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Posted By: Ajummah Posted On: July 28, 2012

… 사라입니다. It’s time I get down to business and start learning Korean, seriously. Like many of you, when I was bitten by the Hallyu bug last year, I threw myself into everything Korean. Korean dramas, k-pop, Korean food and of course learning the language. I started in October with Rosetta Stone (before I knew about Talk To Me In Korean) and dedicated myself to an hour a day, 5 days a week. When I felt confident enough, I began weekly sessions with the instructor Rosetta Stone provides. It was wonderful and nerve wracking.

source:joop.in

I then read somewhere how much easier it is to learn the language, if you know how to READ Korean. Sounded logical to me, so I broke off and focused on learning how to read (haha). It took a month or two because, hey, Young Ajummah has a lot going on in her life (yeah right) so I wasn’t as dedicated as I should have been. But I got it done! I may read like a 3rd grader but if you give me time, I can read anything…the problem is, of course WHAT DOES IT SAY??? The looks on my family’s face is laughable after I read something to them and they wait for me to translate. (You want me to do what now?) So back to Rosetta Stone I went.

Don’t get me wrong, I love learning languages and RS is great but…its a bit dry. It can also be a bit overwhelming if you don’t actually read Korean. Plus the price is more then other services so if you’re broke, it’s not in the cards for you.

So in an effort to keep myself motivated, I decided to supplement my Rosetta Stone with the following help.

TTMK is by far one of the best language learning sites by far. It has so many different ways for you to learn, the staff makes helpful podcasts and they even have stuff to print out so you can take your practicing and learning to a whole new level. Everything is broken down into levels, I believe they are currently on 7 (I’m still stuck halfway through level 1). And they have loads of help available if you need it. Oh and did I mention that its free. You can donate money to help with the upkeep of the site (which I actually do donate because its totally worth it).

source: japancinema.com

On Youtube there is a channel, Sweet and Tasty, that offers videos for the Korean Word of The Week. They come out every Wednesday and offer not only important words to know, but simple phrases to use them in. And to top it all off, they are so funny! Professor Oh and her staff (my fav is TaeKwon Do) do an amazing job keeping the lessons light-hearted and yes they are all played by the same person. Check out their blog as well.

For the social media folks, there is also Korean Help on twitter. He or She (don’t know who) tweets out things you wish you can say to your biases and idols but don’t know how. Their website is also pretty informative.

Also I’ve decided to make weekly videos of me murdering practicing my Korean. My little ones may or maynot be visible in them. Don’t laugh at them so much because I really am going to try my best. I saw a guy on youtube who became fluent in Korean in about 3 years. Nothing like a bit of competition to keep myself motivated right? So tell me are you learning or want to learn Korean? How are you going about it?