Linda Larson from the American Councils for International Education is looking Intermediate High or above students (at least third year college level Chinese) to participate in a test for reading and listening comprehension.

Test will run in any Web browser. There must be Flash on the computer you use and you need a headset or speakers for the listening section.

If you are interested in the field-test, please send your name and email address to Ysabella Chen ( ychen@americancouncils.org ).

I took the test a few months ago. Still waiting for feedback, but it was a good way to see how my listening and reading comprehension are doing. The test is conducted in Simplified Chinese.

If you have any questions please leave them below.

How long does the test take?

around 90 minutes. If I recall correctly you'll be given 45 minutes for each section.

do you get any kind of certificate or is just going to be for person knowledge? like will they tell me how i rate against other people etc.?

They are running this as a pilot-test right now so I don't believe you'll be given a certificate.

When I took the test I was told I will receive a score, but I haven't gotten one yet.

I don't think they will tell you how you rate against others, especially in the pilot-test phase. Language learning is a very subjective experience, especially when you get to an upper-intermediate level.

If you are interested in taking this test I would recommend that you use it as a chance to expose your own language weaknesses. Although I haven't gotten my score back I already know that my listen section will be much worse than reading. The listening section uses a variety of authentic audio clips from all over China, which means a variety of accents. I simply need more exposure to language variance in order to understand the dialogue on first listen.

Anyway, I hope that helps answer your question.

I should note. I'm in no way affiliated with this test. I simply saw an email in my inbox and thought I would pass on this great (and free) opportunity to those that were interested.

What does upper-intermediate mean?

I've been learning by myself... Haven't taken any college classes. But I finished NPCR 1-4, passed the HSK level 4, and recognize 2,100 characters. Is that intermediate?

Thanks!

Alex

Hi Alex,

In a word: yes.

Go for it! The worst you can do is learn something new! And based on your background you sound like the perfect candidate for this kind of testing.