Enhancing Listening and Speaking Skills: 

Listening and Speaking: 

Key Skills for TOPIK II Success: 

First of all I will suggest that you watch this YouTube video. 

Learn Korean with Go! Billy 

This video will provide you useful tips for your listening & speaking practice. I have been following this channel since my beginner era. So this is highly recommended. 

Let’s talk about some channels & podcasts for listening & speaking practice: 

1: 

This channel is beginner friendly and it’s not only in Korean language but you can find out the English version too. 

As a beginner this channel could be a good start. This will not only provide you with basic vocabulary to learn but also will improve your right pronunciation of words. This will definitely help you in  speaking. 

2: 

This is also another channel for listening & speaking practice. 

This is basically a cooking channel. This will be helpful in understanding the daily life stuff like the things which we use on daily basis. For everyday listening practice & vocabulary this could be a good option. 

3: 

This channel is specifically for intermediate learners. 

I will suggest you to go according to the arrangement of episodes. The way all the episodes are designed, if you follow them you will be able to maintain the flow of your language. Also it will help you to understand the basic idea of this channel. 

This channel also has a separate podcast option. Must check this one. 

4: 

This one is definitely in my recommendation list from top. This is a simple, basic and easy channel to understand. Also you will never get bored because she is so smooth with her pronunciations and the way she explains things will be helpful in listening & speaking. 

5: 

This is basically a storytelling channel. Sometimes it becomes boring to use the same method again and again. But when you go for a storytelling method, this kind of practice helps you to engage with the content and to be focused on what you learn. 

This one is the podcast channel. Here is the whole explanation of what exactly this channel is all about. Beginners can also go for this channel. 

My suggestion: 

Start from this video.

Get the main idea. 

Learn & go with the flow. 

6: 

So this YouTube channel is a little bit different from others that I had suggested earlier. 

The basic focus of this channel is on music. Here is the list of songs in Korean with their English translation. So this is a good method to go for listening practice.

My suggestion: 

If you are at a beginner’s stage, you must go for that song which holds easy vocabulary and simple pronunciations. There are some songs which are good options for beginners. Must check them out. 

7: 

This is another channel of the team “ talk to me in Korean”. This one is also a good option for listening practice.

Must check this second video series. Here are all the explanations and useful information you can find. 

These videos are good for speaking practice also. When you listen to the native speakers, you will get the main idea of how native Koreans have different accents and speaking styles. 

Must check their community posts. 

These are highly useful for TOPIK II preparations. 

8: 

This parrot series is a really interesting and fun activity. This is best for beginners to start. 

This is so easy and simple. Also the sentences are not long. Short sentences are good to go with. 

 My Personal Recommendations: 

1:

SPOTIFY: 

So this is my most favorite option. After one year of learning language I had started using “Spotify” as a source for Korean listening practice. 

My suggestion: 

Always choose slow & reverb Korean songs. Because it will be easy for you to understand the right pronunciation.

Here is the list of some of my favorites songs. Must check them out. 

These songs are really good for listening practice. 

2: 

Also there is a YouTube channel called BANGTANTV. 

This series of RUN BTS have videos about games, tasks and daily conversations. These videos are easy to understand and are really enjoyable. The best part is you will be able to understand the different accents and pronunciation. Because the people in these videos belong to different regions of the Republic of Korea”. 

3:

Also there is an app called Weverse. You can download it from the app store. Here are different available videos. Like 

Bon voyage: 

These videos includes 

• Traveling
• Cooking 
• Playing Games 
• Daily life stuff 

This is the best option for listening & speaking practice.

4: 

So I have another effective hack for Korean listening practice which is

 “Instagram Music Option”: 

You can find songs like this in music section of Instagram and listen to them for your practice. 

My suggestion: 

• Focus on understanding the right pronunciation of words. 
• If you are a  beginner then focus on the song’s title and their meanings because this is a nice way to improve vocabulary. 
• Some of the songs have names on the words which are used on a daily basis, so this is a good idea for vocabulary improvement. 

5: 

My opinion on watching “Korean Dramas”: 

This could be a good option for listening practice. If you want me to suggest Korean dramas for practice.

Here are some which I found effective.

• My love from the star
• Weightlifting fairy Kim bok Joo 

These two have easy and everyday vocabulary. So I must watch them. This is for beginners. 

For intermediate & advanced level learners, go for 

• Start up 
• Hwarang ( The poet warrior youth) . 

These dramas include scientific and historical terms which will be helpful to understand the Korean culture and traditions with advance technological changes. 

Also motivates you to never give up on your dreams. Must achieve them.

6: 

For Speaking Practice: 

This is an app for connecting with different people for language exchange. 

They have provided you with the versatility of this app. This is a global app. 

This app provides all necessary and useful resources. 

My suggestions: 

• Always have a conversation with someone who is really interested in learning language and not just waste time. 
• Always behave professionally and be respectful towards other people with their language Skills and abilities. 
• Make comments on productive and authentic posts.
• Don’t hesitate to speak. It’s okay if you are not good at Korean. You can go with your broken Korean. It’s absolutely fine. 

Important Note: 

As a Korean language learner, there is one most important thing which I felt like I needed to discuss. Which is 

The speed that Korean natives have

Whenever you are listening to someone or having a conversation you will feel like they have a specific speed of speaking. So sometimes you get confused how to react because it becomes hard to understand the whole line properly. 

Speed and pronunciation are directly connected to each other. 

How you can improve this? 

• Whenever you are watching any podcast channel or any drama switch that video to slow mode and listen carefully to what they said. Then learn the right pronunciation and after that when you master everything then repeat with the same exact speed. 
• Practice while standing in front of the mirror.
•  Interview yourself
• Record yourself ( you can find multiple apps for this one) . 

I hope you find this blog helpful. If you have any questions related to Korean language learning feel free to contact us. 

Regards,

Taskeen Peerzada