Have you taken the new HSK? How did you do? (2011)

[Dani_man]

Today I got the scores of level 5 exam of June 26 2011:

听力 = 92

阅读 = 71

写作 = 70

总分 = 233/300

I must say that the mock exams book+Anki helped me a lot in preparing for the test.

I was expecting the reading part score - the time isn't sufficient to concentrate on each question to the fullest, but luckily this time it was enough!

Good luck everybody!

[kdavid]

Am I wrong that 5 and 6 are the highest levels of the new HSK?

Also, isn't there supposed to be a 口语 component?

[Vuong Moc]

you're right. Level 6 is the highest, but level 5 and 6 has 3 small degrees each, depending on your specific scores. Speaking part is optional, you have to pay 100 additional RMB for it. To enter the university, speaking scores are rarely required.

[Brandon263]

Just got my results from the New HSK Level 6 I took in June. It didn't turn out as well as I expected, but I'm glad I passed. Below are my scores and some tips and guidelines for others who may want to take the test in the future.

听力 73

阅读 57

写作 62

总分 192

合格情况 - 合格

My previous HSK scores are here: http://www.chinese-f...post__p__246189

LISTENING (35 minutes, with 5 minutes after the test for filling out the answer sheet)

The listening part of the test has three parts, with questions in the first part based on 15 short recordings, questions in the second part based on three interviews and questions in the last part based on a set of four to five longer recordings.

The first set of listening questions is pretty straightforward; you just have to listen to the recording (roughly 20 to 25 seconds) and then select the statement (A,B,C or D) that corresponds to the recording you just heard. No question is asked after the recording.

The second set of listening questions is based on newsprogramme-like interviews. You listen to an interview of roughly two-and-a-half minutes and then answer five questions. The recordings in this section are quite long, but I found that you don't really have to listen to the interviewer's questions or statements (except for the interviewer's first question/statement -- roughly 40 seconds long -- in which the interviewee is identified). Focusing only on the interviewee’s responses helps your concentration by giving you some mental breathing room as you listen to the interview. The questions follow the sequence in which the interview progresses, so generally the first question is based on the first response by the interviewee, the second question on the second response and so forth.

The third set of listening questions is based on longish paragraphs, which are roughly 1 minute long each. It is helpful to listen carefully to the first few sentences of each paragraph.

READING 50 minutes

HSK 6 reading is challenging; in addition to not having enough time to read through everything, I simply didn’t understand some parts of the test. Whereas in the other levels of the new HSK and on all levels of the old HSK you are able to guess the meaning of words you don't know from the surrounding context, the reading part of the new HSK 6 really does require you to know the exact definitions of certain words. Nevertheless, there are differences in the difficulty of this part of the test, with the last part being the least difficult and the first part being the most difficult. So, my advice is to start with the last part, and then do the second part and then the third part. If you have any time left, you can then do the first part.

The first part (10 questions) tests your grasp of Chinese grammar by asking you to identify incorrect sentences. This part was hard for me, and on my first practice test, I wasted about 20 minutes on it trying to figure out what was going on before I gave up and went on to other sections. Unless you have a superior command of Chinese grammar and word usage, I recommend you leave this part for last. A typical question is the following:

(选出有语病的一项)

51: A.我把这一切都归结于她在那篇关于画家村的文章中对我的"吹捧”。

B.我觉得我们之间已经扯平了，因此对他的要求，我一概拒绝。

C.王治郅是凭他最后几场的表现，最后得以加入小牛队的。

D.听说过贵公司不仅在中国国内很畅销，而且外国顾客也很多。

The second part (10 questions) consists of cloze questions and asks you to select the set of four words that best fits into the omissions in a lengthy sentence. This was the second to easiest part of the test, as it asks you to differentiate between basic grammar words like 依旧/照样/依然/仍然. Four answer selections with four words/phrases each are provided; usually, if one word/phrase in an answer selection fits into an omission, then the three other words within that selection would also be correct. You need to read through the sentence to confirm, though.

The third part (10 questions) is also composed of cloze questions, but it’s a bit different in that you are given 5 phrases that you are asked to fit into a roughly 500-character passage. You have to read through and understand the passage in order to do this, which makes the section hard because of the time constraints.

The fourth part (20 questions) consists of basic comprehension questions. There are four to five passages, with each passage being about 700-characters long. After each passage, there as four to five questions. This is the easiest part of the reading component of the test, and I recommend those taking the test to start with this part to maximise their scores. The questions are basically similar to the questions in the second part of the old intermediate HSK, though they are a bit longer.

WRITING (45 minutes)

As long as you are good at basic Chinese grammar and writing characters you should be OK in this part of the exam, which asks you to summarize (in 400 words) a passage of about 1000 words. You are given 10 minutes to read the passage, after which the test paper is taken away. (This means you can't work on previous sections of the test, and that you should make sure you have filled in your answer sheet before you start the writing test.)

You are not allowed to take notes or do any kind of writing during the ten minutes during which you read the passage. After the ten minutes is over, the test sheet is taken away and you are given 35 minutes to write your summary. You are not provided with drafting paper and you have to ensure your summary has a title and follows standard Chinese formatting, grammar and punctuation rules.

Sorry that was a bit long. Hope it helps!

[kdavid]

Speaking part is optional

So, under the new HSK you can technically be awarded the highest level without having to open your mouth?

Seems to me like the old HSK is likely a much better indicator as to where someone stands in being "advanced".

[roddy]

At least now there's the option at all levels, and I'd imagine (hope) your certificate will specify which parts you've taken.

[Dani_man]

Hey Brandon, thanks for the summary. It seems that HSK6 is FAR harder then HSK5, let alone the doubled vocabulary. But you've made it dude, good job!

[imron]

Out of curiosity, how would you say the new HSK compares to the old HSK in terms of difficulty?

[Brandon263]

Out of curiosity, how would you say the new HSK compares to the old HSK in terms of difficulty?

ADVANCED HSK

I think the old and new advanced HSK (6级) test roughly the same skills and are roughly similar in terms of difficulty, except that the new advanced HSK does not have a compulsory oral part.

Basically，the better you get at Chinese, the higher you will score on both tests. I took the old HSK in April and got a 7, after two months of intensive Chinese training (4 hours a day on weekdays, and afternoon one-on-one tutoring and HSK prep classes) I got a 192/300 on the new advanced HSK, which I would say is roughly equivalent to an 8 or 9 on the old HSK. Someone who got 250 or above on the new advanced HSK would probably be a 10 and someone who got above 280 would probably be an 11.

The listening parts of the old and advanced HSK are similar, just rearranged.

The reading part of the old advanced HSK has more material that you have to go through much more quickly than in the new test, but I think that is offset by the ability to guess meanings from contexts and scan the readings for key words in questions. You can also do this in the last reading part of the new advanced HSK, but you have to understand every word in every sentence in the first reading part (选出有语病的一项), and understand each sentence and how it relates to the entire text in the third part (选句填空).

The 综合表达 in the old HSK is incorporated into the reading part of the new HSK (except for the writing characters part), and the two are roughly similar in being the easiest parts of both tests.

The writing parts of the old and new advanced HSK are also quite similar. You could argue that the new test is easier since you only have to summarise a passage, but you are not given drafting paper in the new test and you are supposed to recall key events, dates and expressions without having the text to refer to. Although the old HSK might be harder in that you create your own text, you are given guidelines and you can draft your response on the exam paper. For both tests, you are required to write a passage of about 400 characters.

INTERMEDIATE

I think the new HSK 4/5 级 tests and the old intermediate HSK test different things. The new tests (level 4 and 5) emphasise written expression and close reading, while the old intermediate HSK emphasises grammar and the ability to skim and comprehend a lot of text within a short amount of time. If your writing skills are not well-developed, you will have trouble taking the new tests.

The HSK 5 and old intermediate listening tests are roughly the same. The HSK 4 listening test is slightly easier.

The old HSK has an easy grammar section, which is similar to the first reading parts of the new HSK 4 and HSK 5 exams. The first reading part of the HSK 4 is slightly easier as it has elimination-type multiple-choice questions.

The reading tests are vastly different, with the new tests emphasising interpretation, while the old test emphasises comprehension. The HSK 4 tests Chinese syntax through rearranging phrases into sentences-type questions and tests comprehension through close reading of very short passages. The HSK 5 tests grammar through word choice questions and also tests comprehension through close reading of short passages. In addition, the HSK 5 also has comprehension passages of longer length. The old HSK has a lot of comprehension passages; it's almost overwhelming looking at so much hanzi; you have to be a fast reader. The longer comprehension passages on the new HSK 5 have nice pictures, which, although cheesy, make it easier to go through the text.

The old HSK does not have a writing section. The writing part of the new HSK 4 has two sections: a rearranging words into sentences section, where you have to write out the rearranged sentences and a describe the picture section where you have to write a sentence describing a picture that includes a given word. I think this is much harder than the cloze section of the old intermediate exam in that you not only have to know the characters and how to write them, you also have to know how to use them in combination with other words to make sentences. The first writing section of the new HSK 5 is similar to HSK 4, but the second part of HSK 5　is much harder，as you have to write two 80-character passages using given phrases and describing a picture.

[imron]

thanks for the writeup.