Could anyone help me here to find sample tests online for the Chinese proficiency test (HSK)? I had a look online but all I found was references to books.
Maybe you could drop Benny an email?
HSK3 Listening tests here at LingQ with texts and solutions
http://www.lingq.com/learn/zh/store/75905/
More tests for all levels (pdfs and mp3s)
"Maybe you could drop Benny an email? "
Yeah, right! Mr. “almost C2 in German”! Here is a one liner of his from the comment section of his most recent blog post which I am sure he has spell checked before posting it:
“haha ich hab’ nicht genau gesagt, dass das “besser” ist 
Du hast aber gut gelernt! Wieder so!!”
I know after one sentence he is no native! What a clown!
Hape, thanks for the link!
Yeah, Benny’s a clown all right! Have you seen his ‘kung-fu video’?
(I’m still laughing now at the sight of him mincing around like a chicken with constipation!)
Hape,
I just sampled the HSK4 comprehension test and reading test. Given that I do all my listening with authentic media content here in China and of course during my daily work, the audio was rather easy. You rarely find people here in China who speak that slowly and clearly. I don’t think I will take the real HSK test any time soon because my handwriting isn’t good enough. But judging by my reading and listening skills I should be safely and well above HSK4. I found it strange that they only had these short passages (for HSK4) and not a longer essay.
While I read well, that is knowledge of characters, I don’t read fast enough yet. I think the advantage of the Chinese script is that if one reads well, one can read extremely fast. So there is still room for improvement, like there always is in Chinese, but I was positively surprised looking at test.
Feeling much better now!
JayB,
I have respect for anyone having the courage to put their mediocrity up for public scrutiny. Of course his singing performances won’t win him a grammy and his dancing and Kung Fu performances have room for improvement, but again I generally applaud people for their courage. It is not easy to record one’s performance, be it musical, speaking a foreign language or something else, upload it and wait for people’s reactions. He has self confidence and has no issues to upload a less than flattering video of his and I like his courage to do that. The only issue I have with him is that he is such an unpleasant character.
The HSK-4 test is NOT equal to CEFR “B2”, it’s more around “A2” or lower “B1”, see the last page of this review: http://tinyurl.com/cpn5fas
Hape - I agree. Having looked at the papers, the vocabulary especially in the listening comprehension is probably A2.
However, it is also true that some Japanese candidates having enough knowledge of Chinese characters have certain difficulties to pass new HSK 4. (=Not every Japanese can pass easily this level.)
And to pass HSK6 is rather difficult for Japanese who have never studied in China.
I would recommend looking at Popup Chinese (http://popupchinese.com). In addition to a page specifically on the HSK with links to vocabulary lists, flashcards, etc. they make it possible to work through an endless loop of HSK questions online. The way to access the materials is to create a free account, click on the “study center” tab and scroll down the page.
Popup Chinese also produces the HSK Test app for iOS. This has around 2000 questions and is completely free. The link is: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hsk-test/id382098899?mt=8
-While I read well, that is knowledge of characters, I don’t read fast enough yet. -
My answer
Don’t worry about it, please. I can’t follow subtitles fast enough yet while watching Chinese films, neither. When I want to understand completely the meaning, I stop every scene to look up new words.
Since I don’t have to take the test and still lack good writing skills, I guess I won’t take it in the near future. Sampling the listening comprehension tests I realized that my current strategy, which is listening to authentic media content is really the best one. All the HSK material, even level 6 seems somewhat unnatural and stiff. If you want to really challenge yourself I’d suggest you go for authentic content such as news and current affairs programs, TV shows, dramas and movies.
“All the HSK material, even level 6 seems somewhat unnatural and stiff.”
Reasons are the (unnatural) slow and clear pronunciation and the restriction on a clearly defined subset of words…
I think the actors or actresses of TV drama “山楂树之恋(shan zha shu zhi lian)” speak quite Mandarin Chinese in the 1970s although some people living in a village speak in a somewhat different way. Compared with the other dramas such as “Du la la”, Wang luodan (王珞丹), the main actress of the drama plays in a completely different way. I like her clear voice. That’s why I listen to it frequently.
The other dramas are also good resources, but I don’t like modern ones because people sometimes speak extremely quickly with many light tones. These kinds of things are not standard, are not good examples for learners, are not good to listen again and again.
In my view, HSK materials are good one for learners to repeat or shadow each phrase or sentence in order to memorize frequently-appearing words or locutions although they seem somewhat unnatural and stiff.