Passing the Beginner TOPIK

It felt like I had to wait FOREVER for the TOPIK scores to be posted.  However long I waited, it's ok because I PASSED!  I achieved my goal of making level 2!  Turns out I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do.  Walking out of the exam hall, I felt like bombed it.  Definitely glad that wasn't the case.  

Enough humble bragging.  What I really want to write about is how to pass the TOPIK.  

The best way is, most unhelpfully, however works best for you.  There are tons of books, study guides, and classes out there geared for preparing you for the TOPIK.  Your best bet is doing whatever you feel most comfortable with and whatever benefits you the most.  I can only offer my personal opinion and advice based on what was best for me.  

From this point on, I'm assuming that basic knowledge of the Korean language is something you already have.  If not, I suggest learning through   Teach Yourself Korean or Talk To Me In Korean.  Both help you learn Korean from the very beginning,

I used 3 main resources to prepare for the test.

1: TOPIK Guide.com

TOPIK Guide gives you a TON of information.  Info about the test itself, vocab lists, writing tips...it's all there.  Definitely something to check out.  What I found most useful were the writing tips and the vocab lists.  Everything is broken up by test level so it's easy to navigate.

2. Korean Grammar In Use

This book was a lifesaver.  It has all of the basic grammar points that you need to know for TOPIK levels 1 and 2.  The presentation is great and it includes examples, dialogues, exercises, and useful explanations.  While it's designed to be a compilation and review tool, it's layout can still help you learn things you have not yet been exposed to.  Note: In Korea you can get this book MUCH cheaper than the link I posted.  Try Kyobo Book or your local bookstore.

3. Practice!

The TOPIK website has a bank of previous tests that you can download and take.  I highly recommend taking as many as you can.  Don't do it casually tho.  Take the test all at once and in the time that you get for the real deal.  This will help you see at which points you get held up.  Don't stop to look anything up either.  Make a note of the question and then after you grade yourself, you will know what points you need to study more.  Also practice your writing.  Either get a Korean friend to grade your essays or use a website like italki or HaruKorean to practice.  Starting in July, the beginner level test doesn't have a writing portion, but the intermediate/advanced level has an increased writing portion.  Start practicing early so you'll feel more comfortable when the time comes.

As I said before, these are the things that worked for me.  Different people will find the methods and tools that work best for them.  That being said, I do believe that practice is the most useful tool for anyone.  Through practice you can find your confidence.  Once you have your confidence you will know when you are ready to take your test.  

The next TOPIK test is on April 19/20 depending on where you live.

Good luck!

Its about time.

My visa number FINALLY came. So I guess that means that I'll be going to Boston on Monday. I have to email Carrie before I go to make sure I have everything in order. I need to bring copies of my BCI check and my degree....and copies of the apostilles. I made copies but they're pretty terrible, and the copy of my degree is only half of the document (it was too big to copy the whole thing). At least the notary stamp is visible. I hope that passes. I don't want to have to go through the whole notarization and apostille process again.

Other than that I have less than two weeks until departure! 12 days to be exact, and still so much to do. I need to get some luggage, teaching clothes, and just a whole ton of stuff in general. Not to mention the fact that I need to pack a years worth of clothes into two suitcases. This includes my winter jacket and things to put in my apartment. I'm screwed.

This also marks the start of cram time for learning Korean. I have a lot of work to do!

waiting kills.

I need a life.

Really.

I do.

As soon as it hits 8pm and is 9am over in Korea, I compulsively check my email in hopes of getting my placement. About every 5 minutes. Even when i KNOW that its going to be about a week until I hear anything. And before its 8pm...I sit there and count down the time until it is 8pm. I need to stop. But at this point, there's not much going on in my life to distract me. When I'm working I'm either sitting in an office at a computer...checking my email every 3 seconds, or I'm on dispatch where I have to be on campus...aka in my room checking my email every 3 seconds. Help.

I also feel like I've run into a roadblock with my research about Yeosu. Most of what I can find I've already read, or it just talks about the 2012 World Expo. There are only so many articles you can read about kimchi or why its NEVER ok to write someone's name in red. I guess I could focus all of this time and energy into actually learning how to speak Korean.

Don't get me wrong, I'm wicked excited to learn the language, as you can tell from my other post. You just need to take it with a grain of salt. Its really hard. Plus there is no teacher to help me and its way too easy to look in the back of the book at the answers. Not to mention I study at my computer so I can listen to the dialogues on CD, and guess how often I take a break to check my email for the message that I KNOW won't be there. Yup, approximately every minute or so.

I'M SO UNPRODUCTIVE.

Even right now. Tonight. I've been sitting in the office since 6pm. What have I done? The usual facebook, twitter, fmylife, textsfromlastnight, 59 games of bubble spinner, watched Knowing...oh yeah, and I checked my email 209438762093486 times! All while if I turn my head slightly to the right I see my Korean book. Mocking me. I even brought index cards to the office so I could practice vocabulary. I guess in the last 15 minutes of my shift I can pull it together enough to make a few flash cards instead of ranting and raging like this.

Ok. I can do this.

Here I go.






Right after I check my email.

Delivery!

I just checked the status for my documents....

As of 9:42AM Monday the 20th (8:42PM Sunday the 19th in RI) my package was loaded onto the FedEx vehicle for delivery! I should be expecting an email from Carrie saying that she received it. Placement here I come!

My bucket list is going great. Charlsey and I got fondue yesterday at the Melting Pot. Two words: Cheesey Goodness. One of the best meals I've had in a long time. The dinner menu tonight consisted of a Philly Cheesesteak and some fries. Definitely American, definitely delicious.

More importantly, I hit the Korean book hard today. My Teach Yourself book had me writing some dialogues, translating sentences then structuring them into the Korean form...even reading a waiter's note slip and translating the order from Hangul script to romanized from to English. The next chapter dealth with introductions and some nitty gritty grammar. I forsee this being the hardest part. That and the vocabulary. So I guess basically everything. Learning a language by yourself with just a book and a couple of CD's is a HUGE challenge. A challenge that I embrace with open arms. Just learning a language is a big deal, but being self taught how to communicate with an entire population of people is mind blowing. As hard as it is to press on, the outcome will be extremely worth it.

Wait, What?

My Korean friend from the recruiting company emailed me last night. Just a check up to see how my visa paperwork is coming along. I told her that I'll be getting my documents apostilled tomorrow and am just waiting on my last reference letter. If everything goes on without a hitch, it should all be in the mail on Wednesday morning.

Her response?

If I mail on Wednesday then she said she could put me in a position that starts in the end of August.

WHAAAAAT? END OF AUGUST?

I basically have less than a month and a half left in the USA.

I need to get a few things accomplished:

• see as many friends as i can
• get my fill of Mexican, Italian, Pizza, American Food
  
• DRINK TIDAL WAVES
• go to the beach
• fondue
• drink my fill of coffee milk
• laps at the pool

Aaaand I think I should probably learn some Korean. I bought the Teach Yourself Korean book/cd set to learn with. So far its pretty good, I learned how to read and write in the Korean script, Hangul. If I really push myself then I think I can get enough down to not look like a total fool when I arrive.

Now that I realize that I don't have that much time left here, I can think of about a million things that I need to buy or get done before the big move.

How do I manage to pack for a year and pack light at the same time?