For the Beginner level, introduced in 2007, there is only one Mock Test booklet (2007) and a list of 800 words for beginners (2008, PDF 280kb).

In Taipei, the Mock Test booklet can be purchased at Lucky Bookstore(師大書苑).

A very good friend of mine, has used the beginners word list to write three short paragraphs similar to TOP for Beginners Reading Comprehension Part 3. If you want the answers leave a comment!

Here is the first one:

1. 今天我去___1___，看見一隻的大象，它的鼻子很___2___，眼睛又大又亮。當我摸著它___3___皮膚時，它安靜地看著我，真是可愛的___4___。

１．(A) 動物園 (B) 海邊 (C) 電影院 (D) 博物館

２．(A) 扁 (B) 圓 (C) 短 (D) 長

３．(A) 白色 (B) 黑色 (C) 灰色 (D) 棕色

４．(A) 植物 (B) 寵物 (C) 動物 (D) 玩具

The one above and two others can be downloaded here: TOP_for_Beginners_Part3 [PDF 107kb)

For more information about TOP: Test Of Proficiency-Huayu registration period starts today

Nciku is basically an online Chinese-English dictionary and is a great tool for Mandarin scholarship students. I had a look at it a while ago and came to the conclusion that it was a social networking dictionary. You can sign up and interact with others in the nciku community, as you look up new vocabulary. It didn’t appeal to me, as I thought the concept was odd and had been happily using mdbg.net.

That said, the Handwrite Characters function, or handwriting recognition tool, is brilliant! Pinyin.info recently highlighted this feature which I have used several times.

If you’ve ever tried to translate a character, you will know that if you don’t know the radical it can take a very long time to work out. This tool makes short work of that problem.

How does it work?

The handwriting recognition tool has been around for many years. My Chinese teacher introduced me to it a few months ago. It was part of his Chinese language Windows OS or MS word suite. Unfortunately, I run an English language version of XP and that tool is not included.

This tool/software can also be put on a PDA. A mobile handwriting recognition tool! Just the thing for long bus journeys.

Test Of Proficiency-Huayu

I have posted previously about my experiences with the TOP test:

TOP for Beginners May 3 2008

Test of Proficiency-Huayu: Testees left in the dark

Results in! Test of Proficiency Huayu (Mandarin) May 2008

The good news for testees is that finally, after five years, the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) has released targeted word lists for each of the four levels. I emailed SC-TOP many times complaining about the lack of resources and the Taipei Times published my letter about the issue.

I have one complaint about the word lists, there’s no Bopomofo. It seems to me to be an odd omission as almost every Mandarin student in Taiwan is required to learn it. I don’t think SC-TOP want to hear any more complaints/suggestions from me. Perhaps you could contact them and mention it!

Hopefully, with the new resources more test takers will pass the tests. Good luck!

TOP word lists

800 Chinese Words for Beginners (PDF 280kb)

Basic (PDF 280kb)

Intermediate (PDF 480kb)

Advanced (PDF 480kb)

2008 TOP schedule

Test Time

Testing Site

Mandarin scholarship students in Taiwan generally need to learn Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), the standard phonetic system used in Taiwan to teach Mandarin. It is also known as Zhuyin fuhao, jhuyin, Bopomo, Mandarin Phonetic Symbols and MPS! Confusing no?

I was browsing shuflies.blogspot.com, and came across a great online Bopomofo resource.

It has been setup on a Quiz based web application called Quizlet. Its stated mission:

“…to make learning vocabulary not a chore.”

The Bopomofo Quizlet has a few games which match English letters to the Bopomofo/Zhuyin symbols. It also has free Bopomofo flashcards.

There’s no audio but if you’d like to listen to Bopomofo/Zhuyin audio files visit this blog.

If you’re looking for Bopomofo learning software have a look at this post:

Learn Zhuyin fuhao/BoPoMoFo software

Mandarin scholarship students preparing to come to Taiwan may find the online Beginning Chinese Language course, from the University of California, useful because it uses traditional characters.

The emphasis in this class is on building up vocabulary and sentence patterns in communicative contexts, and building a solid foundation in pronunciation. Students will expand their ability to carry out simple conversations in Chinese on a limited range of topics.

Reading and writing (using traditional or complex characters) will be developed in conjunction with speaking and listening skills. Students will be expected to speak, read, and write all new words that appear in vocabulary lists in the main textbook unless otherwise noted by the instructor.

Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency Huayu

Please be notified that the first TOP pilot test will be held in northern, central, and southern Taiwan from June 16 to June 27 this year. It is a great opportunity for prospective TOP takers to prove their Huayu ability and practice for official TOP tests.

The pilot test will be paper-based and is available for four levels: TOP for Beginners, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. There are two different pretests for each level. Test takers can choose the level most suitable to them and the most convenient test dates.

For those who are interested, please register for the FREE pilot tests on-line at http://www.sc-top.org.tw/ from June 4 to June 10. After the pilot tests, each test taker will receive a souvenir. Don’t let the chance slip away!

MANDARIN COURSES: The education ministry is working with several US colleges to attract US students to take part in its three learning programs.

The Ministry of Education has set up new scholarship and study programs to attract more US students to study Chinese in Taiwan, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington announced yesterday.

Taiwan’s deputy representative to the US, Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷), told a press conference that the ministry, in cooperation with several US colleges and universities, has launched three projects to facilitate and attract American students to participate in short-term and year-long language programs in Taiwan.

Local universities

Tung said that National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University and Ming Chuan University have invited 180 students from 10 US colleges to study Mandarin here.

Each of the US colleges would send a group of students to study at a Taiwanese college of their choice, and each group would receive US$5,000 in grants. The University of North Carolina has already formed a group.

Sisterhood ties

A second program would allow US college students from states that have sisterhood ties with Taiwan to spend a summer studying in Taiwan.

Under the terms of the program, 20 US university students from 12 states will take part in a two-month Chinese-language course at National Pingtung University of Education.

Students under this program will each receive a monthly stipend of NT$25,000 while they are in Taiwan, Tung said.

Full-year courses

A third project sponsored by the ministry involves scholarships for select US students to participate in three-months to full-year courses to learn Mandarin.

TECRO has to date chosen 10 students from the University of North Carolina, Georgetown University and University of Maryland to take part in the specially designed Mandarin programs.

Web site

For more information on scholarship programs for American and other foreign students, see TECRO’s Cultural Division Web site at www.tecro.org.

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/01/ministry-offering-new-scholarships-to-foreign-students/feed/ 64 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/05/21/countries-with-diplomatic-relations-with-taiwan/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/05/21/countries-with-diplomatic-relations-with-taiwan/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 02:06:54 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=37 If you want to learn Chinese and you are from any of the nations listed below there are many scholarship options available to you.