HSK advisers= please skip the first paragraph!
Here’s the meat: plan on taking the test in the summer after I finish a semester at ICLP. Any tips on how to prepare? Are the accents on the test southern? Taiwanese? By that I mean does 可是 sound like 可四？
On the note of HSK: is there a traditional character version? If so, where can I take the test?
I’m going to assume HSK garners more professional recognition?
Thanks for your tid bits fellow Skritters!
What level TOCFL are you planning on taking? If you haven’t done so already, I would highly recommend the TOCFL practice tests that you can download from the website. That is a great way to get an idea of what’s on the test and to help you practice finishing in the allotted amount of time. I recall the tests using fairly standard Mandarin on the listening sections so I wouldn’t worry too much about running into accent issues.
I haven’t taken the HSK test, but I do believe that they offer a traditional version of the exam. You can find out more info about the HSK on the Hanban website. Hopefully some other users can provide a bit more info on that test.
I’ve taken the TOCFL. The listening is in a Taiwan Standard Speech, which means you will hear le4se4 for 垃圾, but not ke3si4 instead of ke3shi4.
Yes, most people in PRC and overseas probably rate the HSK higher, because it’s simply the “bigger” test (in terms of participants). And although both tests have 6 levels now, TOCFL is way harder than HSK.