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eumyang

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Posts posted by eumyang

  1. I'm very late to the thread, but I wanted to comment on these:

     

    My familiarity with basic Calculus is as a three semester sequence. Thus, A, B, and C in the AP designations.

    A, B, and C in the AP designations actually refer to quarters -- that's why AB usually gives one semester and BC may give two. AB is the first 2/3 of a one-year sequence and BC is the full sequence. This of course refers to university.

     

    My understanding is that the A, B and C actually refers to groups of topics within Single-Variable calculus.

    A - precalculus

    B - differential and integral calculus

    C - techniques of integration, infinite series

     

    A couple of high schools, I recall, would use these letters in their courses, and for multivariable calculus, they would use the letter D (ie. "Calculus D").  But this is not an offical CB designation, obviously (there is no AP exam in multivariable calculus).

     

  2. I was a math major in college, and the following is a list of the core (lower division) math courses that all math majors had to take:

     

     

    • Calculus I
    • Calculus II
    • Multivariable Calculus
    • Linear Algebra
    • Differential Equations
    • Discrete Mathematics
    • Probability & Statistics

     

    The question to the OP is, however, how much of Calculus will her dd "finish"? Will she get through single-variable calculus (Calculus I & II), or will she finish Multivariable Calculus (aka Calculus III) as well? Whatever she has completed, she can go through the rest of list, at whatever pace works for her.

     

     

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  3. I took the AP Music Theory test as a HS sophomore, without taking any class at school. However, at the music school where I took piano lessons, I also had nearly four years of theory (2 years of classes and 2 years of theory private lessons) by the time I took the test. I didn't do any studying for the test proper. I got a 5.

     

    The following year, I took the AP Music Lit test (the last year College Board offered it), without any classes, even at the music school. I just read books, listened to records/tapes/CD's, looked at music scores, on my own for a number of years before taking that test. I got a 4.

     

    So I guess I'm saying that it's possible for a student to do well on an AP test without taking a class, if he/she is really motivated.

     

     

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  4. Which level of Algebra? Introductory or Intermediate?

     

    I assume you want to go with the paperback version of Lial. (This is the version most recommended here.) The most current edition of Lial's paperback version is the 9th.

     

    If you need the Introductory Algebra book, here are some ISBN numbers:

    Textbook: 9780321557131

    Annotated Instructor's Edition: 9780321576378

    Instructor's Solution Manual: 9780321576385

    Student's Solution Manual: 9780321576439

    Worksheets for Classroom or Lab Practice: 9780321576491

    Videos on DVD: 9780321607812

     

    If you need the Intermediate Algebra book, here are some ISBN numbers:

    Textbook: 9780321574978

    Annotated Instructor's Edition: 9780321576224

    Instructor's Solution Manual: 9780321576231

    Student's Solution Manual: 9780321576293

    Worksheets for Classroom or Lab Practice: 9780321576354

    Videos on DVD: 9780321576286

     

     

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  5. Stephanie,

     

    I, too, suggest that you take Calculus and the algebra/trig based Physics, and then take the Calculus-based Physics in college. This is what I basically did when I was in school, and I did ok.

     

    Regarding your Calculus book inquiry, most major textbooks will have the solutions manual in two versions: the student version, which typically has the worked out answers to the odd-numbered exercises, and the instructor version, which has the worked out answers to all exercises.

     

    You mention Chalkdust, and it sounds like that the solutions manual included in their package is the instructor version. If you can navigate through the publisher's website (and I think I have the right one here: http://www.cengage.com/search/showresults.do?Ns=P_CopyRight_Year|1&N=+16+4294922413+4294967225+4294967224+4294967223+4294948181) you'll be able to find all of the student and instructor resources for the various editions of the Larson books. (Yes, there are too many, in my opinion.) The only thing is that I can only find the 8th and 9th editions on the Cengage website, not the 7th (the edition used by Chalkdust).

     

     

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  6. I know the question wasn't directed to me, but according to the table of contents (I "clicked-to-see-inside" from the Amazon page), that version has single-variable and multi-variable.

     

    Yes, Stewart does have a lot of versions. So does Larson. So does Thomas. And so does other authors. It's quite annoying.

     

    What she said. The last four chapters are: Vectors and the Geometry of Space, Partial Derivatives, Multiple Integrals, and Vector Calculus.

    :blink:

     

    Last time I checked, I was a he. :D

     

     

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  7. I just started considering having ds take math classes at CC in 10th grade. Math is his strongest subject, and I've been told more than once to start him at CC in a strong subject. I found that the CC has this sequence and the high school credit value:

    Intermediate Algebra - 1/2 credit

    College Algebra - 1 credit

    Trigonometry - 1 credit

    Pre-Calculus Algebra - 1 credit

    Calculus with Analytic Geometry - 1 credit

     

    I find this very strange and I am quite distressed over it for some reason. Perhaps because it was my understanding that College Algebra and Pre-Calculus Algebra are the same thing.

    Don't be distressed! "College Algebra" and "Pre-Calculus Algebra" are pretty much the same thing. Both are offered to serve different types of students. I found a CC catalog with the courses you listed in your next post, and I found that some programs require "College Algebra" (Athletic Training, Business, Nursing, Pre-Physical Therapy...) and others require "Pre-Calculus Algebra" (Pre-Pharmacy, Pre-Professional Health...) as part of their A.A. transfer plans. If your son is strong in Math, then he should take "Pre-Calculus Algebra" only and skip the "College Algebra".

     

    I also find it extremely strange that College Algebra and Trigonometry are each considered a year's worth of high school math. No high school I know of spends a year on College Algebra or Trigonometry.

    There are a number of high schools that do this; the high school I attended did for one. Back then, students who took honors math had to take double up junior year with "Trigonometry/Analytic Geometry" and "College Algebra" if they wanted to take Calculus senior year. Students who took GT (Gifted & Talented) math courses (like me :D)took a single Precalculus course sophomore year.

     

    I'm starting to think that two years of Precalculus make more sense. There is so much material in Precalculus textbooks that there is no way for me to teach it in one year. I wish that the school where I teach would change to a two-year format, but alas, no. We need to increase our enrollment for the AP Calculus AB class, after all... :mad: I think some will argue that some students are not ready to take a Precalculus course in the 11th grade and could benefit from taking it in two years. I myself have seen some students who did fine taking Algebra I 8th grade, Algebra II 9th grade, and Geometry 10th grade, only to flounder in Precalculus 11th grade.

     

    How many times have I heard that CC classes cover a year's worth of high school material in a semester? That seems to be true of the foreign language, English, and science classes (with lab) here. Why not the math?

    There are a number of colleges/universities/community colleges that offer Precalculus in two semester courses: one in College Algebra and one in Trig. Others offer Precalculus in two variants: a two-semester format and an intensive one-semester format. Again, with the amount of material that could be classified as "Precalculus," I think it's justified for colleges to offer it as a two-semester course. (I also hold the notion that 1 year HS course = 1 sem. college course.)

     

     

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  8. I know the question wasn't directed to me, but according to the table of contents (I "clicked-to-see-inside" from the Amazon page), that version has single-variable and multi-variable.

     

    Yes, Stewart does have a lot of versions. So does Larson. So does Thomas. And so does other authors. It's quite annoying.

     

     

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  9. And, I should add: none of my teachers ever had a chance to visit an English speaking country (no international travel allowed in communist East Germany), nor did we have access to native speakers, CDs, videos, etc. If I could learn English this well, one can definitely learn a foreign language in a home school with access to all those technologies that we did not have.

    Off topic, but this reminded me of a documentary I watched nearly twenty years ago when I was taking Intermediate German 2 at college. Produced right after reunification, the film highlighted differences between East and West. One was foreign language ability. There was a quick interview with a student in the West, whose English was rather good, with little accent. This followed by an interview with an English teacher in the East, whose English was less proficient and heavily accented.

     

    I do not believe it is possible to successfully have students in a home environment that is not already bilingual (which would mean that it is not truly a foreign language in that home) to become proficient in a foreign language. I also do not believe it is possible to achieve in a schoolroom in one hour a day. Not even over 10 years of study.

    My home environment was somewhat bilingual, but I still didn't become proficient in Korean. :D As I've mentioned, I had issues with language growing up. I firmly believe that I will never be proficient in Korean because of what I think is my handicap. Defeatist attitude? Perhaps. Although I'm planning a fourth trip to Korea this summer to continue my language studies, I think I've reached a plateau, and that I probably won't be able to speak much better than I can now. (Then why go to Korea at all? I have relatives there, and I had fun staying there, of course. :D)

     

     

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  10. No, two years of a foreign language are nowhere near enough for anything resembling proficiency. Even four years is inadequate; for proficiency, I would say 8-10 years are necessary.

    The amount of time would depend on the language. In the 1970s, the Foreign Service Institute established a scale of "Expected Levels of Absolute Speaking Proficiency in Languages." The languages taught at FSI were divided into four groups, based on the achievement level a student may expect after a certain period of study. If an adult studied for 30 hours a week (yikes!), he/she could reach an "advanced" level of proficiency in 24 weeks (720 hours) if he/she was studying French (a Group I language). However, it would take anywhere from 80-92 weeks (2400-2760 hours) to reach "advanced" proficiency in Chinese (a Group IV language).

    (See http://www.asdk12.org/depts/world_lang/advocacy/ForeignServiceInst.pdf.)

     

    Which means that starting in high school as commonly done in the US is too late. I don't know what is expected from a two year course- to me that is too short a time to make any sense.

    Is it really common to start in HS? I myself started in the 7th grade, and it was pretty much required for all students in the middle school I attended (except for the special needs students). If I had picked the right language, I could have reached level 6 by 12 grade. (I say "the right language," because the language I really wanted to take, German, was not offered in middle school. So I took 2 years of Russian in middle school and 4 years of German in high school. But French and Spanish were offered in both schools, so if I had picked either one of those, I could have reached level 6 by 12th grade.)

     

    My oldest took two years of French for HS using Rossetta Stone. Passed the tests but he cannot speak the language at all and does not remember much of the vocabulary.

    I can sympathize, although I am considerably older. :glare: I am convinced that I have some sort of language handicap -- being a child of Korean immigrants, I did not learn to speak until I was four, and even then, it was broken English. I spent all of elementary school in Speech Therapy. My parents were told by my 1st grade teacher not to speak Korean to me until my English got better, a huge mistake.

     

    I didn't start studying Korean formally until 4 years ago, when I went to Korea for a summer and took an intensive language course at a Korean university. I did this for three straight summers (4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a 10 week term), and still, my speaking ability isn't much to write home about. Among the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking), I would say that I am best at writing.

     

    I second the suggestion for the student to get plenty of opportunities to hear the language spoken. I'm planning on going back to Korea this summer (for a fourth time!) to continue my language studies, and I've found a website where I can download podcasts in Korean to listen to, as preparation. I've also, uhm, acquired (:tongue_smilie:) Korean movies and TV dramas to watch (with English subtitles, of course).

     

     

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  11. This is the book we used:

    http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Graphical-Numerical-Franklin-Demana/dp/0201324458/ref=pd_sim_b_3

     

    It gets so-so reviews, but if you throw out the ones from high school students who just hate their calc class, and the ones from the people who think you can't have a calc book without tons and tons of proofs, the reviews aren't so bad.

     

    The thing I liked about this book is that it was very trimmed down. Not too many confusing proofs and it only really covered the topics that were going to be on the AP test. If your goal is the AP test, a stripped down, not so distracting version might be what you'd want.

     

    Also I liked that there was a solutions manual rather than just answers. (We also have the test bank book which is really fairly useless.)

     

    My daughter used this one for the AP test, placed into Calc III in college and got one of the highest grades in her Calc III class.

     

    I figured that a less comprehensive book would probably be a good way to start. For myself, I can never understand proofs until I know how to work the problems anyway, so there's not much point for me (or my kids) to try to "learn" the proofs until we actually understand the workings of things.

     

    This may rub math teachers the wrong way, but I've also seen that those students who "know" the proofs on their first go-round tend to only be able to regurgitate the steps.

     

     

    However -- my take on most calc books is that they're all pretty much the same, when you get right down to it. If you get one with a good solutions manual, you'll probably be ok.

     

    I have to disagree. As a math teacher, this certainly does rub me the wrong way. This book is rather poor in my opinion. It is rather lacking in explanations. The material presented is low-level, avoiding even remotely complicated reasoning. A colleague of mine currently teaches the 3rd edition (2007) and she does not like it.

     

    (There is also a Precalculus book by 3 of the same authors, of which I am currently using in my Precalculus class. It's also quite lacking, topics are often presented out of order, and the examples are either too hard or too easy.)

     

    And while the Calculus book is thin, it is NOT cheap. In fact, the Calculus book is more expensive than the Precalculus book, according to the publisher's catalog. And the Precalculus book is thicker!

     

    ----

     

    To answer the OP, I'm rather partial to Larson myself. When I learned Calculus for the 1st time in high school, I used Larson, 3rd edition. (Now it's at the 9th edition.)

  12. Why would you only consider Lial for the honors sections?

    A number of reasons:

    - Because the Lial books are geared towards college remedial classes, the applications and the non-math topics mentioned in the word problems may be at too high of a level for our regular students to understand

    - Our students have to buy their textbooks, and Lial is more expensive than Holt (even though Holt is thicker!)

    - I teach in a private school in Maryland, and there is a state book program where the state will buy books for private schools to lend to students (which they can take home). I have asked the department chair if we can do this for the Lial books, but it would be more likely to happen if we get the books for a less number of students (ie. the honors classes only) than more (the regular students).

    - The format of the Lial books (this is the high-school binding of the paperback series) is a workbook format, and the books would encourage students to write in them, which is what I want to avoid. Particularly if these are state books, I would have to check them at the end of the year to make sure that if there were any pencil marks then they would have to be erased.

    - We may move towards electronic versions of books in the future, to be put into Tablet PC's or iPads. I know that the Holt books are available in an electronic version (the "Student One Stop" CD), but I don't think the Lial books are.

     

     

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  13. I was talking another look at Lial's Alg 2 tonight after reading this thread-

     

    Lials Alg 2 covers Factoring Trinomials and Diff of Squares in Chapter 7.

    Foerster Algebra 1 does so in chpt 5.

     

    She covers Quadratic Equations and completing the Square in chapter 10.

    Foerster Algebra 1 does so in Chpt 7.

     

    I am not very impressed by Foerster's Alg 2. Love Foerster Alg 1.

     

    Lials Algebra 2 would be a review for my son after Foerster Alg 1-

     

    Anyone have comment that might give me direction?

    I'm not sure why you are comparing Lial's Algebra 2 (Intermediate Algebra) book with Foerster's Algebra 1 book. If we compare the Algebra 1 books, Lial's Algebra 1 book (Beginning/Introductory Algebra) covers Factoring in Chapter 6, and Quadratics in Chapter 9.

     

    I will say this, however: the order of topics in Algebra 1 books have changed since I was in school When I took Algebra 1 in 7th grade, Dolciani was used, and I recall that we did exponents/polynomials/factoring before graphing linear equations. Now, exponents/polynomials/factoring occurs after graphing linear equations. It makes sense, in a way -- put all the topics together that deal with things linear (linear equations/inequalities, graphing lines), before dealing with expressions, equations and functions that are not linear (quadratic, polynomial, rational, radical).

     

    ----

     

    I don't have much of an update about my original post. We (the math teachers in our school) are still looking over textbooks. I have talked to the math dept. chair a number of times, and she's not in favor of using Foerster, either, which is a good thing. :D

     

    She's also not in favor of Lial, but, truthfully, I'm not either, for our regular Algebra 1 & 2 classes. But since there's a good chance I will be teaching Algebra 1 Honors and Algebra 2 Honors next year, I may be free to use Lial for the honors classes only.

     

    As for the regular classes, I'm leaning towards Holt (the series that contains the Geometry book that Jann in TX likes). The One Stop Planner software that she keeps talking about sounds real nice. :drool: And an electronic version is available (the Student One Stop DVD). If only the print textbooks weren't so *#&$^#*&^$*& heavy. :angry:

     

     

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  14. I'm a math teacher in a private school. We are considering changing our textbooks next year for Algebra I and II (standard level). Currently, we use the Larson books from McDougal Littell (2007 edition). One set we are considering is Foerster.

     

    I've been a lurker on these forums for a while before I started posting, because I was interested in reading about math textbooks and curricula (not so much on HS'ing -- I'm not even married). I'm a big fan of Lial, but not so much of Foerster. I teach mostly Algebra I and II at my school, so I will have a big say in which books to choose. (One of the perks in being in a private school.) I need help articulating only the negatives about Foerster. Here are some of my thoughts:

     

    Pro:

    * cheapest of the all of the books we are considering

     

    Cons:

    * more suitable for honors classes (our 'standard level' is actually a little BELOW what other schools consider 'standard level')

    * no test bank software (only pre-made tests that we could photocopy)

     

    I have more thoughts, but I would like to hear what everyone here has to say. In case you're wondering, the other series we are considering are:

    * Lial

    * Dolciani (the most CURRENT edition)

    * Holt (of which it's Geometry book is a favorite of Jann in TX)

    If you think I'm biased against Foerster, you're probably right. But I don't wish to use a textbook that I am not comfortable with. If anyone has done a comparison between Foerster and the other series I mention, please speak up. Thanks.

     

     

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  15. I was in the grocery store an hour ago. Our store accepts competitor's coupons and I had one giving me a bag of carrots for 59 cents. The carrots cost $1.50 without the coupon.

     

    The high school aged checkout girl couldn't figure out the value of the coupon WITH a calculator. After a minute or two - when she was no longer pushing buttons and just standing there looking stumped - I told her. I was nice about it... She didn't even question it. I probably could have saved a lot more if I had wanted to be unethical.

    Similar thing happened to me last Christmas. I was buying 4 boxes of chocolates. The display sign said that it was on sale for $4.99 each. At the register, however, the boxes were scanned and the register displayed $5.98. I told the girl at the register about the display sign. It took her about 2 minutes to find the chocolates display, and it took her another 3-4 minutes for her to find a calculator, because she couldn't figure out how much to deduct (she had to type it manually at the register). I told her it was $3.96 ($0.99 x 4) but she ignored me and continued to look for the calculator. She found it, but I could only shake my head at the whole situation. The girl wasn't a high school student either -- she looked to be in her mid-twenties. :scared:

     

     

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  16. So let's say you do Physics then Chemistry then Biology (assuming the math is there). What would you do for the fourth year? Follow up on one of those, or something different, such as environmental science or geology?

    I would do earth/space science in the 4th year. I think that students should be exposed to the five major branches of science (physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy). Earth/space science doesn't get as much love as physics/chemistry/biology for some reason. (I say this, but my field is not in geology or astronomy.)

     

    Heck, I never took a science class the fourth year (I took two math classes instead) -- I started with bio the 1st year, then chem, then physics. I never liked bio -- I probably wouldn't have hated it so much if I did the "Physics First" sequence.

     

     

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  17. Erich Kaestner is definitely a popular author of children's books, but they are more for younger children. I would recommend Das fliegende Klassenzimmer.

    I remember reading the English translation of Emil und die Detektive as a kid. And then, in high school, I read a simplified German version in German 4. It may have originally been a children's book, but I remember it not being an easy read, even the simplified version. :blush:

     

     

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  18. Although I have TT geometry in my signature, I don't have the book, for now I have a book called Geometry Concepts and Skills by McDougal Littell and it is driving me crazy! This a ps textbook and it doesn't have very good explanations for it so I get confused a little bit, and I don't like the book.

    Interestingly enough, the Concepts and Skills series from McDougal Littell is for lower-level students. We use the Algebra 1 & 2 books from this series at my school for our "Basic" classes.

     

     

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  19. I found a private school that I liked a lot. I met parents and students and teachers. My daughter spent the day there. We paid our $24,000 tuition.

    (Emphasis mine.) I don't have children at all, but I do teach at a private school. At certain periods of the year I see a lot of prospective students shadow at my school, so that's something that the OP should have her DS do if considering private schools.

     

     

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  20. This all sounds so interesting, is Lial's a good college prep? I need the step by step instructions, but if Lial's isn't college prep, I'll have to go with Forester's.

    Lial is definitely college prep. They are college textbooks for college remedial courses, after all. ;) Search for posts written by "Jann in TX" about Lial and you'll find a ton of posts. (I feel sorry for Jann for repeating herself so much. ;))

     

    I like Lial better than Foerster because I think Foerster is too high-level; Pearson's catalog (Pearson is the publisher for Foerster) says that Foerster is perfect for honors-level classes. I also don't like the order of topics in Foerster's Algebra 1 book. Just MHO.

     

     

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  21. Cheryl, I don't know where in SoCA you are, but my community (Fullerton, north of D-land) has a huge Korean community and there are several "Saturday schools" in both Chinese and Korean.
    We are in the Inland Empire and so far there is nothing like that near us :( Our Korean community is growing though so I keep hoping! There are a couple of Korean churches (according to the phone book) in the valley and I plan on calling them as my children get older (my oldest is just finishing K) to see if there is anything we can learn through them. Thanks:001_smile:

    I went to a "Korean School" on Saturdays from 2nd to 8th grade and I didn't like it much. I didn't have much interest in learning Korean then -- my thinking was, we're in the USA now, so why bother? Furthermore, the school focused on reading and writing, and they assumed that most students knew how to speak Korean already. Besides a few phrases, I couldn't speak it at all. :(

     

    Of course I regret not putting forth more effort back then in learning Korean. So Cheryl, even though my experiences say otherwise, I also recommend looking into the Saturday schools route. Who knows, maybe something is offered, or will be offered, through the churches in your area (although in my case, the school I attended wasn't affiliated with a Korean church -- I'm in Maryland, BTW).

     

     

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  22. Western Civ is a one semester college text that is devoted to the Western Hemisphere and only sporadically addresses the Eastern nations.

    I don't mean to nitpick, but the comprehensive volume is meant to be for a two-semester course at the college level. It is also available in two volumes (I took "History of Modern Civilzation" at college and we used volume II). A number of college course syllabi that I've seen would use this book over two semesters. Western Civilization is also available in three volumes (A, B, C), presumably for colleges that use the quarter system. To me, going through the comprehensive volume would require two years at the high-school level.

     

    Just out of curiosity, is Human Odyssey meant to be for a one-year course or a two-year course in World History for high-school students? And have people read these reviews about the book?

    http://www.textbookleague.org/92odyss.htm

    I don't have the book, so I have no opinion about it -- I couldn't tell you if what the reviewers said is true.

     

     

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  23. Funny, I'm a Korean-American learning Korean right now.

     

    @Sue in MN: The Elementary Korean book (and workbook) by Ross King is a college text. I have the first edition. (The sequel is called Continuing Korean, but there is no 2nd edition yet.) I particularly liked the grammar explanations in these books. There is also an audio CD.

     

    There are some problems (remember, I'm talking about the 1st edition here):

    * The books are a bit dry, and there are no pictures.

    * The material that was recorded for the CD is uneven. Less material was recorded for the later lessons than the earlier ones. I think they should have put out 2 CD's instead of 1.

    * The presentation of verbs is all in one fell swoop (Lesson 7), and I don't like how they are presented in a "base" form as opposed to the "infinitive" form. For example, in other Korean books, the verb "to do" would be written (I'll use romanization here) as "ha da", but King writes it as "ha -" (with a dash). He explains why he does this in the preface, I think, but I just don't agree with it.

    * There were some typos in the 1st edition.

     

     

    I started learning Korean by going to Korea and attending an intensive language course offered by a number of Korean universities. (Cheryl, this won't help your kids now, but you may want to consider this after they graduate from high school. ;)) The popular programs, I would say, are at Yonsei, Sogang, SNU, Ewha, and Korea U. Usually, the program has 6 levels, and at each level class meets for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a 10 week term, so one could finish the program in a year and a half. Students don't usually stay at the dorms, but instead they'll live at a homestay or rent a place nearby campus.

     

    I went to Sogang for three straight summers (2007-09). Tuition was cheap, about $1,200-$1,500 (depending on the exchange rate). Compare to Berkeley (which offers an intensive language course during their summer session), at around $2,500, or Middlebury (I know that they don't offer Korean), in the range of $4,500-$6,000! I took levels 1, 2, and 3, and while I made a lot of progress in my Korean, the fact that I could only go in the summers was a problem. I would have gone again this summer to Sogang and take level 4, but I couldn't because of financial reasons. :crying:

     

    I always had a blast when I was in Korea, and if anyone wants to learn a language, going to it's country and taking an intensive language class is a something that I would recommend wholeheartedly.

     

     

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