Easiest way to pass HSK Levels 1 and 2

[London Branson]

Hi guys, considering that both level 1 and 2 consist of only reading and listening, do you think that only memorizing the pinyin and the sound of the words is enough - no need to learn characters, or grammar, or tones - just memorize 300 pinyin? After all when you listen or read you will understand everything, even if you do not know the grammar (i.e. whether to put noun before verb, etc). I know this is not learning Chinese, I am talking passing level 2.

 

Cheers.

[dumpling98]

There are words with the same pinyin but different hanzi. You need only to learn 250 words if I am not mistaken, not write them , just recognise. This can be achieved easily. Also the grammar for hsk 1 and hsk 2 is so easy, why not learn it? I fear that without that grammar, you will lose yourself at the reading section. 

[Luxi]

On 6/18/2017 at 0:41 PM, London Branson said:

I know this is not learning Chinese, I am talking passing level 2

 

Why, when you can do the coursera HSK 1 and 2 courses (free if you choose the Audit option) in only a few weeks, and learn Chinese in the process?

https://www.coursera.org/courses?languages=en&query=Chinese+for+HSK+1

 

[TonganRambo]

I didn't study characters (I included them on my flashcards but only to look at, not to test myself on recognition or production of them) for the first 4 months of my study, at the end of which I reached a high-intermediate level. I only did pinyin. If all you want to do is pass this test or you have severe time constrants (like taking it in a couple days), I would say just stick with the pinyin. If you have a couple weeks and intend to keep studying mandarin, take the time to learn the characters, grammar, etc. it won't take long if you follow some of the helpful advice on this forum about learning characters as a beginner. 

 

I don't know much about the HSK or the format of the listening (is it listening to sentences and clicking the corresponding picture, translating, etc?) In my experience with chinese standardized tests, they tend to test the tricky parts, so if words have similar pinyin in those 300 words, expect them to test whether or not you know the word is 钱，前， 千，or 欠. 

[Lu]

I suppose you could use a shortcut like that, but what would the use be? HSK 2 is a pretty low level, too low to be useful in getting a job or something like that. It's mostly a pat on the back (You studied Chinese for a while! Well done!), but if you didn't actually study Chinese, just gamed the test, that value is gone too. If you need it as a foundation for further studies, you'll still need to study the actual content, so you might as well do that before taking the test. Perhaps I'm missing something? Why would someone want (or need) to pass HSK 2 this way?

[Shelley]

4 hours ago, Lu said:

Why would someone want (or need) to pass HSK 2 this way?

Looks good on a CV to someone who doesn't understand the tests? Maybe?

To impress a potential partner?

I can think of several reasons why you would want to "pretend" you have learnt Chinese. Not that I agree with any of them.

 

Put in the work and come out with something useful.

[Lumbering Ox]

13 hours ago, Luxi said:

Why, when you can do the coursera HSK 1 and 2 courses (free if you choose the Audit option) in only a few weeks, and learn Chinese in the process?

https://www.coursera.org/courses?languages=en&query=Chinese+for+HSK+1

 

If you Audit the course do you have to wait till it "runs" on it's scheduled time of can you just start at your own preference and go at your own pace.

[Lumbering Ox]

8 hours ago, Shelley said:

Looks good on a CV to someone who doesn't understand the tests? Maybe?

To impress a potential partner?

I can think of several reasons why you would want to "pretend" you have learnt Chinese. Not that I agree with any of them.

 

Put in the work and come out with something useful.

 

 

To get practice for those more advanced exams.

An excuse to drive into Toronto. No exams in Ottawa or Montreal, boggles the mind.

Wanting something to show for going through Hello Chinese just in case your efforts stall at the RTH stage and you give up. 

 

I am starting with HC first just to make sure I can deal with it. I am thinking I'll run through it a few more times, do the pronunciation chapter a couple of weeks in a row, word review, some Chairman Bao and some 1 on 1 skyping and round it off with those courses mentioned above and go for the HSK2 HSKKB and move on to the RTH then texts.

 

Although now that I type all that out, maybe I should just run through HC once, and move on and do the exams later on. 

 

How good is Hello Chinese for HSK 2, It seems to follow the HSK thing, I recall reading they plan to cover all 600 of HSK 3 at some point.

[Lu]

6 hours ago, Lumbering Ox said:

To get practice for those more advanced exams.

But then you're better off actually studying for HSK 2, both because you'll need that foundation later on and because it'll be more useful as practice. Assuming you're not planning on gaming the higher levels as well.

 

6 hours ago, Lumbering Ox said:

Wanting something to show for going through Hello Chinese just in case your efforts stall at the RTH stage and you give up.

I don't know what RTH is, but as I understand Hello Chinese, it actually teaches you Chinese. In which case you might as well make the effort of learning it to HSK 2 level. Giving you something to show for your studies is pretty much the whole point of HSK 1 and 2, if not for the entire HSK.

 

6 hours ago, Lumbering Ox said:

An excuse to drive into Toronto.

Surely there are more fun things to do in Toronto than sitting for the HSK 2?

 

@Shelley, yeah I suppose it can be of some use as a CV filler, provided you don't need to know Chinese for the actual job.

[Luxi]

8 hours ago, Lumbering Ox said:

If you Audit the course do you have to wait till it "runs" on it's scheduled time

 

It seems that once you enroll, you'll have access to all the Audit material, lecture and some assignments. You can also try a 7 days free access to the Certificate option, to check the difference with the free audit. BTW, the certificate itself is not an HSK certificate, it's just something you post  on social media to impress your friends and colleagues.

 

[London Branson]

Thanks for the responses guys. I know it's gaming the test, but gaming the system is my life. Got into investment banking in London without a degree in econ, biz, fin, etc and was named the best intern in 3 months, got black belt in Karate while having severe case of asthma for 20 years, AND those two examples won't even make it in the top 15.

 

I am moving to Singapore in September 2017 and want to have the first 2 levels cleared. When the time for learning and speaking Mandarin comes, just give me 2 weeks, and i will learn the Chinese characters and grammar for levels 3 and 4, not only 2.

 

Now I just want to pass the level 2 in a month. That's it  Thanks for your responses again, guys, helped me a lot.

 

Xiexie,

London

[Shelley]

4 hours ago, London Branson said:

give me 2 weeks, and i will learn the Chinese characters and grammar for levels 3 and 4

Really? you will have to come back and share your achievements.

[Lu]

18 hours ago, London Branson said:

I am moving to Singapore in September 2017 and want to have the first 2 levels cleared.

Why, though? Honest question. I don't get what you would need the paper for but not the skills.

[studychinese]

So what happened? Its October.