Korean learners story: The key to learning Korean is to have constant exposure to it!

- Author: Hayley (Malaysia)
- Editor: Good Job Korean team 

When studying languages, it's important to have a goal in your mind.

 For me, it is to help me understand the entertainment content that the K-pop world produces, such as songs, talk shows, podcasts, live streaming, etc. I also wanted to understand K-drama without relying on subtitles, which may not be accurate all of the time, and also to be able to communicate with locals when I travel to Korea in the future.

 I usually watch to the Good Job Korean video lessons and try to understand what the teachers are conveying, before writing down notes and explanations, I often use Chinese(my native language) to write down sentence structures that are more difficult to understand using English. During practice lessons where sentences are introduced, I try to rely on hearing alone to write down the sentences, I use this as an opportunity to recall and practice writing Hangul.

 Other than learning through GJK lessons and quizzes, I also utilize social media. I follow a few Instagram pages that share Korean learning tips and sentences and practice reading those sentences whenever I see them on my news feed. I also follow some Korean tourist spots and cafe/food recommendation pages to practice reading and understanding their Korean posts and the slang used.

 In the past, I've used Duolingo to learn Korean but I find the app not quite clear in showing grammar structures so I would recommend using it after learning basic Hangul and sentence structures. For the Hilokal app, I have spoken to some Koreans and did some language exchanges, it is more fun and you can interact freely with other people learning Korean too.

 When I watch Korean talk shows, I try to read the original Korean subtitles and sound-effect-words, whereas, during K-dramas or movies, I listen first before glancing at the subtitles to confirm if my understanding is correct. I would also search for words I don't understand if I heard any, using Google or Papago.

 I think the key to learning Korean is to have constant exposure to it, so you get used to reading and listening to it. I still have difficulty reading long paragraphs in Korean or understanding quick conversations but I'm slowly improving. It is also important to have fun in learning it, if it feels like a chore then in my opinion it would decrease your motivation to learn, also most importantly you have to practice, practice, PRACTICE.

- Author: Hayley (Malaysia)
- Editor: Good Job Korean team