So I finally received my HSK 4 test results and the result is that I PASSED the test. Here’s the certificate:
However, it’s not a complete pass since I technically didn’t pass the writing section. It used to be that you needed 60% in all three areas to have passed the test but now, as the certificate states, the passing score is 180 total.
The great thing is that they sent me a rather in-depth look at my test:
As it stands, I have finally passed the HSK 4 level of the (Simplified) Mandarin Chinese test. So that’s a plus.
As you can see in the first pic, the certificate, I scored in the 70s for listening and reading sections, with my reading being the highest, while writing I scored 54. That’s not really a surprise as I’ve found that my reading has improved considerably while I still have difficulty understanding what people say. I suspect this is a vocabulary issue as the words that people use and the words that we study in a restricted course setting are a little bit different.
And, if you look at the bottom of the test results paper, in the red box, you’ll see some Roman numerals: III, III, and II. These refer to the band within each of the separate parts of the test. On the back of the test results, they explain what each number means. For me, it means that I’m right in the middle of understanding what is said, but I may mistake main concepts… which is true.
The text for listening reads “He/she is able to understand common topics, simple stories, basic knowledge about nature, introduction to culture, and daily experiences in daily life, studies and at work. He/she may make some mistakes in understanding the main content and details of complicated topics.”
…Which I agree with.
It’s similar for reading, but for writing it says: “He/she is able to master basic sentence patterns, but such problems as simple sentence patterns, lack of fluency and wrong word order persist. Some sentences even affect interaction. The vocabulary is relatively extensive, but words are used improperly in some cases. There are a few misspellings.”
…Which suggests that grammar was a big problem but that the characters that I did write, they were able to mostly understand. I’ll take that as a slight success. 🙂
Why did I do so bad on the writing test?
I suspect there is one main reason and that is because I did the paper-based test. Had I done the computer-based test then I might have been able to rely on the pinyin input for the correct character.
What I don’t know is whether my score is in relation to EVERYBODY who took that session’s test or if it’s just against the few other people who took the test with me that day.
How do I feel about these results?
I’m fine with it as it means I can move on. As soon as I had walked out of the test centre I knew I didn’t do as well as I had wanted. Before writing the test I had written that I was getting tired of studying Chinese and I suspect that may have had an effect on my results. Had I not stopped practicing dictation exercises leading up to the test, I might have had more success in the writing section.
Where do I go from here?
For starters, I’m putting my HSK 4 books away. They’re done and stacked on top of the HSK 3 books so, to me, it’s over.
Although I’ve already started going through the HSK 5 books on my own, I haven’t looked at them in months. Either I need a new approach or I need another boost of inspiration. I’ve been thinking of the different ways I could study the necessary character that would be different than simply writing them out as I did for levels 3 and 4.
Although I have been trying to move away from studying Mandarin Chinese as a subject and, instead, trying to utilize it as an actual living language, I may have to change my approach given the HSK tests’ emphasis on character formation and good grammar. It’s one thing to be able to read a notice, but am I able to see and understand the structure of the sentences and the word groups? This is something I need to work on.
How do I plan on solving this problem?
Very simply, I want to sit down and read more Chinese which should open up my vocabulary. The next thing I should do is speak more, but I’m not sure if I really want to speak with others. Why not? You may ask. The reason being is that very few conversations move beyond anything superficial. Sure, there are the pleasantries and then a bit of continuation by way of asking some more generic, personal questions (how big is your farm, what do your kids do in school, etc.), I’ve found it difficult to have any meaningful conversation. This is not their fault, this is mine due to my limited subject-specific vocabulary both in terms of speaking and listening.
Since I know this, one method I was thinking would be effective would be to give presentations. Not necessarily to other people but on my own and possibly record these presentations. I started this in September of last year but dropped it since I found I couldn’t develop my vocabulary fast enough to give any sort of meaningful presentation.
If you’re on the socials, you might have noticed that I’ve been posting short videos of me reciting Chinese chengyu or proverbs. This becomes more important in the higher levels since there is more emphasis on being concise, poetic and meaningful.
Do I have any subjects in mind?
Yes. In addition to the chengyu (which I recite mainly for pronunciation practice but also for cultural-character association), I’d like to be able to talk about finance and film editing, that’s about it.
For writing, however, I more want to be able to speed read something on social media and then write a quick response that is understandable and meaningful. Think Weibo, Twitter, and WeChat. I’m not thinking about writing essays but the HSK test does call for being able to look at a picture and write a grammatically correct sentence about what it shown.
When do I plan to do the HSK 5 test?
Ideally, I’d write the HSK 5 test by the end of this year (2021), barring any unforeseen circumstances such as job loss or major upheaval for whatever reason. But, since I’m not even half way through the books just yet and since it took me another 17 months after finishing the HSK 4 books (with a pandemic thrown into the mix), my goal might be a little bit ambitious. That’s okay, I’d like to try and would also like to get through it as fast as possible so I can move on to the HSK 6 books in 2022.
Why the rush? What’s the end goal?
The end goal is to be fluent and the rush is meant to capitalize on the motivation to do the tests and study the language. Already this year I feel like I’m dragging my feet with my language studies, having picked up Russian classes along the way and, moreover, not spending as much time each day in contact with the Chinese language as I did up until the beginning of 2021. Part of the reason is the change in work environment as I no longer have the structure that worked beautifully for learning Chinese characters. This is something I need to address and is a large part of why I want to find another way of studying the necessary characters without relying on a pencil and paper system… though I do like the feeling of accomplishment that comes with the handwritten notes.
All that being said and done, I’ll consider the HSK 4 test done and completed and will now move on to focus on HSK 5. Oh, and Russian.