Bryant to host Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) April 18

March 3rd, 2009

SMITHFIELD, R.I.  - On April 18, Bryant University's Confucius Institute will become one of the first institutions in Southern New England to offer all three levels of China's Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), known as the Chinese Proficiency Test.

The deadline to register for the test is March 27, 2009; an information session will be held at Bryant on March 17, 2009. For more information, please visit http://china.bryant.edu or contact Ms. Kun Xie at (401) 232 6883 or kxie@bryant.edu.

The HSK is a standardized test developed to assess the Chinese proficiency of non-native speakers — foreigners, overseas Chinese and students of Chinese national minorities. Qualifying scores earn the student an HSK certificate, which can be used in three ways:

• to certify that the holder has acquired the required Chinese proficiency to enter a college or university as an undergraduate or graduate student;
• to certify that the holder can be exempt from taking the Chinese language course depending on the level of certification;
•  to use as a basis for employers to evaluate the Chinese proficiency of job applicants.

The HSK test was developed in 1984, and the first test outside of China was offered in 1991. Since then, more than 1.3 million people from more than 120 counties and regions have taken the test.

Keywords: Chinese language, Confucius Institute, HSK, U.S.- China Institute