If you have found yourself in our Intermediate Korean article, that likely means you’ve already learned a fair bit of Korean before! Are you not yet certain whether that’s you? Then check out our article on learning Korean to confirm you’ve already gone through a bunch of those lessons.
Looking back, you may have begun by learning the Korean alphabet, then progressed to slowly reading words with the help of Korean romanization. Until such time that you can read faster and straight in Hangeul!
We’re excited that, after studying the language’s basics, you now want to challenge yourself with harder lessons. You might be looking into learning about more complex topics like Korean Grammar. Thus, in this article, we will go over what the intermediate level covers and also offer you resources so that you can get started on this journey.
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How to define intermediate level of learning Korean
This is a level of study that comes after the beginner level. Each language learning system is typically divided into three main levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
It may not be very clear to many language learners to know which levels they should place themselves into. So this article will help you identify that.
How to determine Korean fluency level
You might have had your first placement test when you attended a language school. From here, you’ve moved from one level to another as you keep studying. However, it can get tricky to define where you’re at in this process.
To help you with that, below are ways to determine if you’re already an intermediate Korean learner.
TOPIK
One way in which you can figure out your level is by taking a Korean level test or Korean exams or quizzes like TOPIK. This is especially helpful if you’ve spent all of your time studying online or by yourself.
TOPIK is a pretty comprehensive Korean proficiency test. This is not an easy test to take by any means, and students often spend up to months studying for it in advance. However, you’ll hardly regret taking the exercises, as it not only shows you your current level of proficiency but is an excellent study method for studying Korean.
Thus, you can view the study material for TOPIK as one great resource for studying Korean on a more intermediate level.
Review the checklist
Another way to determine if you are ready for this Korean level of courses is to go over this list and see whether you can check off the boxes:
You are intermediate level in the Korean language if you…
- can construct a sentence that is grammatically correct
- can describe things
- can express your opinion on general topics
- can navigate places like banks, cafes, and restaurants
- can speak Korean without too many pauses
- can understand and possibly even use some slang or idiomatic expressions
- can understand some of the news and newspaper segments
If you have not yet fully emerged into this level, then the above topics give you a framework of what kind of skills you’ll get equipped with during your intermediate-level journey.
To someone just getting started on studying more challenging topics, some items on the above list may look intimidating to you. But fear not, if your foundation is on solid ground, it won’t be too hard for you to keep on studying at the same amazing pace!
Resources for Intermediate Korean Language Learning
Now that you’ve found yourself ready for some more challenging lessons in an intermediate course, it’s time to take a look at each website where you can get access to them.
Below we’ve listed a couple more awesome resources for getting your Korean journey at the intermediate level started.
90 Day Korean Membership Program
You might have first come across our program through a free PDF or articles in our blog. Or did you learn a basic course with our membership program? Then you are in for quite the treat as you can continue your journey at the intermediate level with us, too!
With our membership, you also get additional treats like our weekly speaking classes, where you can practice all that you’ve learned so far. Lessons in the courses include knowing about slang and other actual everyday speech patterns, as well as lessons on how to absolutely rock a presentation in Korean.
If this sounds interesting to you, you can join the program here.
How to Study Korean
With this website, you can get quite a comprehensive run-through of intermediate-level Korean classes, regardless of how early or far into your intermediate journey you are.
Its unit 2 goes through lower intermediate level classes, with a whole bunch of basic Korean grammar points for you to learn.
Unit 3 adds on by teaching you quoted speech and some tougher vocabulary.
Finally, in unit 4, the higher intermediate portion of their classes, you’ll get to know even more useful grammatical patterns.
Talk to Me in Korean
In this class, specifically designed for learners above the beginner level, you will be given 20 idiomatic expressions that are in use in South Korea.
To support understanding them, you’ll also know a bunch of additional expressions, sentences, and vocabulary words to complete your understanding of the topic.
This course will also hone your listening skills. Each expression is its own lesson, so you won’t run out of things to know with this site too soon.
FluentU
If you want to utilize Korea’s popular culture as you study – aka dramas, movies, and music – then FluentU’s courses will be super useful and fun for you.
With them, you will be taught simple and complex grammar patterns, often with music videos to watch and listen to, movie trailers, and news pieces being used as tools to design a specified lesson for you.
Sogang Korean Program
Sogang is one of Seoul’s many famous institutes for learning Korean. This covers all the way from the very basics to those who are advanced learners. Thus, you’re in good hands should you decide to join their online program.
Whilst it’s not as comprehensive as the in-person classes, these multimedia cartoon-like courses dedicated to the intermediate level will not be a waste to go through.
You’ll get to listen and read dialogues at the start of each lesson, after which you’ll be guided on words, sentences, and grammar. To enhance your knowledge further, you even get to do some exercises and coursework.
17 Minute Languages
For busy learners, using this site’s 17-minute lessons to further your knowledge will be a quick and painless way to better your skills. You’ll get to learn nearly 2000 new words, as well as hone your linguistic skills.
When you have an account here, the program will teach you through two “main characters” who go through different experiences in their everyday life. Some examples are hunting for an apartment or writing a complaint letter, or having a fun evening with friends. In turn, it teaches you useful dialogue, example sentences, words, and cultural understanding.
You’ll also get to do some coursework to better memorize and utilize what you’ve learned in these classes.
Udemy’s Core Korean 3
While the basic assumption with this course is that you’ve also done Udemy’s Core Korean 1 and 2 courses, if you’re up for the challenge, this curriculum is really kickass for mastering grammatical structures.
In total, Core Korean 3 makes for a 16-hour course. Its focus is thoroughly on understanding each grammar pattern so that you can go on to create your own phrases and dialogues. Their method and depth of teaching will make you speak Korean incredibly naturally.
Hanyang University
Another famous language school in Seoul is Hanyang University, which now also offers its own virtual program for intermediate learners.
It’s designed not only to teach you useful vocabulary and grammatical patterns but also to deepen your understanding of Korea’s culture and society.
It’s a 6-week class with three hours of lessons each week. With this, you’ll learn the process of describing different things, master using quoted and reported speech patterns, and more.
Wrap Up
Now that you’re equipped with the best resources to continue studying Korean right from the comfort of your home, it’s time to get started on them! You’ll be having long and fruitful conversations with native Korean speakers in no time.
On top of that, you can more easily immerse yourself in its pop culture without the need to rely on subtitles all the time. Most importantly, you can communicate with Koreans with confidence! Let us know in the comments which program will be your first pick!
