My Adventure Learning Korean So Far
What was the first language you tried to learn after your mother tongue?
Mine was Korean!
I had never tried to learn a second language and I was in for a shock when I started trying to learn Korean. This is one of the hardest languages for an American to learn and I was in over my head.
First off, I had no idea on where to start, what resources to use or where to go for help. I would see a book with, "Learn Korean" on it and buy it. Get home and find it was no help and it would go on a shelf with all the other useless books.
Learning to speak the Korean language was like my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Well, here it is years later and I'm still chasing that rainbow.
In all fairness, there was a lot of sites with great advice and loads of Korean words and phrases that could help. It is my fault that I haven't learned to speak the language better than I have.
I will share with you some of the things I did wrong and what I should have done. It is really hard to break bad habits and form good ones and that is where I am now in my journey.
First, here are three videos that I highly recommend. These sites have a great selection of videos that are a must for any level of learner.
How to practice speaking in Korean by Alpha Korean Class
How to improve your Korean Speaking by Talk to me in Korean
I wish I knew these before learning Korean by Learn Korean with Go! Billy Korean
Some of the things I did wrong and recommendations.
What I did: I jumped in and started using words and phrases. I relied on Romanization to learn the sounds of the language.
What I should have done: Learned the Korean alphabet, paying attention to the sounds of each letter. There are many sounds in Korean that we have no sound for or our alphabet sounds are just different in some cases.
The Korean alphabet is easy enough that you can learn it in a couple of hours. There are a couple of the letters that are tricky to say and hearing some of the sounds will take longer, but stick with it and it will come to you.
The sooner you can get away from Romanization, the better it will be for you.
Spoken Korean is a lot different from written Korean and the first video I listed above has some easy to follow tips on that.
What I did: I would spend hours watching videos on how to learn a second language or how to speak it. I can fill up two or three notebooks on what I've heard and read on these.
Sadly I was not motivated enough to spend a lot of time on studying actual Korean words and phrases.
When I would study Korean, I would maybe study for 10 or 15 minutes and that would be about it. I was always going to study 10 or 15 minutes tomorrow and there was always something else more important to do.
What I should have done: Concentrated on what motivated me to learn Korean and kept sight on the big picture. Hell, I'm married to a Korean and live in Korea so what more motivation did I need?
Here is a big tip: I live around Koreans who speak English and hang out in areas where English is spoken, a lot, so I never was pushed to learn Korean. Look for opportunities to get away from areas like this and have to use the language. Ask your friends to speak Korean to you. Just wish I had done this more.
I should have watched a few videos on how other people were learning and then concentrated on what worked best for me. We all have different ways of learning. Find out what works best for you and use it. If you find later that your method isn't working, change it or tweak it until it does.
Set up a routine where you spend time with all four elements of the language. Listening, Writing, Reading and Speaking. Listening and speaking should take up the largest part of your study time at first. It takes hours and hours of listening just to pick up a few things native speakers are saying.
Dedicate as much time each week as you can. A little studying each day is better than cramming for an hour on the weekend. You can't learn a language by only studying a few minutes or an hour each week or each month.
What I did: Put off speaking because I didn't want to make mistakes in front of other people, even my family. I was afraid that Koreans would make fun of me for messing up their language.
I also figured that if I studied enough, one day I would be fluent in the language and just start rattling off conversations. That ain't happening!
What I should have done: Started speaking the words and phrases that I did know, as much as possible. Even adding them into my English sentences whenever possible.
You only get good at speaking, by speaking. The more you speak, the better you get. Talk to yourself, your dog, or anybody that will listen.
Trust me when I say, it takes a lot of practice for an American tongue to make some of the Korean sounds.
Oh and the Koreans I run into, will bend over backwards to help you say something correctly, without causing you embarrassment.
My wrap up: Learn the sounds of the language, study some every day if possible, but at least three or four times every week, put in hours of listening and speak as much as you can.
Discover how you learn by trail and error and leave the how to videos for someone else.
As for me: I stated before that I'm trying to break bad habits and form good ones. I know, I'm a lazy learner and always look for the easy way, I get distracted easily and I tend to stay in situations and places where I don't need to speak Korean. Those are hard habits or traits to change. They are in the past and I intend to keep them in the past.
I just retired and have more time now to dedicate to learning. I'm back to studying and I have changed my tactics. I've been actively listening to more native speakers on YouTube videos and TV than ever before. I'm speaking a lot more than ever. I make a lot of mistakes and you know what? It doesn't bother me one bit, because I know that those mistakes are helping me learn.
I am just trying to improve some each week and I know it's going to be a long trip with lots of highs and lows. There is nothing like the feeling that shoots through you when a native speaker understands you or you understand what they are saying. My main goal is to make sure there are more of those feelings and to enjoy the trip.
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