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Advancing Korean, Year 5/6: TAC15 東亞

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druckfehler
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
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1181 posts - 1912 votes 
Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean
Studies: Persian

 
 Message 161 of 344
21 April 2013 at 3:45pm | IP Logged 
2013년 4월 21일.

Korean 한국어

I took TOPIK Intermediate yesterday and found it frustrating. Writing went a little better than expected, although I didn't quite finish the essay. The topic was "What skill would you like to have?" and I wrote about playing musical instruments. Looking back, I could've just taken the essay I wrote half a year ago about wanting to become a polyglot, but it didn't occur to me then.

Reading went much worse than I expected... I had a hard time concentrating in the second half of the test and the Reading material was fairly challenging. Unfortunately I ran out of time and had to make blind guesses for the last four questions or so. I've been ill for the past week and haven't been able to eat much, I suppose this may partly account for the negative experience. But I also had the feeling that the 30th test was much more difficult than the 29th.

The results are out on May 30, so I'll just have to wait and see if I've managed to pass level 4. It's annoying that the test is held only once a year in Germany... If I don't pass I'll have to wait until next April for another try. Anyway, I was pretty disappointed yesterday, but in the end the TOPIK doesn't mean much. I know I've come a long way with Korean and as long as I continue to do what I'm doing I'll keep improving.

Edited by druckfehler on 21 April 2013 at 3:47pm

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The Real CZ
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United States
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1069 posts - 1495 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Japanese, Korean

 
 Message 162 of 344
21 April 2013 at 4:09pm | IP Logged 
Wow, I hope you end up passing. Waiting a year just to take level 4 over again would suck, and if I were you, I'd probably shoot for level 5 for next year's exam regardless of the results of your level 4 test.
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Evita
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Latvia
learnlatvian.info
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734 posts - 1036 votes 
Speaks: Latvian*, English, German, Russian
Studies: Korean, Finnish

 
 Message 163 of 344
21 April 2013 at 8:51pm | IP Logged 
What an unfortunate timing, to fall ill when you have to take such an important test. I hope you passed anyway, your level of Korean has always impressed me.
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yuhakko
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Senior Member
FranceRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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414 posts - 582 votes 
Speaks: French*, EnglishB2, EnglishC2, Spanish, Japanese
Studies: Korean, Norwegian, Mandarin

 
 Message 164 of 344
21 April 2013 at 10:01pm | IP Logged 
I agree with The Real CZ. Even if you end up not passing this time, it would probably not
be a challenge at all anymore a year from now. Maybe the level 5 would be better. But
then again, I heard the jump from level 4 to 5 was quite big...

Anyway, I hope you'll pass!
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druckfehler
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 4866 days ago

1181 posts - 1912 votes 
Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean
Studies: Persian

 
 Message 165 of 344
24 April 2013 at 2:45pm | IP Logged 
Thanks for your good wishes and suggestions!

I guess it would be a waste to take level 4 again, but there really is a huge jump between levels 4 and 5. I might aim for the Advanced test (levels 5 & 6) in two years, it seems utopian to try earlier (except if I was studying Korean full-time, but I won't be).

topikguide.com already uploaded the test paper, so I checked my answers for the free writing questions. I got two completely right and one half right, which is great news. I'm pretty confident about the multiple choice part, so at least I should've passed the 50 point mark for writing.
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Bakunin
Diglot
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Switzerland
outerkhmer.blogspot.
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 Message 166 of 344
24 April 2013 at 7:32pm | IP Logged 
I also hope you have passed. Did studying for the test motivate you to do more or tackle specific weak points?
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druckfehler
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 4866 days ago

1181 posts - 1912 votes 
Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean
Studies: Persian

 
 Message 167 of 344
26 April 2013 at 1:58pm | IP Logged 
Bakunin wrote:
Did studying for the test motivate you to do more or tackle specific weak points?


Actually, it motivated me a lot to study more overall. I doubt I would have studied vocabulary as effectively without the goal of passing TOPIK 4. Last year I took several practice tests and it was really encouraging to gradually see my scores rise. It's a good method for identifying weak areas as well. I'm determined to work more on grammar now. I often just ignore patterns I don't know or have only a vague concept of how they work and I want to change that to be able to use them actively.

Put that way, the TOPIK has already been a very positive influence.

Edited by druckfehler on 26 April 2013 at 1:59pm

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druckfehler
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 4866 days ago

1181 posts - 1912 votes 
Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean
Studies: Persian

 
 Message 168 of 344
28 April 2013 at 11:50pm | IP Logged 
2013년 4월 28일.

Korean 한국어

I've been spending my Korean time as usual, mostly reading and listening to radio shows. I think this is a great combination of activities, as I usually learn new things through reading and my listening time works very well to reinforce them.

I'm now on page 60 of the postmodern novel 어떤 작위의 세계 (A World of Artificiality), which is still fun to read. The whole novel seems to consist of a string of random thoughts, so it's always interesting what comes next. The sentences are long and the grammar advanced, so it's definitely challenging. I'm reading intensively, looking up all unknown words, because I want to understand the details and know that it's great for learning vocabulary. I like the repetitive style of the author, which works like a built-in SRS for me. I also started reading 덕혜 옹주 (Princess Deokhye) extensively. It's a young adult novel about the last princess of the Joseon dynasty during Japanese occupation. I'm glad I can pretty much enjoy the book without a dictionary now and follow the plot well. I'll be reading this when I'm not at home.

Drama-wise, I'm currently watching "You're the Best, Lee Sun-Shin", which is not at all challenging to understand. The only character I consistently have trouble with is the grandmother, who speaks dialect.


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