Korean

Can I Learn Korean Online?

Yes of course you can learn Korean online!

As you progress you may want to move to some offline methods just so you’re getting greater exposure but there’s no reason you can’t practise your speaking, writing, reading and listening all online while picking up new vocab and grammar at the same time.

You just need to know how to do it. So here are some handy tips of things you can do online to help you learn Korean.

Use A Korean Website Instead Of A Textbook

There are loads of great learn Korean websites available online with explanations, activities and exercises. You can use them in a similar way to how you would use a textbook but the best thing is most of them are free. At your own pace you can work your way through the exercises and check your progress as you go.

Some of these websites have forums as well so you can chat to other Korean learners and ask any questions that you might have.

Practise Speaking Korean Online

There are lots of websites available that are set up to help you find partners for language exchanges. Italki, HelloTalk and CoversationExchange are just a few examples of these. The websites have a huge database of all of the people with profiles that indicates what language they already speak and what language they’re trying to learn. When you put in what language you’d like to learn, the website pairs you with options of people who speak Korean and are looking to learn your native language.

You then simply message them introducing yourself and arrange a date and time to conduct your language exchange. During the exchange you speak for part of the time in your language and the rest in theirs meaning you both get practise. It’s a simple and free way to practise speaking Korean online.

Watch Korean Dramas On Youtube

Another super fun thing you can do to learn Korean online is to watch Korean dramas. There are so many of these available on places like youtube that you should be able to find some to watch that you enjoy while learning. The best thing about using Korean dramas to help you learn Korean is that you’re engaging with the culture at the same time. For all the jokes people might make about Korean dramas, there’s no denying that they’re a huge part of Korean culture and watching them will help you to start to gain insights into this culture.

Even more so if you’re from the west where Asian culture isn’t something that you’re often exposed to. The culture is so different that it’s important to expose yourself to that side of Korea as well as the language itself.

So Can You Learn Korean Online?

We think that yes you can and there are ways you can learn Korean for free. You can definitely get to quite a high stage of fluency but if you want to take it further you’re probably going to need to adopt some none online methods.

Where To Find Korean Resources

Korean is a great language to learn but the problem with it can be that resources are sometimes a bit more difficult to find. We’ve taken a look and compiled a list of places you can look to find some great Korean resources.

Most of our recommendations are going to be online but there are a couple of suggestions that we can give you of where to find Korean resources without having to go on the computer.

University Library

This one depends on what country you’re from and what city you live in, but some university libraries are also open to members of the public. This is fantastic because the chances are your usual city library won’t stock Korean books but a uni library is much more likely to do so.

You should check if the university library in your city is open to members of the public and also if they offer Korean as one of their courses. If they do this could be a great place to find Korean books and magazines to help you study.

Find A Great Website

There are loads of fantastic Korean language websites that you can use to help you learn. They work a bit like textbooks but they’re online. So you work your way through material and then do exercises to check your understanding. They’re not the only way you should be studying Korean but they can definitely make a difference to your learning. And the best thing about them is that you can use them no matter where you are, you just need internet access and you’re good to go.

Find Them On Youtube

Youtube is a vault full of valuable videos. You might watch vlogs or funny videos on youtube but it’s also a great place to find videos in foreign language. There is an enormous amount of Korean language videos available on youtube from cooking channels to clips from the best Korean dramas.

Watching these videos will not only help with your listening skills but it’s also free. You can end up spending hours working your way through all of the different Korean videos available on youtube. You’ll also find tonnes of K-pop videos on youtube, which if you’re going to learn Korean you really need to make the effort to get in to them as K-pop is the most famous thing to come out of South Korea (aside from their dramas.)

Order Textbooks Online

You can also use websites like Amazon to find great quality Korean textbooks to help you study. Obviously check out your nearest bookstore first but chances are their options are going to be limited. So why not jump online and find some great textbook recommendations then order one right to your door?

So see it might not be obvious at first but there are many materials that you can find, you just need to know the right places to look and you can use all of these fantastic resources to improve your Korean.

How To Practise Korean Online

Gone are the days when the only way to learn Korean was by spending hours poring over textbooks or having to sign up for a class because now you can learn Korean online.

Whether it’s using an app, finding a kickass website or listening to a podcast, there are plenty of different ways to practise Korean online, it’s just about finding the one that works for you.

Practise Speaking With Language Exchange Websites

There are lots of websites like conversation exchange, hello talk and italki where you can search for language partners to practise with. Just say what your language is and that you’re learning Korean and you’ll be presented with people who speak Korean and are learning your language. Then it’s up to you to message those people privately and organise a time and way to have a language exchange that would work for you.

This would be one of the most effective ways as active conversations challenge not only your speaking skills but your listening skills as well.

Download Fun Apps To Learn Korean On The Go

There are loads of great Korean apps that you can use to help you learn. And they’re often more helpful than a website or other methods because you just download them to your phone and you’re good to go no matter where you are. A great one you can use is Duolingo. Duolingo is an incredibly popular language learning app that has a Korean course as one of the courses it offers. If you download the Korean course then working your way through exercises is a great way to kill time on a commute.

Find A Great Korean Website

Find a great website to work your way through Korean exercises. There are plenty of amazing websites to learn Korean available online that have great explanations and exercises. You can work your way through the material at your own pace and do the practise exercises to check your progress.

Some of the websites are so good that you’re pretty much replacing a traditional textbook with a Korean website instead. They do the same function but a website is a lot more practical and fits more easily into the modern world.

Improve Your Listening With FluentU

FluentU is a fantastic resource that can help any language learner improve their listening skills. It’s an enormous database of videos and audio in different languages that you can listen to to practise your listening comprehension. You do have to pay for the service which is different to the fact that most internet resources tend to be free but so many people swear by it and how much it’s helped improve their language skills. It’s definitely worth a try. And you can use the free trial to see if you like it first before commuting to paying a monthly amount.

Now you’ve got the necessary means to practise Korean online you just need to work out how often you should be studying Korean.

How To Improve My Korean

There comes a time for all language learners where your rate of progress slows down and you don’t feel yourself moving forward anymore. Don’t worry, there are things you can do to help overcome this and continue with your learning.

Here are some handy tips that you can use to help you improve your Korean.

Learn Korean Online

There are loads of ways you can practise Korean online and even some that you can find for free. There is a great collection of learn Korean websites that you can use to whatever level you need. You can work your way through the material at a pace that works for you and the best thing about learning online is that you can do it pretty much wherever you are. You simply need an internet connection.

Find A Korean Language Partner

Another thing you can do to improve your Korean is to try and speak as much as possible and a great way to do this is to find a Korean language partner. Using websites like italki or hello talk you can search for Koreans who want to learn English and organise language exchanges with them so you practise your Korean and English at the same time.

Start A Korean Diary

One of the things people often have trouble with is writing. People can normally read much better than they can write. This is common and there’s nothing wrong with it, but to get over that intermediate plateau and to improve your Korean you will need to improve your writing skills. And a great way to do this is by keeping a diary. If you write in a diary every single day then even if you’re not talking about anything interesting, you’ll find that your writing improves dramatically.

Watch Korean Dramas

Korean dramas are famous worldwide and watched in many countries outside of Korea. They’re dramatic, fun, filled with beautiful people and most useful for you, they speak Korean. Start watching Korean dramas every day even if just for ten minutes and your Korean skills will slowly start to improve, at least your listening skills will. You’ll also get to immerse yourself in Korean culture while you’re learning which is an incredibly important part of language learning.

Find A Book You Love And Read It In Korean

If you’re not quite ready to read Korean books yet why not find a book that you already love and know the story of and read it in Korean. That way you’ll know what’s happening and you’ll be able to work out what a lot of the words mean based on the context and your knowledge of the story. This is a really useful way to improve your comprehension skills and you’ll also find that you enjoy revisiting these stories that you know and love so much.

No matter where you are with your Korean it can be common to get to a stage where you feel like you’re not moving forward anymore but don’t worry, you can still improve you Korean, you just need time and persistence and sometimes to try something new.

How Often Should I Study Korean?

Every day! The simple answer really is every day if you want to see progress.

Obviously you can study Korean less often, you could go to a class once a week and still learn the language but if you want to see yourself progress and actually learn in a reasonable time frame then you want to be engaging with your Korean studies every single day.

This is due to the rate of forgetting. The longer you go without engaging in a subject the more you will forget. If you study Korean every day then what you’re learnt the previous day will still be in your mind and you’ll be able to progress. Where as if you wait and only study once a week, part of your studying will be recapping what you learn the week before as it won’t be as readily accessible in your memory.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to sit down and do ten hours Korean study a day to progress. (Although if you did this your Korean would improve dramatically over a very short period of time.) The important thing is the consistency not the amount you do when you study. Depending on your schedule and how much you can allow for studying Korean daily, we would recommend doing about half an hour a day (more if you can) to see visible improvements week by week. If you do less you’ll find you progress much more slowly and if you do more you’ll obviously improve more quickly.

Even though we recommend a minimum of half an hour if you can’t do that don’t just not do anything at all. Even five minutes worth of studying is better than nothing. And a lot of it is about finding the right balance for you and how to fit it into your life.

How To Study Every Day

It’s not enough to just say you’re going to study every day. It’ll make a huge difference if you can put things in place to ensure you do this.

Study At The Same Time Every Day

If you put aside some time to study every day and always study at that time you’ll build a habit of that is when you study. One you’ve built a habit you’re much more likely to continue doing a certain behaviour. If you stick to this then you’ll notice any day you miss and will be able to adjust your schedule accordingly.

Use The Same Materials

Have a textbook that you always use on a Monday or Tuesday or have Wednesday set aside for language exchanges. Bouncing between too many different materials can actually be quite distracting rather than helpful.

You can use a Korean learning website that you go on once a day and complete an exercise or topic. Or just set aside Mondays as the day you use the Korean website.

If you do this kind of thing every day you’ll progress at a rapid rate working your way through material at a pace that suits you. A big contributor to your success is also knowing where to find Korean resources.

How Can I Learn Korean Fast?

You want to learn Korean but you don’t want to spend years going to a class a week to find yourself not really getting anywhere. Don’t worry there are plenty of ways you can learn Korean fast but you need to be motivated and committed to giving your Korean the time it deserves.

Spend Your First Day Learning The Alphabet

Unlike many other Asian languages Korean has an alphabet, and not just any alphabet, it probably has the most useful alphabet out of all of the languages in the world. This is because it’s a phonetic alphabet where each letter accounts for one sound (unlike English where letters can have lots of different sounds), and also because the letters resemble the shapes your mouth makes when you say them.

The Korean alphabet can be learnt in a day and then you can read anything knowing you are pronouncing it pretty much correctly even if you have no idea what you’re saying. If you make the effort to learn the Korean alphabet fully on the first day then you’re setting yourself up to move a lot more quickly through your Korean studying.

Study Korean Every Single Day

The number one tip that we can give you to learn Korean fast is to study Korean every single day. Don’t miss out on one day even if you can only dedicate 15 minutes worth of learning to that day. Consistency is key. It will be far more effective for you to do half an hour every day then three or four hours on a Sunday.

Studying every day will not only help you to remember better but it will keep your brain engaged in Korean more often and you’ll see improvements day to day rather than just week to week which is useful for motivation.

Learn The 1000 Most Common Words

A great way to start with your Korean after you’ve mastered the alphabet is to learn the 1000 most commonly used words. Learning these words will give you a large vocab very quickly which will allow you to communicate in the majority of situations.

Once you have these words you can start forming sentences and having conversations which will help you see a dramatic increase in your Korean. Download an app like memrise or anki to help you learn these words quickly.

Find A Korean Learning Website

There are lots of different websites to learn Korean, simply find one and work your way through the content. That way you can do it at your pace and don’t need to worry about the pacing of a class or a teacher.

If you find a website then you can run through the material as quickly as you want or slow down when you need a bit more time. There are loads of ways that you can learn Korean online.

 

The best thing about this is that you can learn Korean online nowadays so you have more flexibility than every before. You can pick up your phone or computer no matter where you are and do a bit of studying.