Self-study Tips for learning Korean
- LEARN HANGUL 한글 (Korean Script) - I can't stress this enough. You've probably noticed by now that my lessons do not contain any romanization. It's because I am a firm believer in learning the script before you begin. That's the only real way to know you are pronouncing words correctly. If you still need to learn, here is a site suggestion: Learn Langs - very easy guide, follow the steps and learn in no time!
- After reviewing the weekly song study, be sure to continue to listen to the songs as much as possible! Repetition is KEY.
- Sing along with the song study songs! Your reading will improve as well as your pronunciation! Listen carefully to how the singer pronounces the words.
- Study lessons from this site! I will never stop recommending this site: Talk to me in Korean - It is the perfect site to get started, to review, and end with!
- Look for a Korean pen pal and try speaking! Don't know how? Try Conversation Exchange - very user friendly way to find pen pals in your city in over 100 languages!
- Write EVERYTHING down. It won't be enough to quickly look over the song studies. You'll need to engrave it in your head. Keep it somewhere and be sure to come back to it. As you memorize, the writing will decrease.
- Do you like dramas? Try watching some Korean dramas at DramaFever! They have all sorts of genres. Not only are they super entertaining, but you get lots of listening and phrase-learning practice! You'll be surprised how many words you recognize from weekly song studies!
- Unfortunately, you can't ONLY learn Korean through just K-pop. This blog is meant to be a complementary way to increase your vocabulary and grammar knowledge! The reason why K-pop alone won't work is because song writers sometimes speak a bit "poetically," meaning it isn't always how you would say something in conversation. They even sometimes unnecessary add words to make it sound better. You have to have other resources, too! With that said, they are still Korean words, and a lot of them are used in conversation. So learn a lot!
- Having trouble with Korean numbers and need some extra practice? Count the numbers as they go down on the microwave! It's a great way to get in some quick practice while multi-tasking!
As I think of new tips, I will add them to this list! If you'd like to add anything, please tweet or email me in the contact tab (click below)!