What I learned from taking the HSK 5

[艾墨本]

I took the HSK 5 last weekend in Lanzhou on December 4th, 2016. To my surprise, I found the study process to get ready for the exam both rewarding and educational. Quantitatively, I learned 400 new words (over 50 hours of Anki), completed seven practice exams, and studied roughly three to four hours per day for the month prior to the exam. 

 

I say it was a surprise that it was rewarding and educational because prior to the exam I had always written it off as a test that more-so tests my ability to take a test rather than my Chinese ability. I did, however, spend a significant time just learning how to take the test. At times, this was frustrating. I hated having to learn to skim for answers rather than read and be tested on my comprehension -- but not I'm finding my reading speed is faster and I can more easily skim a text, which is a valuable skill in and of itself. I also hated some of the logic in the questions, like two people discussing living together, one male and one female, which obviously implied they weren't friends but lovers. And yet, looking back, that is the same logic I see my students employ, regularly. 

 

The writing section, though, was likely my favorite. It was the biggest challenge, but it finally gave me a reason to practice writing. Being somewhat of a writer in English, it was a skill I'd never manage to transfer to this new language. I still haven't, but now I'm one step closer. I liked the first writing part where I needed to reorganize the words because it forced me to recognize the many errors in my current Chinese grammar, mostly the placement of simple words that I thought I had down, already. I also learned several new grammar patterns from them. 

 

The second part that had me look at pictures and write about 80 characters was challenging for a whole other reason--restricting my writing to a mere 80 characters.  Previously, teachers had always applauded me for writing extra, but a side-effect of this has been that I was not economical in my word usage, nor was I very clear in my logic. I supplemented both with extra phrases and paragraphs, asking my reader to pull my meaning out of the extra content. The 80-character limit demanded I think fully through from beginning to end.

 

Furthermore, the part that provided me with several words for which I needed to create a full idea with, in 80 characters, give or take, pushed me to take the time to actually practice writing sentences with the grammar patterns I know but never use. Previously, I would do the whole "I know it when I see or hear it, therefore I know it" fallacy. The wake-up call was when 即使 was one of the words, a word I considered I knew and quickly found I didn't. The fear of that happening on the test pushed me to practice writing sentences with all the different grammar patterns I learned. Though, my girlfriend is very tired of correcting my sentences, now.

 

In order to learn the vocabulary, I put the HSK vocab list into Chinese Text Analyser and went through the whole list. If I had even a moment's doubt, I would not mark it as known. Then I exported all words up to HSK5 that I didn't know and put them in Anki. Then, after filling in the blanks with Pinyin Toolkit, I would study them religiously (40 new and all reviews). I would choose less sleep over missing a day. When I ran into a word I really didn’t know, then I’d add a sentence from Jukuu, Zhonga, or Pleco. The process of finding the sentence(s) helped deepen my understanding of the word. I’d also aim for a sentence that included a good grammar pattern or another word I wanted to practice. When I studied them, I always wrote down the word and sometimes I’d also write down the sentence. Even better was if I could remember the sentence before I even flipped the card. Having stock sentences for a lot of vocabulary helped me a lot on the writing part.

 

Throughout the month, I studied a practice test once a week or so. This was a constant reminder that I wasn’t perfect and there was still a lot to be learned. I didn’t do what many friends did and try to learn any words they didn’t know on the practice test. Instead, I just stuck to learning the 400 I’d already added to Anki (it’s good to have limits). I finished learning all the new words one week before the test. I did this intentionally and had set my daily, new-words limit accordingly. I spent the last week doing as many practice tests as time allowed.

 

The last tool I used was Audacity. I put the audio file for the listening section in it and “Truncated Silence” (under the effect menu) to remove the pauses. I also cut out the intro. Then I put them on my phone and listened to them whenever I had time. I’d also try to repeat what the man said whenever he spoke.

 

During the practice tests, I scored a pretty consistent 37ish/45 for both the listening and reading sections. I would always write question marks next to questions I wasn’t sure about when I wrote the answers. This let me know that the spots where I “felt” confused at were often where I was actually confused. The feedback loop was helpful and helped teach me to gauge my own knowledge.

 

Based on that, I’m confident that I did better than any practice test I took.

 

Lastly, I decided on the written form. The audio section was played over a loudspeaker in the whole room. No headphones. But, the test booklet included all three sections. So, once we were done with the listening section, during the 5-minute break to ensure all boxes were filled in, I could move on to the reading section. Additionally, after I finished the writing section early, I could go back to the reading section and double check some answers that I marked.

 

All this said and done, while I went into the HSK 5 test prep process as a skeptic, I'm leaving as a believer. I recognize that it does have its failures, but preparing for it was a boon for my Chinese. It pushed me to study more and recognize the holes in my current Chinese ability, while simultaneously motivating me to fill them. My biggest take-away, though, was that the HSK should not be my sole goal. I will continue reading, studying and living the language and after maybe another year I will switch into HSK-mode and focus on learning the HSK 6 vocabulary and grammar.

 

EDIT:

 

The book I used that includes answer keys, explanations for every question, transcripts for the audio sections, and a sample answer to every essay question

 

https://world.tmall.com/item/524202182648.htm#detail?

 

The links I used for HSK test info

 

http://www.chinesetest.cn/goKdInfoOrPlan.do?zhou=1&guo=1&kdname_name=%E5%85%B0%E5%A4%A7&kdType=0&xm=0&km=0&yf=0

http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/105469.htm

http://confuciusinstitute.asu.edu/files/application/HSK.pdf

http://www.chineseathome.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=355%3Ahsk-idioms-list&catid=66%3Ahsk&Itemid=202〈=en

https://www.umb.edu/confucius/tests/hskk

[abcdefg]

Thanks for this interesting report, Ben.

[atongmu]

yes thanks 艾墨本

[dandmcd]

Loved your writeup.  I was thinking of attempting HSK5 in 2017, so this is helpful.  I know it can be difficult to recall all the details of the exam, but I'd be curious to know what pictures you were tasked with in the writing section, as well as the words you needed to use to write, if you can still remember some of them.  Always interesting to see what people have to deal with in this section.

[艾墨本]

I don't recall. Just get some practice exam books like the one I linked. Then you can look at ten sets of those questions. The practice books are previous exams.

[Breaknet]

I don't know if I should give it a go. Due to schedule issues, I might try to pass that test on January 14th. It doesn't give a lot of time but not doing it would make feel guilty afterward. However, I don't know if 3 weeks will be enough to (reach/consolidate or acquire) a certain proficiency in the ''art of passing'' HSK tests.

As one friend used to tell me: ''D for degree''.

[Not Nicky]

Hey thanks 艾墨本. I just took the practice test on chinesetest.cn and did pretty well. Would you say that's pretty indicative of the types of questions on the exam? I'm thinking I'll get the book you linked to on tmall but I'm feeling pretty good about it now.

And congrats on our result!

[Not Nicky]

I don't know if you used these but on this page you can download a whole lot of (presumably past) exam papers along with the mp3 for the listening part. For all levels.

[Chris Two Times]

Taking HSK 五级 on July 15th here in Beijing...in the middle of preps for it now--I thank all for contributing to this thread and I shall chime in later with how I prepared for it and ultimately how the chips fell.

[Kherith]

Interesting read, can you tell us what was your chinese level before taking HSK5, I mean, how long have you studied, alone or at the uni, if you are immersed in your everyday life (I see you live in China but it doesnt mean you speak Chinese all the time), stuff like this ?

[i__forget]

Once you reach HSK 5 can you say that you can comfortably enjoy watching the news (more or less)?

[somethingfunny]

No.

 

I don't really "enjoy" watching the news in English, but even in terms of how easily you can follow what is being said, HSK 5 is not sufficient to understand the news in Chinese.

[艾墨本]

I could not watch news in Chinese after HSK 5. This was slightly because of vocabulary but mostly because I hadn't practiced listening to the news in Chinese. Chinese news is done very robotically and does require practice to get used to. As @imron loves to say, if you want to get good at something you've got to practice it. This goes for getting good at listening to the news as well.

[Chris Two Times]

Well, that didn't go well. I envy you 艾墨本.

 

I just finished taking the HSK, Level 5 here on my home campus of Tsinghua University. It being on my "home turf" and the test site being an easy 10-minute bike ride from my dorm were really the only nice things about the whole experience today.

 

I apologize for the self-pity. I really don't think I passed.

 

So many of the listening questions I just couldn't get a clear answer and felt like I was fumbling in the dark. This was unlike my practice in which I could mostly get the gist and have an idea of the answer at least. The test was in a language lab and there wasn't a problem at all with the sound. I also was in the pole position, first seat, front and center--closet to the speakers, everyone behind me so no one could distract me. I am glad I had that seat.

 

The reading section, which was by far the most challenging part for me all throughout my practice, was a disaster today. Part 1, which I never did well on in my practice, was certainly no different today. I never ever see the correct answers and it frustrates me terribly. At least when I do parts 2 and 3 of the reading section, I have learned to read intently but at a good clip and hone in on the correct answers and do moderately successful on those parts. My test today mirrored my practice experiences.

 

Writing is the most enjoyable and manageable part of the test for me. For me, it is the only part of the test in which there isn't a time pressure and there is a modicum of doing well. Forty minutes is more than enough time for me to put together the 8 sentences and then write the two 80-character essays. My nightmare situation in my practice was getting an essay in which I wouldn't recognize one or more of the five terms given (on the first essay). That didn't happen today--I knew all five terms and I believe I used them correctly in my writing. I also wrote a very simple essay for the second prompt with the picture, but I am satisfied with my essay.

 

Argh, I never do well on these tests. I get into the test situation and I feel like my brain just shuts down. I try to remain calm and when I hit a pitfall, I don't panic and I just move on. It is frustrating for me that I am not the guru of test taking. It also makes me thankful that my personal circumstances dictate that such tests really don't matter. Nothing lost, nothing gained, other than a bit of pride--I really feel for the Chinese kid taking the gaokao who has everything to gain and everything to lose with that one test--I have never and perhaps will never face such a crucial make-or-break situation in my academic career. I need to remember that and be grateful.

 

The HSK, Level 5 baked up a nice humble pie for me today and I walked away not hungry.

 

I am not confident that I passed today's exam, but if I do pass, I believe that I will have just squeaked by with around 180 points for the low pass. I really don't think that I got more than 200 points on today's exam.

 

 Haha, I embody the following saying --> "六十分万岁！六十一分浪费！"

[Chris Two Times]

Quote

To my surprise, I found the study process to get ready for the exam both rewarding and educational.

 

I don't disagree with the above statement. Even if I failed the exam, I have experienced some nice "takeaways" from the preparation process: my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar/sentence structures has been greatly expanded and my reading and listening abilities have been honed. Likewise, I did enjoy the study process and appreciated that it gave me a constructive summer project to carry out. I liked going to Tsinghua's libraries on a daily basis during the past month.

 

I want to trash the HSK, but that is just sour grapes on my part. Overall, I don't think it is an unfair test; I just struggle with the time pressures, particularly on the reading part.

 

If I fail, will I take Level 5 again? Perhaps. I will consider it after another semester of full-time Chinese study in December, 2017.

If I fail, I may even jump down to Level 4 as a "building-back-up" activity (haha, whatever that means). I may do it mid-semester around October, 2017 after 国庆节. Sure, why not...just go ahead and give Hanban even more of my hard-earned shekels.  

[艾墨本]

5 hours ago, Chris Two Times said:

I may even jump down to Level 4 as a "building-back-up" activity

Since taking the HSK 5, I have continued to study it's content with the hope of moving things from passive to active. Perhaps you could set a goal like that and try to nail down all the HSK 4 vocabulary and grammar?

[mkmyers45]

On 12/9/2016 at 11:08 PM, 艾墨本 said:

During the practice tests, I scored a pretty consistent 37ish/45 for both the listening and reading sections. I would always write question marks next to questions I wasn’t sure about when I wrote the answers. This let me know that the spots where I “felt” confused at were often where I was actually confused. The feedback loop was helpful and helped teach me to gauge my own knowledge.

 

Hey

 

where these scores from zhenti or model tests? Did you do both or just one set?

 

Cheers