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Younghi Ramsey KORA202 cactus_rabbit 05/06/2015	There hasn't been a recent review for Professor Ramsey, so I figured I would write one in case students are thinking about taking KORA classes. I have taken KORA101, 102, 201, and 202 over the past four semesters. Overall, Professor Ramsey is a very nice lady and likes to see students make progress. However, her teaching style is a bit difficult. KORA 101 and 102 are pretty fun and easy enough if you put in an adequate amount of effort. Most of what you learn in class is straight from the book, but every week the TA will introduce some aspect of Korean culture. You have quizzes every Thursday that aren't too hard as long as you review a bit. KORA 201 and 202 were a bit different. First off, tests became a lot more difficult. At least for our class, she used to let us keep the reading prompts in 101/102 to help us answer questions. However, in 201/202 she gives you a passage for 5 minutes, lets you write down things, but then takes away both the story and anything you wrote down before you even see the questions you have to answer. Tests in 201/202 rely a lot more on purely memorizing the book instead of testing you on what you have learned which I found a bit unfair. In a language class memorization is important, but I think there should be more of a focus on being able to apply the vocab/grammar you learn in your own words. She basically expects you to memorize specific sentences and wording. The professor has the habit of including material from chapters you haven't covered yet on exams, but if you point this out during/after the test the TA can give you points back. Also, you skip an entire book between 201 and 202 which makes you feel extremely lost in 202 since you don't know half the grammar and vocab used in the textbook. My advice is to become good friends with the TA for your class. They make the weekly quizzes and usually hold review sessions if you ask. Needless to say I felt pretty frustrated during most of KORA202. I didn't have time to dedicate hours studying for this class each week, but if you have more time you might do better in the class. I would still recommend taking Korean classes, but just be prepared for KORA202 (maybe purchase the textbook you skip and review over the summer). Again, I don't fully agree with Professor Ramsey's teaching style but I really like her as a person.