Learning Korean @ ENLI~~~ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Hi there everyone!  여러분 안녕!

Today, I'll share to you my experience of officially learning the Korean language or 한국어!

Ever since the start of this year, I really wanted to attend a language center or school to officially learn Korean.

I've canvassed for some time and found that studying a language ain't cheap. It requires a few thousand pesos and majority of the places were really far from my home. There were great deals offered by the Korean Cultural Center, Ateneo or UP but all were dead far from my house. Even if the tuition is cheap, I'll end up spending the same money due to commuting expenses plus more effort and time spend just to get there.

After searching for so long, I encountered Every Nation Language Institute, or in short ENLI as we call it. I searched them at Facebook and inquired regarding their prices. They had a Makati branch that was still far from where I lived but much nearer compared to the others.

I still wasn't earning at that time so obviously, I had no funds to enroll myself to a language school and my parents won't allow me to spend so much on a personal hobby. Well mainly because I only wanted to learn Korean because of my love of Kpop and Kdramas.

I imagined being able to converse fluently in Korean one day and be able to talk to my idols when I meet them. It would be so cool to be able to talk to them as most of them aren't fluent in English. I want to be able to convey my feelings for them without needing a translator.

After a while, ENLI held a contest offering 5 winners a free 20-hour language session of their choice! I was ecstatic when I found out and told myself that this was my chance to finally be able to start learning Korean! I'm sure I'll be allowed to learn since it was free and I didn't have to spend for tuition! I joined the contest and put all my effort into it! And finally.... TADA!!!!!

Me & Gillian freaked when we saw we won! XD

I was literally screaming at home when I found I won and thank the Lord for giving me this chance to finally be one step nearer to my goals! This was the stepping stone to my Korea-related future.

Entrance of ENLI Makati

The entire duration of my Korean Class at ENLI started from June 8, 2013 and ended just last Saturday, October 12, 2013. After finishing my free 20 hours, I decided to extend for a little more since it would be a waste because I already started the program. There were still so much to learn and I wanted to learn them!

I had two great teachers: Sir Louie/루위 선생님 & Shine Ssaem/쌰인 쌤 !!!

We had two teachers because the first one had to leave due to emergency reasons. Nonetheless, I'm really happy that I got to learn Korean from two wonderful teachers that made the class fun, informative, and most of all, a great learning environment!

In the midst of learning Korean~ the board is full!

Me & Gillian's notes~

I never got bored attending my Korean classes because it was something that I really really wanted and my determination to learn the language was evident. I was so happy that I was able to do well on the first day as I had already self-learned Hangul way beforehand. Every session consisted of different topics ranging from vocabulary to grammatical lessons. We had lots of examples to learn from and performed exercises to test out what we've learned. We also always have reading and writing sessions to familiarize ourselves in the right way of pronouncing the words and being able to spell them correctly. I find spelling really difficult because Korean words are sometimes pronounced differently on how it's spelled! It really takes TONS of memorization to be able to learn this awesome language. Also, I find it really interesting whenever I encounter Korean words that sounds freakishly similar to its Chinese counterpart. Since I know Chinese, some Korean words are very easy to recognize and remember since both are very close to each other. I always challenged myself to write in Korean and not use the English anymore as this would make me more comfortable in reading Hangul and it would make me more familiar with the language. 3-hour sessions seemed to pass by so quickly every time because we were really enjoying what we were studying. I even always review the past lessons at home before going to class the next day wanting to be able to get good marks on our exercises.

It definitely is more fun studying in a group than self-studying at home because you get to interact with friends and try out what you've learned with them. We were originally five in the class but due to personal reasons, only two of us, Gillian and me, got to attend the last session together with our teacher, Shine Ssaem! Gillian was also one of the winners of the contest I won and we knew each other already even before this.

With our 예뻐 (pretty) Shine Ssaem!

I was really glad that I'm able to experience this great opportunity with a friend. Learning Korean is really not easy but it will never fail to interest me and I would want to continue learning it at my own time for now. I'm beginning to be busy at work so I plan to attend formal classes again at a later time. Self-studying is my solution for now and ofcourse, TONS of listening to Korean pop music and watching Korean dramas and variety shows! It's so fun and fulfilling to know and feel that you understand words that they are saying in the songs or shows as this proves that you are one step closer.

My Yesung Korean notebook & notes! (gotta be inpired!)

Right now, it's easier to understand the language as I already know the correct sentence structures. I'm able to understand the words in a sentence and just use context clues to fill-in the blanks. I really feel happy that I'm able to read Korean much faster now. I always try to read all the Korean signs I see along the roads I pass and feel so happy inside when I understand them.


Even after all this, I still know that I'm a long long way to go before I can really master the language. I have to continue practicing endlessly and memorizing new vocabulary day by day. I promise myself that I'll never give this up and that I'll be able to speak it well already when the time comes that I can finally visit Korea. It is my ultimate dream and goal now that I'll someday be able to travel to that beautiful country that produces all the things that revolves around my life right now. I really wish that I was born Korean or that I'll get the chance someday to go live there even if its just a year or two.

I want to thank ENLI too for giving me this chance to learn Korean. The staff and teachers at ENLI are very nice and understanding. They see to it that students feel at home at the center and asks about how you're doing. They kid and joke around with that makes you feel comfortable when you're with them. The teachers are really good at their respective languages and I'm really happy to say that I was able to be a part of ENLI. As to their slogan, "Every Filipino, A World Speaker," I'm very happy to say that I'm a Filipino that's proud to be able to speak a number of languages. :)

Lunch at KFC, a break from our 4-hour class~

Now, for all those wanting to learn Korean out there. Korean is not that difficult to learn. Just remember that patience, hard work, and determination is all it takes. Start learning even just the letters yourself and you'll find yourself learning more in no time. Watching dramas and listening to songs also helps a lot as I know it's much easier to memorize things that you love. Even if you don't have that much funds to study Korean, there are tons of places out there that offers cheaper classes. You just have to put the effort in finding them. Also, work hard in earning and spend a little less on other things and save it for tuition if you are really determined to enroll yourself into a school. I promise that all hard work will be worth it because it is something that you want and love. Money can never be used to measure the happiness that you feel when you're doing something that you are passionate about! Fighting! Believe, then you can.

Our last day! Korean V pose at the ENLI Makati lobby~

With Sir Louie! The complete members of our Korean Language program~ I miss them~~

This space is reserved for a pic of me & Gillian when we finally get our certificates! haha~ <3

Thank you and til' next time! XD

Feel free to message, comment, or talk to me~! I welcome anyone that shares that same interests as me! <3

ENLI's FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/enLi.Philippines

~Darlene <3