2 In Korean learning journey (:/ TOPIK

57th TOPIK II Experience and tips

It’s the mandatory TOPIK experience post again. Probably my 5th! It’s so surreal how fast time passes and it’s already my 5th time taking TOPIK. For readers who like to ask why I would spend money to re-take it every two years, I just like to keep my certificate valid as I would never know when I need it. It’s also an activity that I look forward to every two years (ya I love taking language tests!!), and more importantly, it’s a timemarker for me. Reminding me that yet another 2 years have passed 🙂

For those who are keen to read about the details of TOPIK II can refer to this post.

TOPIK was more fun this year cos Weixin took it with me ?. HSK last year and TOPIK this year. Heh we are language test buddies.

LISTENING

Don’t think I did very well at the start because it took me a while to ease into the exam mode, so I kinda spaced out in the beginning. But as usual, I found it very helpful to read ahead for the questions when the dialogue repeats for the 2nd time. So I would read two sets ahead to make sure that I have a sense of what the next (next) dialogue is about, as well as what to look out for even before the audio.

WRITING

It was definitely worth it to prepare for the “graph description” section. I found it a lot more manageable after reading several sample essays. Usually you will start off by stating which organisation conducted the survey (and what is it about), followed by 결과에 따르면 LOL.

READING

Reading was pretty .. dare I say.. easy this time round. Must caveat that it doesn’t mean I would do well. ? At least I didn’t have any 멘붕 moments. Given past experience, I knew that I would definitely be able to finish the reading section within time limit, so I didn’t deliberately rush and speed-read my way through. I tried to make the effort to read through all options to reduce the possibility of careless mistakes.

Overall, thought it was a manageable paper. (:

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2 Comments

  • Reply
    Luna
    19 April, 2018 at 11:36 PM

    I love when you write about your TOPIK experience. I hope to be able to take it some day too. I love taking tests, the excitement of it and getting feedback on my current level.

    I think it’s smart keeping the certificate fresh. It’s like the passport, you never know when you suddenly might need it and you don’t want to miss an opportunity because of a technicality.

    I know TOPIK level 6 is the highest level of the exam one can attain, but how far away from native level is it in your opinion?

  • Reply
    Sophie
    5 May, 2018 at 4:41 AM

    Great post! I was looking for someone else’s thoughts on the test and haven’t been able to find much. I took the 57th test too (I live in Peru btw) and it was actually my very first time, and on top of that it was Topik 2 as well. It was like an adrenaline rush after months of preparing ? anyway I can’t wait for the results!

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