Tips from a Former Bilingual Korean-English Teacher: How to Teach Your Kids Korean
If you’re a parent interested in introducing Korean to your child you’ve come to the right place! Teaching your kids Korean can be a rewarding experience that opens up a world of opportunities for them. But as we all know learning a new language can be a challenge both for the one teaching and learning. I know this first hand from my experience as an Elementary Teacher.
I taught at a school with many students that were learning English as their second language, and I also taught in a bilingual (Korean-English) classroom. I hope that some of my tips can help make the learning experience more enjoyable for both you and your child. Here are some things I learned during my 5 years as a bilingual educator.
#1 Start with the Basics: The Korean Alphabet
Like any language, starting with the alphabet is important. The Korean alphabet, Hangul, is made up of simple, phonetic characters that make it accessible and fun to learn. Begin with teaching the vowels and consonants and you can then introduce some simple combinations.
Use visual aids to make the learning more interactive and engaging. I found that using flashcards, posters, and simple tracing worksheets were a fun way to expose them to the characters, shapes, and sounds. It’s important at the beginning to just get them curious and interested in Korean.
#2 Learning Should Be Fun!
Maybe the most important thing about learning a new language is to make it fun. The more enthusiastic your child is to learn Korean, the easier it will be for you. If your child doesn’t look forward to learning Korean they may become resistant to learning. Maybe you can remember something that your parents also tried to force you to do as a child. Incorporate interactive games and songs to reinforce vocabulary and pronunciation. You can play language learning games or even a traditional Korean game like Yut Nori.
#3 Korean Language Exposure & Immersion
When learning a new language, exposure is key. Especially for young children. I’ve seen so many children in an immersive school environment pick up languages so quickly because they are surrounded by the new language. Here are some simple things you can try at home:
- Listen to Korean Songs
- If you speak Korean, set aside some time (or most of the time) to speak in only Korean to your child.
- Watch Korean TV shows together. Or try finding some shows they already enjoy but watch them in Korean instead! (Bluey is a great one to start with)
- Read Korean books
I’ll be sharing more recommendations for Korean songs, tv shows and books in another post! Make sure to sign up to be on my email list, and you’ll be notified of new posts!
#4 Korean Language Repetition & Consistency
I’ve found in my own experience that language skills can quickly atrophy if not being used on a regular basis. For example, although I learned Chinese (Mandarin) growing up, and even took classes in college, I haven’t kept up with it in years. I don’t have people around me that I can practice with.
And now unfortunately, my Chinese skills have significantly diminished. I encourage you to keep practicing Korean with your kids, even if it may seem like they’re not improving right away. Through time and repetition, your child will naturally pick the language up.
My husband grew up in a tri-lingual home and something his parents did was choose a language to be spoken at the breakfast table that morning. They printed out 3 flags (English, Japanese, German) and whatever flag was placed on the breakfast table that morning, that would be the language they communicated in. This is a simple and fun way to be intentional with learning a new language.
Teaching Your Kids Korean
I think there’s so much value in learning a second language and it can open so many doors in the future for your child. I hope that you were able to learn something from my experiences that you can apply to your language journey.
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