Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

China plans revamp of HSK test

• October 11th, 2010 5:12 am ET

BEIJING, CHINA – When South Korean student Yi Da Hye came to China in 2004, she could speak a smattering of Mandarin but struggled with sentences and could write only a few Chinese characters.

After five years of drilling for the state-run Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) or ‘Chinese Proficiency Test’ here, the 27-year-old has been certified as an ‘Advanced’ student of the language and is sharp enough to major in Chinese at the elite Peking University.

“I learnt a lot during the preparation of the HSK tests. I have no problem conversing with Chinese, and I have a lot of Chinese friends,” she said.

The HSK, which is China’s Mandarin Chinese equivalent of Britain’s International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the United States’ Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), has been criticized before for its focus on the written language – arguably the most difficult aspect for Western learners.

But the Chinese test is also undergoing changes itself.

Memory work will be slashed when the new HSK kicks in this year, with emphasis given to comprehension and communication, especially on the usage of the language in daily life.

It is believed to be the first time the two-decade-old test is undergoing a revamp, as it seeks to improve its examination of Chinese proficiency among non-native speakers.

“We have been studying the IELTS and TOEFL, and finding our own way towards the new model,” said Mr Zhou, a department head of the Office of Chinese Language Council International, or Hanban. He declined to give his full name.

There will be six levels – one being the lowest. An oral component will also be introduced, using short conversations and dialogues on daily events.

For the basic learners, the test uses a large number of pictures and pinyin to help the students. Native languages of the students, such as English for example, are also used to guide the students along.

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