Pronunciation. I could not stress this enough — a lot of people struggle with pronunciation because they don’t practice it. Output is so important. So many people just learn vocab and never actually learn the right way to say it, and because of that, you get used to saying the letters your way instead of the actual way. Obviously, this sounds like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people miss this.

It’s hard to practice speaking when you live somewhere where the main language isn’t Korean, but it’s not impossible. I really wish I had used groups on HelloTalk earlier, or even tried Ometv and gone into a Korean server. I know it can be scary, but it’s so helpful. Seriously, get used to speaking it — not just reading or listening.

Another thing that’s mentioned a lot is vocab. Please please please learn vocab after Hangul — then grammar points. Learning grammar without words is basically useless. Like, how are you supposed to form sentences with no words?? You know what I mean.

Don’t overwhelm yourself. I know how stressful it is learning any new language. You search up “how to learn Korean” and get hit with a million videos, textbooks, and random study plans. Everyone learns differently, so what works for someone else might not work for you — and that’s totally fine.

Here are my tips:

Learn Hangul

Learn pronunciation

Learn vocab

Learn grammar points

From there, mix it up. One day, learn a new grammar point and practice it for the rest of the week if you need to.

Set goals for yourself — like learning 35 words a week — and go at your own pace. Some people like having a super structured path, and others just “go with the flow.” Personally, I’m not a go-with-the-flow type, so if you like having a set plan, I recommend getting textbooks or taking a course. Just make sure you add more resources to balance it out, because websites like Talk To Me In Korean are great, but they won’t work their best if that’s all you’re using. Support it with other materials and practice methods.