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

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

These three books goes very well together! Maked simple for any new beginners to learn.

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.

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.

I highly recommend “Talk to Me in Korean Level 1”! This book is perfect for beginners and includes an audio download, which really helps with pronunciation. The lessons are well-structured and easy to understand, making it a breeze to learn at your own pace. I love how the content is practical and engaging, keeping me motivated. If you’re looking to start your Korean learning journey, this is definitely the way to go!

So I have some bias, because this book is exactly what I was looking for. If you're like me, you spent some time learning hangul on your own, but trying to find any other resource for learning Korean is hard. I've tried apps, videos, websites, nothing really clicked with me. This book was the answer to my problems. Right away the book starts teaching you phrases and the context behind each word. It offers good explanations in an easy to understand way, I've learned more Korean in the one week of having this book than the few months I've spent rummaging the internet for resources. That being said, I can't ignore that this book isn't technically good for beginners. Knowing how to read Hangul is highly recommended if you pick up this book, but that's easy enough to do on your own. Giving it four stars because the information is extremely valuable, but you do need a little bit of knowledge before walking into this book.

This is a great book to learn Korean on your own. I love this book it’s very helpful. I’m able to understand conversations and words better. I will be buying all the levels after I’m done with this one.

I am just over halfway done with this book and It has been great so far! Although it will not teach you how to read/write in Hangul. I didn’t expect it too but you should do that first and then this book will make much more sense and have greater application. Before starting any textbook work, I worked through to section 2 unit 10 of duolingo. Because of what I learned on duolingo I was able to read and write comfortably. So far there have been no grammar concepts I haven’t seen before as well as very few words I haven’t studied before. I have loved the simple conversations and multiple examples of the concepts. After finishing the textbook the first time independently I plan to go through with the audio. As well as practice writing and speaking my own sentences with the grammar from each chapter. This textbook gave me a greater push to formulate and speak sentences on my own. And have confidence doing so. I love the conversational approach. If you find this textbook not beginner enough work through duolingo and you will soon be comfortable with it!