The Oriental Culture Academy Hosts the First New HSK and New YCT Tests
[source] Oriental Culture Academy
[ Date of issue] 2010-03-22 00:00:00.0
The new YCT and HSK tests were held as scheduled on March 13 and March 14 by the OrientalCultureAcademyon its own campus. President Ms. He Yun hosted the tests in person.
As the oldest and largest Chinese proficiency examination site in Thailand, there were a few challenges along the way: two newly reformed tests were required to be completed within two sequential days under a backdrop of political turmoil. Panic was inevitable and we had definite concerns throughout the initial promotion, mobilization, registration and examination processes. However, in the end our hard work paid off. Enrolled examinees were not only up to the same period last year, but exceeded any of the years before – 480 examinees enrolled for the new YCT and 672 for the new HSK. The examination was also held as scheduled with the most examinees present on time except for a very few who were blocked by traffic. Finally, the first new YCT and HSK tests held by the OrientalCultureAcademy turned out to be a success in spite of the difficulties.
The reactions to the new Chinese Proficiency Tests showed that examinees are more confident in Chinese learning and testing because they feel that the new tests are more focused on actual language capability testing. Looking at the age groups, we can see a wide distribution from Grade One in elementary school to senior high school for the new YCT, and dominant college students and high school students plus some employees and older individuals for the HSK. The YCT Level 1 attracted the largest number with 263 examinees, followed by 110 examinees for the YCT Level 2. What is worth praising is both GonglizhiHigh School in SamutSakhonProvince and NantawanInternationalSchool in Bangkok enrolled more than 100 examinees. To make them more convenient, we set up sub-examination sites at these schools and sent staff to coach proctors and host the examinations. As for the HSK, 191 examinees were tested at Level Five, followed by 154 at Level Three and 111 at Level Four. The HSK Oral Proficiency test was also taken by quite a few Chinese learners, of which the HSK (Elementary-Intermediate) accounted for the highest portion. Psychologically speaking, most examinees were conservative when choosing testing levels and felt the examination was easier than expected even though they had read the sample exam papers. Next time the testers might become more targeted in their approach.
In conclusion, the new YCT and HSK have gained widespread popularity among Chinese learners and attracted even more examinees. With the great efforts to promote Chinese learning by Hanban, we firmly believe that the new YCT and HSK will enjoy a great future in Thailand, a country where Chinese learning is becoming highly emphasized.
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