Thread by @moonriseforever

For new Korean learners on #langtwt

I started learning Korean from April 2020 because I needed a new hobby during lockdown. I picked up Hangul in April but it wasn't until June or July that I really started learning Korean language. I'm still a beginner because I'm super LAZY!

Here are some of the tools/apps/websites that I've been using for Korean. I'll continue to use some of them for Japanese as well.

𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞: Lingodeer, Duolingo, Memrise (depending on my mood). I like gamification because it helps me to stay consistent.

𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: Anki, Quizlet. I'm not really a fan of SRS because after a while, I kind of get bored. But sometimes I use it, especially if the deck has audio (mostly Quizlet). I'm too lazy to create my own decks. Haha!

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫: I follow all the popular sites like Talk To Me In Korean, KoreanClass101, GoBillyKorean, YouTube videos etc.

But recently I came across this tool - mirinae.io. You can input any sentence in Korean and the app will break it down into various parts of speech and grammar points. It's very useful if you're a grammar junkie!

Raw Korean is another website I really like because it has all the grammar and vocabulary arranged into different levels for easy learning (plus the user interface is clean)

rawkorean.com

𝐃𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲: Naver Dictionary - I can't even begin to describe how much I love this app. It has a huge repository of example sentences and resources. They even have a TOPIK vocabulary practice section in the new version of the app (But somehow I like the old version)

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: Naver Papago - It's the best translator for Korean. I think it's also working fine for Japanese (?) Google Translate is sh!ty (especially for Japanese)! Papago even has a phrasebook section (for Korean, Japanese and Chinese)

𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭: I like to test my skills from time to time and usually head over to clozemaster.com. You can practice vocabulary, listening and speaking with multiple choice and fill in the blank type questions.

There are many tools like this available to test Korean level but this is tool fits my style of learning!

(Suggest more in replies)

𝐇𝐢𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: - I use it to get some phrases translated by natives (both ways) or to check if my sentences are correct. Sometimes, I just ask random questions.

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤: You know this app, it's like Twitter/FB for language learners! I'm mostly lurking and reading posts. It's more of a cultural exchange app for me.. But you can meet a lot of native speakers and do language exchange, corrections etc. on this app.

𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: I follow a lot of active Korean twitter users and read their tweets and convos. In addition, I follow fellow language learners under the hashtag #langtwt

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: I follow many Insta accounts that teach Korean and also many fellow learners. It helps me to stay in touch with the language even when I'm randomly scrolling social media.

𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧/𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:I watch Kdramas on Viki Rakuten and Netflix. When work, sometimes I listen to KBS World Radio or Kpop playlists on YouTube.

On YouTube I watch Korean videos related to things I'm interested in like "working out" or "history" or "travel" by native Korean people. Some of them have Korean subs too. It has helped me to get acquainted with the sounds of the language.

Viki has a language learning mode in their premium version and you can use the chrome extension "Language Learning with Netflix/YouTube" to get subtitles in Korean and English at the same time. You can click on words in subs and get open dictionary instantly.. It's a cool tool!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: I'm a fan of Manga and when I started Korean, a friend of mine introduced me to webtoons. Ever since I've been reading them both in English and Korean. Sometimes, I read them in both languages.

Webtoons are excellent for reading because unlike reading news and articles, you will understand meaning of the words from context as they are accompanied by pictures

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: I'm obsessed with pronunciation, intonation and accent no matter what language I'm learning. I don't like the machine pronunciation from translator apps. So, I usually use this site - forvo.com.

You can post words/phrases and native people will pronounce them for you. They already have a repository of audio clips and you can listen and repeat.

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: I'm an audio -visual learner but I like listening and writing a lot more than reading and speaking. So, whenever I'm learning, I try to write down everything and use lots of colors/highlights.

I think once you start writing a lot, you'll stop reading letter by letter and instead see words as one block (like a picture) in your head. As a result, reading speed improves.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: I really suck at speaking, lol. It took me so many years to start speaking in English too. But I speak to myself in Korean and think in Korean sometimes. Now, the voice in my head speaks Korean without any pronunciation errors! Haha. I will get there soon.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: I have my physical notebooks (already 3rd one) as well as a digital notebook on notion.so. The digital notebook usually has snippets from various sites, resources list and so on. It's not very organized because I'm a messy person!

𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐨𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤: I have joined a bunch of language Koran groups in KakaoTalk. I'm not usually interacting there but I read what others are talking about. I've also made some Korean friends with who I do language/culture exchange directly on Kakao.

If you have any additional resources or tips, please share them. Also, I'm looking for similar resources for Japanese.

#langtwt

Thank you!

Korean language groups*