Methods and materials for learning Korean for kids are proven effective for any beginner-level learner.
You might have a kid interested in learning Korean, or perhaps you think Korean would be a good second language to learn. Possibly you even have some ties to the Korean culture and want to share some of that with your little one. Whatever the reason that has brought you here, there are plenty of ways to learn.
It may be a unique language to pick from the pool of languages, but it can do so much for your kid’s cognitive development, among other positives. And with the continuous rise of pop culture and technological innovation in Korea, the Korean language may prove to be surprisingly useful.
With this article, you can start to teach Korean or learn it yourself. After all, a lot of the Korean lessons, or lessons in any country for kids, is geared to be as simple and elementary-level applicable as possible.
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Learning Korean for Kids
Besides direct teaching materials like using worksheets, language learning app, and videos, there is plenty that you can do as an adult to ensure your kid will have a fun and effective time learning Korean. For starters, you may want to invest in a language teacher if you don’t have much time to conduct lessons yourself.
However, even with the inclusion of language teachers or tutors, plenty of immersive actions will be helpful. For example, you may want to speak Korean with your kids at home – at least to the extent to which you both know the language. This way, you can also practice as a family.
You may also want to encourage your child to listen to Korean songs, read Korean books, and watch Korean children’s shows. In fact, these are all fun and practical actions to take when learning a language, no matter your age or the language you’re learning.
In addition, you may also want to make the language visible in your home one way or another. As an example, you may want to put on the wall some posters with the alphabet or simple words. You may also add Korean labels to various items in your home – such a practical way to learn a few common words.
Korean alphabet for kids
Now, no matter the age of the learner, everyone starts from the same place with learning Korean, just as young Korean learners did: the Korean alphabet. You can teach it in a largely similar fashion to how kids learn different letters. But if you are worried it will feel boring or even intimidating to the young learners, there are additional ways to go through the alphabet, as well.
On Amazon, you can find Hangul letter magnets, which you can stick on your fridge. You can then use them to combine simple words, for example. You may also use plasticine to make hangul letters as a fun activity, as well as put together fun and colorful flashcards with letters and words.
Simple Korean vocabulary
Once your child knows the alphabet, you can start tackling Korean words. Starting from the basics is, of course, the way to go; they’re simple, useful, and kid-friendly. Some great topics to start from are animals, body parts, colors, and numbers. They may also be interested in quickly learning about food and nature.
When your child has learned various words, you might want to proceed to learn grammar and some phrases and sentences. However, having basic knowledge of a bunch of words at first is a great start to the journey.
Other Kid-friendly resources for learning Korean
Below, you can find different kinds of resources you can use for kids learning Korean.
Korean alphabet song for kids
We already offered some tactics for getting a handle on the alphabet. However, another great and fun way to learn Korean is with an alphabet song.
After you’ve gone over the alphabet with the little one, these songs will help tremendously with memorizing the letters and how they are pronounced.
Start off with the basic Korean alphabet song. Then you can move on to slightly tougher ones, like Pinkfong ABC word game. You may also want to do some songs with consonants and vowels separately. Do also refer to our article on Korean alphabet song for some more similar songs to utilize.
Korean books for kids
Now that your child knows the alphabet and the words, it’s time to get slowly started on understanding sentences. Books are a great aid, just like reading in general. Especially if your kid is a visual learner, the images in children’s books may come in mighty handy with immersing themselves in books and learning.
We have a list on our site of fantastic Korean children’s books that are fun, easy, and culturally relevant to read through.
Additionally, you may use Korean books specifically focused on teaching Korean, especially if your child is still only learning to read. For example, Pororo Things to Learn is a great option; it features a popular Korean animation character, it’s equipped with fun visuals, and it comes with flashcards that challenge your children in a very useful way.
Korean onomatopoeia
Now, here’s a fun learning method to try with your kids! The term onomatopoeia may sound difficult to pronounce, but it simply refers to a word imitating a sound.
It’s something we’re all actually largely familiar with. For example, we commonly use “meow” for cats, “woof woof” for dogs, “moo” for cows, “bang” for gunfire, and so on.
The Korean language also has onomatopoeia integrated into its vocabulary. They’re vastly different from what you may be used to – for example, a dog’s bark is 멍멍 (meongmeong) – but not hard to learn. You will have so much fun going through these with your kids! You can find the different Korean onomatopoeia in this article.
Korean learning games for kids
Finally, you can also use activities as supplemental material for learning. Below, you can find a few ideas.
Crafting flashcards
As mentioned above, flashcards and plasticine are a fun and useful way to learn the basics of Korean. It may be even more effective if you let your kid partake in crafting the flashcards.
Add the name of the animal
Similar to flashcards, you may also craft a game, where on one side, you have a stack of pictures of animals – or whatever is the vocabulary topic of your choosing – and then on the other side, you have a stack of words in Korean.
Then, you let your kid put together each picture of the animal with its Korean word equivalent. You may also go a step further and use this principle to create a scavenger hunt of sorts!
Calligraphy
Lastly, calligraphy is a traditional form of visual art writing. If your kid loves to paint, this could be a fun way for them to paint different Korean words, so to speak.
Wrap Up
You might be here because you want to learn Korean or teach kids Korean. Either way, we hope these resources will help start the learning process in a fun way, which you can also do at your own pace!
In addition, you may want to consider making the Korean learning environment as immersive as possible. It’ll not only make learning Korean more fun, but it’s also proven to be quite an effective tool for studying, which as a result will improve your language skills.
