Write the message before opening the transcript

You understand that a speaker is talking about a notebook. But did they say you must bring it, may leave it behind, or must not bring it? Recognising the main noun is useful; retaining the ending is what lets you act on the message.

This intermediate practice lesson asks you to write three short, original Korean messages. Each recording has a transcript you can open afterwards. Use paper or your own notes app. The page checks the meaning choices you click; it does not read or grade your handwritten or typed dictation.

You should already read Hangul and recognise common polite endings. If writing down a whole sentence feels overwhelming, begin with the first Hangul lesson or practise just one short chunk. If you mainly want to understand the situation without copying every word, choose the listening lesson in Study essentials. Here the extra goal is to compare the exact written form with what you thought you heard.

Use one short message as a diagnostic task

1. Listen once without writing. Decide whether it is a meeting plan, a requirement, or a promise. An uncertain first impression is acceptable.
2. Listen again and write what you can. Leave a visible gap for an unclear part. Do not invent an ending just because it would make a plausible sentence.
3. Replay to resolve one gap. Use the speed selector or the three-repeat setting if needed. Begin at the default 0.8×; 0.6× gives more time. Return to 1× when you want to hear the prepared clip without additional playback slowing.
4. Choose the meaning, then open the transcript. Compare your writing with the original and identify the smallest part that changed your understanding.

You can replay as often as useful. There is no score penalty for using the slower setting. The point is to find a workable next practice step, not to prove that you can succeed with one hearing. The recordings are prepared synthetic Korean speech, so also seek listening practice with different human speakers outside this exercise.

Dictation 1: a meeting plan

After checking, underline the part naming the place and circle the part telling you when. A correct place with the wrong time is still a practical misunderstanding. If you wrote only “library,” you caught a useful keyword but lost the distinction between inside the building and in front of it.

Dictation 2: what to bring

After opening the transcript, compare the verb ending with your own version. Losing the negative part or treating “not necessary” as “not allowed” changes the instruction. Write a short English meaning beside the Korean before practising the sound again.

Dictation 3: a conditional promise

Keep the uncertainty in your English note. A conditional promise is not an announcement that the change has happened. After checking your dictation, identify who is responsible for the follow-up. Getting the topic right while reversing the people would still send the conversation in the wrong direction.

Separate meaning, endings and spelling

Keep your first attempt instead of erasing it completely. Mark a meaning-changing error with one symbol and a spelling or spacing issue with another. That distinction gives you a more useful record than a single percentage score. You may understand the message despite a written error, or produce a grammatically possible sentence that is not what the recording said.

Do not turn every audible pause into a written space. Korean particles attach to the preceding word: in the first message, 이 attaches to 수업 and 에서 attaches to 앞. The expression 도서관 앞 contains a space between the two nouns; the particle then attaches to 앞. In the second message, 공책은 is written together because 은 is the particle.

Also compare 돼요 with the expanded form 되어요. 돼요 is the contraction used in the transcript. Do not write 되요 as if removing 어 were enough. A dictation error here can reveal a spelling pattern to review even when you understood the permission meaning.

Check the ending with a small written contrast

공책은 가져오지 않아도 돼요. — “You do not have to bring a notebook.” The action is optional in this sentence.

공책을 가져오면 안 돼요. — “You must not bring a notebook.” This prohibits bringing it. It is a deliberately different practice instruction, not an extra rule for the activity in Dictation 2.

Now compare 시간이 바뀌면 연락할게요. — “I’ll contact you if the time changes” — with 시간이 바뀌었어요. — “The time has changed.” The first gives a condition for a future action; the second reports a change. Listening only for 시간이 바뀌- would not distinguish those messages.

Cover the English and explain each sentence’s practical effect in your own words. Then use the Korean sound buttons to practise the contrast. This is follow-up work after the dictation, not a reason to memorise the answer before your first attempt.

Reflect before replaying the same clip

A small listening check

References and further listening

• British Council TeachingEnglish: Stop, go back dictation — A learner-controlled dictation activity, including comparison with the original text. The Korean messages above are new examples for this site.
• British Council TeachingEnglish: Using dictation — Background on using dictation to notice written form as well as meaning.
• National Institute of Korean Language: Korean orthography — Official reference for Korean spelling and spacing, including attached particles; the reference is in Korean.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.

For a real conversation, you will not have a transcript button. Practise asking someone to repeat or slow down, then use a focused question to check the detail you missed.