How to continue learning Korean as an intermediate learner 

 June 22, 2021

By  Smriti Ekka

안녕하세요 여러분~

If you are a person who has been learning Korean language for a very long time and has a quiet basic understanding of how the Korean language works or the nuances of grammar patterns in Korean language and has reached a stage where you no longer know how to continue further ?

First of all, Congratulations ~ because that means that you have already reached the intermediate level and you have made it quite far by covering the beginners level in Korean language on your own. 

I continuously go through various YouTube channels and blogs that explain their language learning journey. In a random YouTube channel on a Tuesday afternoon I came across a person explaining about the useful resources and ways that person used to acquire a decent intermediate level language.

So today we will be talking about the same. 

What after reaching intermediate level ?

We are not talking about being perfect in intermediate language since that's the beginning of advanced level and you might still find yourself stuck at a certain level even after acquiring the intermediate level so for that we'll be talking about how to advance forward and focus on being perfect beginners in advanced level.

I will list down #5 points which could be used in your day to day life to continue practicing learning Korean at a much higher level rather than memorizing words and phrases from random Instagram pages or YouTube videos for your intermediate level learning. 

#1  Identify your strong and weak points

This has never been an exception. In order to learn effectively and quickly. Like it has been said a trillion times, focus on your weakness and keep polishing your strong points so that it gets stored in your brain like an involuntary activity.

Reaching to a certain point in intermediate level the problem faced is no longer about listening or speaking. 

The basic difficulties people face are either in reading , writing or both. If your concern is towards reading, you should definitely consider reading more children's books to polish your skills and same goes for the writing as well.

If you are concerned about the spelling mistakes then you really need to write Korean as much as possible. 

The learning process of reading, writing, spelling and vocabulary, everything goes hand in hand and you can't just focus on one thing and make it perfect one at a time.

If you are learning vocabulary you will surely be able to improve your reading skills also and while reading you can improve your spellings as well.

Some sites for improving reading skills : 

For improving Korean writing, the Hello Talk app is recommended. 

Hello Talk App

You can randomly ask questions and put up in the " Correct me " section and  people would be readily available to help you and improve the spellings or sentences for you to make it look and sound more natural.

The community is forever growing so you might as well find answers to the specific questions you can't find on the internet easily. 

#2  Learn to type Korean on keyboard 

This is by far the most important thing that you should do if you have reached intermediate level and are willing to learn more about the culture or resources that you need to find on the internet that you can't easily get through recommendations.

Learning Korean or Hangul typing on a keyboard either on a computer or your mobile phones, would make the process very much easier to get any information at your fingertips. 

I personally use Google 한국어 두벌식 (2 Bulsik) keyboard which has consonant and vowels on one screen.

Google 한국어 두벌식

For learning typing on computers. Use Korean Keyboard mat or stickers you can easily get on online stores. You can lay on top of your laptop keyboard and you will be good to go.

If not, download an online Qwerty 2 set keyboard on your laptop.

#3  Talk to yourself 

This is by far the most important tip that anyone would give to you. It might sound very cringe worthy at first but talking to framing sentences and responding does all the work. 

You shouldn't be waiting for the right occasion to be able to practice your speaking. You can record yourself or just converse in Korean in your head. 

#4  Recognise the dialects and colloquial terms

If you reach your recent level and now you have the capacity of exploring more, why not explore several dialects spoken in Korea. 

Follow pages on Instagram and YouTube that provide small conversational videos that will provide you a better understanding about how the words are being spoken or how the framing of the sentences are constantly updating day by day. 

For example :

A simple sentence like 밥 먹어 ? Is said as 밥 먹?  The same sentence in Busan dialect will sound like 밥 먼나 ?and 밥 먹었냐잉? in Gwangju dialect.

Learning about dialect, intonation and speaking a sentence in a certain way will clear your outlook on how language works in the day -to -day life of Korean people.

#5  Make new friends

If you have a cultural group in your city and join the open exhibitions or fairs held by the Korean department of any university in your city then you should definitely visit those places and immerse yourself more into the happenings. It will be a great chance to practice your skills as well.

In this modern digital age where we are more connected to people than ever you can make friends online as well.

To keep progressing in learning. Patience and continuous practice is the key. Make your learning interesting by keeping these points in mind. 

Let us know below some of your ways and tricks to learn Korean language.

Smriti Ekka


Smriti Ekka graduated in Commerce and Library science, and currently she is working as a content writer at TOPIK Guide website. She is a Korean language and culture enthusiast and has been working across multiple disciplines which broadly addresses narratives of similarities between Korean and Indian culture. Apart from being a content writer at TOPIK Guide she manages Annyeong India website and has had her pieces published in Learn Korean in India website as well. In her other life, she is a singer, rising entrepreneur, life enthusiast and a learner.

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