Thai Language Level Test - 29 November 2008

[kriswillems]

Today I joined the level test that is supposed to test the knowledge of and ability to use Thai language.

This year is the first year the test is being organized. It replaces the P.6 test. Students get a score between 1 and 6.

1 = beginners level

2 = P1 to P3 (6 to 9 years old)

3 = P4 to P6 (9 to 12 years old)

4 = M1 to M3 (12 to 15 years old)

5 = M4 to M6 (15 to 18 years old)

6 = university level

The test tests 4 skills:

listening

reading

writing

speaking

The test was more difficult than I expected.

The listening test was ok. I think I got a good score on this part. We had to listen to recorded conversations and other spoken texts, followed by 1 or 2 questions about that text. The speed of speaking was fast, just like Thai people talk, but no slang. The were 36 questions. The answers were multiple choice. The question was read only once. We got about 4 seconds to answer. Some questions were rather long and it was difficult to remember all the details of the stories that were being read. The sound in the room was perfect.

The reading test was hard mainly because I didn't have enough time to answer all the questions. There were 50 questions. We got 50 minutes to answer them. The first questions were rather easy. But starting from around number 25 it got hard. Most questions had a text first and after that 1 or 2 multiple choice questions about that text. Some answers were very similar and it was hard to decide which answer was the most correct. Some text were really long and full of difficult words and difficult sentence constructions. So, 1 minute per question was not enough for me. The longest question was almost 1 page long. The level of some questions (higher than P.6) and the fact we had only 1 minute per question made this part hard for me.

The writing test was a surprise for me. We had to write a text of more than 10 lines about a bargraph in about 15 minutes time using academic language. This was not too hard. And besides this we has to write a story about "knowledge" and how "knowledge" helps to improve work. We got 35 minutes and had to write at least 20 lines. I didn't expect to have to write about this subject and I never practiced writing about about this subject so my story might have been not that good. However, I had time enough for both parts of the writing test.

The speaking test was not that hard. The only problem was that 8 teachers were doing speaking tests in the same room, so sometimes it was hard to understand the teacher and sometimes it was hard for the teacher to understand us. It was very noisy there. I got some general questions and some questions about Thai festivals. I am a bit worried about the test because the teacher never asked really difficult questions. I wonder why (maybe she thought I was not capable of answering them?). The test was 10 minutes per person.

The test was being organized in a new building. The sound equipment was excellent. The teachers made me think of teachers in Europe about 100 years ago - they were strict and very formal (with one or 2 exceptions) and commented on people than didn't dress polite. One person was caught cheating which spoiled to mood of some teachers.

All together the test looked a lot like the old P.6 tests. Except that there was no dictation exercise and the reading test may have had some more difficult questions. Most people that did the test were Asian. There were very few farang. About 250 people did the test which is much less than the number of people than joined the P.6 test of last year.

I believe this test really tests what is was made for. It's complete a complete test to test your ability to use and your knowledge of Thai language.

The test cost 2000B. Maybe a bit expensive, but considering the number of people that helped organizing the test and the quality of the test, the room and the sound equipment I think the price is still acceptable.

I overestimated myself. I hoped to get level 4, but now I think and hope to get level 3.

I hope other people will also write about their experience.

[meadish_sweetball]

Thank you very much for taking the time to write that kris, very interesting.

[aitch]

Thank you for the info on this post. excellent

[painai2]

Thanks for the report. I surely have a long way to go before taking the test.

[withnail]

Hope you did well Kris.

I too did the test yesterday. Probably the only person in the room who did the P6 last year as well. I do agree the test was quite hard but interestingly despite agreeing with you on the timing I found the reading a lot easier than the listening. The material you actually had to listen to was not difficult but I found the questions quite difficult and was frequently torn between two answers.

I thought it was very different to the P6 last year. The material used last year was typical of P6 material given to Thai kids, full of Thai cultural references and both the essay and listening were things that anyone who had prepared for at a school would have seen before. I was quite unprepared for the writing and although I probably didn't make that many mistakes wasn't able to insert and fancy sentences from memory that you are able to if the topic is "the King" or "the environment".

The speaking was also different, there were two teachers rather than one and they didn't have you read anything out loud. I enjoyed that as I was able to waffle on and make them laugh which has to mean I got a fairly good mark in that area.

Generally though it was hard and I too would be happy with a level 3.

Edited November 30, 2008 by withnail

[Groongthep]

Thanks for the informative post kris. Where can one get more information? Where was it offered and how many times a years is it held? Any prerequisites other than the 2000฿?

[5tash]

Thanks for the informative post kris. Where can one get more information? Where was it offered and how many times a years is it held? Any prerequisites other than the 2000฿?

Here's some more information.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Brand-Thai-L...ne-t195594.html

[Groongthep]

Thanks for the informative post kris. Where can one get more information? Where was it offered and how many times a years is it held? Any prerequisites other than the 2000฿?

Here's some more information.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Brand-Thai-L...ne-t195594.html

Thanks 5tash

[desi]

1 = beginners level

2 = P1 to P3 (6 to 9 years old)

3 = P4 to P6 (9 to 12 years old)

4 = M1 to M3 (12 to 15 years old)

5 = M4 to M6 (15 to 18 years old)

6 = university level

Kris,

Do you happen to know where I can find the materials for studying the lower levels? 1 - 3?

[withnail]

You can find books of multiple choice reading exams for prathom students in any Thai bookshop along with regular textbooks. Phrae Phittaya in Central Ladphrao has a good selection.

[desi]

Thanks. I did ask around (recently), but didn't receive any concrete answers.

Edited November 30, 2008 by desi

[kriswillems]

The official P.1 to P6 schoolbooks are sold in a bookshop besides the ekkamai busterminal (I think right side of the terminal if you look at the terminal from sukumwit road).

There are 2 kinds of books per level (P.1 to P6). They are called:

-ภาษา พาที

-วรรณคดี ลำนำ

The second kind is about poems and is less useful for the exam.

These book are not very useful if you don't have any other source to study from. (Thai courses, a grammar book, help of a Thai person, ...) But if you can read all of these book at a reasonable speed and you can use the vocabulary in these books I think you would get a level 3 or 4 on the test.

The old exam was focussed on the P.6 book. Some exams even took the dictation exercise right out of this book.

The new exam is a more general test of Thai language, as withnail explained. Some question are higher than P.6 level.

[desi]

Thanks Kris. I do have Thai courses but I'd like to be able to judge how I'm doing against official workbooks.

[Gaccha]

This is very interesting. Can you say whether books are available for this specific test?

I actually started the other thread that you reference , but I was not keen on doing the test as I thought without knowing what was in the test it would be a waste of money.

Thanks.

[withnail]

No, the idea is that you can't really study for this test. You just have to be capable. You can practise testing though.

Consequently, I think the two books which Kris talked about aren't so relevant as the type of language used in those books is more what a p4 student, for example, would be learning at school rather than expected to be able to use.

I hated learning from the P6 one last year as some of the language was way too uncommon and flowery to be useful (especially the poetry). The reading comprehension books are quite similar to the test material though.

Edited December 1, 2008 by withnail

[Rikker]

Yeah, the Ministry of Education coursebooks aren't so useful for beginners, especially วรรณคดีลำนำ, because they're meant to be used to instill appreciation for classic Thai literature (i.e. Ramakien, Phra Aphai Mani, Sangthong) in students who are already native speakers. It's a very specific agenda, and for a completely different set of needs from foreign learners. Interesting nonetheless, though, and I regularly spend a few minutes here and there with the MOE books for casual reading material. Been meaning to go through some of it systematically at some point.

You can access scans of the P.1-P.6 books on sealang.net/lab by clicking on the "Basal Readers" link on the lefthand menu (DjVu format -- you have to install the free plugin).

Edited December 1, 2008 by Rikker

[kriswillems]

I agree that the books are not the best choice to study for the new test. But they step by step introduce new vocabulary. Each lesson has a few new words. So, I think you should think about these books at a more or less artificial way the extend your vocabulary. They are indeed not the way to start studying for a beginning student.

If you're beyond beginners-level, I think the best way to prepare for the new test is just read anything you can get your hands on (also the P1 to P6 books) and talk about it with a critical Thai listener.

Listen to the news or Thai PBS channel. This channel explains a lot about Thai culture, agriculture and society and the channel uses nice language as you would see in the reading part of the test. Record it and try to understand every word. Some questions in the listening part also use official/nice language. Other questions in the listening test were more typical talking language. You could try to watch some soaps.

Write stories every day and let a critical Thai person comment on your writing. The academic writing part you can practise in a school, it's possible to do this part of the test almost perfect.

Read about Thai culture, Thai festivals, special days, ... In the talking part you'll get questions about this. It's not only a language test, this test also tests if you understand Thai culture.

Dress like Thai people would do and talk polite. 10% of the score of the talking test just depends on your appearance. Write neatly. You can loose points just by writing not neatly. In Europe we would call this discrimination, but in Thailand it's normal.

If you you're studying at a beginners-level, I would go to a school that teaches Thai language step by step. The average student needs several months of intensive studying before he/she should consider joining the test (else you'll feel very frustrated when doing the test). The reading and listening parts had only about 10 questions that would be possible to answer by someone with less than 3 months (full time) experience in studying Thai.

[withnail]

One of the most useful reading aids I've been using recently is the Thai Junior Encyclopedia Project

It has some general information and some more Thai specific stuff and is a nice mixture of good quality yet real life writing, much more suitable then the p1 - 6 readers. It has lower lever articles in a relatively large font as well as higher level ones. Some come with audio as well.

[Rikker]

Yes, that Junior Encyclopedia site's a fantastic resource, and a shame its development stopped dead in its tracks.

[kriswillems]

One of the most useful reading aids I've been using recently is the Thai Junior Encyclopedia Project

It has some general information and some more Thai specific stuff and is a nice mixture of good quality yet real life writing, much more suitable then the p1 - 6 readers. It has lower lever articles in a relatively large font as well as higher level ones. Some come with audio as well.

Thanks Withnail. I didn't know that web-site. It is really useful.

[farangnl]

Hi,

Does anyone know when/where/how we can get the results?

[kriswillems]

Probably they will be put on this web-site:

http://bet.obec.go.th/eqa/

The results will also be sent to the address you filled in on your application form (if that address is in Thailand).

I don't know when we'll get the result.

[withnail]

The results for the P6 exam last year were published on the 30th of Jan on that website, just a list of names of those who passed. I'm not sure if they will do that again this year because essentially everyone has passed already but will be given a different grade. Last year a letter with your exact score was sent a little while after that day.

Someone told me the other day that someone they know remembers reading something on the day that said the results would be posted out on the second of February. I don't remember that personally but it sounds like a similar date to last year.

[kriswillems]

I received my result by (normal)mail.

Listening : 5

Reading : 5

Writing : 3

Speaking : 5

I think they have been very generous with points, because I don't think I am at high school level in listening, reading or speaking Thai. The fact they have been so generous makes it a bit difficult to see how I will progress this year.

Edited February 13, 2009 by kriswillems

[aanon]

I received my result by (normal)mail.

Listening : 5

Reading : 5

Writing : 3

Speaking : 5

I think they have been very generous with points, because I don't think I am at high school level in listening, reading or speaking Thai. The fact they have been so generous makes it a bit difficult to see how I will progress this year.

Congratulations Kris,

You obviously impressed the examiners greatly. With your drive, I'm sure you will find ways to keep on improving.

aanon

[withnail]

I received my result by (normal)mail.

Listening : 5

Reading : 5

Writing : 3

Speaking : 5

I think they have been very generous with points, because I don't think I am at high school level in listening, reading or speaking Thai. The fact they have been so generous makes it a bit difficult to see how I will progress this year.

Congratulations Kris,

You obviously impressed the examiners greatly. With your drive, I'm sure you will find ways to keep on improving.

aanon

Well done Kris. I'm still waiting for mine although my teacher did inform me yesterday that some of her students had received their's already.

I hope I do as well as you although to be honest I think if I do do that well my thoughts would be the same as yours, that they have been generous. I'm sure you really did do quite well though.

Withnail

p.s. Do they not provide you with an overall grade as well? What about a certificate, does it mention that? The P6 from last year was basically a piece of paper but as this one cost 4 times as much I was hoping they'd improve on that.

Edited February 13, 2009 by withnail

[kriswillems]

I really didn't do that well, but I knew my score would be higher than average (in my Thai language school I had almost always a more than average score). What I think what happened is that they divided the students in percentiles. A certain amount of students was assigned level 6, a bit more student got level 5, again a bit more got level 4. Most student probably got a level 3. A bit less students got level 2 and again a bit less got level 1.

To be honest I would be more happy with seeing the "raw" score, which is for sure less than 5 on 6 (for the 3 skills I had 5). The score paper didn't show the raw score. They added a paper for comments, so this will be one of my comments.

This test tells me that I am probably a bit better than the average (foreign) student, but it doesn't let me know my real level. That's too bad because the test as such was good enough to find out the real level (it had some really difficult questions too).

The certificate is an A4 paper (thick paper) with a color logo and a stamp of the ministry of educations. It has two signatures. It shows your level in each of the 4 skills. There's no average level. On the back there's a table which explains what each level means. For 2000B I also expected a bit more details. Something really funny is the last line, which says this paper can be used for 2 years, starting from the day it's send out.

Edited February 13, 2009 by kriswillems

[withnail]

I'll wait for my scores before I agree with you

[withnail]

The certificate is an A4 paper (thick paper) with a color logo and a stamp of the ministry of educations. It has two signatures. It shows your level in each of the 4 skills. There's no average level. On the back there's a table which explains what each level means. For 2000B I also expected a bit more details. Something really funny is the last line, which says this paper can be used for 2 years, starting from the day it's send out.

So you have to do the test every two years, do you? You think they'd give out lower marks if that were the case.

[kriswillems]

It thought that line was funny because it's so clear what the real intention is of that line: make sure than can get 2000 baht in 2 years. Foreigners are a good source of money, and charging foreigners in the most absurd ways seems to become the standard in Thailand. I wouldn't think it's funny if the paper had any legal value, but as far as I know it's just a paper and nothing more than that. The line reflects the greediness of the organization that put that line on the paper

The whole show with the passport check before the exam made me smile too.

Edited February 13, 2009 by kriswillems