Passing the TOP test is mandatory if you receive a scholarship to study Chinese in Taiwan.

The pilot tests are for two levels, Beginner & Learner:

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

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

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!

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.

My great teacher 小六老師 was there to give support (on Saturday! :0) to me and all the students from Ming Chuan University’s Mandarin Studies & Culture Center. 謝謝小六老師！

The test ran for 80 minutes and was divided into two main parts, listening and reading.

At the start of each listing section there is an explanation in Chinese and English as well as an example question. During this time it is possible to complete some of the reading questions. I completed 11 reading questions by the time the listening section was finished. So I guess I saved about 10 minutes.

The seating arrangements were a little cramped but the audio setup was good. I only found one of the questions difficult to read. Overall I think the test was well run.

I recently received an email from SC-TOP in response to my complaints about the lack of resources, namely targeted word lists:

Hi,

We’ll announce the new 8000 words for each level in the end of June this year.

Please find them on our website: http://www.sc-top.org.tw/ at that time.

Thank you very much!!

Best Regards,

Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP)
–

國家華語測驗推動工作委員會
Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP)
電話 Tel：+886-2-3343-3900
傳真 Fax：+886-2-3343-2413

I guess I’ll have to wait and see if they follow through on this. I won’t be holding my breath but hopefully SC-TOP will provide more resources for test takers soon.

Update 05/13:

Blogger Shu Files wrote about her experience with the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu. She appears to have attempted the intermediate level.

So I totally bombed the Huayu Test of Proficiency today. Well, maybe bomb is a little bit inaccurate, but I didn’t finish the test. I’m upset I didn’t budget my time more wisely because what happened was that I spent a lot of time on the grammar section, my weak point, and as a result did not have enough time to finish the reading comprehension section, which I did quite well in when I pre-tested myself. DAMMIT! Anyway, this means that I won’t get a certificate of proficiency this time, but at least I will still be able to use the results as a diagnostic tool when I get them back.

Complete post here.

Testees left in the dark

暗中摸索的考生

The Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) was established by the Ministry of Education to develop and promote an effective Chinese assessment system, the Test of Proficiency-Huayu (TOP), for Chinese learners worldwide to assess their Chinese proficiency.
國家華語測驗推動工作委員會由教育部設立，致力於發展、推廣具有效率的中文評鑑系統，其華語文能力測驗即用來評估中文學習者的中文能力。

Unfortunately, SC-TOP does not provide the most basic of resources for test takers. There is only one mock test available for each level and the only word list consists of 8,000 words with no translations in any language. The words are listed in order of complexity and are useless for lower-level test takers.

令人遺憾的，推測會並沒有為考生提供最基本的資源，各程度只發行一份模擬試題，而且唯一的八千字單字表也沒有以任何語言加以翻譯。這份單字表順序複雜，對於基礎試題考生而言，毫無幫助。

China’s Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) has word lists available for different levels.

中國漢語水平考試針對不同程度提供不同單字表。

TOP has been running since 2003. Why aren’t these resources available for TOP test takers?
華語文能力測驗自2003年推行至今，為何沒有提供考生這些資源呢？

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/04/24/2003410093