Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, a Vietnamese native, listens to a Korean language lecture on the website of The Korea Times Korean Language Institute at the Ansan Multicultural Family Support Center, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Nov. 28. / Korea Times photo by Chung Hyun-chae



Free online lectures available in five languages



By Chung Hyun-chae



For foreigners who move to Korea after marrying Korean spouses, learning the Korean language properly and systematically does not come easy.



The Korea Times Korean Language Institute, run by The Korea Times, is offering online Korean language courses for marriage immigrants to learn the language faster and easier so they adapt to the new environment.



The newspaper embarked on this free service on



The ultimate goal of the courses is to help learners be able to have comfortable conversations with Koreans.



"Many foreign spouses first look for people from their own country who have lived here for years and are fluent in both Korean and their mother tongue because it is easier to learn foreign languages in one's mother tongue," said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, 30, a Vietnamese woman who works at the Ansan Multicultural Family Support Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.



For this reason, Nguyen, who came to Korea in 2007 after marrying a Korean man in 2006, recommended beginners take beginners' courses, which are available in their mother tongues.



"The website provides well-organized Korean language lectures through which foreigners can build the basics of the language by learning the Korean alphabet, consonants, vowels, pronunciation and grammar," she said.



By Chung Hyun-chaeFor foreigners who move to Korea after marrying Korean spouses, learning the Korean language properly and systematically does not come easy.The Korea Times Korean Language Institute, run by The Korea Times, is offering online Korean language courses for marriage immigrants to learn the language faster and easier so they adapt to the new environment.The newspaper embarked on this free service on http://ktband.co.kr , in October. The lectures are given in five languages — English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Vietnamese.The ultimate goal of the courses is to help learners be able to have comfortable conversations with Koreans."Many foreign spouses first look for people from their own country who have lived here for years and are fluent in both Korean and their mother tongue because it is easier to learn foreign languages in one's mother tongue," said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, 30, a Vietnamese woman who works at the Ansan Multicultural Family Support Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.For this reason, Nguyen, who came to Korea in 2007 after marrying a Korean man in 2006, recommended beginners take beginners' courses, which are available in their mother tongues."The website provides well-organized Korean language lectures through which foreigners can build the basics of the language by learning the Korean alphabet, consonants, vowels, pronunciation and grammar," she said.

A Korean language course given in Russian is captured on the website of The Korea Times Language

Institute.



Choi Hee-kyung, 50, who has taught the Korean language and culture to foreigners for eight years at the center, said the most difficult part for foreigners is to speak with accurate Korean pronunciation and intonation.



According to Choi, most Vietnamese people, for example, have difficulties pronouncing "nieun," the second of 14 Korean consonants, which sounds like "n" in English, while it is hard for Chinese people to pronounce "giyeok," the first consonant, which sounds like "g" or "k" in English.



"Compared to other online lectures, the courses explain clear enunciation in detail which I think will be very helpful for marriage immigrants as well as other foreigners," Choi said.



Those who take regular courses are also able to prepare for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) because the courses offer high quality lectures.



"Foreigners, especially marriage immigrants, need to have TOPIK scores to get jobs. In addition, marriage immigrants with good Korean language skills can help their children speak Korean properly and do well in school," Nguyen said.



She said another good thing about the language courses is that there is no time limit so she can listen to lectures whenever she wants.



"With all courses available on mobile devices, I can access the lectures at anytime, anywhere," Nguyen added.



However, she said that the website would have courses taught by native Korean teachers as well so that students can learn correct pronunciation.



Offering free online language courses is part of the newspaper company's effort to support multicultural families.



For example, The Korea Times has held the Korea Multicultural Youth Awards since 2012 to encourage children of interracial families.



It also provides newspapers to the Multicultural Family Support Center nationwide. It is seeking ways to help children or multicultural families or marriage immigrants study English through the newspaper.



Nguyen, who has two children — one an elementary school student and the other in kindergarten — expected the newspaper to be helpful for her children to study English.



"I believe this could lower the financial burden of private tutoring," Nguyen said.