On April 20th, 2013 and May 12th, 2013 respectively, the Confucius Institute in Auckland held the HSK and HSKK tests. A total of 84 examinees took the tests, and the HSK Level 4 test was the most participated one that 28 examinees took it.

Years of experience in organizing tests has made the Confucius Institute in Auckland more mature in terms of test management. The test information distribution, examinee registration, examination room arrangement and test supervision were all in good order. There were two teachers jointly monitoring the examination and maintaining the order in each examination room.

Among the 84 examinees, there were Chinese language enthusiasts engaged in various occupations as well as students from different universities, elementary and secondary schools. The oldest examinee was 53 years old, and the youngest was only 11 years old. Many examinees had taken more than one HSK tests, and they aimed at passing the HSK Level 6 this time, the highest level of HSK. In the examination room of HSK Level 6 test, a young western man stood out from most Asian examinees. His name is Shaun Hagerty, and his way of learning Chinese was different from the rest. He did not attend a school for learning Chinese but taught himself by living in Beijing for three years where he seized all opportunities to communicate with Chinese people. Not long after he took the HSK Level 6 test on April 20th, Shaun Hagerty was sent to South Korea for work. He hopes to work in a Chinese-speaking environment with his language skills in the near future.

In the examination room of Level 6 test, another examinee, also a westerner, was eye-catching. He, the oldest examinee (53 years old) in this test, is Sean Shadbolt who is a photographer and very interested in Asian culture. He has spent 5 years in learning Chinese in his spare time, and travelled in China in 2010. When he took the HSK Level 4 test for the first time at the Confucius Institute in Auckland in 2012, he achieved excellent results. In April and May this year, he also took the HSK Level 5 and HSKK intermediate tests respectively. Sean thought that taking these Chinese proficiency tests provided him with a sense of achievement. When receiving the certificates, he felt he had made great progress in learning Chinese over the past several years. A variety of review materials provided at www.chinesetest.cn (the Chinese test service website) also helped him greatly. He also said he had gained a better understanding of which aspects he should reinforce through taking the Chinese proficiency tests.

After the test, many examinees felt excited. An examinee’s parent said their child was very nervous before the test but felt good after it. In fact, as long as the examinee prepared carefully, the Chinese proficiency test was not as difficult as they imagined.

Ms. Wang Meiju who is in charge of the Chinese proficiency test of the Confucius Institute in Auckland said, “It has been 6 years since the Confucius Institute in Auckland held its first Chinese proficiency test. There were only 5 examinees in 2008, but at present there are more than three hundred examinees every year. The number of examinees who take the Chinese proficiency test has increased annually in these 6 years. Through publicity and promotion, more and more examinees in different occupations and at different ages have learned about the Chinese proficiency test and enthusiastically registered for it.”  

To achieve further expansion of the test, the Confucius Institute in Auckland has been engaged in the promotion of the Chinese proficiency test for a long time. In addition to arranging different kinds of Chinese proficiency tests including the HSK, HSKK, YCT and BCT at different levels, the Confucius Institute also promoted the Chinese proficiency tests in various ways, and has won good reputation in public. Since 2010, the Confucius Institute in Auckland has selected and sent outstanding examinees to China to participate in a summer camp for three consecutive years.

In the second half of this year, the Confucius Institute in Auckland will continue to hold HSK, YCT and BCT tests. The Confucius Institute will provide services for Chinese learners as it always does, and constantly expand the influence of Chinese language and culture through diversified activities.

The photo shows examinees taking HSK Level 6 test concentrating on answering questions on April 20th.