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The Confucius Institute for Scotland is offering interested candidates’ new opportunities to take the HSK Chinese language proficiency exams online at home. The Online HSK (Home Edition) Exams will take place on Saturday, 10 December 2022. If you are interested in sitting this exam, please read the following instructions carefully and register for the exam by 5 pm, Thursday, 24 November 2022

Pre-registration Checklist 

1/ Please confirm that you will sit this exam from a UK address – candidates outside of the UK unfortunately cannot sit this exam with our test centre.

2/ Please confirm that the PC or laptop you will use for your exam(s) has a Windows (7/10) operating system. The exam software is not designed to run on Apple OS or IOS devices and so we only recommend using Windows devices.

3/ Please check that the display resolution of your screen is at least 1440×900 (you can find the setting in “Display settings” on your computer).

4/ Please confirm that the PC or laptop you will use for your exam(s) is equipped with a webcam above 0.3MP.

5/ During the online exam, you will require a second device with a camera and internet connection (e.g. a mobile phone) to provide alternative angle for the exam invigilators. Please download the Zoom app on your device before the exam.

6/During both online HSK and HSKK exams, you will be required to use headphones. Please note wireless and Bluetooth headphones are not allowed. During the HSKK exam, you will also be required to use a microphone throughout the exam.

Exam Registration

If you have met all requirements above, you can now proceed to the registration stage of your exam. Please follow the 2-stage registration and payment process to register your chosen level(s).

Step One: Register your exams at the Chinese Testing International (CTI) website directly. Please follow this step-by-step HSK Registration Guide to make your registration. Exams on 10 December at our test centre are shown as “Online Chinese Test (Home edition)” in the CTI website during your registration. The exams will be run remotely on the day and you will take the exams at home.

Step Two: Pay the exam fee via the University of Edinburgh’s ePay website.

Online HSK (Home Edition) Exams workshop

Due to the new format of the exam and the specific exam requirements on the day, our Institute is inviting registered exam candidates to join an Online HSK (Home Edition) exam workshop, one week before the exam date. Details of the workshop will be made available after the exam registration deadline (24 November).

If you have any questions regarding the Online HSK (Home Edition) Exam, please contact the Confucius Institute for Scotland exams team (info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk) for assistance.

This course for complete beginners of Chinese, is an introduction to the Chinese pronunciation and writing systems. Basic listening and speaking skills are emphasized along with the study of pinyin, the official Romanisation system for Standard Chinese (普通话, Pŭtōnghuà, literally ‘common speech’) in mainland China. On completion of this 5-week intensive course (two 2-hour classes per week), students will be able to:

• Have a basic knowledge of Chinese language;
• Be able to use basic grammatical and sentence structures to introduce oneself and to engage in simple conversations;
• Have basic knowledge of Chinese names, some traditional custom and family structures.

Course Content:

• Pinyin – the official Romanisation system for Standard Chinese in mainland China;
• Vocabulary and expressions regarding speaking about one’s name, nationality, language skills and family;
• Expressions regarding stating one’s wishes;
• A brief introduction to Chinese writing system;
• Numbers.

Teaching Methods:

The course is tutorial based with a combination of joint class activities and group work. Supplementary material is prepared by the teacher. In order to fully benefit from the course and to achieve the learning outcomes, students are expected to spend 1-2 hours per week on revision and homework.

Core Readings:

WU, Zhongwei. (2010) Contemporary Chinese for Beginners. Beijing: Sinolingua.

Course Summary

HSK 3 Revision and Practice is to support those learners who are preparing for the HSK 3 test. Learners will have a total of 12.5 direct contact hours over the period of five weeks. This course is composed of three parts – mock tests, revision and practice. In this course, learners will have the opportunity to take simulated tests to help them understand the structure of the HSK 3 test. Revision is based on the four mock tests, where the teacher will identify the individual needs of students and suggest the necessary test skills. In addition to the mock tests and revision, 600 HSK 3 vocabulary and key grammatical structures will be reviewed and practised in this course.

Teaching Methods

The class is structured in two stages. A student-centred learning and teaching method is applied in the first stage. A simulated test environment is created to encourage students to familiarise themselves with the real test on their exam day. At the end of each session, additional mock papers will be given to students as homework. The teacher will go through the paper in the next session. During the revision, a clinic study style will be applied. Teachers will identify the areas students need to improve, and provide the learners with the strategies of dealing with the scenarios similar to the test.

The second stage is a teacher-centred teaching style. The teacher will go through the 600 HSK 3 vocabulary and focus on some common grammatical problems that arise among Mandarin language learners.

Essential Readings

Hanban. (2018) Official Examination Papers of HSK – Level 3 2018 Edition. Beijing: Higher Education Press.

Supplementary materials prepared by the teacher.

How strong is your vocabulary?

Try our Vocabulary On-line Self-practice to find out! Student will receive a full set of online practice in class. Before you start the class, why not try one of the below categories first?

HSK 3 Noun Part 1

HSK 3 Verb Part 2

HSK 3 Preposition