Tips to Pass That Korean Language Test


You are in South Korea.

Working Day and Night and earning 5 digits salary, sometimes 6 digits if you are hard working enough.

You experience 4 seasons in one year.
You have free board and lodging.
You eat kimchi everyday and other Korean food.
You can now buy the gadgets that you want, the shoes, the bags and the outfits for your pormang pang breezy.

You are now officially the breadwinner of the family and you provide them with all their needs and their wants because you can afford it now.

But wait, just wait. I am sorry, I hate to burst your bubble but it’s not that easy. I know you dream to work in South Korea to earn a decent salary, but you need to pass that Korean Language Test first before you can have your working visa.

KLT or Korean Language Test is held in Asian countries including Philippines if the Human Resource Department of Korea sees the need to hire foreign people to work in the manufacturing industry of Korea. Learning foreign language is always a bit of a challenge. So I understand if you feel the anxiety and the stress and the pressure for the upcoming 13th Korean Language Test in the Philippines because believe me, I’ve been there and I’ve done that!

What’s the secret in learning Korean Language and to pass the exam?

Actually, NO. There’s no secret, only practical tips. If you are street smart enough, you sure can pass the test, I can’t promise you pass it with flying colors, but you can definitely ace it if you know the drill. Here’s my unsolicited advice (based on experience) for all of you aspiring to work in South Korea.

1. Familiarize the Korean numbers for the listening test

How important is this?

Very important, because I personally surveyed my friends who failed the exam last time and most of them told me that they failed because of the listening test. Most of them were not able to answer the questions correctly, or if they answered it correctly, they put the answer in the wrong item number. For example, the question is for number 20, they answer in number 18. Even if the answer is correct, that would still be wrong. If you are familiar with numbers in Korean, this will not happen.

In listening test, you will be given an answer sheet with numbers from 1 to 25, each number has 4 choices which are 1, 2, 3 and 4. Just imagine how NUMBERS play a vital role in the listening test. You will hear a lot of “bun” word in the listening, so it is really important you know the numbers in Korean.  If the speaker said “ship ko bun”, you know you have to answer on number 19.

2. Get the context word for reading test

If you can’t understand a Korean sentence in the question, don’t worry, that’s normal. You are not expected to learn it all in a short period of time. If it’s too long and you can’t understand what it’s saying, get the context words of the sentence. Or rather, take out all the words that you can understand and try to make sense out of that known words. Refer also to the choices and see if you can make any connections to the question.

This tip will only be very effective if you know a lot of vocabularies. It is also important to memorize as many words as you can.

3. Ignore the particles

Because this is a written test, particles are inevitable to set the sentence in a formal mode. Don’t get confused with these particles, you can just ignore them and get the root words. The particles that I am talking about are 이/κ°€, λ₯Ό/을, 은/λŠ”.

For example, the word μ‚¬λžŒ, in a formal sentence, sometimes they write it as μ‚¬λžŒμ΄. You have to make a mental note thatμ‚¬λžŒ =μ‚¬λžŒμ΄. It’s not a different word, there’s just a particle at the end of the word. If you want to know more about these particles, you can do so in your advance study. But for time being, just ignore it, get the root word and never mind about it for now.

4. Use some mnemonic device

I always find mnemonic device an effective way to memorize. I used it once and will never fail to use it more in the future in case I need to memorize something. In this case, you can make your own code to easily memorize vocabularies. Sometimes, I find this strategy funny and stupid, but since it’s effective, the hell should I care! Here are some mnemonics I used and until now I can still remember:

The Korean word κ·Έμ €κ»˜which means a day before yesterday. It is pronounced as geujeokke that sounds like “videoke”. So if I need to remember how to use that word, I just think of videoke.

The wordμ–΄λ¨Έλ‹ˆ or eomoni, which means mother. It sounds like “money”, and mothers always ask money especially during salary day. If I need to say mother in Korean, I just remember money and voila, I can recall it easily.

These are just my example, you can make your own to aid you in the memorization of the words.


5. Limit your study resources (If possible, just use the reviewer)

Studying Korean language is effective if you have a lot of books and online resources. But if you have limited time, then you must just use the reviewer provided by your training center or by the POEA to study so you can concentrate on what’s important in the test. Other resources may give you lessons, some are even advance, that are not useful for the exam. The reviewer are still the best resource to study, so as much as possible, concentrate on that.

6. Listen to Korean music and watch Korean Dramas in your spare time

It’s not just all about studying. You need to relax also so that your brain can breathe and rest. In this spare time, you can still actually learn passively by listening to Korean music or watch Korean drama. Challenge yourself if you can understand by picking up the words you know and make sense out of the context. This is one way to practice your strategy to effectively implement the tip number 2.

I know you can do it! Just trust yourself and believe in the power of prayer. Do your best not only to study hard but also to study smart. You have few days left before the exam, all I can say is…..
May the force be with you!

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. you're welcome. God Bless on your exam

      Delete
    2. gud day,,, ask lng po kng mayron bang next batch ng exam for klt?;-)

      Delete
  2. Well said..! κ°μ‚¬ν•¨λ‹ˆλ‹€..

    ReplyDelete
  3. κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€...

    ReplyDelete
  4. salamat ng marami...big help to para sa mg eexam...#GODSPEED!

    ReplyDelete
  5. λŒ€λ‹¨νžˆ κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€

    ReplyDelete
  6. A very big help to those who will take the exam today and tommorow..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Some of my classmates from Korean language institute are very lucky to register and take 13th EPS topik examination. But I had my classmates including me doesn't got the chance to register. Still hoping for further announcement when we can register again,to work to KOREA... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. San po kaya pwede makakuha ng reviewer? Sana may mag reply po. Salamat po

      Delete
  8. I just took the 13th eps topic, pagnakapasa and had all the requirements accomplished gaano katagal bago mapili?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just took the 13th eps topic, pagnakapasa and had all the requirements accomplished gaano katagal bago mapili?

    ReplyDelete
  10. hello mayron pa ba coming announcement for 2016 to take the EPS- TOPIK EXAM? THANKS

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello po. Thank you for sharing these very helpful tips. Ask ko lang po if you enrolled in a Korean Language Center here in Philippines before taking the EPS-TOPIK exam? Or self study lang po kayo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please disregard. I saw a comment you made in your other post that you learned the language through self-study before taking the exam.

      Opps, this brings me to another question, how long did you do the self study before taking the exam?

      Thank you! This site is very helpful.

      Delete
    2. hello Liz. I studied for one month, everyday. I started studying Feb 2012 then took the exam March 2012, so basically one month.

      Delete
  12. Thank you for recognising the power of prayer. Jesus is still performing miracles. amen

    ReplyDelete
  13. hello po meron po, meron po ba kayong website na pwedeng irecommend para mag.aral ng korean language? Balak ko po sanang magself study. Thank you...

    ReplyDelete
  14. hello po.. alam mo ba kung kailan ang next schedule ng exam para sa korean language??

    ReplyDelete
  15. hi po, alam mo ba kung kailan ang next exam para sa korean language?? thank you..

    ReplyDelete
  16. κ°μ‚¬ν•©λ‹ˆλ‹€..very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very well said my friend. Such as a big blessing to receive what you've been shared to us. I feel more motivated now. Thank you. Always keep in touch. God bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. How hard the exam of korean here in Phil. vs in other country?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you for the tips and advice. It really helps a lot now that I only have few days to study before the exam. More power and God bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  20. thanks!!this means a lot......

    ReplyDelete
  21. ask lng po,,,, may next batch bah for exam?;-)this year,, davao po ako,,,,

    ReplyDelete
  22. hi po tanung lang po sabi kasi skin ng friend ko di rw sila gaanung kumukuha ng babae swertehan lang daw po at sabi pa po na pinipili nila ung edad 23 pataas bakit pa po sila nag ppa apply ng 18 ?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Pano mgapply sa poe? Kng wla, pa akng agency?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hello po, ask ko lng po sana, after po makapasa ng EPS-TOPIK mga ilang months po bago makapunta ngKorea? I will wait for the response. Maraming salamat po.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Annyeong haseyo,
    pwedi po ba mag take nang exam sa poea for TOPIK kung walang certicate KLT? Wala po kasi akong planong mag training nang korean language test ,gusto ko lang mag self study para di na magkagasto for that ....
    Looking forward for your response..gamsahamnida.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. im in favor of self study! than review ctr although it has a advantage but the last breath is ourselves! drtso na sa poea wag nang dadaan sa review ctr pina perahan lang

      Delete
  26. Hello...hmm ask ko lng po..i already knew how to read and write korean mermoryado konadin ang mga nmbers.. pero although nababasa ko ang mga words hnd ko naiintindhan, on your own opinion po ba my advantage n po ba iyog kaalaman ko to perhaps past the exam? Kng hnd po...san po ako dpat mg focus mg aral? Salamt po..

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi po. I'm 19 and will be graduating next year on May. Naka Plano na po ang pagpasok ko sa training school. Then take the exam. Tanong ko lang po kung if yung pamimili ng papasukan ay random o kami po ang pipili bago mag exam? And if mataas yung score pwede po bang Hindi na mag skill test?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  28. when you failed the exam po d na pwd mag exam ulit?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Kapag nag failed sa exam, may ibang option Pa po na na kailangan gawin para naman di masayang yung binayad sa training center?

    ReplyDelete
  30. hi saranhae.. just to ask where i can get reviewer from poea??? κ³ λ§™μŠ΅λ‹ˆκΉŒ.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. call me i can teach you more about korea for free..09193283325

      Delete
  31. those who want tp learn abour korean language call my number and i can teach you free.09193283325

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good day this is sino korean cardinals 1-il 2-i 3-sam 4-sa 5-o OR this is native korean cardinals 1-hana 2-dul 3-set 4-net 5-daseot WHat is the common na ginagamit nila? thank you sa sasagot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi. both sino-korean and native korean numbers are commonly used in daily conversation according to the context. if you are measuring units, then use native, but if you are pertaining to age, addresses, phone numbers and money, use the sino korean numbers

      Delete
  33. thank you soo much for this tips.. makakatulong sa amin na gustong matuto ng hangeul at makapagtrabaho sa korea. kudos to you!

    ReplyDelete
  34. κ°μ‚¬ν•¨λ‹ˆλ‹€

    ReplyDelete
  35. Kamsahamnida. :) wish me luck sana makapasa ako.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Kailan po kaya nayn eng next eps topik exam

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment