Real Korean 1 – Everyday life & relationships

Situation. You meet a new colleague at the coffee machine and compare what your days look like.

Can-do. I can describe an ordinary day with times and sequence, and ask about other people's.

Key language. 일어나요 · 출근해요 · 점심 먹어요 · 퇴근해요 · 보통 · 보통 몇 시에 …?

Grammar in flow. Everyday verbs in 해요체. 에 for time, 에서 for place.

Pronunciation gym. Liaison (연음): the final consonant moves to the next syllable. 일어나요 is pronounced [이러나요], 점심 먹어요.

The mission. Compare daily schedules in pairs and find a time when you are both free.

Why. Your day is the topic you can talk about without preparing, and the clock from Survival comes back exactly when you need it.

Situation. A recruiter asks what you do, and you say enough for them to place you.

Can-do. I can explain what I do for a living in 4–5 sentences and react to other people's jobs.

Key language. 회사에서 일해요 · [area] 담당이에요 · 바빠요 · 재미있어요 · 힘들어요

Grammar in flow. -고 있어요 (in progress). -지만.

Pronunciation gym. Tense consonants ㄸ/ㅃ/ㅆ against plain ones: 바빠요, 쌀, 따요.

The mission. Talk about your job so that the recruiter can match you to one of three roles and say why.

Why. Four or five sentences in a row is the step from phrases to your own sentences, and the listener has a decision to make.

Situation. You show a picture of your family to someone who has never met them.

Can-do. I can describe my family and close friends: age, job, where they live, what they are like.

Key language. 언니 / 누나 / 오빠 / 형 · 동생 · 부모님 · 시부모님 · 살 · 착해요 · 재미있어요

Grammar in flow. Adjectives in 해요체. 보다 (than).

Pronunciation gym. ㅟ/ㅚ: 귀, 회사. ㅐ/ㅔ is not practised: Seoul speakers no longer distinguish them.

The mission. Describe a family so that your partner can draw the family tree without seeing the picture.

Why. Kinship words are the culture in miniature, age and gender sit in how you address people, and family is what in-laws ask about first.

Situation. Monday morning: someone asks what you did at the weekend, and you tell it in order.

Can-do. I can tell what I did at the weekend in sequence and comment on how it was.

Key language. -았/었어요 · 그리고 · 그런데 · 재미있었어요 · 피곤해요

Grammar in flow. Past tense in flow. Sequencing words.

Pronunciation gym. The past-tense ㅆ final before a vowel: 먹었어요 [머거써요], 갔어요.

The mission. Two suspects give the same weekend story, a police officer questions them and listens for differences.

Why. After three weeks in the present tense you need the past tense for real, and the alibi trains speaking, listening and memory in one task.

Situation. Fika with a new colleague from Busan: six minutes about your day, your job, your family and last weekend.

Can-do. I can make small talk for six minutes about my day, my job, my family and my weekend, and ask follow-up questions back.

Key language. Nothing new. Retrieval is ten minutes and mixes lessons 1–4.

Grammar in flow. Nothing new. Language focus takes the recurring mistakes from lessons 1–4.

Pronunciation gym. A mix from lessons 1–4.

The mission. Ask your way to four things about your colleague, one per topic, and answer the questions coming back.

Why. The first time lessons 1–4 become one conversation instead of four tasks, at the length of the final test. After the lesson the teacher checks your can-do list.

Situation. You are buying presents for three people and first have to find out what they like.

Can-do. I can talk about what I like and don't like, give a short reason, and suggest something based on it.

Key language. 좋아해요 / 안 좋아해요 · 제일 · 더 · -아서/어서 · 특히

Grammar in flow. -아서/어서 (reason). Superlatives.

Pronunciation gym. Nasalisation: ㄱ/ㅂ before ㄴ/ㅁ. 한국말 [한궁말], 입니다 [임니다].

The mission. Interview three profiles, which the pod plays in turn, and choose a present for each.

Why. The first lesson with "why": you get the tool for giving reasons only after you have tried without it.

Situation. Three friends plan a weekend in Busan: when, where, what you have to do and what it may cost.

Can-do. I can talk about plans and invite someone.

Key language. -(으)ㄹ 거예요 · -(으)ㄹ까요? · 같이 가요 · 언제 · 어디로

Grammar in flow. Future (-(으)ㄹ 거예요). Suggestions (-(으)ㄹ까요?).

Pronunciation gym. ㄹ + ㄴ → [ㄹㄹ]: 일 년 [일련], 설날.

The mission. Agree on a Busan weekend where everyone's must-dos fit the budget.

Why. Planning with a budget and must-dos is the task type that gives the most negotiation: everyone has to speak and give way.

Situation. A café conversation with a friend who seems to have something on their mind.

Can-do. I can ask how someone is, say whether I am tired, stressed or happy and why, and offer simple comfort.

Key language. 요즘 어때요? · 피곤해요 · 스트레스 받아요 · 기분이 좋아요 · 괜찮아요 · 힘내세요

Grammar in flow. Emotion adjectives. -아서/어서 again, now with a feeling as the reason.

Pronunciation gym. Intonation in statement versus question in 해요체: 피곤해요. / 피곤해요?

The mission. Eight minutes in pairs where each of you has a feeling card that has to come out in the conversation without being shown.

Why. The most personal lesson comes once the group knows each other, and the longest free turn so far prepares you for the dinner.

Situation. Dinner at a host's home: the conversation goes where the topic cards point.

Can-do. I can hold an 8-minute conversation at the dinner table about life, work, family and plans.

Key language. Everything from lessons 1–8.

Grammar in flow. Nothing new.

Pronunciation gym. Free alternation.

The mission. Keep the dinner conversation going for eight minutes while the host draws new topic cards.

Why. All the topics in a row, in an order the cards decide, is a review of the whole course. The teacher takes you through a 3-minute conversation in the final test's format and names one strength and one thing to work on before lesson 10.

Situation. The final test: six minutes in pairs with the teacher, in the format you have rehearsed twice.

Can-do. I can show that I talk about my life in my own sentences and ask about other people's.

Key language. Nothing new.

Grammar in flow. None.

Pronunciation gym. None.

The mission. While the pairs are tested: the dinner from lesson 9 again, with new topic cards and without the teacher.

Final test. Personal information, two role plays where you both answer and take the initiative, and a 30-second long turn after 30 seconds of preparation. Graded on task completion, intelligibility, language resources and fluency.

Why. The test measures what the course promises, your own sentences and follow-up questions, and the after recording next to the before recording is your proof. Then the certificate, Real Korean 2 at the alumni price and Speaking Club.