ii. Other Foreign Languages (Languages Other Than English)

Apart from English, many other languages are learned and used as foreign languages within the Asia Pacific economies. However, because these languages have not become a “capital” (Bourdieu, 1997) in the sense that English has long been, proficiency guidelines and frameworks, the development of which takes several decades, as demonstrated in the previous section, have yet to be established for these languages. As a result, this section explores the proficiency tests that are available for these languages, in particular, proficiency tests developed by their native-speaking countries.
Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish are discussed, as these are languages, other than English, most commonly taught and learned as foreign languages in the Asian Pacific region.

Chinese

It has been said that Chinese is becoming the “English” of the 21st century. With the rise of the economic and also political power of China in the recent decades, it is not surprising that the Chinese language is also gaining power, and that more and more people, both in Asia and in the west, are scurrying to learn Chinese. As a result of this Chinese fervor, many Chinese language proficiency tests have been developed.

Two Chinese-language proficiency tests are included in this section: the Test of Proficiency— The Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) and Hanyu (TOP), developed respectively in China and Chinese Taipei.

The Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK)

One of the most well-known standardized tests to assess the Chinese proficiency of non-native speakers of Chinese (including foreigners, overseas Chinese, and students of Chinese national minorities) is the “The Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK)” developed by the HSK Test Center of Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) in China, which was established in 1989. HSK was produced in 1990, and the first tests were offered in 1991 around the world. (http://www.blcu.edu.cn/english/research.htm)

HSK is divided into three parts: HSK basic, HSK elementary-intermediate, and HSK advanced, with a total of 11 levels. HSK basic is divided into levels 1-3. HSK advanced is divided into levels 9-11. Details of grades 1-3 and 9-11 can be found, respectively, on these web pages: http://www.hsk.org.cn/Intro_hsk1.aspx
and http://www.hsk.org.cn/intro_hsk3.aspx. Below are the level descriptions translated from Chinese into English by the authors:

Level 1: Can understand simple sentences and convey simple meanings. Has rudimentary command of language that is used for daily conversation and language learning. Is familiar with around 600 Chinese phrases and their uses.

Level 2: Has a good command of language that is used for daily conversation, a range of social interactions, and a certain level of language learning.

Level 3: This is the threshold level of proficiency that is required to enter into Chinese tertiary institutions

Level 9: Has received at least 3000 hours of instruction in Chinese. This is the lowest threshold level of proficiency for those that make use of Chinese as the primary language of communication for general work purposes.

Level 10: This is the intermediate level of proficiency for those who make use of Chinese as their primary language of communication for general work purposes.

Level 11: This is the advanced level of proficiency for those who make use of Chinese as their primary language of communication for general work purposes.

Unlike the TOP-Hanyu, the HSK implies a view of language ability as consisting of ability in different domains (e.g. tertiary education, general work), functions (e.g. daily conversation, language learning, and a range of social interactions), and vocabulary size and the ability to use the learned phrases.

Test of Proficiency—Hanyu (TOP)

The Test of Proficiency—Hanyu (TOP) is a Chinese proficiency test designed for non-native speakers of Chinese (http://www.sc-top.org.tw/english/test1.php). It was developed by the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency—Hanyu, under the direction of the Ministry of Education of Chinese Taipei. The test is administered in four levels: Beginners, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. The level descriptions are follows:

The basic level is designed for test takers who have taken 360-480 hours of Chinese or have acquired a vocabulary base of 1500 words.

The intermediate level is designed for test takers who have taken 480-960 hours of Chinese or have acquired a vocabulary base of 5000 words.

The advanced level is designed for test takers who have taken 960 hours of Chinese or have acquired a vocabulary base of 8000-10000 words.

Based on the above information gathered from the TOP Hanyu website, the above description of the different levels of TOP Hanyu implies a view of language ability as that which can be gauged from hours of learning and size of vocabulary.

The TOP Hanyu also made comparisons to the HSK, and details of the comparison can be found in http://www.sc-top.org.tw/english/test4.php, summarized below: