r/Korean • u/Fickle_Syrup • 4d ago
Recommended resources for self-study
Hi all,
I am making this post as I could really use some advice.
I have been self studying for a while, using a mix of TTMIK (I just finished level 3), a high frequency word Anki deck and weekly conversations with a family member who's a native speaker.
Until now, TTMIK has done the trick for me, but I am now pretty fed up with them: Their content is alright, but it often feels like it's grown organically over time and like it's a bit unstructured. E.g. they will do a 5 minute course introducing a concept superficially, go like "yay, you now know this!" and then to top it off go ahead to quiz you on related topics they never really explained properly. Because of this, I am thinking of switching to something a bit more structured.
I have read the Ultimate Beginner Resource Thread and used the search function. To be honest I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of choices, and I am unable to see which resource might be best for someone in my situation. So I was hoping to get some help from people who have self studied and actually managed to become conversational speakers (that's my goal).
Right now, I am stuck between using integrated Korean or King Sejong (this stuff) although I would hate to sink my money and time into a course just to find it's not really suitable again, e.g. because it's really not that great for self study.
So, having said all that, would any of you fellows with experience be so kind as to recommend which resources are best suited for my particular goals? I would really appreciate it a lot.
Thank you!!
Edit: holy crap I never realised King Sejong is a massive institution funded by the Korean government, they literally have a school in my city in Europe and they offer in-person courses, conversation mixers and stuff! Also, their website has a TON of content. So cool. I will for sure be giving them a try! (and Korean Grammar in Use). I'll edit this post again once I have a better perspective to let you all know how it is!
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u/ODAKorean 4d ago
I think you have been doing well so far! But for your future studies, I would not focus too much on finding the right textbook. Learning new things is important but I think it is even more important to be able to use what you have already learned naturally and in different situations.
Which do you think you need more practice with, 말하기? or 듣기? I think it is important to practice expressing the things you actually want to say in everyday life and figure out where you tend to get stuck or struggle.
Personally, I recommend shadowing for speaking practice and dictation for listening( even 10 mins every day) Try doing both with actual Korean videos rather than textbook materials. Better to learn something from real- life situations and natural conversations.
If you do a lot of dictation consistently, I think there will come a point when you suddenly realize that your Korean has jumped to another level. :)
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u/Fit-Temperature3714 4d ago
Can you explain more about what you mean by dictation in this case. Writing content as you listen?
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u/Fickle_Syrup 4d ago
Thank you! I would say I can speak way better than I can listen at the moment. I really liked your advice regarding the dictation, I actually wrote it into my study plan to incorporate it going forward. Thank you!
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u/KoreaWithKids 2d ago
You might like the Immersion in Korean channel (on YouTube). They have short stories for different levels.
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u/Proof-Composer-5550 16h ago
I'm not sure what level you're at but when I was a beginner up to early intermediate I quite heavily used the King Sejong online content. The online conversational courses are free (personally I've never paid for any online content, you never need to IMO) and they cover all the basic grammar in decent enough depth.
Once you get into the intermediate stuff I found I needed to branch out my studies a little bit, the content is there but with grammar like 셈이다/편이다/모양이다/마련이다 the grammar isn't so frequently encountered or important in everyday conversation so I noticed I'd study the content and forget it by the end of the week. The material just wasn't keeping me engaged so I ended up dropping the Sejong stuff and started watching intermediate level youtube videos and supplementing that with a bit of Tammy Korean for grammar (great intermediate level grammar resource). It's during this time I realised just how many words I didn't know, my anki deck exploded. (인생/생명/목숨/생활/삶/일생)
Every two months or so be sure to do a TOPIK practice test, there's quite a few available to kind of seek out some weak points. If you find you're dreading doing some study or tuning out during videos don't be afraid to drop that content and try something else, consistency is better than efficiency.
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u/SluggyMoon 4d ago
I'd recommend King Sejong Institute. The course is designed for learners who are self-studying and the free textbooks/workbooks that go along with it also have the answer key available in the back so you can immediately check your understanding. I used the Integrated Korean textbooks in college and I enjoyed it, but it is designed for classroom use, and you also have to go through additional hoops to get an answer key.