SNU LEI Placement test (Evening Korean Class)

Hi Folks,

Today, I will be dealing with a topic that I should have handled a long time ago (in March, I know guys): The famous SNU LEI placement test and SNU Morning/ Evening Korean Class. 

The SNU Soccer field, next to the the Business School and the LEI building, beautiful day in April

So you decided to go on exchange, and plus, you want to learn the language of the country. Well, congratulations first. You are very motivated, I hope your home institution will not ask you to take too many courses in your field (Yeah, I was one of the only exchange students to have 6 courses... But now that I think about all this, it wasn't so much of a constraint). Because SNU Korean Class, such as other Korean language class, is intensive...

Basically, Korean Language Class implies:
- 4 hours/day every day if you take Morning/afternoon class.
- 3 hours every Tuesday and Wednesday
- Homework and Roleplay.

Impressed? At least, you will learn Korean fast and efficiently. But actually, truthfully speaking, it wasn't so hard and tiring, and it's a very good way to meet new people. I took level one Evening Class, so maybe that's why I'm now saying that. However, most of the professors of very good, and know how to teach. I had a great moment with my classmates and my main professor was at the same time very good at teaching and so adorable... (Mrs Park Kwan Hee, we'll miss you)  So I recommend it!

Let's move on to the LEI placement test:

If you are an absolute beginner in Korean, you can skip this test, since it's rather used by people who have already taken Korean before to evaluate their written and oral skills. It's also a way for the professors to evaluate your level and to put you in the class that fits you the best.  

The placement test is divided into two parts:

- A Written test of about... 5 minutes to 1 hour: I said 5 minutes because the test is progressive, meaning that the questions are first level 1, then level 2, etc. until level 6. And if you are stuck in the level two questions, you can directly go through the next exam, which is the oral one.
My feeling about the written test? Well, the test is pretty open, not so easy, but not so hard at the same time. It's worth it to do it seriously, if you want to improve fast afterwards.

- An oral test: basically, you'll have an interview with one of the LEI professors, and he/she will evaluate your level in the written test first by checking what you've done, and then ask you basic questions.


Before the placement test, I was kind of stressed, because I wanted to do my best, and see if the podcasts I used in France to learn Korean worked. Podcasts are great for improving your oral skills, but not your written skills. I found less comfortable writting in Korean. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, I took the test and they told me I was between level 1 and 2, and I had the choice. Since I wanted to have steady basis, I took level one, but after taking this level, I felt that level two was more my actual level. I almost finished the level two book (still have to rehearse though) and I learned much more. So for those who are between 1 and 2, I advise you to go to level 2.

Next time, I think I will talk about Evening Class more in details, but there are so many subjects I want to write about (my Business classes in SNU, Sports, SNU buddy, ...).

Tell me, will you take Korean classes in SNU? If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below. 

Take care everyone.