Cases of education materials developed
and distributed for overseas Korean learners

Development of various educational materials for learning Korean customized for different purposes and levels

The demand for learning Korean overseas is growing steadily with the spread of the Korean Wave across the world. While various education materials for Korean learners are under development, this article introduces the best materials made by the King Sejong Institute Foundation, the representative organization contributing to the spread of Korean language and Korean culture.

Sejong Korean Vol. 1-8 is an integrated series developed to help people understand Korean culture while improving their overall Korean skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). The primary targets are beginners and intermediate-level learners. As it is translated into 14 different languages, it is a helpful tool for foreigners to understand the Korean language more conveniently. Translated languages are English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Burmese, Indian, Indonesian, Cambodian, Thai, Filipino, Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen.
Meanwhile, Sejong Korean Conversation Vol. 1-4 was designated as the essential textbook by national middle and high schools in the United States and the Philippines in 2018. This book aims to enhance the communication skill of learners mainly focusing on speaking and listening. The main targets are beginners and intermediate-level learners, and it’s Mobile Learning App (Sejong Korean Conversation and Pronunciation (Beginner, Intermediate) enables students to practice speaking by themselves.
Sejong Korean Conversation Workbook is utilized for various purposes in Sejong Institutes across the world. It is supplementary material for a thorough and more in-depth understanding of what students learn from Sejong Korean and Sejong Korean Conversation. Targeting beginners and intermediate-level learners like the other books above, it is translated into English, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Spanish, Indonesian, Arabian, Uzbek, Cambodian, Turkish, Persian, and Portuguese to help students better understand Korean.

Business Korean Vol. 1-2 is for learners to learn basic Korean communication skills and relevant knowledge at their workplace. Designed for beginners and those with a higher level of Korean proficiency, the Mobile Learning App (Business Korean) helps students study independently. Also, a rather practical book Korean Language for Travelers has material that foreigners can refer to in various situations in Korea and easily grasp simple expressions classified by type and information about Korean culture. There are currently English, Chinese, and Spanish editions.

Some books of the King Sejong Institute Foundation are made for online courses where students can learn online in the era of COVID-19. For example, Cyber Korean Courses – Beginner 1, 2 is a book based on the International Standard Curriculum of Korean Language for beginner level 1 and 2. People can easily learn vocabulary, expressions, and grammar for each topic covered and practice using them. After finishing this book, students can move on to Cyber Korean Courses – Intermediate 1, 2 which is also based on the intermediate levels 3 and 4 of the International Standard Curriculum of Korean Language. This book includes intermediate-level grammar, vocabulary, not to mention speaking, listening, reading, and writing activities. While translated into English, Chinese, Japanese, Tahi, Indonesian, Russian, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Spanish, people can continue studying by themselves through the “Online King Sejong Institute.”
Sejong Korean Basic Vocabulary: Spanish-Korean is a vocabulary book for beginners and intermediate-level students studying by themselves. Including approximately 5,000 vocabulary items, it is translated into English, Chinese, Russian, Mongolian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, and French.
Meanwhile, Sejong Korea Culture Vol. 1-2 was developed for Korean learners to learn Korean culture in an entertaining and friendly way. Intended for beginners, it introduces various photos, examples, and explanations about Korean culture.

Promotional activities to meet different needs, including international book fairs

No matter how outstanding, high-quality education materials are developed and produced, it is meaningless if those in need do not know about their existence and do not make use of them. Therefore, we carried out promotional activities at home and abroad by subdividing targets such as by their role (learner, instructor) and purpose (study, hobby).

•The Korean Society of Bilingualism(Exhibited education materials, made academic presentations, etc.)

 

•Education and Sports Exhibition hosted by the Education Ministry of Turkmenistan(Exhibited education materials, etc.)Korean Language Instructors,
University Presidents, etc.• World Korean Educators Conference
• ACTFL, USA (Exhibited education materials, etc.)
• American Association of Teachers of Korean(AATK)(Exhibited education materials, etc.)

 

The growth of global channels such as Youtube has spread the popularity of Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, across the world. As such, the number of foreigners that wish to learn the Korean language and culture is rising, and the purpose is diversifying from studying the language from an academic perspective to just a mere interest in Korean or getting a job in a Korean company.
Hence, it is deemed that materials and content suiting the various needs and purposes of foreign learners need to be developed while steadily providing them with quality educational materials combined with various technologies for online classes.

 

Written by King Sejong Institute Foundation