How to get a Chinese language certification?

Chinese is an extremely intricate and historic language. Currently spoken by over 1.2 billion people around the globe. That constitutes of about 20% of the entire population on planet earth. It is a language that is extremely beneficial as well. For a student, this language would look attractive on your CV, for an entrepreneur this language will help you greatly expand your clientele base and for a traveller this language will prove to be useful as it is the most spoken language after English in the world. While it is considered to be one of the toughest languages to learn, it definitely is not impossible to master.

If you have made up your mind on learning the language, then you might be interested in knowing what are the certifications available to you. First of all, it is important to understand that Chinese is divided into 3 separate languages, namely, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese and Hokkien Chinese.

Also referred to as Northern Chinese, MandarinChinese, includes the Beijing dialect and the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese. Mandarin is often placed first in lists of languages by a number of native speakers.

Certifications for Mandarin:

1. HSK – Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi is the Official test of Mandarin in mainland China, consisting of reading, writing, listening and comprehension

2. HSKK – HSK Speaking Test. HSKK assesses the test takers’ oral Chinese abilities. HSKK consists of three levels, HSKK (Primary level), HSKK (Intermediate level) and HSKK (Advanced level). HSKK is conducted in the form of audio recording.

3. TOCFL – Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language. The test used in Taiwan for Mandarin as a foreign language.

4. ILCE CEFR Exam System

1. ILCE Chinese A0+ CEFR
2. ILCE Chinese A1 / A2 CEFR
3. ILCE Chinese A1 / A2 / B1 / B2 CEFR
4. ILCE Chinese A1 / A2 CEFR only speaking
5. ILCE Chinese A2 / A2+ / B1 / B1+ / B2 CEFR only speaking
6. ILCE Chinese A1 / A2 CEFR only writing
7. ILCE Chinese A2 / A2+ / B1 / B1+ / B2 CEFR only writing
8. ILCE Chinese A1 / A2 CEFR only listening
9. ILCE Chinese A2 / A2+ / B1 / B1+ / B2 CEFR only listening
10. ILCE Chinese Tourism and Hotel Sector A1 / A2 / B1 / B2 CEFR

5. TSC – Test of Spoken Chinese was conducted under the leadership of YBM, the largest language institute in Korea. Most large South Korean companies now require Chinese employees to pass the TSC.

6. BCT – Business Chinese Test, as an international, standardized test of Chinese language proficiency, focuses on assessing non-native Chinese speakers’ abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working.

7. Official ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

It is the traditional prestige variety of the Yue Chinese dialect group, which has over 80 million native speakers.

Certification for Cantonese:

1. Certificate in the Chinese Language – University of Hong Kong

1. First Examination
2. Certificate Examination

2. Computerized Oral Proficiency Assessment (COPA) – assessment of oral and comprehension skills only

3. Diploma Programme in Chinese as a Foreign/Second Language (Cantonese) – Chinese University of Hong Kong. Levels: Foundation, Certificate, Diploma and Advanced

4. Official ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

Also known as Minnan, it is spoken widely in Taiwan, where it is usually known as Taiwanese or Holo, and by the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia and by other overseas Chinese all over the world.

Certification for Hokkien:

1. MSC – Minnanhua Shuiping Ceshi. This is the first, and the only one for now, official standardized test of a variety of Chinese other than Mandarin in mainland China.

2. General Taiwanese Proficiency Test (GTPT) is a standardized proficiency test for speakers of Taiwanese designed by the Center for Taiwanese Languages Testing at National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.

3. International Taiwanese Proficiency Test (ITPT) is another test for speakers of Taiwanese as a second language.

These are all the certifications available to anyone who has completed the process of learning Chinese. Figure out which exact Chinese you have learnt choose the appropriate certification for yourself.