The HSK exam

[Rafael]

I was wondering if there is anyone (or perhaps several) people out there that have taken the HSK exam and can share their experience. Of interest would be: ease of registration, test room environment, whether the exam was more difficult/easier than expected, whether the example tests and test booklets available on the market are truly representative of the test, opinions about the best way to study for the test, etc.

In addition two questions:

1. It is obvious that it is necessary to be able to read Chinese, but is it necessary to be able to write it?
2. How is comprehesion tested, if at all?

For those who don't know, the HSK is a test of Chinese language fluency and is given in various places around the world one to three times a year depending on the proficiency level being tested.

 

[MichaelK]

Just to add a few more questions...

How are existing businesses reacting to the HSK?

Are Corporations taking it as seriously as some Universities are?
(just passing above middle level gives you a 3 year study status in some North American Schools. Which is a lot if you only need one year to finish and the University in question charges ??? 40k USD/acedemic year).
It's kinda like making 120k USD just passing in Advanced.
Not to mention the Immediate acceptance and Scholarship in any Chinese University to do Grad Studies (tuition, living expenses, etc.) If you pass Advanced in with an "A". (providing that you have a B.A. already).

Will it become the standard of which they will rely on to hire Chinese language fluent employees or is it just a trumped up TM8.
(or CET4 which I believe is compulsory to graduate from a Chinese University programme of study).

 

[KunmingDave]

Not sure how useful it is on the job market, but I took it anyways since I don't have a BA in Chinese. I did some preparation but, not quite enough, its a pretty tough test. The best advice I could give is to take a practice test or two a couple months before the exam so you know your weak spots, then spend time working on those.
To answer your questions 1. yea you have to be able to write Chinese, but not sentences. The fourth section of the test is fill in the blanks and you have 20 questions or so that require you to fill in some missing characters. So maybe it'll have a question like, "Ta yijing zhidao, wo __su ta le." in which the blank is gaosu (to tell). So the words are pretty obvious, but trying to write those characters off the bat is pretty tough. On the Advanced HSK they have a writing portion in which you have to wirte an essay, but you're only going to take this if you have awesome Chinese (ie a masters degree).
2. Do you mean the reading or writing comprehension? Cuz it's got both. The listening part is definitely something you have to train for with tapes even if you spend a lot of time around Chinese people, as they throw in some very calloquial things that aren't used very often, especially if you don't live in the northeast part of China.
I used the Essentials of HSK (a four part series) to train for it and found it to be a pretty good indication of the test. Pick up one of them and the tapes for it and then take one of the practice tests in the back. Working through books like these is probably the best way to study as you need not only practice tests, but explanations as to why the answers are the way they are, which these books have.
Another good book for the listening is a 2 part series, one book is red, the other is blue, and they're both small and thin. The English title is just HSK in big black letters, the Chinese title is "tingli guanjianci". This contains many short colloquial phrases and grammar structures that you may have studied once, but don't use very often. It's also just another way to make your Chinese more colloquial and genuine.
You can find registration information at any school in China that teaches Chinese to foreigners, not sure about in the west though. Hope this is helpful.