Tuesday, March 11, 2008

HSK information

HSK Organizer and Certificate Issuer  

The CNCCPT Office and the HSK Center of BLCU (Beijing Language and Culture University) are both in charge of the HSK affairs.

The HSK Test  

To be admitted to the test room, every examinee will be required to present his or her admission ticket and a photo-bearing ID (U.S. Driver’s License, ID card, passport, or a residence permit). No candidates will be allowed to enter the test room without the afore-mentioned two evidences. The candidates whose admission ticket is missing can only be admitted to the test room after the ticket is reissued (with handling charges). Tape recorders, cameras, dictionaries, notebooks, textbooks, and other unnecessary objects are not allowed in the room. Mobile phones shall be switched off and put away, and all bags will be placed at an area designated by the exam coordinators.   

Candidates arriving five minutes late (from the start of the listening comprehension test) may be admitted to the testing room and begin the test right away. If examinees are 5 to 35 minutes late for the test, they may not start until the next section begins, and no extra test time is to be offset for late arrivals. 35 minutes after the beginning of the exam, no candidates will be admitted to the test room.

Things to note during the test

  (1)Once in the test room, candidates shall put the admission ticket and the ID item on the upper right corner of the desk for inspection. All the activities of the candidates are subject to the instructions of the supervisor.   

(2)Duration for HSK (Basic – Beginning) is about 135 minutes; HSK (Elementary-Intermediate) about 145 minutes without break; and HSK (Advanced) about 180 minutes with a break after the written test. In principle, candidates shall not leave the test room during the course of the test. If so under some exceptional circumstances, the candidate shall gain the permission from the supervisor.   

(3)HSK has strict control of the time limits for each section of the test, and candidates shall answer the corresponding test questions within a given time period and avoid jumping to the later sections or turning back to the previous ones during the test.

  (4)Candidates shall not take the test papers or answer sheets out of the room, or tear apart, replace, or copy the contents of the test.

  (5)Candidates shall abide by the test instructions and rules and those who violate the rules will be warned and not even allowed to continue the test by the organizer.

(6) No hats, pagers, beepers, watches with alarms, access to book bags, etc. during the test.

Chinese Proficiency Test (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi; HSK)

HSK
Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi Chinese Proficiency Test

2008 HSK Test Dates at the University of Maryland:
Sunday, May 18, 9 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, 9 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Holzapfel Hall, Room 0134
http://www.hsk.org.cn/english; and go to “test info”
HSK General Introduction   China's Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, known as HSK, or the Chinese Proficiency Test, is a standardized test at the state level designed and developed by the HSK Center of Beijing Language and Culture University to assess the Chinese proficiency of non-native speakers (foreigners, overseas Chinese, and students of Chinese national minorities).
HSK consists of the basic Chinese proficiency test (HSK Basic), the elementary and intermediate Chinese proficiency test (HSK Elementary-Intermediate), and the advanced Chinese proficiency test (HSK Advanced). HSK is held regularly in China and other countries each year. Certificates of HSK will be issued to those who have secured the required scores.   The Chinese Ministry of Education has established China National Committee for Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK)(CNCCPT). The Committee is the supervisor of HSK and the issuer of the Chinese proficiency certificates. CNCCPT has an office called Office of China National Committee for Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK), which takes care of the HSK affairs with the HSK Center, BLCU.
About Applicants of HSK   HSK (Basic, or Beginning) applies to those learners with basic Chinese proficiencies, namely, those who have taken 100 to 800 hours of regular modern Chinese learning (including those with equivalent learning experiences).
HSK (Elementary – Intermediate) is for those who are at the elementary and intermediate level in Chinese proficiency, i.e. those who have taken 400-2000 regular hours of modern Chinese courses (including those whose proficiency in Chinese is similar to that standard).
The HSK (Advanced) is designed to measure the Chinese proficiency of those who are proficient in Chinese, i.e. who have taken 3000 regular hours or more modern Chinese learning (including those whose proficiency in Chinese is similar to that standard).
Functions of HSK Certificates  (1)to certify that the holder has acquired the required Chinese Proficiency to enter a Chinese college or university as an undergraduate or graduate student.  (2)to certify that the holder can be exempt from taking a certain Chinese language course depending on the level of certification.  (3)as a basis for employers to evaluate the Chinese proficiency of job applicants.
Preparation for HSK   As a standardized test of general language proficiency, HSK is not based on any particular textbook or course of study. Therefore candidates may refer to any textbook in preparing for the test. Nevertheless, it is important that all candidates read the HSK Test Syllabus carefully, a guide for the pre-test preparation.

The Basic-“Beginning” HSK Chinese Proficiency Test
Sections
Question Number
Duration
1 Listening
1-50
Approx. 35 mins.
2 Grammar
51-90
40 minutes
3 Reading
91-140
60 minutes
There are no true breaks allowed during the test unless circumstances are urgent.
The Elementary -“Intermediate” HSK Chinese Proficiency Test
Sections
Question Number
Duration
1 Listening
1-50
About 35 minutes
2 Grammar
51-80
20 minutes
3 Reading
81-130
60 minutes
4 Cloze Test
131-170
30 minutes
There are no true breaks allowed during the test unless circumstances are urgent.
The Advanced HSK Chinese Proficiency Test
HSK (Advanced) comprises the following three independent tests: a 120-minute written test, a writing test and an oral test. There are 3 sections in the 120-minute written subtest as specified below:
Section
Question Number
Duration
1 Listening
1-40
Approx. 30 min
2 Reading
41-55
15 minutes
56-80
25 minutes
3 Cloze
81-120
40 minutes
A ten-minute break after the end of the written test will be taken before the writing and oral tests. The duration of the writing test is 30 minutes, when candidates are to finish a composition of 400 to 600 words.
The oral test will take 20 minutes, of which 10 minutes is set for the preparation and the other ten for the interview. In the first 2 minutes of the interview candidates will read aloud a passage and then answer two given questions, each taking about 3 minutes.
http://www.hsk.org.cn/english; and go to “test info”