You may have heard of test takers telling you to practice with mock exams when preparing for TOPIK.
Isn’t a mock test just a waste of time? Shouldn’t you just focus on studying to make more progress?
The purpose of the TOPIK mock test is to simulate the conditions during the real TOPIK exam. This prepares the test taker for what to expect on the big day, giving one the confidence to answer the test.
When you know what to expect, you won’t get too surprised and can easily focus on taking the Korean exam.
But how in particular can the TOPIK mock test prepare the test taker?
Benefits of Taking the TOPIK Mock Exam
With TOPIK being such an important test wherein your score determines your proficiency in Korean, it’s important to prepare for it as best as you can.
Whether you’re going for TOPIK I, TOPIK II, or EPS-TOPIK, practicing with a mock exam is a great use of your studying time.
There are plenty of ways to access the past TOPIK exams (including one I recommend that has a built-in timer). But why should you allot the time to test yourself?
The way I see it, practicing with a mock test is beneficial because:
- You get a feel of the test format, especially the listening and reading test
- You build endurance during the test
- You get an estimate of the score you can get in the actual exam
- You discover words or grammar points you may have missed
- You discover blind spots between your expectation and the reality of the exam
Let’s talk about the five points in detail.
Benefit #1: Get a Feel of the Test Format – With a mock exam, you’re experiencing what it feels to be in the exam room, answering questions under time pressure. You also become familiar with the type of questions that are covered so that you can prepare for them beforehand.
Benefit #2: Build Endurance – Thinking and focusing intensely for hours is mentally draining, which can stress you out if you’re not prepared. But if you rehearsed beforehand with mock tests, you can strengthen your testing muscles to endure the entire exam.
Benefit #3: Preview Approximate Score – How would you like to know your score before taking the actual test? That’s what a mock exam can offer, which helps in checking whether you can reach your desired level or you still need to improve.
Benefit #4: Discover Unfamiliar Words or Grammar – You get an opportunity to realize how much vocabulary or grammar you still lack in a mock exam, allowing you to prepare for it before the actual exam.
Benefit #5: Discover Blind Spots – To give you an example, I discovered that some dialogues in the listening test are only dictated once. In the reading section, I realized there are questions around reading signage and labels. I also found how I struggle to understand the instructions of the questions, so I learned the different question patterns. Your blind spots may be different, but you can discover and address them early if you simulate the test.
Some Warnings When Using TOPIK Mock Tests
Now before you go and start answering, I first want to set some expectations.
The TOPIK mock exams are not perfect. It requires you to carefully control your environment while taking the test.
In particular, I want you to take heed of the following warnings:
- Focus is key, so you must turn off distractions
- Time should be continuous (let the timer run naturally)
- Don’t pause and rewind sections of the listening tape
- Don’t use the dictionary and stay closed notes
- Don’t cheat on the mock exam
Here are the warnings covered in more depth.
Warning #1: Stay Focused – In the actual exam setting, you’re not allowed to use electronic devices as your attention is all on the test for the entire time. You have to treat it the same way while in a mock test. So ideally, you want to schedule your test in your vacant time (otherwise just stop the test if you’re getting distracted).
Warning #2: Timer Must Be Continuous – In order to artificially create time pressure, you must let the timer run continuously during the test. Sure, you can take a bit of bathroom break. But the timer must continue running even in the time you go out.
Warning #3: No Pause and Rewind with Listening – In a normal listening session outside of the exam, you might tend to pause and repeat in order to understand the dialogue deeper. But don’t do this on the audio for the TOPIK listening exam, since the tape is supposed to run approximately at the same time as the duration of the test.
Warning #4: Close Your Notes – Like any exam, your notes must be closed because it’s a test! Unless you’re jotting down the vocabulary or grammar that you encountered, you should strive not to rely on hints and let your brain do the recalling to see if you actually know the answer.
Warning #5: Don’t Cheat – Ultimately, you’re the only one who knows if you’re taking a TOPIK mock exam honestly. No one will know if you looked up the dictionary just to answer a hard question. So it’s more a matter of self-discipline, which will determine if you used the mock tests effectively or not.
Another caveat I want to share is that it’s hard to find mock TOPIK writing tests. Because there are many ways to answer an open-ended writing section (no multiple choices), it’s hard to check whether you’re correct without someone else checking.
The best way to simulate a Korean writing test is to have a Korean teacher specializing in TOPIK writing to help you out. Unfortunately, this would cost you money.
So the next best way is to study some model essays for the past TOPIK writing test questions. Understanding why they got their score is key to learning what it would take to score high in the writing section. Then have your own practice session by writing an essay using the past TOPIK writing questions.
Go Ahead, Pick a TOPIK Exam to Practice On
Whichever TOPIK exam you’re taking, I wish you good luck on the exam.
I hope that you’re as confident as you can be when you sit down on the chair at the exam room. TOPIK mock tests can help a ton in increasing that confidence.
So if you’re ready now, let me give you my recommendation.
Right now I’m using TOPIK GUIDE’s Practice Mock Tests because the page is filled with past exams for both TOPIK I and TOPIK II. And when you begin the test, you can concentrate on the questions while the timer is running automatically (and the tape is playing steadily for the listening section).
At the end, you’ll automatically get a score as it counts your correct answers and totals them. You can even check if your score allows you to fit at a certain TOPIK level.
Pick your difficulty (I or II), pick the test type (reading or listening), then decide which test you plan to take (say, the 52nd exam).
Have you taken a mock TOPIK exam? How was it so far and did you get a good score? Let me know in the comments.