The registration period for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (TOP) closes this Thursday October 9 2008. There is still time to register.

Targeted word lists for each of the four levels are now available.

Test Date：11/1(Sat.)
Test Format：Paper-based
Test Levels：For Beginners, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced
Test Fee：NT$1000

http://www.sc-top.org.tw/

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 who enjoy multiplayer online role playing games may be interested in Zon. I think this kind of language immersion tool is great for students who are not in Mandarin speaking environments.

The information below is from massively.com:

A team of developers supported by Michigan State University and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International have spent the past few years piecing together Zon — a browser-based virtual world wherein users can learn the Mandarin Chinese language. The game is currently in its open beta phase; you can sign up to play right now.

Users create an avatar and then find themselves in a representation of Beijing International Airport. From there, they may interact with NPCs and other world objects to learn more about Chinese language and culture, as well as communicate with other players to practice their language skills. As they progress through the system, they move up in rank from Tourist to Resident, and finally to Citizen — at which point they may create their own content for the world.

]]> http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/09/online-role-playing-game-for-learning-mandarin-chinese/feed/ 6 http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/07/beginning-chinese-language-with-traditional-characters/ http://mandarinscholarship.com/2008/06/07/beginning-chinese-language-with-traditional-characters/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 07:47:50 +0000 kang-wei http://mandarinscholarship.wordpress.com/?p=55

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.

I wrote about the Mandarin proficiency test a few months ago…. and here.

I picked up my certificate at the post office today. I got 76.25% (61 out of 80). Unfortunately, to pass 77.75% is required (62 out of 80)! Yes, that’s right one mark!

I think I did pretty well considering I only started learning to read Chinese eight weeks before the test. My listening was already quite developed but my reading comprehension needs much more work.

A few months ago, I wrote a letter to the Taipei Times complaining about the lack of resources available for the test. I still think it is a factor. The Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu should provide, at the very least, some targeted word lists. (If you complain perhaps it’s better to do it anonymously….)

According to this, from the government run StudyinTaiwan.org, Mandarin scholarship students who fail will be financially penalized:

A one-month-stipend suspension will be imposed if a recipient fails to submit to his/her individual Mandarin training center, a photocopy of a TOP (Test of Proficiency—Huayu) certificate with results rated at the basic level or above, by July 31st, one month before his/her LEP award period is due. Registration fees for this TOP test are the full responsibility of the recipient.

However, if the recipient succeeds in this TOP test during his/her next-stage award period for a degree program, the suspended one-month stipends as stated above will be reimbursed, by his/her application with the university/college that he/she will be attending.

I’m not sure how up to date this information is but I was told that it is still applicable. What the information above does not specify, is weather or not those who attempted the beginner level will be penalized. The beginner level only started last year. Personally, I don’t think they will. But if you get penalized tell me. I’ll be sympathetic I promise.

The period for rescoring is from now until July 3 2008.

“Ten minutes a day with Jenny and Ken make me sound slightly less stupid!”

Well, I think an hour a day would be better. I listen to up to three hours a day and I really do sound less stupid. Learning Mandarin has never been easier.

Her post highlights the ChinesePod affiliate program:

“Praxis Language is now running an affiliate program, and anyone with a blog, website or e-newsletter is eligible to join up. You can place an ad on your site (takes about 5 minutes), and then every time someone clicks through and signs up on ChinesePod or SpanishPod, you’ll get paid!

The program is suitable for everyone, from website hobbyists and casual bloggers, through to professional full-time affiliates. For the experienced, here are some details on the program…”

Today, ChinesePod has profiled Taipei in one of its Mandarin podcasts. It’s an intermediate lesson, sorry beginners:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/taipei

The podcast mentions the National Palace Museum. You can watch a trailer of the animated short film Adventures in the NPM here. It won “Animation of the Year” at the Tokyo International Animation Fair 2008.

I’ve looked at several software/learnware packages and one stands out for those needing to learn Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo.

Chinese LearnWare for PC Windows

Text can be displayed in traditional or simplified characters, pinyin romanization, or zhuyin symbols. There are many interactive Zhuyin/BoPoMoFo games that help you to memorize the alphabet.

Other features include:

Over 1000 characters, Recorded conversations between native speakers, Voice Animation, Speech Recognition and Voice Record and Compare, Character writing, Exercises and games, Grammar notes, Flash cards, Vocabulary builder.

I’m done with my copy of Chinese LearnWare. If you want it I’ll send it to you.