Hi

I know HSK topics have occasionally been covered in this forum but this particular aspect is not covered in a comprehensive and systematic way. I know many of you have already gone that challenging path, so I am very interested in your pearls of wisdom.

My specific situation is as follows:
- I would like to take the HSK 3/4 (new HSK test)sometime next year
- I work a 100%, so studying needs to be done in limited time slots (I would guess maximum of 5 hours per week)
- I have worked through HSK1 list and am now somewhere in the middle of the HSK2 list
- my listening and talking is better than my writing/reading which translates into me not learning a lot with Intermediate podcasts. I mainly use the upper-intermediate and advanced lessons on Chinesepod
- official grammar knowledge is limited, although my Chinese wife would as a general rule correct certain mistakes and I picked up a bit indirectly with the Chinesepod lessons.

So here are my questions:
- how would you recommend I study (XX% of the time skrittering, XX% practice talking, ect.)?
- could you recommend one or several book(s) to help me get to that level?
- are there test specific strategies/weird test formats I should get used to?
- I have found one or two sample hsk tests online, but they never include the audio track....do you know where I could find the complete test (preferably with solutions so that I can see how well I did)?
- any other things I should pay attention to?

Thanks

David

I'd say that if your listening and speaking ability is better than your reading and writing ability you should focus on intensive reading and writing and with a podcast or two thrown in to maintain your listening ability. Besides Skritter, you can use some of the many HSK test prep books that have sample quizzes, getting a teacher to help you when you don't know why you are wrong.

You might want to do some intensive reading as well. In terms of grammar, a good reference (though a bit old) is A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners.

You might also want to do some reading and writing practice (keeping a diary that a Chinese teacher could correct or writing responses to short chapters in a kid's book).

Time-wise, taking your 5 hours a week and putting in 15 minutes per day at Skritter, 20 minutes per day alternating between reading a passage and writing a response one day and doing a practice test or grammar exercise the next day, and spending 15 minutes every other day listening to a podcast (so you don't loose the 口语/听力 ability) would seem to fit your needs.

Getting practice daily, ideally when you are not tired, is quite important. With you being in the middle of HSK list 2 you should be well on your way.

If you can also converse in Chinese and/or watch reasonably entertaining Chinese TV with Chinese subtitles (e.g. the series 爱情公寓, a knock-off of Friends) on top of the above that would help too.

Best of luck!

http://www.confuciusinstitute.qut.edu.au/study/proficiency.jsp

Thanks for the responses!

Definitely a few things I wouldn't have thought of or come up with easily.

Does anyone have a recommendation for course book at that level? (there seem to be tons on the market and it's difficult to tell which ones are worth the money and then especially time...)

顶

俺跟你一样也打算参加那个三四级的汉语水平考试，幸亏时间还多点儿，后年也得了。

加油，俺们向着光明的未来前进。

建议呢？

好好地写字（可不是嘛，不然的话俺们为啥在这儿）
听广播，不管是啥样子的，网络广播也成
看书，看网站
看影片，有的是
等等

I'd recommend getting a book of exam questions and working through that rather than a text book. I worked through ten timed mock exams before my real HSK, with 5 hours a week you'll be doing well to get one done in a week, especially if you're reviewing the problem sections with a teacher. I did that for an hour after each test.

I also did essays and got a teacher to correct them and talk through ways to improve them with me. I'm not sure if you need to do an essay for HSK 3/4.

Skritter is good for drilling vocab, look up words you're not familiar with in a dictionary after a session. With the vocab and practise exam papers you'll have a good foundation for the exam.

Do that first so you've got something to focus on. As you make progress on that, you can work on pronunciation with a teacher if you need it (I guess there's a recording section, not too sure on the new test). Grammar can be discussed when you make mistakes in written work or the 病句 etc. exercises in the 综合 section.

穆儿你写中文那么好，考三四级的hsk应该没问题吧。看上去你的汉语水平比我的要高，还有你的词汇量比较大。如果你打算明年考，我估计考六级也行。参考者好好学习吧，你们一定会取得好成绩。

you may have already seen/practiced the HSK 4 list in the custom lists (soon to be remixed and promoted according to Nick), but as somebody going off the old HSK 2 list and also about halfway through, I paused it and turned on new HSK 4 and I will probably finish it in the next day or two, so maybe 4-5 days total. Almost all of the list I had already covered. And if reading/writing is your weakest, then I think you are well on your way! 加油！

穆儿, ni xiang xia si wo ma? xie de zhe me hao hai shuo ni ye xiang kao 3-4 ji de?? wo jue de ximeng xie de cha bu duo...ni de shui ping hao xiang yi jing te bie gao le....

(I would have liked to impress you with how many mistakes I can make when writing characters...but on my work computer i can't install that set.)

Ximeng: thanks for the advice with the test drilling...would you happen to know where I can find new HSK tests? Or would practicing with the old format be just as good (of which there seem to be a lot:)? As far as then having a Chinese teacher look over goes, I think I will first try doing that with my Chinese wife and see how we go.

Hobbes828: thanks for the tip about the new hsk list.

谢谢大家!

No idea where you can get new HSK tests (will also depend what country you're in I guess), but I think the old style content is pretty similar based on a mock of the new HSK I did online. If you can't find new HSK test books, the old intermediate ones would be just as good I would have thought. I got mine in the SOAS book store and the Waterstone's nearby in London.

Follow the link I posted above!

Thats where I got the level 4 and 5 vocab lists from and uploaded them to skritter. Anyone who wants to upload Level 6, be my guest :P

There is a full explanation of the types of question in each section, and an example test for each level, including an mp3 for listening.

Me too, had done HSK1 and half of HSK2 lists, now going to take either level 4 or 5 in September.

Thanks for the link!
Definitely great :)

All the best with your exam!

lol sorry - i love internet forums...
give L4 or 5 a go and let us know how you get on. 3 seems too low?! I guess the only problem that this new format seems to be pass/fail grade only - threshold at 180/300

穆儿 have you seen the series 媳妇的美好时代? Whenever I see your posts I always hear 张佳宁 narrating them. Do you live on a farm by any chance?