-
Column
Home>Hangeul>Things to Know
- As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe put it, "Mastering a foreign language is a way of discovering another world." Professor Robert Fauser teaches "How to teach Korean" to help non-Koreans discover another world named Korea.
- Recently, the importance of the Korean language has been growing day by day around the world, given that many of the country's businesses have been carrying out their activities in many parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and that hallyu (i.e. the current vogue for Korean pop culture) has spread throughout Asia, including Japan. Thus, his lectures - given in both English and Korean - attract many students, Koreans and non-Koreans alike, who are interested in the globalization of Korean. What, then, does he feel about the current status?"
- "I find it a matter of regret that Americans do not see the great need to learn Korean yet. To them, the languages that can help them to succeed in the world are Spanish and French, etc. However, Korean is gaining greater popularity in Asia and Eastern Europe, where the economic and cultural influence of the country is being felt more strongly every day."
- He recommends that Americans try their luck with Korean. Any American jobseeker who includes "a reasonable level of Korean proficiency" in his resume is likely to make a strong impression on recruiters, as not many Americans speak the language. Not only that but he could, as Goethe put it, enrich his life even further by discovering another world. Professor Fauser is one of those who has had such an experience first-hand.
- Many Westerners find Korean strange to them and very difficult to learn, as with other Asian languages. However, he says that it is unexpectedly easy to learn Korean thanks to the practical excellence of the alphabet called Hangeul. As he puts it, "Hangeul is easy for foreigners to learn, read and write. It is a very scientific and systematically organized alphabet. And the thing is that you do not have to learn Chinese characters unless you aim to be a scholar in Korea. You feel no inconvenience having no knowledge of them. By contrast, Japanese and Chinese are more difficult for Westerners to learn, as they require some knowledge of Chinese characters to be able to read sentences written in those languages."
- According to him, an easy and fast way to learn Korean is to enroll at a relevant institution, including hakwon, and learn it intensively for a certain period of time, rather than studying it alone. Professor Fauser says that he first learned Korean at the SNU Korean Language Education Research Institute himself. He says that it is advisable to take a 5-to-10 week intensive course first and then follow whatever is considered suitable for individual learners. Based on his own experience, he says that it takes 2~3 months to build enough proficiency to read signs and obtain information while traveling around the country and 6 months to exchange basic conversations with local Koreans. One thing that he does point out is that the system of reading Korean letters is a little more complicated than that of Japanese and requires a longer period of practice.
- There are many institutions where you can learn Korean in Seoul, such as the SNU Korean Language Education Research Institute, Yonsei University Foreign Language Institute, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), etc.
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1961, Robert Fauser graduated from the Japanese Department, University of Michigan. In 1983, he came to Korea in connection with his plan to learn another Asian language. Thereafter, he built up a diversified career, while continuing his studies in universities or teaching English in Japan, Ireland and the U.S. In 2008, he became the first foreigner to be hired as a professor at the SNU Korean Language Education Research Institute, teaching the Methodology of Teaching Korean, for which he became the focus of considerable attention.
- He is making efforts to develop materials for foreigners who want to learn Korean, particularly e-learning manuals. Upon completion of the development, he plans to distribute it on the Internet so that people all over the world can learn and practice Korean more easily.
- He says that he loves all Korean food, with just one exception, namely sundae (a type of blood sausage that should be distinguished from 'sundae ice-cream'). He also loves to visit Bukchon Hanok Village and read the novels of Jang Jeong-il and Kim Yeong-ha. He appears to have become almost Korean himself. He says that he will continue to engage in activities designed to help foreigners learn Korean, and will remain in the country for some time to come, circumstances permitting.
- Curriculum vitae [ Robert Fauser ]
-
- Professor at Seoul National University, the Department of Korean Language Education, from September 2008 to date
- Graduated from the University of Michigan, Japanese Department, 1983.
- Obtained Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College, Ireland, 2001.
- Gave lectures at Kumamoto Gakuen University, Kyoto University and Kagoshima University, 1995~ August 2008
