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SCHOOLSPosted by Karim 🇹🇳 Tunisia · 1 month ago
How does the placement test work if you're self-taught?
i've been studying alone for about a year, so my reading is way ahead of my speaking. like, embarrassingly so.
if the level test puts me in a class that's too hard for speaking, can you move down? or do you just suffer for 10 weeks
if the level test puts me in a class that's too hard for speaking, can you move down? or do you just suffer for 10 weeks
8 comments
OFFICIAL ANSWER
MinjiALLO TEAM
Korea local tips · Seoul
Yes, you can move — and self-taught students moving down one level in the first week is completely routine.
How placement usually runs:
1. A written test, 40 to 60 minutes, covering grammar and reading. This is where self-study students score high.
2. A short interview in Korean, 3 to 10 minutes, sometimes with two teachers. This is where the gap shows.
3. Most schools weight the interview heavily precisely because of your situation. A strong reading score with a silent interview usually lands you a level below what the written test alone would suggest.
If you still end up too high, go to the international office in the first three days. Almost every school has a change window in week one, no drama, no fee. After that window it gets harder because attendance records have started.
My honest advice: if you are between two levels, take the lower one. Repeating grammar you half-know while your mouth catches up is far more useful than drowning for ten weeks. Students who start one level low almost always overtake the ones who started one level high.
One more thing — the interview is not a test of fluency. Teachers are listening for how you handle not knowing a word. Saying "잘 모르겠어요, 다시 말해 주세요" is a better answer than silence.
How placement usually runs:
1. A written test, 40 to 60 minutes, covering grammar and reading. This is where self-study students score high.
2. A short interview in Korean, 3 to 10 minutes, sometimes with two teachers. This is where the gap shows.
3. Most schools weight the interview heavily precisely because of your situation. A strong reading score with a silent interview usually lands you a level below what the written test alone would suggest.
If you still end up too high, go to the international office in the first three days. Almost every school has a change window in week one, no drama, no fee. After that window it gets harder because attendance records have started.
My honest advice: if you are between two levels, take the lower one. Repeating grammar you half-know while your mouth catches up is far more useful than drowning for ten weeks. Students who start one level low almost always overtake the ones who started one level high.
One more thing — the interview is not a test of fluency. Teachers are listening for how you handle not knowing a word. Saying "잘 모르겠어요, 다시 말해 주세요" is a better answer than silence.
Was this helpful?Updated 1 month ago
8 comments
Sign in to join the conversation.
You can still post anonymously after signing in.self taught for 2 years, tested into 3, lasted four days, dropped to 2, best decision i made. nobody cared or noticed.
18
this is exactly what i needed to hear thank you
8
opposite problem, i tested low because i froze in the interview and spent a whole term bored. move up is also allowed, ask!
10
week 1 only at my school. after that they said wait for next term
7
did they let you move up mid term or only week 1
3
the interview was two teachers and one of them just asked me what i ate for breakfast for 5 minutes. it's really not scary
8
reading ahead of speaking is like the standard self-study profile, teachers see it every single term. you're not a weird case
6
wrote 잘 모르겠어요 on my paper 11 times, still got into level 2 somehow
2
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