Talk to Me in Korean Level 1: Includes Audio Download (English and Korean Edition)

I loved. Well explained and easy to comprehend.

Pretty much one of the universal standards for learning Korean. This book series takes you from reading the alphabets right through to being able to survive a trip to Korea.

Not a polyglot or even bilingual, but I have studied languages on and off and took several linguistics courses in grad school, and this is by far the BEST and most systematic approach to grammar instruction I have ever encountered. It’s an amazing book for self study, with grammar points that are not overwhelming (see also: not too much too soon) and explained in such a straightforward yet friendly way. I can’t tell if I think Korean itself is naturally logical or if it is just presented in such a clear and easily understood way in these lessons. The audio files are free either by download or through the Talk to Me in Korean app. These books give me hope that one day I will be fluent in Korean. 3 weeks in and I’m already feeling comfortable and able to recognize grammar and sentence structures when watching K-Dramas. Highly recommend the supplemental workbooks and also using their Hangeul Master book when you start (or at least learning to read and write Hangeul), because the sooner you have the writing down, the faster you’ll move through the material and exercises with confidence. If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.

Learning a character-based language is very different from learning romance or Germanic languages. The fact that Korean study often must be done via self-study rather than via classes makes it tougher. This book series takes a logical approach to explaining concepts that are often very different than what learners are used to. Of the Korean study books I've tried, this is my favorite series. I'm on Level 2 now and already have the Level 3 book. Before I started, I learned the Korean alphabet (Hangul). Definitely do this first. You can find some great step-by-step video series on Youtube that will teach you the sounds, characters, and mechanics. Make yourself flashcards with index cards and repeat, repeat, repeat, until you have it down. You can improve your reading skills with free Hangul game apps on your phone. And while you continue to improve your reading skills, you can be learning the grammar. Knowing Hangul first will allow you to understand how words should sound, and how to properly make those sounds. It will also start training your ear to differentiate sounds that may, at first, sound the same to you. You won't be able to learn Korean from just one resource. You'll need many. But the Talk to Me in Korean Level 1, 2, 3, etc books are a very user-friendly way to work through a lot of the basics.

I like this instruction book a great deal. I bought the workbook to go with it, and that gave extra practice for the instruction. The instruction progresses logically from the first Hangul phrases one must know, and moves into grammar: verb, verb tenses, markers, noun, pronoun, subjects etc. The lesson topics are nicely integrated so that the learner learns a bit of each before moving on. Short dialogues are also helpful. The very first lessons--greetings, etc--are a bit daunting at first, but as the lessons progress and the learner sticks with it, the flow builds confidence and ability, slowly, but surely. One thing that pleased me very much was the presentation of verb conjugation. I have been taking another course, concurrently, and frankly, I was experiencing great frustration over the overly complicated and not-as-clever-as-they-think explanations for the spellings of verb endings. Then I came to the chapter of TTMIK about verb conjugations. With the caution that there would be a few exceptions, the instructions were, "If this is the case, do this. If that is the case, do that." So simple! So logical! So clean and easy to understand. If I hadn't already liked this book, that, itself, would have sold me on the content. There is a link provided for downloadable supplements in pronunciation etc. This is also helpful--with a caveat. The site asks you to download the latest flash player. I always have the latest flash player because Apple keeps you up to date with software. I also check with Adobe to see that I do, in fact, have the latest. Nevertheless, the site wants me to download again. I am reluctant to do this because there are so many dodgy sites that offer to download a phony Adobe flash malware. I want to trust this site; I know they are honest. Yet this is a concern. I would also like to see more vocabulary introduced a little earlier. I have finished this first title and am so pleased that I have ordered the four following volumes: 1-5 in all. If more are published, I will order them. Thanks to TTMIK for an excellent language course

Very good content and well-structured material for Korean learners. The lessons are engaging and genuinely helpful. My only concern is the quality of the printed edition. In my view, since the content is so valuable, the book deserves better paper and overall print quality. These are the kinds of books that stay in our libraries forever, so it would be nice to have a more durable edition.

Talk to Me in Korean (TTMIK) is, by far, the best system available for learning Korean. Yes, as with any language, you have to do comprehensive work--reading, listening, writing answers, journaling words that are hard to remember, etc., but TTMIK makes it very easy to manage all of that because their books and website basically set up a structure for you. Just follow the books and lessons, and you'll be on your way. The only components I added are a blank vocabulary journal that I bought on Amazon for $4.99. I use it to repeatedly write out words I'm struggling with. I also make sure to listen to Korean from other sources: I watch KBS World on TV because their shows often include Korean captions highlighting different elements of a program, so it reinforces the Hangul that I'm learning with TTMIK. It also helps build skills. I listen to Korean music (not just K-Pop). Videos on YouTube often include Korean captions for the lyrics, and I've learned words and heard other pronunciations that way. And I have returned to my favorite K-Dramas, BUT, now I watch with the KOREAN captions since I already know the plot. I have learned so many words that way, but the anchor is TTMIK. In fact, I love it when someone in a K-Drama says something the way TTMIK says people say things. For example, the official way to say something may be one way, but people will drop syllables, while still using polite language. I can totally hear it now! Korean will be my fourth language. Other than my native English, I learned two other languages fairly easily, but I was struggling to find a good system for learning Korean. I couldn't find a program with the proper structure that I know is needed to learn a language until I started TTMIK. I'm good to go, now, learning more every day. I highly recommend this program for learning Korean. 5 STARS.

I’m nearly at the end of this grammar book and couldn’t be happier. I’m having such a positive experience that I’ve already bought level 2. Easy to understand, not too much information all at once, and the audio tracks are a big help with pronunciation.

Excelente, libro

Sergio for sending this all the way from South Korea. My daughter is very pleased and the package was well protected!

I'm on book two, almost book 3 of this series. And I have to say these books are really good at teaching and explaining concepts. The audio tracks are perfect for listening and pronunciation practice too. You will need to learn Hangul prior to these books, and you could either learn this online (plenty of guides on youtube) or TTMIK have another book for that.

Exactly what I had hoped for.

Muito bom, é um nível básico mas aprendi bastante.