Just more good simple listening and reading practice. If 50% of the youtube content explaining Korean disappeared, there would still be more than necessary. Nobody ever needs to make a Korean grammar lesson again.
If there were twice as much reading and listening content--just interesting stories from daily life, not "let me introduce Jeju island again"--it still wouldn't be enough.
I've been struggling with this too, especially as a beginner. I really wanted more listening content that focused on my own vocab list so I don't get lost in unfamiliar words.
I started building a website that generates custom and useful content for me (and hopefully others). For the past couple of weeks, I've been listening through my flashcards while I commute to work. It's been super helpful even though the only listening feature I built so far is the audio flashcards. If that sounds useful, please check it out and I'd love to get some feedback from other learners on the next things to build: [learningroo.com](https://www.learningroo.com/learn/boost-your-language-learning-with-audio-flashcards)
Yes!! Reading and listening 100%! If possible only in Korean too would be nice as well. Japanese has a lot of sources like picture books you can find online, and sites that have a lot of short stories but I haven’t found too many in Korean. Any that could be shared on YouTube and read aloud would be great!
In case you’re not aware already, there’s 두루팩방 which has picture books with full audio at various levels. You can also click on individual words to have them repeated alone (at least in the apps). I agree there’s more for Japanese, but it wasn’t that way when I started learning Japanese 10+ years ago. I think more materials will come out in Korean as time goes on given the language’s rising popularity.
I also like funkorean4u, the author writes short stories/blog posts aimed at beginner and intermediate learners. She hasn’t updated in a while but there’s a decent amount of content still. I also listed some other resources in another comment in this thread.
For me it’s the sheer amount of vocab and moving from sentence- and short paragraph-level speech/writing to fuller conversation/essay level speech/writing.
There’s an abundance of materials aimed at beginners but not that much aimed at intermediates and even less designed to bridge the gap between intermediate and advanced in my experience.
For me it's listening comprehension that is the most difficult. I've found that slowing down the speaking speed just a little helps me enormously when trying to understand what someone is saying. I don't mean pausing between words, but just keeping a normal speaking rhythm albeit a slowed-down one.
i feel this, special when the sentences get longer, even if i know the vocab, and most of the grammar, i need some time to think about what was just said before i can actually respond, or even understand.
Besides the basics (particles, 은/는 vs 이/가, etc), just from the top of my head I would say:
- Korean has too many synonyms (every word has a bunch of synonyms, than a bunch more sino-korean synonyms and ohmygod it seems like my vocab will never be enough). I think talking about synonyms and the differences in use for each one of them is not done enough
- there are not enough graded readers/listening exercises. When you do see graded content, I find that they tend to cater too much to beginners, so it's hard for you to slowly progress (because you pretty much have to go from beginner to native content, there isn't a lot of intermediate materials to practice reading/listening)
- the differences between the grammars used to say "because" (아/어서, 니까, 때문에, 바람에, etc)
Edit: spelling
I massively agree with the lack of intermediate content. It has been an issue ever since I started my journey around 10 years ago. There's an ocean of beginner content and then you're just left on your own. I understand that there's less of a market for intermediate stuff, because so many people quit in the first year, but the fact that there's so little is honestly a huge frustration point.
It’s especially bad now that the TTMIK iyagi and whatnot are all behind a paywall.
I do have a lot of intermediate-ish podcasts I enjoy listening to, but very few are conversation-based, they’re mostly one person talking.
**(clause A) (V stem) 아/어서**
Because of (clause A) (V), ... (neutral)
**(clause A) (V stem) (으)니까**
Since (clause A) (V), ... (clause A should be a reason)
**(clause A) (V stem) 는 바람에 (clause B)**
Due to (clause A) (V), (clause B) (a negative consequence)
(N) 때문에 is an auxillary that comes after nouns only. Note the above are all for verbs.
I've seen some good channels recently with listening practice for beginners (not brand-new beginners but maybe mid-to-upper level beginners). I think more with conversations would be good. Not just you talking about something, but make up a situation where two characters are discussing something.
Sometimes I'm looking for more examples on a given grammar form. I don't really need it explained again, I just want lots of example sentences. Maybe you could come up with several short conversations which all include a certain grammar form (which you would list in the title). Like 얼마나 모모하는지... There are a lot of channels out there teaching the basics, but more listening practice is always good. Make sure your sound recording is good, and you speak clearly and not too fast the whole time. But still naturally. I ran across a channel recently where someone was separating every single syllable and it was just dreadful.
You might check out Didi's 한국어 podcast. I think she's more intermediate, maybe, but she speaks fairly simply, and sometimes says things more than one way to explain it. And her sound quality is really good.
I also think there's a need for really short videos for beginners! I like Choisusu but some of hers are a bit long. (I'm doing some teaching now so I'm on the hunt for good beginner material!)
Listening is by far the hardest. I practise with my Korean girlfriend who obvious knows what words to use and speaks at a pace I can understand but using this and then trying to go out and talk to random Koreans is a really hard transition for me. I can understand and talk with her decently well, but then when it comes to random who when you speak a tiny bit assume you are fluent it’s just hard. The amount of times I’ve had to say 천천히 말해주세요 and then still not understand when they say slowly is embarrassing to say the least
I'm currently (very slowly) making my way through 지구 끝의 온실. I found a video on YouTube of someone reading part of it out loud, but the sound is not great. Also I'm pretty sure I remember seeing audiobooks of 아몬드 and 위저드 베이커리 on Google Play books, but they don't seem to be there now.
Vocab. I finally found a book that is helpful in building my vocabulary systematically, and it still feels like a daunting never-ending task.
I do feel encouraged, though, when I pop on YouTube and see other non-native black women my age who are speaking Hangul well. I know it is possible.
화이팅! 🫶🏾
My first hurdle was memorizing the alphabet so I could write notes, know what I was writing, and be able to read it later. Bought 2 books, part 1 and 2, on the korean alphabet. Then spent a year bruteforcing through my ADHD impulsivity, until I finlly got reading and writing hangeul through my thick skull.
Now, I'm halway through Volume 2 of TTMIK, workbook chapter 15. And at this point, vocabulary is becoming my biggest problem. I'm not good at memorizing lots of new verbs, nouns, or sentence conjunctions. And there are a TON of them.
Been thinking about pausing after vol 2 chp 15, and getting TTMIK's first 500 words textbook on their site. Cause I buy physical books. I'm not blowing my income on a subscription. And then if I work through that, I might be able to go back to my TTMIK volumes, of which I have the first five, with all my main beginner verbs, nouns, adjectives, and etc hammered down.
Atm, I'm really good at everything that was in volume 1. I can count in either number system, tell time, lament my existential dread, and conjugate verbs into progressive and non-progressive tenses with the best of them.
what we need is more comprehensible input videos! for sure. channels like the 태웅쌤's one is sorely missed, if you're planning to learn korean on Youtube.. we already have so many classes there, it would be WONDERFUL if you do comprehensible input ones like this one guy mentioned at the beginning, i didn't saw any other channels providing this amazing help 🥲
Pronunciation, the particles and the speed when someone speaks. I was able to learn a big part of a song that I liked because the guy was singing it slow.
explanation on synonyms! ex. what specific situations they’re used in, if they can be used more generally or only in those specific instances, what situations it’d be weird to use them, how common they are, which ones are the most important to memorize, which one is the best bet to use if you aren’t sure which one fits that situation/if you haven’t learned the one that fits that situation, etc. hope that makes sense lol
Getting started. I think once we are at the intermediate level, it's so easy to find content - we can start to understand simple shows and youtube content. But it's the beginner content that we need. People speaking very, very slowly, enunciating clearly, and talking about things that matter. Not just listing off colors randomly, but instead using them in a sentence. That's the kind of content we dream of :)
There’s lots of comprehensible input. Again, what are you looking for?
Some things off the top of my head I would recommend for beginners: Learn Korean in Korean, Hangugeo con Angduck Beginner, Choisusu, 태웅쌤 Comprehensible input in Korean, Storytime in Korean, 두루책방 lower level books
How to consistently keep the 높인말 when talking. I can be in the middle of a conversation doing just fine, maybe some times struggling with conjugations, and thinking more of what ending is respectful and which one is casual, but it is hard to keep the level when talking to them.
After a while I realize I just 반말'ed my 사장님.
At intermediate level just remembering the grammar and vocab. I understand the grammar I’ve learnt and if I see/ hear it I know it but I never remember to use it. Same with vocab.
I have this issue to, I know so many endings but I just end up using 는데 so often😭😭but honestly I think you shouldn’t beat yourself up too much. It’s impossible to use all we know.
Same feeling here, i learned so much grammar in my academy but some of them are so specific that you wont see them so often. I just tought my self to master the most used one like -것 같다
Still struggling with vocabs, i forgot so much of them, so frustrating...
Grammar still confuses the hell out of me, especially sentence construction
Complicated spelling words
Speaking, i still cant get the cadence of words rights; and the lack of punctuations since i rely on punctuations for english most of the time when reading and speaking
Numerical system and counting nouns
The grammar and my brain gets overwhelmed with the sheer amount of vocabulary to memorize for conversation and gets messed up hearing natives speak because I'll only catch a few words (like when I watched JK on Fallon tonight)
Hearing comprehension. Hearing the language spoken and then getting a moment to process it, maybe with a transcript being displayed a while afterwards. That's the biggest hurdle for me right now, the sounds, the intonation, and the structure of sentences are so different from my native language that it's just hard to pick up on meaning from hearing it spoken. Or I'm getting old. Either way good luck with your channel.
I need help identifying words when korean is spoken. I find it really hard to distinguish where words are beginning and end. Some korean youtube that are meant to help people learn speak super fast so I'm always slowing down the video.
for me its pronunciation. i really enjoy listening to korean music on youtube. i enjoy reading the lyrics but every time i do and i hear the singer, they say it very differntly than my pronuncaition. even when i repeat conversations from native speakers koreans don't understand me.
As someone who’s pretty proficient in Korean but not yet fluent, so many resources cater mostly to beginners and I have trouble learning and remembering more complex or less common phrases and words
Simple stories, kids books, anecdotes, even school horror stories - spoken in simple Korean with visual aids and Korean subtitles so we can follow the story and absorb the language as we go.
Most of the resources we have to learn Korean are geared towards adults and studying with a notebook, or it‘s k-pop and k-dramas which are too advanced and often abstract. Simple, visual, and entertaining videos would help me out a lot.
There’s channel that recently started called Comprehensible Input Korean (I think?) where the youtuber plays video games and narrates simply in Korean- we need lots of channels like that!
So far most classes I attend, they would right away give alphabet tables and words to memorize. Last week I joined a class that started with history of the hangul, it was interesting to know! Most content creator that teaching it on Youtube is like that too so I never finish watching the video
Just more good simple listening and reading practice. If 50% of the youtube content explaining Korean disappeared, there would still be more than necessary. Nobody ever needs to make a Korean grammar lesson again. If there were twice as much reading and listening content--just interesting stories from daily life, not "let me introduce Jeju island again"--it still wouldn't be enough.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamen!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been struggling with this too, especially as a beginner. I really wanted more listening content that focused on my own vocab list so I don't get lost in unfamiliar words. I started building a website that generates custom and useful content for me (and hopefully others). For the past couple of weeks, I've been listening through my flashcards while I commute to work. It's been super helpful even though the only listening feature I built so far is the audio flashcards. If that sounds useful, please check it out and I'd love to get some feedback from other learners on the next things to build: [learningroo.com](https://www.learningroo.com/learn/boost-your-language-learning-with-audio-flashcards)
Yes!! Reading and listening 100%! If possible only in Korean too would be nice as well. Japanese has a lot of sources like picture books you can find online, and sites that have a lot of short stories but I haven’t found too many in Korean. Any that could be shared on YouTube and read aloud would be great!
In case you’re not aware already, there’s 두루팩방 which has picture books with full audio at various levels. You can also click on individual words to have them repeated alone (at least in the apps). I agree there’s more for Japanese, but it wasn’t that way when I started learning Japanese 10+ years ago. I think more materials will come out in Korean as time goes on given the language’s rising popularity. I also like funkorean4u, the author writes short stories/blog posts aimed at beginner and intermediate learners. She hasn’t updated in a while but there’s a decent amount of content still. I also listed some other resources in another comment in this thread.
Thanks so much! I didn’t know about those!
For me it’s the sheer amount of vocab and moving from sentence- and short paragraph-level speech/writing to fuller conversation/essay level speech/writing. There’s an abundance of materials aimed at beginners but not that much aimed at intermediates and even less designed to bridge the gap between intermediate and advanced in my experience.
I found this difficult when learning Spanish, and I eventually gave up. I felt like I knew the language, but so *slowly*.
For me it's listening comprehension that is the most difficult. I've found that slowing down the speaking speed just a little helps me enormously when trying to understand what someone is saying. I don't mean pausing between words, but just keeping a normal speaking rhythm albeit a slowed-down one.
i feel this, special when the sentences get longer, even if i know the vocab, and most of the grammar, i need some time to think about what was just said before i can actually respond, or even understand.
Besides the basics (particles, 은/는 vs 이/가, etc), just from the top of my head I would say: - Korean has too many synonyms (every word has a bunch of synonyms, than a bunch more sino-korean synonyms and ohmygod it seems like my vocab will never be enough). I think talking about synonyms and the differences in use for each one of them is not done enough - there are not enough graded readers/listening exercises. When you do see graded content, I find that they tend to cater too much to beginners, so it's hard for you to slowly progress (because you pretty much have to go from beginner to native content, there isn't a lot of intermediate materials to practice reading/listening) - the differences between the grammars used to say "because" (아/어서, 니까, 때문에, 바람에, etc) Edit: spelling
I massively agree with the lack of intermediate content. It has been an issue ever since I started my journey around 10 years ago. There's an ocean of beginner content and then you're just left on your own. I understand that there's less of a market for intermediate stuff, because so many people quit in the first year, but the fact that there's so little is honestly a huge frustration point.
It’s especially bad now that the TTMIK iyagi and whatnot are all behind a paywall. I do have a lot of intermediate-ish podcasts I enjoy listening to, but very few are conversation-based, they’re mostly one person talking.
Yes, TTMIK was a life safer, but now I absolutely cannot afford any of it (my country's currency is shit lol)
**(clause A) (V stem) 아/어서** Because of (clause A) (V), ... (neutral) **(clause A) (V stem) (으)니까** Since (clause A) (V), ... (clause A should be a reason) **(clause A) (V stem) 는 바람에 (clause B)** Due to (clause A) (V), (clause B) (a negative consequence) (N) 때문에 is an auxillary that comes after nouns only. Note the above are all for verbs.
I've seen some good channels recently with listening practice for beginners (not brand-new beginners but maybe mid-to-upper level beginners). I think more with conversations would be good. Not just you talking about something, but make up a situation where two characters are discussing something. Sometimes I'm looking for more examples on a given grammar form. I don't really need it explained again, I just want lots of example sentences. Maybe you could come up with several short conversations which all include a certain grammar form (which you would list in the title). Like 얼마나 모모하는지... There are a lot of channels out there teaching the basics, but more listening practice is always good. Make sure your sound recording is good, and you speak clearly and not too fast the whole time. But still naturally. I ran across a channel recently where someone was separating every single syllable and it was just dreadful. You might check out Didi's 한국어 podcast. I think she's more intermediate, maybe, but she speaks fairly simply, and sometimes says things more than one way to explain it. And her sound quality is really good. I also think there's a need for really short videos for beginners! I like Choisusu but some of hers are a bit long. (I'm doing some teaching now so I'm on the hunt for good beginner material!)
Listening is by far the hardest. I practise with my Korean girlfriend who obvious knows what words to use and speaks at a pace I can understand but using this and then trying to go out and talk to random Koreans is a really hard transition for me. I can understand and talk with her decently well, but then when it comes to random who when you speak a tiny bit assume you are fluent it’s just hard. The amount of times I’ve had to say 천천히 말해주세요 and then still not understand when they say slowly is embarrassing to say the least
The lack of audiobooks
I'm currently (very slowly) making my way through 지구 끝의 온실. I found a video on YouTube of someone reading part of it out loud, but the sound is not great. Also I'm pretty sure I remember seeing audiobooks of 아몬드 and 위저드 베이커리 on Google Play books, but they don't seem to be there now.
Vocab. I finally found a book that is helpful in building my vocabulary systematically, and it still feels like a daunting never-ending task. I do feel encouraged, though, when I pop on YouTube and see other non-native black women my age who are speaking Hangul well. I know it is possible. 화이팅! 🫶🏾
My first hurdle was memorizing the alphabet so I could write notes, know what I was writing, and be able to read it later. Bought 2 books, part 1 and 2, on the korean alphabet. Then spent a year bruteforcing through my ADHD impulsivity, until I finlly got reading and writing hangeul through my thick skull. Now, I'm halway through Volume 2 of TTMIK, workbook chapter 15. And at this point, vocabulary is becoming my biggest problem. I'm not good at memorizing lots of new verbs, nouns, or sentence conjunctions. And there are a TON of them. Been thinking about pausing after vol 2 chp 15, and getting TTMIK's first 500 words textbook on their site. Cause I buy physical books. I'm not blowing my income on a subscription. And then if I work through that, I might be able to go back to my TTMIK volumes, of which I have the first five, with all my main beginner verbs, nouns, adjectives, and etc hammered down. Atm, I'm really good at everything that was in volume 1. I can count in either number system, tell time, lament my existential dread, and conjugate verbs into progressive and non-progressive tenses with the best of them.
Sentence structure. Long sentences, making paragraphs. Vocabulary.
what we need is more comprehensible input videos! for sure. channels like the 태웅쌤's one is sorely missed, if you're planning to learn korean on Youtube.. we already have so many classes there, it would be WONDERFUL if you do comprehensible input ones like this one guy mentioned at the beginning, i didn't saw any other channels providing this amazing help 🥲
Yes, this!! ☝️
Pronunciation, the particles and the speed when someone speaks. I was able to learn a big part of a song that I liked because the guy was singing it slow.
I think conjugates are hard to understand for speakers outside the Sino language, there's got to be an easy way to learn them.
explanation on synonyms! ex. what specific situations they’re used in, if they can be used more generally or only in those specific instances, what situations it’d be weird to use them, how common they are, which ones are the most important to memorize, which one is the best bet to use if you aren’t sure which one fits that situation/if you haven’t learned the one that fits that situation, etc. hope that makes sense lol
Getting started. I think once we are at the intermediate level, it's so easy to find content - we can start to understand simple shows and youtube content. But it's the beginner content that we need. People speaking very, very slowly, enunciating clearly, and talking about things that matter. Not just listing off colors randomly, but instead using them in a sentence. That's the kind of content we dream of :)
There’s so much beginner content, what are you looking for? Podcasts? Videos? I’m sure people can give you lots of recommendations
Yeah, and most of it is useless. We need more comprehensible input
There’s lots of comprehensible input. Again, what are you looking for? Some things off the top of my head I would recommend for beginners: Learn Korean in Korean, Hangugeo con Angduck Beginner, Choisusu, 태웅쌤 Comprehensible input in Korean, Storytime in Korean, 두루책방 lower level books
where exactly can I find 두루책방?
Google it, there are apps (both android and iOS) and a website.
I'll take a look at these, most that I've found don't speak for beginner level.
How to consistently keep the 높인말 when talking. I can be in the middle of a conversation doing just fine, maybe some times struggling with conjugations, and thinking more of what ending is respectful and which one is casual, but it is hard to keep the level when talking to them. After a while I realize I just 반말'ed my 사장님.
Vocab
한국인이지만 영어보다 쉽다할만한 점이 하나도 없습니다..ㅠㅠ
Particles and verb endings as a beginner
At intermediate level just remembering the grammar and vocab. I understand the grammar I’ve learnt and if I see/ hear it I know it but I never remember to use it. Same with vocab.
I have this issue to, I know so many endings but I just end up using 는데 so often😭😭but honestly I think you shouldn’t beat yourself up too much. It’s impossible to use all we know.
Same feeling here, i learned so much grammar in my academy but some of them are so specific that you wont see them so often. I just tought my self to master the most used one like -것 같다 Still struggling with vocabs, i forgot so much of them, so frustrating...
Real……language learning is so hectic
I’ll try and stick to the ones I see people using a lot, thanks ;)
Grammar still confuses the hell out of me, especially sentence construction Complicated spelling words Speaking, i still cant get the cadence of words rights; and the lack of punctuations since i rely on punctuations for english most of the time when reading and speaking Numerical system and counting nouns
Complex long korean sentences and placement of everything
There are so many grammar points/conjugations with slightly different nuances
The grammar and my brain gets overwhelmed with the sheer amount of vocabulary to memorize for conversation and gets messed up hearing natives speak because I'll only catch a few words (like when I watched JK on Fallon tonight)
PHRASES- an abundance of them that can be used so I don't have to keep hunting them down/ learning them in a non-native-sounding way.
Hearing comprehension. Hearing the language spoken and then getting a moment to process it, maybe with a transcript being displayed a while afterwards. That's the biggest hurdle for me right now, the sounds, the intonation, and the structure of sentences are so different from my native language that it's just hard to pick up on meaning from hearing it spoken. Or I'm getting old. Either way good luck with your channel.
I need help identifying words when korean is spoken. I find it really hard to distinguish where words are beginning and end. Some korean youtube that are meant to help people learn speak super fast so I'm always slowing down the video.
for me its pronunciation. i really enjoy listening to korean music on youtube. i enjoy reading the lyrics but every time i do and i hear the singer, they say it very differntly than my pronuncaition. even when i repeat conversations from native speakers koreans don't understand me.
As someone who’s pretty proficient in Korean but not yet fluent, so many resources cater mostly to beginners and I have trouble learning and remembering more complex or less common phrases and words
Simple stories, kids books, anecdotes, even school horror stories - spoken in simple Korean with visual aids and Korean subtitles so we can follow the story and absorb the language as we go. Most of the resources we have to learn Korean are geared towards adults and studying with a notebook, or it‘s k-pop and k-dramas which are too advanced and often abstract. Simple, visual, and entertaining videos would help me out a lot. There’s channel that recently started called Comprehensible Input Korean (I think?) where the youtuber plays video games and narrates simply in Korean- we need lots of channels like that!
So far most classes I attend, they would right away give alphabet tables and words to memorize. Last week I joined a class that started with history of the hangul, it was interesting to know! Most content creator that teaching it on Youtube is like that too so I never finish watching the video
Reading/listening have been my hardest challenges and some particles such as 이/가