My month long HSK 0 to 3 Challenge experience

[tsitsi]

Hi all! Here is a write-up of my HSK challenge experience.

TLDR: I wrote HSK2 and 3 after 32 days of study and got 165 and 206 respectively. Calling myself HSK 3 though would be bit much I'm squarely in HSK 2 territory.

 

 

Long version. -> you can read my daily log here -> https://www.chinese-forums.com/blogs/blog/146-hsk-challenge/

 

Some disclaimers off the bat:

• This challenge was just an exam challenge not a fluency or anything else challenge, it was to test how quickly one can write an HSK exam.
• It was not a test of how good or bad or anything the HSK exam is, it was just about can I pass it or not. Experience and opinions here are my own and just that, experiences and opinions.
• The challenge evolved as I got new info so the exam prep for 1 and 2 and 3 were not treated the same.
• Some background: I love learning, experiments, proving people wrong and I have a fascination with languages. I speak 3, and have learnt a smattering of others on and off for 1 to 3 months, mostly to travel and just get by, and because 90% of the media I watch is in foreign languages, (bulk is Korean and then Chinese, then Hindi, French, Japanese, German, Zulu... anything really). And I know how to study, I have three bachelors degrees and some courses covered linguistics and language development.
• Would I recommend this to anyone?-> it depends on your learning styles and goals, I saw that some schools offer Chinese language scholarships to people who have HSK 3, so maybe yes for that reason in order to get tuition

 

How did the challenge come about

I occasionally get Chinese language videos recommended as I watch c drama, and the new upcoming HSK 3.0 came up and I watched a few and I thought wow that looks intense. I have always wanted to learn Mandarin especially after travelling to Shanghai and Beijing for work a few years back so it was interesting to see what was happening that sphere. I kept seeing people saying the current exam was easier so I wondered how easy. I ended up down a research hole and saw a comment or blog somewhere that said one could write HSK 1 in 40 hours. I thought, if that's the case does that mean one could do it with a weekend of study, after all I work 50 to 60 hour weeks? I kept seeing though, to my chagrin, people saying Mandarin was hard and it is impossible to learn anything meaningful in a short amount of time, others even saying learning anything in a day is impossible, and I asked myself if they have ever seen babies or grade one kids learn in an hour let alone a day...? Do they know what it means to learn? I then looked up the format of the exam, and saw that it was very cheap and thought why not? I then saw the next exam date was two weeks away and in that moment the challenge was born. 40 hours spread over two weeks between work and life and write HSK 1? Why not indeed.

 

From HSK 1 to HSK2 to HSK 3

That weekend I then set aside time to get started, I spent 2 hours researching materials to use and the parameters of my challenge, the focus was not on fluency but on passing the exam, so exam study techniques were going to be in play, knowing the 'syllabus' and then going from there.

 

I downloaded word sets, pdf practice sets, grammar cheat sheets, over a dozen apps to try, looked for free courses, and read HSK prep guides. I did a test first to see what innate knowledge I had from drama and I had started a YoYo Chinese pinyin course years ago when I first thought about learning Mandarin. I got the numbers as I learnt to help learn guqin and guzheng, and about 15 characters I recognised. So not much there to go with. I'm a systems person so I put systems in place; a Notion study operating system, and browser system, and recording systems in order to log all my time. I spent on average 2 to 3 hours a day, usually from about 8:30pm to 11 pm, occasionally in the afternoons during lunch or when taking a walk/ break etc. More so closer to the exams when I needed to put in more time.

 

I could not register for the test as I had hoped, so I gave up for a couple of days. I took a mock after 20 hours, aced it, and thought, well if the only exam I can register for is home based in 4 weeks time, why not write HSK2; thus the challenge levelled up. I then came across an HSK 3 guide and toyed with the idea of taking 3 too... I mean it was only double the number of vocab... So I changed tack and began to focus on getting vocab in and completing coursera courses and Hello Chinese. My aim was to get as many words in to register for both. After a few days, two weeks before the exam, the challenge called to me. I had also seen more comments online with people saying a whole year was needed for HSK 3, and a lot of people discouraging self learning, which drove my ire and that ire turned into registering for both, and writing both after 96 hours of study spread over 32 days . Truthfully the Thursday and Friday before the exam were brutal, very little sleep between work and study but to each their own

 

What would I change

1. I focused too much on vocab and not enough on whole sentences and usage. I can know and recognise all the vocab in a sentence, but still fail to deduce the correct meaning, or it takes me too long. I only did Anki sentences for two days, not even close to an iota of what was needed. I would definitely focus on sentences earlier in a do over.
2. I also only figured out sentence construction rules two days before the exam, this was a silver bullet of sorts and doubled my learning once I knew it, had it happened sooner... well shoulda, coulda, woulda.
3. I would have done HSK2 properly before hybriding with HSK3, because I added material for HSK3 early thinking if I can write three then two will take care of itself, I messed my mojo and had to backtrack in the last week, complete two properly and then go on to three.
4. I would start each study session with a mock exam, I always left them till last and so they got left out a lot... and mocks help with active recall, as well as time management.
5. During the HSK2 exam I did not answer 5 questions, I was too slow somehow and when I realised it I had seconds left on the clock writing these could have brought my reading score into the 80's or 90's and not 60's... oh well.
6. Abandon pinyin on day one somehow!! It was so hard to find HSK 1, 2 and 3 material without pinyin, and when it's there my eyes jump to it, my brain betrays me all the time, so my reading is still laboriously slow with characters but super fast with pinyin arrrghhh!!! I began using a piece of paper to cover up pinyin on my monitor just to try get rid of it.

 

Things I knew too late to change.

I would have completed all coursera courses earlier too had I known how good they were, one only needs to do them once and get it. I managed to finish courses for HSK1 and 2 and only a 6th of HSK3.

I also found amazing course material on YouTube which I binged in the last week, had I discovered that earlier it would have helped more.

 

My favourite resources

Hello Chinese ->Great filler for in between stuff, when taking a walk or taking break

Stick study -> characters only or vocab, just what I need and no more. Was the only way I also got rid of pinyin to increase my character and word recognition speed.

Coursera courses

YouTube HSK courses

 

Whats next?

So I have taken a break as I figure out what my next challenge is. I know I will write HSK4 this year still, and I'm thinking the next challenge will be speaking and writing based to bring up all language skill areas. Just to see if I had forgotten it all, I watched a Chinese reality show and I could get whole sentences! And today I still have 90% of my vocab, I keep getting wrong the same old tricky words, and mock test scores are still high . I'll decide this weekend what the new challenge looks like and when it will start. I have also decided to write the next TOPIK (Korean) which is in October and JLPT (Japanese) which is in December so... I need a game plan to fit it all in

 

Conclusion

It IS possible to get HSK3 in one month, and even better scores than mine if one is more strategic about the study, and has more time than I did. I still had work and this was definitely extra. The exam is structured in such a way that even with plain guessing one could get at least 30 percent, and if your stars are aligned who knows even more. Knowing what can be asked and studying to format helps. Speed is of the essence, get to reading quickly and creating sentences quickly. Character recognition and recall was way easier than I expected. Listening was harder at HSK3, a lot of squished consonants that sound the same (q,zh,j,sh,x), and for now I can only hear and produce two tones at speed, the other two need training. Grammar at this level is quite simple and very logical, which I love.

 

If you have any questions or comments fire away!!!

[大块头]

Congratulations on passing the exam. It's great that you documented your learning process; this will be a great post to refer people to if they've convinced themselves they don't have the time or resources to take on the current lower level exams.

 

You've probably heard about these resources already, but if you want to focus on speaking next I'd recommend the Pimsleur course for basic oral proficiency coupled with italki tutoring or a language exchange to make sure your pronunciation is OK.

 

I look forward to reading more about your language-learning journey. :-)

[mungouk]

On 6/18/2021 at 2:43 PM, tsitsi said:

I have also decided to write the next TOPIK (Korean) which is in October and JLPT (Japanese) which is in December

 

Well done on your achievement and for documenting it so thoroughly.

 

I also decided to start beginner-level Japanese recently (for the third time!), just for fun, and am aiming for JLPT N5 in December as an arbitrary goal. 

 

If you want to share resources or discuss the process/relationship of learning Kanji after/while studying Hanzi then please feel free to contribute to this thread:

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/61284-learning-chinese-beforeafterat-the-same-time-as-japanese-as-an-l2/

[tsitsi]

On 6/19/2021 at 12:12 PM, 大块头 said:

next I'd recommend the Pimsleur course for basic oral proficiency coupled with italki tutoring or a language exchange to make sure your pronunciation is OK.

Thanks I'll look them up! I tend to go for free stuff though, coz I'm cheap like that LOL ? I have decided it will be talking and reading challenge definitely and now am on the resource hunt and figuring out how to measure progress

[tsitsi]

On 6/19/2021 at 10:50 PM, mungouk said:

aiming for JLPT N5 in December as an arbitrary goal. 

 

If you want to share resources or discuss the process/relationship of learning Kanji after/while studying Hanzi then please feel free to contribute to this thread:

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/61284-learning-chinese-beforeafterat-the-same-time-as-japanese-as-an-l2/

I love arbitrary goals!!! Same here. good luck to us in December! have you started already? I'm only going to start after TOPIK... or during Korean study... I'll know in the next few months. Thanks for the link

[mungouk]

5 hours ago, tsitsi said:

have you started already?

 

Yes I started having one Skype lesson per week in the middle of May, and I'm also doing self-study on remembering Hiragana and Katakana again, plus numbers etc.

 

Like I said, right now it's only really "for fun" (and to get insight into learning Kanji and Hanzi side-by-side), and I'm still having 3 Chinese lessons per week as I work towards HSK 5. I'm sure I will have to change the mix somewhat as we get closer to December. 

[tsitsi]

 

4 hours ago, mungouk said:

Yes I started having one Skype lesson per week in the middle of May

Cool! Then you are way ahead of me

[Denemelik]

Hello friend, most universities in China require at least HSK3 level to give scholarships. I started learning Chinese 1 month ago with the HSK1 textbook and I still don't know any characters, I can only remember pinyin. Oh my god, you finished the hsk3 level in 1 month. Can you give me an email or Instagram address where I can reach you, I really need your help. I read and read the study plan 3-4 times, but I still have questions in my mind. Thank you for your help.

[Lu]

Hi @Denemelik, welcome to the forums! It's been over two years since the OP posted, so it's not likely they'll see your post. Just ask your questions in this thread, and perhaps someone else can help. Your goal is certainly ambitious!

[Moshen]

Hi Denemelik,

 

I recommend you try the free Coursera courses for HSK 1 etc.  At the lower levels they offer videos that dramatize the words in real-life scenarios, which makes the words much easier to remember.

 

Here's the link for the first course:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/hsk-1

[Denemelik]

On 3/22/2024 at 1:46 AM, Moshen said:

Hi Denemelik,

 

I recommend you try the free Coursera courses for HSK 1 etc.  At the lower levels they offer videos that dramatize the words in real-life scenarios, which makes the words much easier to remember.

 

Here's the link for the first course:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/hsk-1

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I already finished beijing coursera hsk1 course. This man finished hsk3 and got more than 200 score in hsk3 exam. I really want to know his plan

[honglam]

On 3/21/2024 at 5:05 PM, Denemelik said:

I started learning Chinese 1 month ago with the HSK1 textbook and I still don't know any characters, I can only remember pinyin. Oh my god, you finished the hsk3 level in 1 month

Keep calm and keep going forward and I believe you can make your progress!

The skill of writing Chinese characters need some professional instruction. Beside the advices given above, I always recommend beginners to try some materials(video, MOOCs, etc.) for kindergarten kids in China, since they are designed to teach kids to write Chinese characters from 0 to 1. At least on writing characters, foreign learners have no difference with uneducated Chinese kids I think. The skill of reading and writing characters in really important since pinyin seldom shows up in China(on the other hand, if a native speaker have to look up for the pinyin of a certain character, it must be extremely uncommon or obsolete), so if you plan to come to China for university education, the given competence is a must.

On the other hand, don't get anxious and don't look forward to some extremely fast progress. Passing HSK is significant, yet the language fluency behind the certificates is more important I'd say. In universities students and professors may be able to communicate in pure English, but out of the schools, Chinese language competence is a must. So polish your language skill step by step, and I hope you would have a fantastic experience in China.

[Denemelik]

On 3/25/2024 at 2:53 PM, honglam said:

Keep calm and keep going forward and I believe you can make your progress!

The skill of writing Chinese characters need some professional instruction. Beside the advices given above, I always recommend beginners to try some materials(video, MOOCs, etc.) for kindergarten kids in China, since they are designed to teach kids to write Chinese characters from 0 to 1. At least on writing characters, foreign learners have no difference with uneducated Chinese kids I think. The skill of reading and writing characters in really important since pinyin seldom shows up in China(on the other hand, if a native speaker have to look up for the pinyin of a certain character, it must be extremely uncommon or obsolete), so if you plan to come to China for university education, the given competence is a must.

On the other hand, don't get anxious and don't look forward to some extremely fast progress. Passing HSK is significant, yet the language fluency behind the certificates is more important I'd say. In universities students and professors may be able to communicate in pure English, but out of the schools, Chinese language competence is a must. So polish your language skill step by step, and I hope you would have a fantastic experience in China.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I made my plan to study at university in China this year and will graduate next year. So I should learn Chinese at HSK3 or HKS4 level before January 2025. I plan to learn quickly and just pass the exam so that it is not too late to apply for scholarships.

[tsitsi]

Hi Denemelik! You can do it! I am thinking of starting anew challenge for myself to get to HSK 4 and your message is the catalyst I needed since I had stopped learning. You can ask me anything.

[Denemelik]

On 3/29/2024 at 1:36 AM, tsitsi said:

Hi Denemelik! You can do it! I am thinking of starting anew challenge for myself to get to HSK 4 and your message is the catalyst I needed since I had stopped learning. You can ask me anything

I thought you had left this place, I'm so happy that you came back. I sent message from ig

[Lu]

On 3/28/2024 at 11:39 PM, Denemelik said:

I sent message from ig

Please don't, please keep this discussion on the forums. It can be very valuable to other learners in the future, just like this topic from three years ago is useful to you now.

[Denemelik]

On 3/29/2024 at 8:31 PM, Lu said:

Please don't, please keep this discussion on the forums. It can be very valuable to other learners in the future, just like this topic from three years ago is useful to you now.

My idea is that she/he can explain how passed the hsk3 exam from zero to HSK3 level in 1 month. This answer will really help many people who have dreams

[Lu]

On 3/29/2024 at 3:02 PM, Denemelik said:

My idea is that she/he can explain how passed the hsk3 exam from zero to HSK3 level in 1 month. This answer will really help many people who have dreams

Yes, please ask them here on the forums, and let them reply here on the forums. That way, people who have dreams can come here and read the answers. Just like you did.

[Denemelik]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:27 PM, Lu said:

Yes, please ask them here on the forums, and let them reply here on the forums. That way, people who have dreams can come here and read the answers. Just like you did.

You are right my friend, thank you. I hope he/she will publish an informative message...

[tsitsi]

So it's been a while since I did this  And because of @Denemelik I'm going to progress again. FINALLY lol

If anyone is in a crush and needs to do HSK3 in a month and you have time here is how I'd structure it. Is it recommended? No. But we all do what we gotta do.

 

1. Download sticky study, anki and Hello Chinese. These three apps will take up all of your idle time, be it walking, on the bus etc. For the anki deck find one with short sentences and phrases like the Refold one.
2. Find the Coursera HSK coursera on youtube -> Why on youtube? for ease of repeating 

Split the month into 4weeks

Week 1 Vocab and HSK 1 -

• do all of HSK 1 and half of HSK 2 vocab,
  • that translates to at least 35 hanzi and vocab a day. You are at your fastest learning speed at the beginning so capitalise!! It's gonna get slower. Do more if you can. That means any time you can, use flash cards to cram the characters. Do not use pinyin to remember (unless to look up pronunciation)
• complete coursera course for HSK 1 and 2
• do HSK 1 mock tests

 

Week 2 Vocab and HSK 2

• complete HSK 2 vocab and start 3 as far as you can go at least half way
• Complete coursera HSK 3 course
• Focus on sentence construction

 

Week 3 Vocab and HSK 3

• complete all the vocab
• Start forming your own sentences, and learning phrases
• You now know the areas you keep failing, revise and relearn those
• start mock testing if not already started

 

Week 4 Practice tests and revise

• do online and paper based practice tests as many as you can get a hold of
• Complete Hello Chinese if not yet done
• relearn all words yes even the ones you know, you want these properly cemented.

 

Extra credit

If you have more than a few hours a day, and want to have a more solid foundation

• Use a book like Tuttle Chinese characters or Remembering the hanzi and perfect your tones as you go and learn any characters that are  adjacent and useful. This will also help you begin to notice hanzi building blocks and thus be able to guess meaning/ pronunciation of hanzi quicker
• If you use the HSK textbooks great, stick to the schedule and use them to bolster your grammar knowledge
• If you are using another grammar book pick a small one that you can finish. Do not spend too much time on this. Spend most of your time in spaced repetition and mock testing
• Listen to tons of mandarin podcast or YouTube or drama and this will develop your ear for the language 
• Have HSK YouTube channels or podcasts forever playing in the background