Product Review:
Patchim Training: Learn Korean, Created by Hikari Nakashima
Pros:
- 3 Minutes Training
- Lots of Content
- Pronunciation excellent
- Includes Handwriting and Typing
- Very Encouraging (fireworks and crowds cheering)
- Well laid out
- Easy to use
- Kid friendly
- FREE
Cons:
- No Search button
- Very little Grammar explanation
- No Speaking/Pronunciation Practice
- Cheering and Fireworks may be a little off-putting for adults
First off, I really like this app. It’s very comprehensive with a Verbs button (from very formal to informal), Words training (animals, colors, clothes, body, seasons, etc.), Hangul (alphabet training), Listening exercises, Numbers, Sentences, etc. There are many thousands of words in here. The creator obviously put a lot of thought into it, making Korean both fun and accessible.
The games are mostly fill-in-the-blank/multiple choice with anywhere from three to four choices at a time. When you get an answer right, crowds cheer and confetti flies. There’s even a little teacher guy who claps for you. Sessions are only ten questions each. As you move forward in that section, there is repetition as well as new material added each time.
The home screen is very straightforward. At the top is a chart telling your usage over the week. In the middle is a collection of buttons that take you to the actual training. The ‘3minutes’ button is literally three minutes (10 questions) of random vocabulary. The ‘Words Training’ button takes you to another set of buttons with specific word choices, such as colors, shopping, time, nature, body, etc. Each of these has anywhere from 90-450 words to learn. Along the bottom are several buttons which include ‘Dic’ (dictionary) and ‘Recipe’ (chance).
One thing I’ve struggled with is the fact that the Korean language structure is pretty much backwards from English. In this app, there is a ‘Postpositions Training’ button addressing this very issue. English uses words like ‘the’ and ‘a’ to indicate subjects and objects—before the words. Korean uses various markers which attach to the ends of words, ‘postpositional.’
The ‘Verbs Training’ button is my personal favorite. This takes you to another screen which includes two ‘Hamnida’ buttons (formal speaking), one by inflection and another by words, with over 1000 words in all their forms. The two ‘Haeyo’ buttons show the slightly less formal (but still formal, used in a work or school setting) verbs. The last set is the ‘Panmaru’ button which is informal, used by friends. These are also ‘by inflection’ and a separate ‘by words’.
When you get an answer wrong, you repeat that same question immediately. Then, through spaced repetition, you’ll see that question again later. Also, the home screen has a ‘Missed Questions’ button to give further practice.
The negatives of this app include the fact that there is no ‘Search’ button. However, if there is something specific you want to practice, it’s not that difficult to find.
Another possible negative is the fact that it was obviously designed for a younger crowd. I mean, if you like fireworks and crowds cheering, you’ll love this app. If you like multi-colored, dancing hangul keys, this is the app for you. (You can turn off the dancing.) There are even stars, five if you get a perfect score, less if you don’t. Also, you can earn recipe cards, which, when all are found, reveal the full, finished dish. This, like the dancing keys, can be skipped.
The lack of detailed grammar explanations does not, in my opinion, detract much. In fact, for the purposes of this app and its intended audience, less is more.
As an adult, I admit that I really like this app. The fireworks and cheering may be a bit off-putting, but the content is excellent. If you spend even three minutes every day on this, your Korean vocabulary will grow.
Do I recommend this? Why yes, yes I do.
ChristinaLiLanguages 