Record number of foreigners sit language test, but some doubt its usefulness
Applications for today's exam to test foreigners on their Chinese language ability show Putonghua is gaining popularity overseas. A record 3,000 people have signed up for the test at a flagship Beijing university.
Increasing numbers of foreigners are studying Putonghua to obtain jobs in China, enter Chinese graduate schools or measure their own skills. However, many employers do not require a test score, preferring to let foreign job applicants try to impress them with on-the-spot tests.
A year ago, 2,300 people signed up for the Chinese Proficiency Test, officially called the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, or HSK, at the Beijing Language and Culture Institute. As of Wednesday, the number of registrations for this weekend's test at the school had topped 3,000, according to an administrator.
The institute specialises in teaching Chinese to foreigners and created the test for them, as well as for ethnic-minority Chinese citizens.
Another 40 schools on the mainland, including Beijing University, plus the City University of Hong Kong, also hold the exam. This year more than 10,000 people in China will have sat the exam today or on two other dates in July and May.
Worldwide, about 350,000 people from 100 countries have taken the exam, Xinhua reported. Since 1990, HSK exam courses have been offered in 24 countries, including Japan, Russia and the United States. Each exam applicant pays between 250 yuan (HK$235) and 400 yuan.