1.How to measure Chinese proficiency?

Talking about English proficiency, IELTS or TOEFL are generally used as standard indicators. But if you want to measure someone’s Chinese proficiency, the official Chinese proficiency test is called HSK.

Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì(HSK) is the official standardized test for Chinese language proficiency. 

HSK test began in 1984 at Beijing Language and Culture University(BLCU), and was officially made a national standardized test in 1992. The 6 levels of HSK exams that we currently use have been in use since 2009.

Before 2009, the Chinese Proficiency Test was divided into 3 stages and 11 levels (very difficult for beginners).After 2009, it was changed to the 6 levels that we are now very familiar with. Starting from 2022, HSK levels 7-9 added on top of HSK1-6.

HSK test is organized by Chinese Testing International Co., Ltd. You can register for the exam on the official HSK website: www.chinesetest.cn. We (Beijing Language and Culture University) offer Chinese language training courses based on HSK standards. To take the HSK exam, you need to register at your local test center. 

You can check the location, time, and specific exam requirements on the HSK official website. For more HSK exam information, please refer to our previous blog post here. For more information on the HSK oral exam/HSKK, please refer to our previous blog post here.

2.What Chinese level do I need to reach?

1) Daily life

To be honest, if you only live in big cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai, and work for international corporations, you don't even need to speak Chinese. Generally speaking, in big cities in China, speaking English is sufficient. However, what a shame to live in a community without knowing the local language. If you want to better integrate into local life in China and engage in daily conversations, you need to have a level of HSK3 or above.

2) Study or work

There are many different universities in China that offer degree programs taught in English, and you can study in China without speaking Chinese. But if you want to apply for a Chinese government/university scholarship, a Chinese proficiency level of HSK4 or above is usually required.

If you want to use Chinese as the communication language in your work, you need to have a HSK5/6 level. But even if you only speak a little bit of Chinese, your Chinese colleagues, partners or boss will feel that you are trying to understand Chinese culture, which will make your work in China much smoother.

3) Expert of Chinese language

Many people asked me questions about HSK7-9 since it started last year. In my opinion, you don't need to consider the HSK7-9 exam unless you are: expert of Chinese language; graduate student majoring in Chinese language related fields; professionals involved in academic research, economic, cultural, and technological exchanges conducted in Chinese. 

In short, HSK7-9 is designed for Chinese language professionals.

3.Do I need to take HSK test?

I would first ask you: what is your goal for learning Chinese?

If you learn Chinese purely for interest or for daily life use, I would say you can use HSK test for self-evaluation. You don't necessarily have to take the exam.

If you are international students applying for admission, graduation, and scholarship evaluation in China, I think taking the HSK exam is necessary. Usually applying for Chinese government/university scholarships requires HSK 4 or above.

If you want to get course exemptions and course credits related to Chinese language, you’d better check on the requirements of your uni weather they need a HSK certificate. Some universities require proof of class hours for course credits, not HSK.

If you want to apply for new jobs in Chinese related industries, I would suggest you take the HSK exam, as the HSK certificate will make your resume more convincing. But to get promotions in job positions related to China, I think the ability to use Chinese in work is more important than the HSK certificate.

4.What is Business Chinese?

Business Chinese course is designed for anyone who is interested in communicating effectively in Chinese at business or workplace, and effectively understand business information written in Chinese. It can help learners improve their Chinese and intercultural communicative competence in business context. With the course you’ll be able to communicate to your Chinese staff, clients, suppliers, partners and more.

5.Why do I need to learn Business Chinese?

Ms. Iris Guo gave some examples from her students:

• I'm a college student. There are some Chinese enterprises in my city, so I want to find a job related to China after graduation. If I can speak some Chinese, it will be more helpful for the interview. But I haven't studied Chinese before. What course is right for me? -Samantha from Mexico
• I have learned some Chinese and passed HSK-3. I work in an international trade company and need to communicate with Chinese customers. Although they all speak English, I feel that speaking Chinese will make my clients trust my company more. But I don't understand a lot of the words in the work documents. How can I improve my Chinese at work? How can I write emails to Chinese customers more formally and politely? -Alex from Russia
• I studied in China for 4 years, so my Chinese is good. After graduation, I returned to Indonesia to work. Now my boss and some of my colleagues are Chinese. Although my Chinese is OK, I still find it difficult at work. I often can't understand exactly what they mean and what I need to do, so there are often misunderstandings at work. What should I do? -Andy from Indonesia

If you are in those situations, business Chinese course will help you solve the problems!

Business Chinese will help you:

1) Speak Chinese appropriately and confidently at work

With the course you'll be able to communicate to your Chinese staff, clients, suppliers, partners and more.

2) Know more about Chinese workplace culture and avoid culture conflict at work

The course can help you understand the workplace culture behind the literal meaning of your Chinese boss.

6.What’s the difference between Business Chinese and HSK?

If you plan to engage in Chinese-related job; need to speak to Chinese costumers or work in a Chinese company and want to understand Chinese culture, business Chinese is what you need. 

If you need to apply to universities in China or provide proof of Chinese language proficiency in your resume, you should choose HSK.

If you are only learning Chinese for daily life or interest, both courses are good. You can choose according to your own interests.

7.How can eBLCU.com help you with your Chinese learning?

1) Set goals

If you are not sure whether the learning goal you set is reasonable, you can just go ahead to book a 20 mins FREE trial class with us to consult. Our teachers will be happy to give you some advice on learning Chinese and show you our course examples.

2) Learn Chinese

We have different online Chinese courses including General Chinese/HSK, Business Chinese, Chinese for International Trade and Chinese for kids. If you want to learn your own teaching materials or if you want teachers to prepare courses according to your learning needs, you can choose our Tailor made 1 on 1 Chinese course. If you have a group of people who can learn together or you are an enterprise, organization, or institution looking for training courses for your employees, you can contact us for a Tailor-made Program for Institutions and Enterprises.

We are offering 20% OFF for online Chinese courses now until 29th Dec, 2024.

If you are interested in studying Chinese online with us, you can check here:

https://www.eblcu.com/sale

Contact us:

Angela

Email: chenweijia@blcu.edu.cn

wechat: mgy8325

Whatsapp: +86 13810721771

Iris

Email: guoyu@blcu.edu.cn

Wechat: Iris912

Instagram: irisbusinesschinese