There are a lot of ways to go about learning how to speak Korean or any language, and some of them can be very expensive. There are $200 language programs on CD Rom or classroom lessons that take up extra time to travel to and from class, on top of the high cost.
But for those of us on a budget with busy schedules, it may not be feasible to put money into expensive programs or tutors. Adding that to the cost of college tuition or homeschooling curriculum can render it unavailable to many.
With that in mind, in this post we'll look at a
few ways you can learn Korean online for free.
Learn Korean Online Through Free Websites
Websites
for learning how to speak Korean can vary from simple blog posts
(like this one) to whole sites dedicated to learning many different
languages with Korean included. The quality of the lessons and the
teaching styles can vary as well, so it pays a person, in the long
run, to try a few of them and see if their method works for you. I
personally use a combination of a few different teaching methods to
get the maximum out of my lesson time.
Some of
the better websites I've tried are Korean Class 101, Talk To Me In
Korean, and Korean From Zero, but there are probably others. (If I
left out your favorite, I apologize.) Duolingo also has a Korean
lesson series on their site but I don't personally recommend it. It begins with a very formal speaking style that can make it more difficult for beginners to start with.
The websites I use the most are Talk To Me In Korean and Memrise.Talk To Me In Korean offers fluency for free via 10 levels with around 30 lessons each. There is a listening test at the end of each level that helps you gauge your newly-acquired listening skills.
Beyond their free curriculum, TTMIK has a large range of free videos as well as good paid books. I personally own the textbooks and workbooks for level 1 and level 2, which are cutely illustrated, as well as their Easy Korean Reading for Beginners which is more for level 2 and 3 learners.
The textbooks follow along with the free lessons, but contain more vocabulary, opportunities for practice, and pertinent and useful cultural information. The workbooks offer even more practice to aid you in memorization and vocabulary building. These would definitely be great for the language class in any homeschooling situation.
Shipping from Korea can be expensive, so prepare to pay accordingly, and things can take a long time to arrive at your door. If you plan on buying any of their books, you can get them from their website, but I highly suggest heading over to Ebay, via the above links, and finding a local seller. It may or may not reduce the price but will likely reduce the time it takes to come in the mail.
Memrise utilizes a gaming interface with a phone app or browser access to create a very handy memorization method, the same used by polyglots, that actually works.
I personally wouldn't advise using the official Memrise Korean lessons on the site. The official lessons use vocabulary that native Koreans have repeatedly stressed not to use, such as the overuse of you(당신)/I/he/she, etcetera. There are user-submitted lessons that basically follow along with Talk To Me In Korean's 10 levels of free lessons.
The free version of the Memrise app has reduced functionality compared to the paid version, but what is available is enough to learn with. I own the paid version of Memrise, which can cost $30-$60/year, and I personally find that I don't need it. The only aspect of the paid version that I use is the "Difficult Words" functionality, which allows you to group together and slowly review words you commonly miss. It's useful but not absolutely necessary.
These two websites used together are a very powerful way to get a complete grasp of grammar, build a good vocabulary, and guarantee that you will actually remember what you learn.
Although the sites I have listed have some paid elements to them, you
can get really quite far learning to speak Korean just by utilizing
the free elements.
Learn Korean Online with Videos & YouTube
YouTube is a great resource for learning how to speak Korean, because it can be like having a live teacher in certain ways. Native speakers and teachers can pronounce difficult words for you and you can replay them as often as is needed to get the pronunciation correct. They can explain grammar points and usage, and also tone and inflection in a way that might not come through on paper. You can even suggest lessons you want to see in the comment section of videos.
There are many native Korean YouTubers who have tons of lessons and lesson clips, and also some non-native experts. I use these channels myself to learn Korean online and I have found them very useful for learning new grammar and especially for building up my list of Korean vocabulary words.
The YouTubers I personally use are Talk To Me In Korean, Motivate Korean, and All Things Korean.
The Talk To Me In Korean YouTube Channel has a ton of language learning videos which elaborate on or enhance their already content-rich website and books. In their videos, the dynamic hosts answer questions from the comment section on the website or from their Twitter followers, give more information on difficult linguistic issues, explain cultural norms, and interview other successful learners of Korean.
Motivate Korean is a unique channel that discusses Korean more from a linguistics theory perspective. The videos are jam packed with discussion about how language is connected to culture, sense of self, and social hierarchy. There is plenty of vocabulary and grammar thrown in, as well as explanation about unusual word usage.
The lady who runs the All Things Korean channel is a relative newcomer as of 2019, but what makes her channel unique is that she tends to talk about odd language topics that you may not hear from anywhere else. Videos may include, how do you say "I have to go pee," in Korean, or what's the Korean word for "thingamajig" or "whatchamacallit". This channel can be an entertaining way to build vocabulary.
Some other channels worth mentioning include MinJi Teaches Korean, SpongeMind TV, Learn Korean With Go! Billy Korean, and Korean Unnie.
I will include some videos from my favorite Korean language channels at the end of this post. I encourage you to check them out.
The YouTubers I personally use are Talk To Me In Korean, Motivate Korean, and All Things Korean.
The Talk To Me In Korean YouTube Channel has a ton of language learning videos which elaborate on or enhance their already content-rich website and books. In their videos, the dynamic hosts answer questions from the comment section on the website or from their Twitter followers, give more information on difficult linguistic issues, explain cultural norms, and interview other successful learners of Korean.
Motivate Korean is a unique channel that discusses Korean more from a linguistics theory perspective. The videos are jam packed with discussion about how language is connected to culture, sense of self, and social hierarchy. There is plenty of vocabulary and grammar thrown in, as well as explanation about unusual word usage.
The lady who runs the All Things Korean channel is a relative newcomer as of 2019, but what makes her channel unique is that she tends to talk about odd language topics that you may not hear from anywhere else. Videos may include, how do you say "I have to go pee," in Korean, or what's the Korean word for "thingamajig" or "whatchamacallit". This channel can be an entertaining way to build vocabulary.
Some other channels worth mentioning include MinJi Teaches Korean, SpongeMind TV, Learn Korean With Go! Billy Korean, and Korean Unnie.
I will include some videos from my favorite Korean language channels at the end of this post. I encourage you to check them out.
Learn Korean Online Using Apps
The
best way to use these apps is as a way of connecting to native
speakers. You can use certain apps to find and message language
exchange partners. You can have your phrases, sentences, and
pronunciation checked and critiqued by native Korean speakers.
HelloTalk has an interface similar to Facebook or Twitter, with a feed of people posting about different topics in their language. You can comment, offer suggestions, and correct the grammar of posts from those practicing your native language. It also has decent messaging capabilities. The downside is that you can only access this app on your cellphone, so no browser access.
HiNative operates in a question and answer format. Users can ask and answer questions about language as well as countries, places, and culture. It's available in an app and also has browser access from any computer.
Browser access makes this a great resource for homeschooling classrooms, though be aware that there can be a fair amount of political discussion in the Countries section for US users which may require supervised use for those under a certain age. Despite this, I still recommend this app.
It's also worth noting that there seem to be fewer users on HiNative than on HelloTalk and for some questions, it can take a little while to get a response. It's easier to get an answer to your basic Korean language questions, but answers to cultural questions may be harder to come by. I once asked a question about life in rural Korea and never did get a response.
These apps can be very useful for learning how to pronounce or learn the meaning of more obscure words or phrases that may not be available in more formal lessons. However, be aware that the quality of the critique is only as good as the knowledge the native speaker who responds.
Just ask yourself, how well do you know the English language if you had to explain it to someone?
HelloTalk has an interface similar to Facebook or Twitter, with a feed of people posting about different topics in their language. You can comment, offer suggestions, and correct the grammar of posts from those practicing your native language. It also has decent messaging capabilities. The downside is that you can only access this app on your cellphone, so no browser access.
HiNative operates in a question and answer format. Users can ask and answer questions about language as well as countries, places, and culture. It's available in an app and also has browser access from any computer.
Browser access makes this a great resource for homeschooling classrooms, though be aware that there can be a fair amount of political discussion in the Countries section for US users which may require supervised use for those under a certain age. Despite this, I still recommend this app.
It's also worth noting that there seem to be fewer users on HiNative than on HelloTalk and for some questions, it can take a little while to get a response. It's easier to get an answer to your basic Korean language questions, but answers to cultural questions may be harder to come by. I once asked a question about life in rural Korea and never did get a response.
These apps can be very useful for learning how to pronounce or learn the meaning of more obscure words or phrases that may not be available in more formal lessons. However, be aware that the quality of the critique is only as good as the knowledge the native speaker who responds.
Just ask yourself, how well do you know the English language if you had to explain it to someone?
Conclusion
There
are a lot of useful ways to learn Korean online for free. Learning
how to speak Korean doesn't have to be expensive or hard to start. I
personally utilize a lot of these methods in my own study. I suggest
you try these on your journey to become fluent in Korean.
Thanks
for reading and please
share!
Some Suggested Videos
*Updated 5/2/2019
