First obstacle when learning Korean? I am sure to say: it is Hangul itself.
You can find loads of materials promising that you can learn Hangul in an hour, an afternoon or a day, – and it is partially, true. Learning the characters is very straightforward and very easy. But understanding and knowing something is clearly two, different things.
The problem is that getting to the level of “more or less”, “not bad” or “quite good, just need some practice” in reading Hangul won’t be enough for the majority of the learners. Some learn via hearing with the speed of light, but most learners, especially, adult learners are not this type. They also need to know the picture of a word in order to connect it to its sound so as to be able to digest it properly. Knowing it more or less is a trap for them that they will fall into sooner or later, as their amount of “more or less” vocabulary (and even grammar) grows. And the more “more or less” you have, the more uncertain you’ll become, and the more likely you get stuck.
Therefore.. simple it may sound, it is still worth the effort and the time to practice and improve your reading skills to establish a good base to build your learning on. And try not to compromize: as for reading Hangul, go for the backwards and forwards.
Another easy way to practice reading Hangul is to learn and practice country names which are almost the same in English (or even in your native language).
It may seem difficult at first glance, but really worth to play with it.
This sheet includes some countries from Europe.
Please note that the last page of this sheet is the vocabulary list. Don’t print it if you won’t need it.
Hint: once you complete an exercise, read it out for yourself, – this way, you can double your practice!
(Scroll to the bottom of this post to download practice sheet.)
One of the easy ways to practice reading Hangul is to learn and practice words that are almost the same in English (or even in your native language).
This sheet is looking at some of these easy-peasies.
Hint: for this level, even Google Translator can come handy, so that you can compare what you’ve managed to figure out to how it should sound. Also, recommend to spend some time reading the sheet out for yourself to double practice.
(Scroll to the bottom of this post to download practice sheet.)
English
Korean
bus butter Café cake chocolate Cola computer date email hamburger ice cream internet juice key ring menu mobile phone pizza sandwich sofa supermarket taxi team television wine
버스 버터 커피숍 케이크 초콜릿 콜라 컴퓨터 데이트 이메일 햄버거 아이스크림 인터넷 주스 키홀더 메뉴 핸드폰 피자 샌드위치 소파 슈퍼마켓 택시 팀 텔레비전 와인
