New HSK (Online) Promotional Seminar

Beijing, August 10th, 2010—the first promotional seminar for the new HSK online test was successfully held at the Open Distance Education Center.

A number of Chinese training organizations were invited to the seminar, including the School of International Culture of Beijing Open University, the International Teaching Center of Beijing Foreign Enterprise Service Group Co. Ltd., Peking University's School of Chinese as a Second Language, Beijing Institute of Economic Management, Beijing Language and Cultural Center for Diplomatic Missions, the University of International Business and Economics' Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the International Youth University (Beijing), the Living Chinese School, the Global Village Language Institute, Beijing Chinese Language School , the Capital Mandarin School and Haeyeon YMCA.

Mr. Zhou Gaoyu, Head of the Division of Testing of Hanban, was present at the event, and gave an introduction to the development of the HSK in China in regards to test content, as well as the significance of the promotion of a paperless exam, which would not only provide examinees an alternative way to take the test and help them improve their Chinese level, but also would help the promotion of Chinese language in the current digital era.

Mr. Wang Xiaoming, Director of the HSK Division of the Open Distance Education Center, gave a presentation on the structure, levels, time, fees and result certificate of the online test as well as its various advantages. He also introduced the test sites set up in China and demonstrated the client side and the test procedure of the new test form as well as how to use the digital input devices. His presentation gave the attendees a full understanding of the online test and directed their attention to the new format of the test.

During the following question and answer period, the attending teachers put forward various questions about the content and the level of difficulty of the online test, as well as the hardware requirements and seating capacity of the test site. Mr. Wang Xiaoming gave detailed explanations to each question. Then the attendees went to visit the center’s computer rooms that the online HSK will be held in, and had a taste of the examination and how it would be written.

The success of the promotional seminar helped a large number of Chinese training institutions in Beijing get to know the new format of the exam, which laid a solid foundation for the promotion of the test in Beijing.