Read and Speak Korean for Beginners with Audio CD, 2nd Edition (Read & Speak for Beginners)

I've been attempting to learn Korean for a little while now, and this is by far the best book that I have used. It breaks the learning down into small, manageable chunks, with plenty of activities that help to really engrain everything that you've covered. It focuses primarily on language useful to real-life situations, making this book particularly useful for someone such as myself who is soon to be living in South Korea.Explanations are given for much of the language used. I feel that having an understanding of the way a language works, as opposed to simply knowing what words to say and when, really helps in the long-term, so this is definitely a huge bonus to the book. The audio CD is clear and really helps to get pronunciation right, with the games and activities helping make learning Korean that much more enjoyable.The explanation of hangul, the Korean alphabet, is unfortunately quite basic, which lets this book down a little. Hangul consonants, double consonants, vowels and diphthongs are presented in a table alongside their romanised equivalents, however a little more information on correct pronunciation would be beneficial. A few irregularities with hangul are mentioned in the book, however they neglect to mention some of the irregularities that appear in the activities, which was quite confusing.Overall, I think that this is a fantastic book for the beginner in Korean, however I'd recommend that you supplement it with an additional means of learning hangul.

I choose this book because I was moving to Korea to teach for a year and needed to pick up some basic Korean phrases.However I immediately noticed that you are at a severe disadvantage if you don't already know the Korea script. The book asks the reader to try to learn to recognise the words and phrases without understanding the actual letters. This just doesn;t work for me.I struggled from an early stage so I'd warn people to first become familiar with the Korean alphabet before buying this.

It's a great book for beginners with no previous knowledge of Korean as it starts out slowly. It's also at a very good price. It's a really fun book, with lots of activities and a CD to help with pronunciation. You would benefit from an additional way to learn Hangul, but that's easily found online.

This is quite a cheap book but it is perfect for its purpose. The book with its lessons and games and the CD that come with it will give you the confidence to start talking with Korean people with some confidence. An ideal family item to get everyone learning.

i am not sure i how i am going to feel about it as i need to start the lesson but from what i looked throw the book it is defiantly a challenge especially if you can speak abit of korean by only listen to music and dramas. the spelling of the words and the pronunciation is completely different. so i will write another review after using it for a while

Much more use to me than the Learn Hangul in One Hour that I purchased. I have the Chinese version of this book too. Perfect for the total beginner like me.

Good book. Fast delivery, many thanks.

Simple and easy to understand .

I find the book really useful for learning and practising Korean writing. The layout is great, the examples are interesting and useful and it does not overwhelm. However, I find the English pronunciation of the Korean lady and gentleman on the CD really strange unfortunately, so much so that I have decided to carry on with the book without listening to the recordings, which I know is not the best thing to do. Also, some of the Korean words are pronounced very differently from the way they are written, without an explanation, which is a bit confusing. For Hangul reading, however, this is a very useful book. I do like it.

Non l'ho ancora usato, non lo riterrei un libro per imparare ma come eserciziario per confermare ciò che si impara sul altri libri. Mio parere personale. Sempre e rigorosamente tutto in inglese.

I have used this book for young children and it worked well for them.The CD sounds very good and the book contents are well made as well!

CD good to use in cars while driving

Da das Buch auf Englisch geschrieben ist und die Sprecher auf der CD native Koreaner sind ist es etwas schwierig verständlich. Zudem beginnt man sofort mit Hangul. Ich würde das Buch eher empfehlen wenn man die Wörter schon kennt und nurnoch das Schreiben lernen möchte.

감사합니다! Ahh thank you thank you thank you!!! I love this book so much it has helped my pronunciation so much! I already know Hangul and the sounds each charather make so I didn't really need the romanization. Also this book will only help you with pronunciation and basic stuff such as how to greet yourself, family members, what is it, where is it, etc. So make sure to buy another book where it's talk about conversational phrases and stuff like that. I would totally recommend this book :)

This is a great book for beginners! Due to Korean/Asian dramas, I have been trying to learn Korean and Chinese, so this book is really good for that. I use it in conjunction with iphone apps and youtube videos because I like to have a book in my hands when I am studying a foreign language.

Great for beginners learning Korean! This is basic basic basic, so if you know Hangul and some vocabulary this book might be a bit too easy for you. If you are just starting out this is a great choice! I took an intro level Korean class and this was a great follow-up for me to continue self-study in addition to other sources.

This style has worked well with my young children, but my adult mind didn't like the style. I would have preferred to start off learning the Hangeul alphabet and then vocab. It doesn't teach in that order. In fact the alphabet isn't until around page 82. It teaches phrases, which are good for conversation, but if you want to learn to read or write, the style is ineffective. They really should have labeled it as a book to learn conversational Hangeul. Again, my kids are fine with it so for them it would probably be a five star. Their brains can handle any order and they think the games are fun.

I've made several attempts at learning Korean in the past, without much success. This book has got me speaking already in the first 4 lessons. The amount of vocabulary in each lesson is small enough to master, and the different methods of exposure help to remember them (audio, vocabulary list, exercises, games). I feel much more confident regarding learning Korean than I ever did before. It just might be possible!

I thought this would be a good refresher course for me before I advanced to an intermediate level.The book jumps straight into learning communication starting with chapter one "What's your name?"What I don't like about this book is that the Korean script is on page 89 as a reference. I don't feel it's really being taught. If you tried learning Japanese before and you relied heavily on romaji chances are you'll try to do the same. I feel the Korean script isn't being used enough in this book and it should of been implemented within the first 2-5 lessons so you gradually learn to start memorizing the vowels and consonants instead of relying on a pronunciation key. The pronunciation key is given below each word written in Hangul.I do like the listening activities as well as the reading and writing exercises. There are some game activities in the book which require you to cut out charts and cards given in the back of the book.WARNING: There is an answer key in the book as well, remember to be careful looking at it. The pages contain answers for multiple topics, you wouldn't want to ruin your learning experience.I feel that if you're serious about actually reading the script you should pick another book but if you just want to learn to speak quickly to others this is a good book for you.

I have just completed the first topic of this book - and so far I am really enjoying it. I feel like I am actually learning fairly quickly and the course, once you start using it, is so easy to follow and understand.I love how there are listening, reading, writing, speaking (to a CD), and fun activities all included to help facilitate learning. Coming from the background of a Foreign Language/ESL teacher, this little book hits all the highlights of good language teaching - and at a bargain price.

I find this book takes the fear out of learning Korean. It's a great beginners book & it comes with an excellent CD. I transferred the CD to my MP3 player & listen to it on the bus to & from work. I would suggest anyone wanting to learn the language to get this book & CD. I WISH THEY WOULD PUBLISH MORE BOOKS & THE ADVANCED VERSIONS.

MY sister in law (SIL) is kpop/kdrama obsessed. One of her goals for the new year is to learn Korean. I purchased this book new and it comes with a learning CD. I skimmed through the book and it not only covers speaking the language but writing as well. She was excited to receive the book and I am considering making a second purchase for myself so that we can learn together.

I recommend using it with online language learning site Koreanclass101.com. They have videos on how to write Hangul which helped me with the very first pages of this book. It asks you to just jump in and try to decipher Hangul without knowing anything about Korean sounds and how they relate to their characters. Koreanclass101.com totally saved me and after watching a five minute introduction video on their website I completed almost six pages of Hangul translation in Read and Speak Korean for Beginners. So together, for an Absolute Beginner level, I think using both the website and the book is SUPER! If you have a previous knowledge of Korean and writing Hangul then you may not need the website though you should still check out the website ;) This book makes a great study companion otherwise!