If you want to learn Korean as a beginner, or any other language, you need a guide, or at least a plan. As a complete beginner, it might not be easy to find what to start with to learn Korean efficiently, but I’m here to help. In this article, I’ll provide you with steps that you should consider if you want to learn Korean.
Korean as a Beginner : A Good Start
1. Set Clear Goals
What is the reason you want to learn Korean? There are several reasons that you might have, and you need to know your why. Having clear goals about it will keep you motivated in the long run. It can be for K-pop, idols, K-dramas, culture, or any other personal matter/interest, any reason can be a good reason and can keep you motivated.
The importance of it is that it will allow you to stay focused on your goals more than if you were learning it without knowing why you’re doing it or what you want to achieve with it. (except if learning languages is just your personal hobby)
2. Learn the Korean Alphabet (Hangul)
Learning the alphabet is essential in your Korean learning adventure. If you rely on romanization, it will only delay your progress. The alphabet is a set of 24 letters (14 consonants, 10 vowels) which is really quick to learn. Read this article to learn more about Hangul. You can also find various resources (videos or articles) that will help you learn the Korean alphabet.
My personal recommendation, if you have 1h30 to spare, is to watch this video from Go Billy Korean. It’s well made and very helpful in my opinion.
3. Learn Korean Pronunciation
The pronunciation of Hangul (the Korean alphabet) is quite different from our language, whether your native language is English or not. The pronunciation of the characters will change according to their position in a word, so it’s important to learn the pronunciation rules in Korean to make sure people can understand you. Your pronunciation does not need to be perfect, of course, but you need to dedicate a bit of your time on making it as accurate as possible. Of course, with time, your pronunciation will get better, so don’t feed too stressed over it.
My personal recommendation to learn more about pronunciation is to head over to Talk to me in Korean’s youtube channel and search “pronunciation”. They have a couple of videos that are very helpful to learn more about pronunciation rules.
In any case, as you learn through textbooks, most of them have a lot of little explanations about pronunciation and you will learn along the way, so don’t feel too pressured about it !
Basics Done, Build Your Foundation
1. Vocabulary Building
Building your first vocabulary list will be essential for you to build a good foundation. I suggest you start with a list of the most used words in Korean.
The methods to learn your first Korean words are multiple, and each person will have a different approach to it. For me, the best way to learn vocabulary efficiently is to memorize it with flashcards (my recommendations for flashcard apps : Memrise & Anki) and use it in actual sentences.
If you’re talking to yourself as a speaking practice, try to use a maximum of the words you’ve learned recently in your sentences, it will help you to memorize it in the long term.
You’ll find that vocabulary building is probably one of the most important of the fundamental aspects you should work on. Often, even if you don’t understand the grammar point used in a sentence, you can sense the meaning of sentences through context and vocabulary words.
2. Learning Korean Grammar
Learn basic grammar rules. The sentence structure in Korean is quite different from English, and you will need to get used to the Korean patterns to be able to make sentences on your own.
A very nice resource you can use to learn Grammar efficiently if you don’t have any textbooks at hand is How to Study Korean, in my opinion. The lessons available on the website are heavily targeted towards grammar and explain it from a foreigner’s point of view.
You can also read and get to know more about good Korean learning resources here.
3. Practice Speaking
As soon as you start to learn Korean, I’d advise you to start speaking to yourself. Even if you don’t feel confident enough to make your own sentences, try to read some pre-made sentences and adjust them to you. (for example, for a sentence introducing yourself) Speaking Korean as soon as you start learning it will help your brain and your tongue get used to the language. Just repeating in your head won’t work, you need to train your tongue to work with the Korean pronunciation to be able to speak comfortably later on.
4. Immersion
Try to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. To do so, you can start by changing your devices, apps, and social media into Korean. Simple things like that will expose you to the language daily, even if it might not be easy at first. Additionally, listen to Korean podcasts, watch videos, listen to music, or do any activity that will expose you to the language while keeping you entertained.
5. Set a Study Routine
You might have heard a sentence often since you started learning Korean, and it works about everything: “Consistency is key“. Set aside dedicated time each day for studying Korean. Even 15-30 minutes a day can make a big difference over time. Building this habit with time and dedication will definitely help you improve in the long run.
6. Keep a Language Journal
Keep a journal of new words, phrases, and grammar rules you’ve learned. This helps reinforce your memory and track your progress.
7. Be Patient and Persistent
Learning a new language takes time and effort. Don’t be discouraged by initial challenges. Celebrate small achievements along the way.
Korean as a Beginner : Wrap Up
You now have some steps to follow if you want to learn Korean. Korean as a beginner can be a bit scary, but trust me, it’s very doable and if you really put your effort and your motivation into it, you can manage to reach a conversational Korean relatively fast.
Also, please always keep in mind the most common mistakes that people make while learning Korean as you are on your study journey, you can read more about it here.
Happy learning!
