HSK 3.0 ... new, new HSK?

[大块头]

Here's the (Liu and Ma 2010) paper referenced above.

研制_音节和汉字词汇等级划分_探寻汉语国际教育新思维_刘英林.pdf

[Weyland]

This books is from 9 months ago though. So, let's just hope that any pruning/adding of words has already happened (which is likely...?). @mikelove
Personally, I wouldn't put it past them. IIRC the OLD HSK had words like "loamy soil". Which makes sense if you want to talk about the Loess Plateau, but other than that...? no?


 @大块头 No need to OCR. It would probably take more effort as a group as opposed to me just reading through the word list over a day or two and typing it in on Pleco/Notepad.

[roddy]

They're presumably going to have to get some textbooks and mock exams out before the actual exam, which I don't think we've seen? 

[大块头]

As Mike pointed out, the (Liu et al. 2020) paper tweeted by @HSKTestOfficial references a 2010 book edited by 刘英林 and 马箭飞.

 

Quote

国家汉办、 教育部社科司、《 汉语国际教育用音节 汉 字 词 汇 等 级 划 分》 课 题 组( 刘 英 林、 马 箭 飞 主 编) (2010)《 汉语国际教育用音节汉字词汇等级划分》( 国家标准·应用解读本), 北京: 北京语言大学出版社。

 

 

This book contains compiled lists of 1110 syllables, 3000 characters, and 11092 words, all sorted by CFL level. Hardcopies are available from BCLU Press and Amazon; I was unable to find a full copy online of either this book or any of the lists it contains.

 

The Amazon listing has one review from 2013:

Quote

This unusual book consists of several lists of "words" used in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. The words are classified by syllable frequency, character frequency (bound and free morphemes) and word frequency (independent words used in writing and speech). Teachers can use this book to decide what to introduce and when. Dedicated students can use it as a checklist of items to be acquired. This book is definitely not for beginners (or people with low confidence), unless they can find an advanced learner or native speaker to help them navigate the different sections. Reviewing the list periodically will give such learners goals to aim for and a sense of achievement. Learners can also use this book as a supplement to standard dictionaries, to avoid learning low frequency characters and to get "more bang for your buck."

 

This book's listing on WorldCat says there are several copies located in US academic libraries. I'd request an interlibrary loan, but everything on campus has been shut down by the pandemic. I suppose we'll have to wait for @Weyland to get his copy of the 2019 book...

[mungouk]

21 minutes ago, 大块头 said:

1110 syllables

 

Does anyone have any idea of what this sudden talk of "syllables" 音节 might actually mean...?  
 

Does this specifically refer to pronunciation rather than listening?  (Given pronunciation up to now has been HSKK territory... maybe they're looking at something more integrated?)

 

 

[大块头]

The (Liu et al. 2020) paper goes on and on praising a 2018 document《汉语国际教育汉语水平等级标准》(shortened to《等级标准》and translated as the "Chinese Proficiency Standards").  It appears that after some revisions and evaluations the new new HSK will be based on this document.

 

Quote

《 等级标准》通过国家语委审定后，我们最优先考虑的关键项目是国家级HSK3.0版，打造全球化的世界品牌, 这是孔子学院总部及汉考国际的中心任务之一。HSK3.0 将在《 等级标准》引领下开启新时代三等九级汉语水平考试新纪元，其中包括更好地建立和完善来华留学生进入我国高校学习的汉语水平各类入学标准。

 

They talk about presenting it at a 2019 conference, but I don't think the Chinese Proficiency Standards have been published yet. I was unable to find it on Google Scholar, 中国知网, or 百度学术.

 

Sifting through the meaningless jargon and breathless self-promotional fluff in (Liu et al. 2020), we can determine the following about the Standards:

• It has an appendix with 572 grammar patterns, sorted by CFL level.
• It specifies a total of 1200 characters that the CFL learner must be able to write by hand. (The current paper-based and computer-based testing dichotomy is not mentioned.)
  • elementary: 300 characters
  • intermediate: 400 characters
  • advanced: 500 characters

2 hours ago, mungouk said:

Does anyone have any idea of what this sudden talk of "syllables" 音节 might actually mean...?  
 

Does this specifically refer to pronunciation rather than listening?  (Given pronunciation up to now has been HSKK territory... maybe they're looking at something more integrated?)

 

I think they considered syllables when they were compiling the word lists so that vocabulary words for earlier CFL levels are composed of fewer and easier syllables. At higher CFL levels they say the educational focus should shift from learning to pronounce individual syllables to mastering tone combinations and stress patterns.

 

Quote

在高等水平阶段要弱化单一音节教学，强化词语声调组合及轻重音格式学习。

 

[Weyland]

4 hours ago, 大块头 said:

I suppose we'll have to wait for @Weyland to get his copy of the 2019 book...

If I had known how much you were looking forward to it then I would've spend the $30 to have it arrive 3-5 earlier. Haha

[roddy]

4 hours ago, 大块头 said:

I think they considered syllables when they were compiling the word lists so that vocabulary words for earlier CFL levels are composed of fewer and easier syllables. At higher CFL levels they say the educational focus should shift from learning to pronounce individual syllables to mastering tone combinations and stress patterns.

See, this worries me a bit, and I'd like to know what others think. I don't want them to be coming up with 'easier' syllables (or characters) and teaching vocabulary accordingly. That's, as i said earlier, the tail wagging the dog. What do people actually need to communicate? Teach that. 

 

Similarly, that shift in focus in pronunciation - seems to me tone combinations and stress patterns should be starting very early (it's not like you can avoid them), and individual syllables taught mainly to serve that purpose. Anyone spoken in individual syllables lately? No, me neither. 

[大块头]

I emailed one of the coauthors of (Liu et al. 2020) to confirm that the Chinese Proficiency Standards haven't been officially published yet.

 

My email:

Quote

请问，《汉语国际教育汉语水平等级标准》有没有正式地问世？我们还需要等国家语委的审定吗？我想尽早开始准备考HSK3.0。

 

Her reply:

Quote

您好，《等级标准》要等国家语委审定后才会正式公布，HSK会根据公布后的新标准，在现有基础上进行调整。我们会第一时间发布最新进展，请随时关注。

 

Translation:

Quote

Hello, the Chinese Proficiency Standards need to by approved by the State Language Work Committee before they are released. The HSK will be adjusted to meet the new standards using the existing exam as a foundation. We will publish timely progress updates: stay tuned.

 

Edited May 25, 2020 at 04:01 PM by 大块头
added translation

[Weyland]

28 minutes ago, 大块头 said:

the Chinese Proficiency Standards need to by approved by the State Language Work Committee before they are released

The pessimist in me just blurted out; “Well, that ETA is going to be pushed back by another few months then."

[mikelove]

2 hours ago, 大块头 said:

Hello, the Chinese Proficiency Standards need to by approved by the State Language Work Committee before they are released.

 

Yeah, that's another factor - the last time the HSK was updated I believe 习近平 was merely Vice President, so it seems likely a number of terms may be added even at the lower levels to update the HSK to current political standards.

[大块头]

Some sort of nightmare scenario where test takers must compose essays praising Xi Jinping Thought and the Belt and Road Initiative?

[Weyland]

1 hour ago, mikelove said:

number of terms may be added even at the lower levels to update the HSK to current political standards

I'm really interested in Chinese politics, and thus won't complain. But it'd be kind of ironic how the current HSK did away with a lot of the political terminology only for it to return with a vengeance in the future.
 

 

17 minutes ago, 大块头 said:

Some sort of nightmare scenario where test takers must compose essays praising Xi Jinping Thought and the Belt and Road Initiative?

I thought this was already the case? Don't most Confucius Institute related university courses go from students holding presentations on their own countries to writing essays on China and its impact on the world?

[7800]

23 minutes ago, Weyland said:

I thought this was already the case? Don't most Confucius Institute related university courses go from students holding presentations on their own countries to writing essays on China and its impact on the world?

What I can say from my own experience here in Brazil is that all classes held by the Confucius Institute avoid any topics related to politics, but that might not be the same everywhere else.

[Weyland]

34 minutes ago, 7800 said:

What I can say from my own experience here in Brazil is that all classes held by the Confucius Institute avoid any topics related to politics, but that might not be the same everywhere else.

I wasn't talking about politics. Rather I was aiming at topics concerning culture, economy, tradition, etc. Topics related to public opinion, on whether foreigners want to come to China for study/travel/etc. Much of the scholarships from the Confucius Institute (CI) require those partaking to teach Chinese at a CI associated school.

[大块头]

56 minutes ago, Weyland said:

I thought this was already the case? Don't most Confucius Institute related university courses go from students holding presentations on their own countries to writing essays on China and its impact on the world?

 

Here in the US Confucius Institutes have definitely been under a microscope during the past couple years. Our university nearly disbanded the CI on campus, whose gravest political sin was hosting an unsanctioned seminar on Chinese culture at the local high school. We had a strong Chinese Department before getting a CI. The instructor of a course I audited last year definitely wasn't a Xi fan.

[Weyland]

[TEMPORARILY REDACTED]

 

[大块头]

1 hour ago, Weyland said:

Got the book with the new (pre-release) HSK vocabulary. Sadly, Pleco's OCR isn't doing an amazing job with at reading the text so I will have to add it to Pleco by hand.

 

I'll save you the work. I got impatient and ended up hiring a freelancer in China to buy the 2010 book and do the data entry.

 

If anybody wants the list, please feel free to send me a direct message.

[albert s]

Hey there! 

 

So I just saw this informative notice by Chinese Testing international dated June 2, 2020 (attached is the original) that they posted in the Confucius Institute of Barcelona (below is a direct translation into English by google translate). Main points is that the new HSK is intended to first take place in the first half of 2021 and that it will consist in adding a single new "advanced HSK" level that will comprise levels 7 to 9, and depending on the mark that you get in it you will have one or the other HSK level. It looks like levels 1-6 will remain unaltered:

 

Lately, news such as "HSK will have 9 levels! The Chinese level 3.0 test will be coming soon" have attracted a lot of attention inside and outside China. The concerns and inquiries of Chinese students and teachers who are dedicated to the international teaching of this language come one after another, which excites us and shows unprecedented support. In order to answer the main concerns, the "Standards of the Chinese level in international education", the Chinese proficiency test (HSK) and the relationship between the two will be explained.

 

With the development of the teaching of the Chinese language and the changes in the global needs of teaching and learning the Chinese language, it is necessary to adjust the "International Standards of Proficiency in Chinese" (published by the headquarters of the Confucius Institute in 2007), to Continuously improve the international teaching and learning of Chinese. In 2017, we began research and development of a new standard, namely "Chinese level standards in international education" (hereinafter referred to as "Level standards"). This research has already been completed and will therefore be launched in the second half of the year.

"Level Standards" is based on the essence of Chinese language and writing, and has been nurtured by the strengths of other language standards in the world, inheriting the experience of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and the international teaching of Chinese. . From this base, divide the Chinese level of non-native speakers into three categories: beginner, medium and high, and each category is subdivided into three levels, that is, three categories with nine levels. Each level description includes three parts: verbal communication skills, content of thematic tasks and quantitative indicators of the language, and describes each level from five aspects according to their abilities to listen, speak, read, write and translate. "Level Standards" is an open and inclusive professional standard system that, after launch, will lead all international fields of Chinese language learning, teaching, testing and assessment, and will become an important indicator of reform and development of international Chinese teaching.

The main change to the next "Level Standard" consists of three new advanced levels 7-9. A higher level of the Chinese language requires students to understand complex subjects in various fields and genres, carry out in-depth exchanges and discussions; are able to express themselves on complex issues of social, professional, daily activities, academic research, etc., have a flexible and effective organization of language, with a clear logic, a rigorous structure, a coherent and reasonable speech, and can communicate decently in various situations; Be flexible in using various communication strategies and resources to complete communication tasks, gain a deep understanding of Chinese cultural knowledge, and possess an international vision and intercultural communication skills.

To this end, we will expand the levels by developing the Advanced HSK exam (levels 7-9), with the premise of guaranteeing the stability of HSK levels 1-6. The advanced exam is mainly for foreign students who specialize in Chinese language and literature, as well as for students from other majors with Chinese proficiency who come to China to study and for Sinology researchers abroad. A single exam will be implemented in the levels 7-9 test for the three levels, which means that only one exam will be added and will be determined by the score if the level 7, 8 or 9 is obtained. The Advanced HSK exam (Level 7-9) is scheduled to be released in the first half of next year.

Check our website and social networks for future news on this topic.

This text is a translation of the Chinese original and is for informational purposes only.

Chinese Testing International

June 2, 2020

2020_nuevo_hsk.pdf

[Weyland]

3 hours ago, albert s said:

It looks like levels 1-6 will remain unaltered

Where does it say that?

They talk about how they're going to implement the "3 stages and 9 levels" laid out in the preliminary piece published by Liu Yinglin et al., a piece that has been published 2 months ago, but of which the research began in 2017. So, if they, in the course of 6 weeks, happen to have decided to can the entirety of that essay I'm going to assume that they wouldn't say;
 

Quote

2017 年，我们开始新标准的研制工作，即《汉语国际教育汉语水平等级标准》（以下简称“《等级标准》”），目前已基本完成，将于下半年发布。

That it's basically complete. Or that;
 

Quote

我们感受到了前所未有的热情与支持。

They received an unprecedented amount of enthusiastic support.

This sentence:
 

Quote

为此，我们将在保证 HSK 1-6 级考试稳定的前提下，延伸级别开发HSK 高等(7-9 级)考试。

Doesn't say that the HSK level 1-6 will remain unchanged, rather it says that they'll be guaranteed on a stable premise, which going by how HSK2.0 was implemented means that any test taken before the change will remain valid for another 2 years and that the new direction of the HSK will be modeled by what was laid out in the preliminary piece.

。。。

Why am I so certain? Because if you import the list provided by @大块头，and compare it to the HSK2.0 vocab you'll see that the HSK5-6 vocab can be found spread out over the intermediary vocab, advanced vocab and the addendum vocab. The addendum vocab, which in the preliminary piece, was pointed out as the highlight of the change.

So, unless they're going to change EVERYTHING they set out to do in the preliminary piece, which took 3+ years to put together, and go against its entire premise to rush out a new concept within 9-12 months... Then let's just assume that HSK1-6 will see changes. As after all the only thing we can take away from this message is that HSK7-9 will be a single test.

EDIT: Might be coming as dismissive, sorry for that.