For those interested in learning a foreign language, there are few better than Korean. It's spoken by a lot of people (over 80 million) and is becoming more important every day thanks to South Korea's strong economy.
In addition to that, certain aspects of it are quite welcoming to beginners and you can also use it to meet new people and access Korean culture.
Let's see why you should learn Korean and how you can in Canberra.
Why You Should Learn Korean in Canberra
If you don't want to learn a foreign language, you won't. Your success will depend on your drive and motivation as learning any language, including Korean, can take a while.
Most foreign languages can take hundreds or thousands of hours of practice just to gain basic conversational proficiency so without a good reason, it's unlikely that you'll stick at it and put the work in.
Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent reasons to study Korean and these are just a few of our favourites.
It's Easier than Some Other Languages
I think we've made it pretty clear that learning a language isn't easy and neither is learning to speak Korean. However, there are a few things about Korean that will make it more accessible for anyone trying to learn it.
The Korean Writing System
While learning a new writing system will make Korean trickier than learning a language that uses the Latin alphabet like English, the Korean writing system (Hangul) is pretty intuitive and has the huge benefit of being phonetic.
Once you've mastered Hangul, you should know how to pronounce any Korean word regardless of whether or not you've seen it before. The system is also clever in the way that it's based on the shape your mouth and tongue make when making each sound, which makes it easier to remember which sound each letter represents.
Find Korean classes in Adelaide
Korean Conjugations
It's not just the alphabet that's easier. Korean grammar doesn't have multiple conjugations like in French, Spanish, and Italian, which use a different verb form for the subjects of a sentence (I, you, he/she/it, etc.) and for every grammatical tense.
Korean does have grammatical tenses, but you don't have to learn six conjugations for each of them, which means you only have one-sixth of the work to do when studying some of them.
Korean Doesn't Have Gendered Nouns
If you studied Romance languages like French, Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese at school you may be familiar with masculine and feminine nouns. These two noun classes come with extra rules to learn and what makes a noun masculine or feminine is fairly arbitrary. You just have to learn them.
In Korean, you don't have any of this to worry about. Yet another plus when it comes to learning the language.
Find various Korean language classes Melbourne here on Superprof.
There's a Rich Culture You Can Enjoy by Learning Korean
You may already be familiar with some of South Korea's biggest cultural exploits. Whether it's the Oscar-winning film “Parasite”, the Netflix TV hit “Squid Game”, or K-pop giants BTS, learning Korean can give you a greater appreciation for them all.
Beyond that, learning the language will allow you to discover more about Korean cinema, television, music, and literature. While translations of books and subtitles are fine, by speaking the language, you'll know more about the culture behind it all and have a deeper understanding of it.
The best thing about it is that you can also use all of these to help practise your Korean. The more you watch, read, or listen to, the better your Korean will become. It's a two-way street!
Find Korean classes in Brisbane
Learning to Speak Korean Could Be Great for Your Career
With South Korea's powerful economy, speaking Korean is really becoming desirable for employers. Naturally, companies in Korea prefer their employees to speak Korean, but there are also other companies looking to expand into Korea or do business with Korea that also needs their employees to speak the language.
Across the world, language skills are valued by any employer even if they're not directly used for the job. Speaking a foreign language shows potential employers that you have the drive and determination to learn a foreign language and also that you have the transferable that come with it: communication skills, empathy, problem-solving, and lateral thinking, to name just a few.
Learning Foreign Languages Comes with Health Benefits
Finally, did you know that learning a foreign language is good for your health? Foreign language acquisition has been shown to delay Alzheimer's and dementia while also helping to manage anxiety and depression.
Of course, this isn't a silver bullet that will fix everything and you also need to take care of yourself, but it's one extra reason to study a foreign language like Korean.
Where and How You Can Study Korean in Canberra
Now that you know why you should study Korean (and you should!), you can get to work finding out where and how to study it.
Everybody's different so what works for one student won't necessarily work for another, but these are all good places to start on your journey towards mastering the Korean language.
Australian National University
Australian National University offers several different Korean courses across four different levels as part of their continuing education.
Those who choose to take Korean 1, their most basic course, will learn Hangul (the Korean writing system), how to compose basic sentences, greet people and introduce themselves, and talk about daily activities, plans, and where things are.
Naturally, Korean 1 is the course for those with no prior experience with the language, but if you have prior experience with the language, you may be able to skip ahead to another of the Korean courses. It's recommended that you complete the previous courses or something similar, though.
Find Korean lessons in Melbourne
Language Trainers Australia
Language Trainers Australia offers hybrid language courses (online and offline) across several different levels and languages.
If you're interested in either in-person Korean classes or online classes, it's worthwhile checking them out and seeing what they could offer you.
Listen & Learn
Listen & Learn is a company that offers language courses and lessons either face-to-face or online. In-person lessons start at $54 an hour whilst online language courses are cheaper, starting at $35.50 an hour.
With face-to-face lessons, you can either get individual lessons or small group sessions. The online sessions promise native teachers in any language and discounts and packages if you opt for 10 hours or more.
They also have some useful explainers and resources on their website that you can use to help you get started with Korean.
Learn Korean for Free
If you don't feel like attending a Korean class or know that it isn't right for you, you can always look to teaching yourself Korean. There are plenty of resources out there to help you and lots of free ones to get you started without having to spend any money.
Discover different Korean lessons Sydney here on Superprof.
Look online for resources to get you started. There are websites, apps, and online communities where you can start learning how to read, write, and speak Korean. If you're looking for something more structured, then you can always invest in a Korean exercise book or a textbook and work through it.
It should be noted that if you want to teach yourself a language, you need to be incredibly motivated and driven as there'll be moments when you'll want to give up or are struggling. If you know that you'd be likely to give up, then it may be worthwhile investing in learning Korean in a class or through private tutoring.
Learn Korean in Canberra with Private Tutors
Private tutoring is an excellent way to learn a foreign language, especially Korean. Everybody learns differently and private tutors offer tailored and adapted sessions and activities to ensure their students are getting the most out of their time.
Check out some of our Korean course here on Superprof.
There are plenty of places you can find tutors (here's just one of them) and there are tutors for all budgets. The best tutors will tend to charge a premium, but you can still find very good and experienced tutors offering sessions for very reasonable rates.
If you can't find any suitable tutors in Canberra, don't forget that online tutoring is also an option and since they don't have to travel to their students and can teach you from the comfort of their own homes, online tutors also tend to charge less than their in-person counterparts.
While some tutors may ask you to commit to several sessions or lessons, you often won't have to commit to a full course or pay for a lot of hours at once, allowing you to try a few tutors before settling with the one that's right for you, your level, and how you like to learn.
There's no right or wrong way to learn Korean so it's probably a good idea to think long and hard about how you like to learn, how much time you can commit to studying Korean, and what your budget is.
There's no reason you can't combine some of these approaches or mix and match them by studying Korean on your own while also attending a class or working with a tutor.
Go with what works for you. Good luck!
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
