Learning Korean... How to study korean, how to improve your Korean 5

In the last couple of posts I talked about books and strategies that can help you improve your Korean on your own. Here is a summary of the resources I use, and some other tips too.

Reference Resources:

• Korean Grammar for international Learners (yonsei university)
• An English Korean dictionary (the longer the entries the better)

Books which help (click on the links for details):

• Beginner Level: 신나는 한글shin-na-neun hangeul (eduaha.com / 아하교육): teaches alphabet and basic vocab
• Elementary level: 국어 읽기 1 & 2guk-eo ilg-ki 1&2 (미래엔컬처그룹 / http://cutis.mest.go.kr) - basic reading: vocab and short sentences
• Pre-intermediate-Intermediate level: 한국문화 77hanguk mun-hwa 77 (랭기지플러스) short paragraphs about Korean culture
• Intermediate level: 1 학년 교과서 전래동화first year fairytales: fairytales and stories. Harder because of the old-fashioned content
• Intermediate/Upper Intermediate level: 지식 사전ji-shik sajeon (도서칠판 휴버트): great little book of 200 word passages.

General tips for language learning

• Confidence. Always be confident
• An open mind. Nothing is fixed in language and there are countless exceptions. Don't remember the rules, remember what breaks the rules
• Learn from mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, what you need to do is learn from them. Don't worry if you make a mistake! Worry if you keep on making it
• Awareness. Always be aware of what you and others are saying. every time you hear or say something strange make a mental note of it. You will learn a lot like this.
• Take every opportunity. Every oppportunity there is to speak or practise, use it. That means speaking to anyone, doing homework, answering questions in class. Whenever you can speak or write or read Korean do it.
• Make friends with native speakers. Not only do you really experience the culture and language through them they can act as dictionaries and teachers. Without them, you will never learn Korean properly
• Don't obsess about grammar Grammar is not language, it is a system for understanding language. In itself its pointless so forget about it when it's too hard.
• Enjoy it! Find something you love about the language and focus on that. You and your mind will change for ever (and for the better!)

And finally

Textbooks, workbooks, exercise books and grammar books are totally and utterly useless except when attending a class. Never waste your money on these if you're not going to go to a class which requires them.