online resources

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  1. 2015.09.24 Free Online Resources to Learn Korean & Japanese

This is a list of the free sites/materials I use for learning Korean and Japanese. I will be continually updating this post if there's anything new that I find~


 ※ KOREAN ※


Talk To Me In Korean - I think everyone knows about this site already~ I've watched some of their videos before but it was only until recently that I actually tried studying through the lessons/podcasts found on their site and I have to say that it's really well done, well structured and easy to follow. Even if you're not exactly a beginner in Korean language anymore, you can still find their lessons very helpful for revising or to further strengthen your Korean language skills!


Key To Korean - This site was introduced to me by a friend. They have downloadable vocabulary worksheets and grammar notes in pdf format. So if you're on a tight budget, you can print their worksheets and use those instead to study instead of books.


Professor Oh - I got into Korean stuff in the midst of preparing for my national exams almost three years ago so I couldn't properly start studying the language, however I still wanted to learn things despite being busy so I watched loads of Professor Oh's short videos specifically KWOW Season 1. She's a really fun teacher! She vlogs about Korean culture as well. I strongly believe that learning a language is like a "package". You can't just simply learn about the language without trying to understand the culture too. Currently KWOW Season 4 is still ongoing and there are Korean Phrase lessons that come with each episode every week. If you're a total newbie in Korean, you might find it hard to keep up with the phrase lessons because they're pretty fast. But still, challenge yourself, good luck!


Let's Speak Korean - This is a show by Arirang and is around 10 mins long for each episode. It's a good show to watch everyday for revising and learning new things~ The older series were back in the 1990s but I personally prefer and watch the ones hosted by Lisa Kelly which ran for about 5 seasons. Arirang used to have playlists dedicated to the series but they seemed to have removed it? I don't know. :( The full playlist of season one is over here. The rest should still be found in Arirang Culture's channel but you'll have to search for it yourself on their search box or you can also go to their site (S3 | S4 | S5).


Read Talk - Introduced by a friend~ This method might not work for everyone, but If you're already comfortable with reading Hangul and you have a decent amount of Korean vocabulary, I suggest trying to study using materials made for Koreans who are learning English. It's like studying in reverse. I find it easier to understand certain expressions that way though.


Raccoon English  - Another site for Koreans to learn English. This was the first site where I realised studying in reverse is quite effective. Some of the English expressions/idioms on the site where those that I've never even seen or used before but I understood it more after reading the example Korean sentences.


Sejong Hakdang - They have interactive courses available for Korean. I've only tried a few lessons so I don't really know what else they have.


Englishsamsam - Another blog teaching English for Koreans just like Raccoon English. 


 ※ JAPANESE ※


Japanese-io - A massively underrated site to read Japanese text. You can add your own text/document or read from their library of Japanese Classics. Various options include furigana reading for the whole text, or on hover. Also includes a built-in dictionary and a bunch of other helpful features.


Japanese-Lesson - This was one of the very first Japanese sites I used when I was still learning Hiragana and Katakana. They have practice sheets that you can download and print out. I recommend printing maybe at least 2 copies of each page and just practicing writing Hiragana and Katakana until you memorise it!


Tanos - For people who are preparing for the JLPT. Materials are organised by levels. Do keep in mind that due to the changes in the JLPT syllabus, these lists may not be 100% accurate. Even if you're not preparing for the JLPT this is still a good site to use.


Genki Usagi 
Similar to Tanos, Genki Usagi provides kanji/vocabulary lists, worksheets, as well as flashcards.


Furigana Tool - Add furigana to texts with kanji. There's also an option to choose which level of Kanji the furigana will be added to. Check out this guide for instructions on how to use it.


Kitsunekko - Japanese and English subtitles for various anime.


 ※ JAPANESE/KOREAN/GENERAL ※

 

Forvo - Pronunciation directory for any language. Files are added by various users so there may be some files that have low audio quality. You get to hear pronunciations by different people which I think is great o v o!

 

Anki - The best digital flashcards app. A bit cumbersome to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, you realise it's all worth it. Can be used for anything you want to learn, not just languages.


subs2srs - Automatically generate anki decks from using subs with sound and image.


KnowClip - Kinda like subs2srs, allows for easier card editing.


ElmediaPlayer - Simple player for macOS that allows bookmarking videos, that don't disappear when you close the player! Helpful when immersing and taking note of timestamps you wish to go back to later.