 'in the morning' and it would mean the same thing, whereas if we removed 9 it would become a lot less specific. So it would have to be 오전 9시에 만나자.
오전에 만나자 also makes sense, but if you chuck in 9시 without a marker it's kind of just floating around doing (and meaning) nothing.
In other words, think of 오전/오후 as in the same category as 매일, 오늘, 올해. They're unspecific time-related words that always go at the start and are left unmarked
Also if you need help on the 오전/오후 thing it might help to think of it this way:
Look at the sentence 'Let's meet at 9 in the morning'. We know that 'at/에' is applying to 9 rather than 'in the morning'. We know that because you could remove 'in the morning' and it would mean the same thing, whereas if we removed 9 it would become a lot less specific. So it would have to be 오전 9시에 만나자.
오전에 만나자 also makes sense, but if you chuck in 9시 without a marker it's kind of just floating around doing (and meaning) nothing.
In other words, think of 오전/오후 as in the same category as 매일, 오늘, 올해. They're unspecific time-related words that always go at the start and are left unmarked
(edited 1 year ago)
Hi! Hope you're doing well~
SOAS used to do a degree where you could another language alongside Korean, but they've since stopped that (I think it was stopped back in 2019 or 2020). As of now, the only time you'd be able to take up an extra language alongside Korean would be in the fourth year, where you have the option of picking up Chinese or Japanese as a side language (which would be a less intensive class than the language you're majoring in).
I hope that answers your question?
Hopefully I'll be seeing your around campus next year! Good luck with your A-levels!
SOAS used to do a degree where you could another language alongside Korean, but they've since stopped that (I think it was stopped back in 2019 or 2020). As of now, the only time you'd be able to take up an extra language alongside Korean would be in the fourth year, where you have the option of picking up Chinese or Japanese as a side language (which would be a less intensive class than the language you're majoring in).
I hope that answers your question?
Hopefully I'll be seeing your around campus next year! Good luck with your A-levels!
Original post by sena_357
Hi! Hope you're doing well~
SOAS used to do a degree where you could another language alongside Korean, but they've since stopped that (I think it was stopped back in 2019 or 2020). As of now, the only time you'd be able to take up an extra language alongside Korean would be in the fourth year, where you have the option of picking up Chinese or Japanese as a side language (which would be a less intensive class than the language you're majoring in).
I hope that answers your question?
Hopefully I'll be seeing your around campus next year! Good luck with your A-levels!
SOAS used to do a degree where you could another language alongside Korean, but they've since stopped that (I think it was stopped back in 2019 or 2020). As of now, the only time you'd be able to take up an extra language alongside Korean would be in the fourth year, where you have the option of picking up Chinese or Japanese as a side language (which would be a less intensive class than the language you're majoring in).
I hope that answers your question?
Hopefully I'll be seeing your around campus next year! Good luck with your A-levels!
Ahh! Thank you so much, that clears up a lot of things! Hope to see u next year : )
Thoughts on the Course
After the last few weeks I’ve had, I can confidently say that studying Korean isn’t an easy feat - but it certainly is rewarding and enjoyable. The last couple of weeks has been pretty difficult for me in terms of the content being taught and all the assignments I’ve had to complete back to back for all of my modules. Still, I’ve continued to push forward and do my best because I do really enjoy studying Korean despite the hurdles I’m experiencing in getting things to stick… But I’m getting there and studying whenever I get the chance.
Going into term 2, I’ve heard that quite a few people have dropped out so far. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but during open days, the East Asian Department is brutally honest about the difficulty of the course, and this advice should definitely be taken at face value. So if you’re not dedicated or willing to work hard, I wouldn’t recommend applying for Korean or any other East Asian language. However, if you want a ‘lighter’ load of Korean, then I might suggest the East Asian Studies course that allows you to study Korean at a less intensive level - though this course doesn’t include a year abroad, so do bare that in mind.
Because we have 4 days a week of Korean, two lectures and two tutorials, we get through quite a lot in one week. Missing one class can often set you back, especially because everything taught in one class is then implemented into future lessons. However, there is a silver lining - you can always book time with the professors for help and clarification on the content you didn’t grasp. Personally, I always find that 류시내 선생님 and 이학경 선생님 explain things very well in class so that you don’t leave without understanding the content. They always walk around the class to check how people are getting on and are always very encouraging.
All in all, Korean at SOAS is pretty fun. The teachers are genuinely lovely and supportive, the curriculum is well-planned and interesting, and my classmates are pretty nice too. It is a very fast-paced course, so please bear in mind that you need to invest a lot of time and effort into staying afloat. We have continuous assignments quite frequently in the form of quizzes and written assignments, usually at the end of a topic, to check your knowledge and give you an opportunity to see the gaps in your knowledge. These assignments aren’t usually graded, but their completion goes towards 20% of your final grade.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment.
좋은 하루 보내세요~
After the last few weeks I’ve had, I can confidently say that studying Korean isn’t an easy feat - but it certainly is rewarding and enjoyable. The last couple of weeks has been pretty difficult for me in terms of the content being taught and all the assignments I’ve had to complete back to back for all of my modules. Still, I’ve continued to push forward and do my best because I do really enjoy studying Korean despite the hurdles I’m experiencing in getting things to stick… But I’m getting there and studying whenever I get the chance.
Going into term 2, I’ve heard that quite a few people have dropped out so far. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but during open days, the East Asian Department is brutally honest about the difficulty of the course, and this advice should definitely be taken at face value. So if you’re not dedicated or willing to work hard, I wouldn’t recommend applying for Korean or any other East Asian language. However, if you want a ‘lighter’ load of Korean, then I might suggest the East Asian Studies course that allows you to study Korean at a less intensive level - though this course doesn’t include a year abroad, so do bare that in mind.
Because we have 4 days a week of Korean, two lectures and two tutorials, we get through quite a lot in one week. Missing one class can often set you back, especially because everything taught in one class is then implemented into future lessons. However, there is a silver lining - you can always book time with the professors for help and clarification on the content you didn’t grasp. Personally, I always find that 류시내 선생님 and 이학경 선생님 explain things very well in class so that you don’t leave without understanding the content. They always walk around the class to check how people are getting on and are always very encouraging.
All in all, Korean at SOAS is pretty fun. The teachers are genuinely lovely and supportive, the curriculum is well-planned and interesting, and my classmates are pretty nice too. It is a very fast-paced course, so please bear in mind that you need to invest a lot of time and effort into staying afloat. We have continuous assignments quite frequently in the form of quizzes and written assignments, usually at the end of a topic, to check your knowledge and give you an opportunity to see the gaps in your knowledge. These assignments aren’t usually graded, but their completion goes towards 20% of your final grade.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment.
좋은 하루 보내세요~
Exams
Wah, it’s really been three months since I last updated this thread, haha. Time genuinely has escaped me, and I’ve been so focused on getting through the final term of this academic year to really sit and update my experience at SOAS. Yesterday was my last exam for the year, and I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to get some respite from the workload finally. We finished the academic year with a 3-hour writing exam, and let me tell you, no amount of preparation could have prepared me for the test we had to sit ㅠ.ㅠ The writing exam consists of 3 parts and is very reading-dense, so it’s definitely important to practice your reading well before the exam. The first part had 4 questions, the second had 3 questions, and the last part had 2 writing compositions that required a minimum of 150 words. It’s safe to say that everything I’d learned throughout the year magically left my brain the second I flipped that exam paper open, haha. But I’m optimistic that I’ve done well enough, and I’m proud of myself because I know that I gave it my all. It really didn’t hit me until I’d finished that paper how much I’ve improved in the last year. When I first started this course, I could barely get through a self-introduction in Korean, and now, I can hold decent conversations and talk about a plethora of topics. So while this course is difficult and requires a lot of willpower, it’s definitely super rewarding, and I absolutely don’t regret it.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand...
This year consisted of the following exams:
2 listening exams
2 speaking exams
1 writing exam
We took the second speaking exam on the 4th of May, less than two weeks before the very final exam, and to say that the structure confused me is an understatement. I have experience in studying languages in an academic setting and was expecting the speaking exam to follow a similar structure but was (rather unpleasantly) surprised to find out that the final Korean speaking exam would be a group exam rather than a solo one. The groups were chosen by the professors and made known to us only a few days before the exam, giving us only a short while to meet up with other members of our group to practice how we’d work together. To be honest, I was actually relatively happy with my group, and we managed to meet up twice before the exam to work together and come up with a structure that would work for us during the exam, no matter what theme of discussion was thrown at us. The speaking exam consisted of 2 tasks: one where you would choose a photo and spend 3-minutes talking about it with 2-minutes of prep time and the second where you and your group members would come together to choose one of the 4 topic themes and speak on that subject for 7-minutes. I definitely made myself nervous leading up to that exam, but I ended up settling down once we got in there and got started – plus, we had 이학경 선생님 as our examiner so that definitely made it much better.
Throughout the year, there was also a consistent stream of quizzes and speaking/writing assignments - of which all count as 20% of your overall grade under ‘continuous assignments’. Besides 2 quizzes that I forgot to do, I managed to stay pretty consistent in handing in all work on time and of rather good quality. But truth be told, it was really difficult to keep up with the Korean element of this degree when the East Asian Studies modules had back-to-back coursework that was rather time-consuming and long. And it was super important to also focus on these because the grade you earn on these modules is considered when your GPA is calculated for your Year Abroad application. So if you’re planning on taking this course, I’d definitely recommend staying on top of studying and working on your time-management skills if you want to avoid massive amounts of stress during the year.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment. Have a good day (:
Wah, it’s really been three months since I last updated this thread, haha. Time genuinely has escaped me, and I’ve been so focused on getting through the final term of this academic year to really sit and update my experience at SOAS. Yesterday was my last exam for the year, and I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to get some respite from the workload finally. We finished the academic year with a 3-hour writing exam, and let me tell you, no amount of preparation could have prepared me for the test we had to sit ㅠ.ㅠ The writing exam consists of 3 parts and is very reading-dense, so it’s definitely important to practice your reading well before the exam. The first part had 4 questions, the second had 3 questions, and the last part had 2 writing compositions that required a minimum of 150 words. It’s safe to say that everything I’d learned throughout the year magically left my brain the second I flipped that exam paper open, haha. But I’m optimistic that I’ve done well enough, and I’m proud of myself because I know that I gave it my all. It really didn’t hit me until I’d finished that paper how much I’ve improved in the last year. When I first started this course, I could barely get through a self-introduction in Korean, and now, I can hold decent conversations and talk about a plethora of topics. So while this course is difficult and requires a lot of willpower, it’s definitely super rewarding, and I absolutely don’t regret it.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand...
This year consisted of the following exams:
2 listening exams
2 speaking exams
1 writing exam
We took the second speaking exam on the 4th of May, less than two weeks before the very final exam, and to say that the structure confused me is an understatement. I have experience in studying languages in an academic setting and was expecting the speaking exam to follow a similar structure but was (rather unpleasantly) surprised to find out that the final Korean speaking exam would be a group exam rather than a solo one. The groups were chosen by the professors and made known to us only a few days before the exam, giving us only a short while to meet up with other members of our group to practice how we’d work together. To be honest, I was actually relatively happy with my group, and we managed to meet up twice before the exam to work together and come up with a structure that would work for us during the exam, no matter what theme of discussion was thrown at us. The speaking exam consisted of 2 tasks: one where you would choose a photo and spend 3-minutes talking about it with 2-minutes of prep time and the second where you and your group members would come together to choose one of the 4 topic themes and speak on that subject for 7-minutes. I definitely made myself nervous leading up to that exam, but I ended up settling down once we got in there and got started – plus, we had 이학경 선생님 as our examiner so that definitely made it much better.
Throughout the year, there was also a consistent stream of quizzes and speaking/writing assignments - of which all count as 20% of your overall grade under ‘continuous assignments’. Besides 2 quizzes that I forgot to do, I managed to stay pretty consistent in handing in all work on time and of rather good quality. But truth be told, it was really difficult to keep up with the Korean element of this degree when the East Asian Studies modules had back-to-back coursework that was rather time-consuming and long. And it was super important to also focus on these because the grade you earn on these modules is considered when your GPA is calculated for your Year Abroad application. So if you’re planning on taking this course, I’d definitely recommend staying on top of studying and working on your time-management skills if you want to avoid massive amounts of stress during the year.
If you have any questions, please DM me or leave a comment. Have a good day (:
Original post by nenka222
Which topic did you end up choosing for the speaking!
We ended up choosing 취미, and I was genuinely surprised by how long we held the conversation for (:
Hoping your exams went well??
Original post by nenka222
I just had my writing this morning! I was surprised! I thought it went really well and all the questions I wanted came up! Luckily hahah
다행이다! 걱정하지 마세요, 선배! I'm sure you did well! Have you found out which university you're attending for the YA?
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