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Learn Korean Language Online For Free!

Saturday, July 18, 2020


FAQs

Name of Course: First Step Korean, Yonsei University

About this Course:

First Step Korean is elementary-level Korean language course by a reputable school in Korea called Yonsei University. Everything is 100% online, and created for beginners so you can join even if you have no background in the language. 

The course aims for students to learn how to read and write the Korean alphabet, and communicate with basic Korean. It is also a highly rated course, with 4.9 stars out of 5, coming from its 17,500+ students.


Address: You can take this course online through Coursera.

How to Enrol: Just go to coursera.org, search for First Step Korean, then click Enrol for Free.

Coursera is 100% online. They also have a MOBILE APP, but I haven't tried this yet. I feel comfortable studying with my laptop but having the option to take the class on your phone is great too.

How much is the tuition fee? 

You have two options in Coursera:

1) You can join for FREE: And still get the FULL COURSE, same module as the paid students.

2) You can also pay USD 49 (around Php 2500) for the same FULL COURSE plus a CERTIFICATE when you finish the program. 

Can I still join? When is the next batch?

The best part about this course and Coursera is that you have a FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE.

You can enrol ANYTIME, start today or tomorrow, and take the class at your most convenient time.

The First Step Korean course can be finished in approximately 12 hours. 

They divided the units or modules for 4 Weeks, but you can go ahead and finish everything in one seating.


My Personal Experience

In my case, I decided to watch one video per day, and ending a class with the quiz. I was able to absorb the lessons more with this kind of pacing.

Printable handouts of the day's class is provided after a unit, but I still have a notebook where I jot down notes like new phrases and vocabularies. I filled up an entire notebook for this course! 

I marked the date of the class in my notebook, so I was able to keep track that I started in June 23 and then ended in July 16. That's about 23 days of daily classes first thing in the morning! I think I only took breaks for 2 Sundays.

What I like about this course:

1) You can take advantage of learning something new for FREE.

2) I also like the certification option. Imagine getting a certificate from Yonsei University even when you're at home! Again, you can avail the printable certificate by finishing the course and paying USD 49.

3) Everything is at your own pace and preferred time. Allotted schedule for the course is just right.

4) Course professor Seung Hae Kang is easy to follow and understand, and not at all intimidating.

5) Flow of the course is very well structured.

6) I like the printable handouts at the end of each session

7) They have practical examples like actual conversations so you can understand the concepts more.

8) You can also take this course as refresher if you've already tried learning Korean before but stopped for a while. You can also review for exams through this course.


Variables to take note of:

This is not my first time learning the Korean language, I went to a language school last year which you can read more about here: My Experience in a Korean Language School. I think this became an edge for me to easily understand and absorb the course, especially the first few lessons. I wonder if it will be the same experience if it's my first time studying Korean.

All quizzes are also online, and you can retake it up to 3x if you're not satisfied with your result. After 3 attempts, you have to wait for 8 hours to retake it again. This is an advantage since it is less intimidating, but can also be a disadvantage because you can easily slack.

Tips:

1) Since it is online and free, you can easily drop the class anytime you feel lazy. A tip is to set a specific schedule for your study time, and stick to it! 

Be consistent, even your breaks should be scheduled. What worked for me is I took the course first thing in the morning after breakfast. Then I assigned Sundays as my break from the class.

2) They will provide worksheets, but to me writing things down helps in memorization. 

3) Take the quizzes seriously. I tried my best not to take a look at my notes during quiz time. If I did, I know it's a subject that I have to repeat again. 

Moving Forward

After finishing this course, I was able to refresh myself on the basics of the Korean language. This includes the Korean characters, a little about sentence structures, new vocabularies, etc.

I am planning to go back to some of the lessons I had difficulties in, including numbers, dates, time, and sentence / word endings.

I also started with a new Korean course (still in Coursera) called Learn To Speak Korean 1 to upgrade my learnings from this course.

Hoping for the best on my quest in learning a new language! ❤

Have you tried studying a new language too? Would love to get tips from you!

If you also have any other questions I wasn't able to answer in this post, feel free to comment them below!

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