Introduction:

Korean is spoken by more than 80 million people worldwide; making it the world’s 13th most widely spoken language. It is the official language of both North and South Korea; whereas, spoken widely in ethnic Korean communities of China, Japan, the USA, and Central Asia. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin province, China. Historical and modern linguists classify Korean as a language isolate; however, it does have a few extinct relatives, which together with Korean itself and the Jeju language (spoken in the Jeju Province and considered somewhat distinct) form the Koreanic language family. This implies that Korean is not isolate, but a member of a micro-family. The idea that Korean belongs to the controversial Altaic language family is discredited in academic research. Korean is agglutinative in its morphology and SOV in its syntax.

 

Here we are sharing with you 5 proven techniques to improve your Koran listening comprehension skills:

• Expose yourself to more Authentic Native Language – Listen a Lot

This sounds quite obvious, isn’t it? The more you listen, the better your listening skills will be. If you are in Korea, it should be very easy for you. Step out of your room and listen to people talking in buses, streets, and shops. Make some Korean friends and talk to them. But make sure that when you communicate with native Koreans, they speak in Korean. It may sound weird but I have seen people meeting with the intention to do a language exchange. In such meetings, the foreigner speaks Korean while the Korean person tries to speak as much English (or any other foreign language) as possible. A better way would be to just divide time slots and converse in one language at a time. Because listening to the native speaker is equally important to improve your Korean. If you are not in Korea, you can use YouTube to watch videos made by native Koreans. You can watch Korean dramas and movies, listen to podcasts. You can also make some language exchange friends online and converse with them over Skype for 5-10 minutes every day.

• Listen to Something You Enjoy

Don’t listen to boring audio CDs or news if you are not enjoying them. If you don’t enjoy listening and understanding something, you will ultimately get bored and give up. Find the things/topics that you love to talk or know more about and find listening material on those topics. If you love finance and politics, there is no need to forcefully watch Korean drama. Rather you should find TV shows or podcasts with talks and debates on politics and finance. Because you have some background knowledge in that field and like to talk about it, you will enjoy listening more; you will focus more on the sentences. While listening, don’t try to understand each and every word and sentence. Getting the gist of the meaning is more important. If you can keep up with the flow of the audio, you are fine.

• Do Active Listening

There is a difference between hearing and listening. We pay attention to understand the meaning when we listen. Active listening is a step above that. When you do active listening, you not only aim to understand the meaning but also pay attention to the linguistic elements used – like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and intonation. Whenever you get an opportunity to listen to a native speaker, be it in a face to face communication or through a computer or TV, pay attention to how they frame their sentences, how they express different ideas, and the way they speak it. These things are not any less important than the meaning of the sentences.

• Use Subtitles or transcripts

When you watch a drama or movie for the first time, try to watch it without subtitles, even if you don’t understand many things. Then the second time watches it with Korean subtitles. Now you have some understanding of the content already, so you will be able to read subtitles faster and you will also be able to focus more on the sentence structures. If you can find a transcript or the subtitle text file of the video, read it while listening to the audio.

• Focus on Pronunciation, Intonation, and Fillers

When you listen to a native Korean speaker, don’t just focus on the grammar and vocabulary; focus on the pronunciation of the words and the intonations used to express emotions. Also notice what kind of fillers they use to make the conversation more natural (like – 아~, 그러게, 그러네요, 글쎄, 뭐, 그렇구요, 그렇지요). Try to imitate these styles when you speak. It also helps to write a conversation on paper, record it in your own voice using natural intonation and fillers and then listen to it. That way you will know how natural you sound and where you need to improve more.

• Listen to the Same Podcasts Over and Over

Why it works:

Podcasts are word-rich audio recordings that feature real-world conversations and presentations by teachers and/or native Koreans. Better yet, podcasts are typically educational and will bring color and culture to your Korean studies.

How to do it:

The best strategy is to download diversity of podcasts so you can listen to them without burning your data and when you don’t have access to Wi-Fi. This will allow you to truly incorporate them into your daily routine and turn downtime into productive Korean listening sessions.

Great moments to listen to podcasts include your commute, when you’re doing chores around the house or when you’re grocery shopping.

• Download Korean Songs

Songs are a terrific tool to train your ear to detect common Korean sounds using repetition, rhythm and rhymes. In addition, songs are catchy and fun to memorize, making it easy for you to learn new vocabulary and practice pronunciation without much effort.

How to do it:

The key to improving your Korean listening skills through songs is to maximize your listening opportunities. Create a playlist on your favorite streaming site or app such as YouTube or Spotify, or purchase your favorite songs on iTunes so you can listen to them offline as well.

• Watch Movies and Dramas in Korean

Authentic Korean movies and TV shows will develop your ability to detect and recognize Korean words and conversations while also bringing you closer to the Korean culture. Highly engaging, they’re the weapon of choice for learners who want to stay motivated for the long-term.

How to do it:

The key to maximizing your listening sessions while watching movies and dramas is to opt for a variety of content. This will allow you to get comfortable listening to Korean on a wide range of subjects as well as conversations with multiple speakers.

• Practice with Korean Natives

Don’t be shy! This is a foolproof way to improve your listening (and speaking!) skills in context. That’s because you’ll be able to activate your learning through real-life, unscripted conversations while also getting honest feedback from natives on your accent and intonation. They’ll also be able to give you concrete tips if you confuse certain words and sounds, and most importantly, give you the motivation to continue your studies.

How to do it:

The key is to make it happen! Take baby steps if you’re shy and find opportunities to have frequent contact with the Korean community in your city. A great place to start is your local Korean supermarket. Ask where ingredients are located, how to incorporate them into your cooking or ask for recommendations on Korean ingredients and foods.

• Practice with Non-native Korean Speakers

This will help you to become more aware of the differences between how Korean should sound (i.e. when natives speak) and how it shouldn’t. It’s a very effective mirror to become aware of your own flaws and fix them. And when you converse with fluent non-native Korean speakers, you can gain confidence knowing that it can be done!

How to do it:

The objective here is to look for sounds that sound weird or different to you. Focus on common expressions and words that you regularly encounter when communicating with natives. Make a mental note of why they don’t sound right to you, focusing on the melody, intonation and cadences.

• Make Listening Regular

Frequent exposure to the sounds of Korean is the only way to develop familiarity and comfort with the language.

Plus, Korean listening practice has a range of other indirect benefits that support your overall learning goals. It’ll help you to stimulate your speaking skills by allowing you to eventually “think” in Korean. It can also enrich your vocabulary and help you learn grammar structures by activating usage in context rather than theory.

How to do it:

The goal is to fit your listening sessions into your daily schedule. Set up a routine time and place where you can listen to Korean content. Everyone’s schedule is different, but try to allocate at least 20 minutes a day for maximum results. Be sure there are no distractions or background noises so you can truly focus on the sounds. If you can, use a headset so you can hear words more clearly.

• Set Listening Goals

Improving your Korean listening skills is a step-by-step process. The best strategy is to incrementally target specific elements and set deadlines based on your goals. This will keep you moving consistently forward in your language studies.

Also, make sure to complement your reading with immediate listening drills and practice. That’s particularly important if you have no prior exposure to the Korean language and will help you to verify how written words sound when spoken. Apart from the above tips, you can enroll yourself in online classes too. This will also very helpful too to improve your listening skills.