On Preparing Foreign Learners of Chinese for the Reading Section of the HSK Examination
The HSK examination format, which was introduced in 2009, is gaining ground as a form of assessing and evaluating the Chinese Language skills of foreign students, whether studying in China or at home. The required minimum of getting 180 points to pass the fourth level of the examination has become the general standard of Chinese Language competence mandatory for those applying to the Government of China for a scholarship. This requirement concerns most specialties, such as natural sciences, engineering, agronomy, western medicine, economy, law, management, pedagogy, and others. Reading is one of the major skills that are tested, and its content is radically different from what it was in the former examination format. The author of the article shares her experience in teaching students to cope with the requirements of the HSK (4 th level) and offers recommendations how to develop the students’ vocabulary stock and increase their speed of reading.