TOPIK과 KLPT

TOPIK - Test of Proficiency in Korean (한국어능력시험)



1. Administrating Body: Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation

2. Singapore Test Centre: Singapore Korean School

3. Type of Test Paper: B-TOPIK (Business TOPIK) and S-TOPIK (Standard TOPIK). I will only be talking about S-TOPIK in this comparison. The S-TOPIK is divided into 3 different types of paper, namely Basic level, Intermediate level and Advanced level. Basic level paper is meant for people who want to attain 1st or 2nd grade pass. Intermediate level paper is meant for 3rd or 4th grade pass and Advanced level paper is meant for 5th or 6th grade pass.

4. Exam Date: Twice a year in Apr and Sep but in Singapore, TOPIK is only conducted in Sep every year.

5. Test Fee: S$50 (fee has been revised to $80 since 2008)

6. Test Duration: 180mins in total conducted over 2 sessions of 90mins each with 30mins rest in between.

7. Test Score: 400 points in total. 100 points each for vocabulary/grammar, writing, listening and reading.

8. Test Paper Format: There are two set of papers. The first set of paper covers vocabulary/grammar and writing. There are 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for vocabulary/grammar. As for the writing, there are 10 MCQs, 5 sentence-making questions and a composition. The composition alone is worth 30 points. The first set of paper is taken in the first session. The second set of paper covers listening and reading. There are 30 MCQs each for listening and reading. The second set of paper is taken in the second session.

9. Grading System: The TOPIK grading system is a little bit complex. With reference to the below table, if a person wants to attain a 2nd grade pass, he or she must obtain an average score of more than 70 points from the 4 different sections tested in the Beginner level paper and none of these sections should score below 50 points. If he or she has an average score of more than 50 points but less than 70 points, he or she would still be considered to have failed the Beginner level paper if any of the sections falls below 40 points. Under that situation, no grade will be given.



10. Preparatory Course: Starting this year, SKS begins to conduct preparatory courses for TOPIK Beginner and Intermediate. The course fee is S$481.50 for 20 lessons with each lesson lasting two hours each. Commencing in July, courses are conducted on every Tuesday and Thursday evening.

11. Study Aid: Past years test questions and answers are available at TOPIK's homepage.

Personal note about taking TOPIK - TOPIK requires students to use black marker pen instead of pencil to shade the answer sheet. This means that you cannot alter a wrong answer after you have shaded. Don't bother to change the answer sheet if you discover that you have done one question wrongly. It is just not worth it. You have at most only 1.5mins for every question. Changing the answer sheet and reshade is "suicidal". It can take away precious time for 3 to 4 questions worth about 12 points. Another point to note is that the passages in the reading section are quite long. There is no way to comprehend the full passage in 1.5mins unless you are so good that you can understand the passage in just a glance. So what I did was that I didn't even bother reading. I just picked any one answer.

Our teacher told us that student who obtains a 5th grade pass for TOPIK can apply to enter any Korean university directly without the need to attend further Korean language course. Personally, I find that TOPIK is much more challenging than KLPT and it requires more preparation work as well. In particular, I have to spend quite a bit of time practising my writing skill. The test is very thorough and I am unable to hide any of my inadequacies. This is a test that, I think, best indicates my level of proficiency. Of course, the test result will not show my conversational ability as this proficiency is not tested.


********************************


KLPT - Korean Language Proficiency Test (세계한국말인증시험)



1. Administrating Body: Korean Language Society

2. Singapore Test Centre: NUS Extension

3. Type of Test Paper: B-KLPT (Basic KLPT) and KLPT. B-KLPT is an easier paper. I am only talking about KLPT in this comparison.

4. Exam Date: Twice a year in Apr and Oct but in Singapore, KLPT is only conducted in Oct every year.

5. Test Fee: US$30 according to KLPT website but NEX charged S$125 (S$60 for NEX admin charge and S$65 for KLPT registration)

6. Test Duration: 110mins in total with 40mins for listening (40 MCQs) and 70mins for vocabulary, grammar and conversation (60 MCQs).

7. Test Score: 500 points in total. Each question is worth 5 points.

8. Test Paper Format: One set of paper with 100 questions. 40 MCQs on listening and 15 MCQs each on vocabulary, grammar, reading and conversation.

9. Grading System: The KLPT grading system is quite straightforward. Depending on how many point you score, the following level of proficiency will apply.



10. Preparatory Course: NEX also conducts preparatory course for KLPT. Students who wish to sign up for the course are required to take a placement test to determine their level. Currently, only KLPT elementary level course is conducted. The course fee is S$400 for 10 lessons with each lesson lasting 3 hours each. Commencing in August, course is conducted on every Saturday evening.

11. Study Aid: KLPT textbooks from elementary level to advanced level can be bought at S$45 each over the reception counter at NUS Extension, level 12, Park Mall.


Personal note about taking KLPT - Unlike TOPIK, KLPT allows the use of pencil for shading the answer sheet so wrong answer can still be salvaged at the very last minute. However, you probably can't find time to correct your answer. For listening portion, only 1min is given per question and that include the time for the question to be read out. For the rest, only about 1.17min is given for each question. You won't have time to translate words in your head nor will you have time to daydream. However, I always have this belief. I am taking this test simply because I am not good enough so why do I need to think so hard. If I don't understand the question, I just guess. At least I have 25% chance of getting the question right.

Frankly, I don't really know the market value of a KLPT certificate. I took the test more for practisng my Korean language. I think it is supposed to be used when someone would like to seek job in Korea or in a Korean company. Exactly what level is good enough to get a job is not something that I know.