1. The Internet.  There are online English courses, online advice and lessons in English, video and audio in English (Youtube, radio stations, mp3’s, podcasts), explanations (dictionaries, thesaurus, wikipedia), social networking websites (facebook, twitter) and much more!
2. Movies & Music.  Check out your local video store and see if there are movies in English.  As mentioned above, you can also get probably a lot off the Internet.
3. Read titles in English.  Use your library to see if there are titles in English, if you can, obtain ebooks and pdfs of books online or at book websites, and find as many books as you can that interest you in English.
4. Read out loud.  Take the reading one step further and actually read out loud.  Practice the sounds of the words that you read silently.  One of the reasons why we trip up so often when speaking is because we never use the words out loud.  It’s like exercising.  You need to run a few kilometers so that when you finally do have to run a long distance, you don’t want to die.
5. Take it a step even further.  Record yourself when you speak English. After you are finished recording, play it back and see what you sound like. If you are not clear, then you can simply try again. This is a great way to see how others hear you.
6. Try to surround yourself with as many English materials as possible. Not just books, movies, and CDs, but magazines and any products that you can find in the store that may have English written on them. Some major brands service many countries and have multiple languages written on their packaging.  Food, machines, even online gaming!
7. Practice with a friend(s).  Two brains are better than one.  The more, the better.  Do the activities above like reading out loud or recording yourselves or watching the movies together and quiz each other.  Busan Nat’l University and Pukyeong University have English only cafes.
8. If you hear a word and you don’t know what it is, write it down and do research on what it means. In your research you’ll encounter many more English words for you to ponder over.
9. Keep a diary in English. The things you write can be as simple as what day it is and what the weather is like outside.  Since we have the Internet, you can blog or keep track ofthoughts in English online.
10. Listen to English radio.  befm.or.kr is the website for a local station in Busan.  It’s at 90.5 FM, if you get a chance to listen to it.
11. Socialize in English.  Make friends who’s native language is English.  They need your help in navigating around Korea.  You need their help in learning English.  Exchange your languages.  Many Koreans I run into who are decent at English tell me their best form of learning English was through social activity with foreigner friends.  Where do you find them?   Clubs, bars, chamber of commerce, online (facebook, skype), and sometimes at your university.
12. Take notes vigorously.  If you can believe it, taking notes of programs like the news, other audio or video can really reinforce your ability to learn the language you are focusing on.
13. Travel & live in English environments.  Of course, living in an English speaking country would tremendously help, but even a little travel in those countries can do wonders.  Putting yourself in the English environment will significantly help your English learning.
14. Take responsibility in learning the language.  You will NOT learn if you do not want to.  You will also NOT learn if you do not diligently study and consistently practice what you are trying to learn.  Plan out your learnings and keep track of all your learnings and what you want to learn.  Write down words on your cell phone or PDA’s and don’t forget to look them up and practice them.  Write many sentences with new words you are learning and see if someone else will check it for you.
15. Sing songs in English.  Sing more titles at the Karoke rooms in English.  Memorize lines from movies and t.v. shows in English.  Language is about patterns and the more you memorize, the more patterns will stick in your head.
16. Debate in English.  A good argument can really get the blood pumping and sometimes can help you speak a language more passionately because at least you’re very interested in the topic that may be in dispute.
17. Join an English learning club.  I know there’s a few of them in Busan.  Many English club members motivate one another to constantly improve.
18. Volunteer to help in English.  There are many organizations who need volunteers, but sometimes they don’t have enough people to support them.  Look for organizations that may need help and need you to speak and use English in order to help them.  It will help you do something you wanted to do initially, but also help you practice your English skills.
19. Join a religious organization that has many people who speak English.  Churches are great places where people believe the same thing, but sometimes speak different languages.
20. Toastmasters.  A club that practices speaking does it in English.  Not only can you help yourself get more confident speaking in public, but you can also force yourself to also practice the language you might not feel good about either.  If you don’t want to join the official club, you can create your own and do basically what was identified in the aforementioned, but on a smaller scale.

Great articles & websites on learning a language online:

20+ Ways to Learn a Language Online

Learn English by the British Council

English newspapers in Korea
JoongAng Daily
Korea Herald
Korea Times

English radio stations in Korea
Busan eFM
Arirang

11:00a: Sylvia, Paul, Julie and Christina

11:10a: Jessica, John, Vella

11:20a: Dorothy, Peter

11:30a: Boris & Tommy

11:40a: Esther

11:50a:

12:00p:

12:10p:

12:20p:

12:30p:

12:40p:

If other times are needed, they will likely be on  the following Friday

8:50a:

9:00a:

9:10a:

9:20a: Soojin, Holy, Minhee

9:30a: Sally, Sunmi, Simon, Seulki

9:40a: Daniel, J, Sook, Bong

9:50a: Lana, Anna, Bear, Emily

10:00a: Ding, Carmen, Minwoo, Tom

10:10a: Romeo, Wuk, Seohah

10:20a: Kwon, Chris, April, James

10:30a: Ellen, Renee, Moo

10:40a: Bohwa, Serena, Blair

More times will be posted later, but they will likely be on another day or the following Friday.

Sign up for a following time by commenting on a time you would like to come in and argue for your grade:

11:00a: Daniel, Chris

11:10a: Hank

11:20a: Sue, Yuni

11:30a: Paul, Young

11:40a: Joseph,

11:50a:

12:00p: Tom, Incheol, Tony, Tyler

12:10p: Minjoo, Nike, Philip

12:20p: Kerry

12:30p:

12:40p:

If other times are needed, they will likely be on  the following Monday

8:50a:

9:00a:

9:10a:

9:20a: Gina, Helen, Victoria, Joseph

9:30a: John

9:40a: Crystal, Vito, Rucy & Hye Min

9:50a:

10:00a: Matt, Paul, Simpson and Yar

10:10a: David, Lisa, Pineapple and Rain

10:20a: Rose, Grace, Kierstin, Brian

10:30a: Amber, Sam, SB, Fred

10:40a: Blair, Berry, Julia

More times will be posted later, but they will likely be on another day or the following Monday.

You must record the dialogue in a video and audio file where I can see all members.  Acting is not required, but can be basis for a better grade if done well.  Please send me a link to the file or the actual file to professorbrandon@gmail.com You can also upload the file to Facebook.com if you would like as well.  Extra credit will be given for placing your Final Group Project on Facebook.com

There will be no paper exam.  This group project will suffice as your final grade for the course.

Due date: December 14, 2009

Korea Maritime University European Studies

Korea Maritime University English Literature

Korea Maritime University Shipping Management

Korea Maritime University Maritime Law

Assignment due:  November 16th (for Monday classes) and November 20th (for Friday classes)

Additional homework:  Simply use the various tools and applications in facebook including the wall to communicate with each other, make new friends to continue your English practice and ask, ask and ask more questions.

Group #1:

Willium (Kim Sejun)

Vella (Pak Pilmi)

NaNa (Shin NaNa)

Jessica (Kim Sul-hee)

Group #2:

John (Lee Joahn)

Judy (Yang Boeun)

Suzanne (Jung Soojung)

Agnes (Yoo Seung Joo)

Group #3:

Tina (Kang Minjoo)

Peter (Kim Jong-wook)

Bill (Kim Jung hyun)

Dorothy (Go Na-ye)

Group #4:

Lea (Ye-rang Jeong)

Jenny (Jang Bokyung)

Mathaeus (Hwang Jeh-young)

Daniel (Song Woojin)

Group #5:

Aaron (Lee Joohyun)

Gabriel (Hwang Chul-yeon)

Esther (Kim Hyun-sun)

Leon (Jang Hwan-young)

Group #6:

Christina (Lee Jihyun)

Paul (Lee Jung-hyub)

Julie (Kim Jin-ah)

Sylvia (Jo Eun-bi)

Group #7:

Alice (Im Hyun-min)

Emily (Choi Hye Yeon)

Marie (Bak Kyu-young)

Julia (Choi Sora)

Group #8:

Lucy (Lee Hyun-young)

Vincent (Shin Choong-soo)

Sammy (Jeon Sehmina)

Clark (Suh Tae gun)

Group #9:

Scott (Bae Chun-ooh)

Boris (Choi Min-gyu)

Tommy (Kim Taehun)