Intermediate HSK (改进版) Today (23/6/2007)

[anonymoose]

I've just sat the HSK this morning, and still have the writing and speaking to go this afternoon.

As this was my first HSK, I can't compare it with any others. Overall I found it challenging but manageable. I didn't pace my time very well, so the last 8 or 10 questions I just filled in at random when the time ran out. Still, it's good practice for next time.

What I want to know is how they choose the topics. This was definitely one for nature lovers - migration of monarch butterflies, drinking habits of lizards, medicinal uses of ants...

So how do we get the results?

[anonymoose]

OK, I've just done the writing and the speaking.

The writing was pretty much as expected. I knew I should have done more writing practice before, as there were many characters I wanted to write but couldn't recall at the time. However, it seems like you are pretty free to write what you like in the new format of the test, so if you can't remember how to write a particular character, you can just write something else instead.

I managed to write the required number of characters in the time available, but looking around, it seemed like most of the other candidates (mainly Koreans) had written almost twice as much as me.

The speaking was probably my weakest test. Usually my chinese speaking is OK when I know exactly what I want to say, but I am really bad at telling stories off the top of my head, in Chinese or even my native language. I don't know, maybe it's just a lack of imagination or something, but I find it difficult to tell a coherent story for 2 minutes based on four rather non-descript pictures.

Anyway, now at least I have experienced an HSK, and if I bother to take one again, at least I will be much more prepared for it psychologically.

[beijingbabe]

Was this the new style HSK?

[anonymoose]

Was this the new style HSK?

Yes.

[beijingbabe]

Thanks. Did you find it easier or harder than the previous version?

I haven't really heard much about the written or spoken parts of the new test as I've only taken the old intermediate version before - you said you're free to write what you like - is it just an essay on anything? What is the word count supposed to be and the time limit?

As for the spoken, you said you're not very good at telling stories off the top of your head in any language - me too! Is that also free topic?

Thanks for your help,

Liz

ps Have you found a good internet resource for the new hsk? I can only find a post on the hsk by an hsk administrator on these forums and nothing on the hsk site.

[anonymoose]

Did you find it easier or harder than the previous version?

This was the first time I've taken the HSK so I can't compare it to the previous version.

you said you're free to write what you like - is it just an essay on anything?

The written test comes in two parts. In the first part, you are given the beginning and ending of a short story. Then you have to complete six sentences inbetween using some key words that are provided for you, supplemented with your own words. As you have to use your own words, I'm not really sure how much of a free reign you have to write whatever you like. The sentences I wrote were substantially longer than using just the key words they provided, so maybe I wrote too much in my sentences. I don't know how that will go down with the marking.

The second part also consists of a story, the beginning and end of which is given to you. Then there is a (badly drawn) picture inbetween which you are supposed to use as a guide to write the middle part of the story. You are supposed to write between 200 and 400 characters, but there is probably space for about 600 in total. I wrote about 250, but I noticed a lot of the other candidates had written way over 400. Here you are pretty free to write what you like. Of course it has to be relevant to the story, but you can choose your own words that you are familiar with. For example I wanted to write 他身体不舒服 but I forgot how to write 舒, so instead I just wrote 他肚子有点疼.

The time limit for the whole test is 45 minutes.

As for the spoken . . . Is that also free topic?

The speaking also consists of two parts. In the first part you are asked 3 questions which you have 30 seconds to prepare for and then 45 seconds to answer. Questions were something like "What is your favourite season and why?", "If you could go travelling abroad to any country, where would you go and why?". I was a bit nervous with this, which probably was my main problem, so I just froze up when answering some questions - I mean speaking in chinese is hard enough, but what are you supposed to say for 45 seconds about why you like a particular season?

The second part consists of a series of four pictures which are supposed to tell a story. The pictures are very basic which gives you a lot of space for making up the details yourself. You have 2 minutes to answer this. If you are good at just ad-libbing and waffling on about things off the top of your head, you will probably do quite well in this. I guess my problem is that usually when I speak chinese (or any language for that matter), I am usually talking to someone with a direct purpose, and just say the necessary words to get my meaning across. I'm not very good at providing wordy descriptions of things off the top of my head.

ps Have you found a good internet resource for the new hsk? I can only find a post on the hsk by an hsk administrator on these forums and nothing on the hsk site.

From the HSK site: http://www.hsk.org.cn/news/网挂样题.doc