57-761: The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language ( TOCFL ; Chinese : 華語文能力測驗 ; pinyin : Huáyǔwén Nénglì Cèyàn ) is the Republic of China (Taiwan) 's standardized test of proficiency in ROC Standard Chinese (one of the two forms of Standard Chinese ) for non-native speakers such as foreign students . It is administered by the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu ( SC-TOP ) ( Chinese : 國家華語測驗推動工作委員會 ; pinyin : Guójiā Huáyǔ Cèyàn Tuīdòng Gōngzuò Wěiyuánhuì ). The committee
114-584: A retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to
171-608: A Common Framework of Reference for Languages for Canada published by Heritage Canada . This report contains a comparison of the CEFR to other standards in use in Canada and proposes an equivalence table. The resulting correspondence between the ILR and ACTFL scales disagrees with the generally accepted one. The ACTFL standards were developed so that Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Superior would correspond to 0/0+, 1/1+, 2/2+ and 3/3+, respectively on
228-591: A Second Language, and the Psychological Testing Center of National Taiwan Normal University. The research project started in August 2001, and tests were first held in 2003. So far, it has served test takers from over 60 countries. The new version of TOCFL, which was in development since 2008, become available in 2013. The new version of the TOCFL has four proficiency bands: Novice, Band A, Band B, and Band C. Each of
285-503: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from
342-586: A comprehensive equivalence table between the various forms of the TOEFL test, the Cambridge exam, the VEC level system, and the CEFR. (Levels according to French and German associations) HSK Level 3 HSK Level 4 HSK Level 5 HSK Level 6 LanguageCert International ESOL – Speaking Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom A1.2 Aleph Advanced C1.2 Vav Language schools and certificate bodies evaluate their equivalences against
399-509: A holistic scoring approach, taking into account the content, fluency, and language skills of the test taker. The results are presented in the form of scale scores. The objective is mainly to assess the competence of the test takers to effectively accomplish the communication tasks verbally in different language contexts. The TOCFL Writing test is an evaluation of the test-taker's ability to use written materials to effectively transmit information in particular contexts. The level-based grading system
456-582: A learner is supposed to be able to do in reading, listening, speaking and writing. The following table indicates these levels. These descriptors can apply to any of the languages spoken in Europe and there are translations in many languages. Educational bodies for various languages have offered estimates for the amount of study needed to reach levels in the relevant language. Multiple organisations have been created to serve as an umbrella for language schools and certification businesses that claim compatibility with
513-459: A methodic way, this project pushed the adoption of similar practices to smaller languages, as requested by students. In late 2006–2010, the Keio University led the ambitious CEFR-inspired Action Oriented Plurilingual Language Learning Project to favour multi-campus and inter-language cooperation in creating teaching materials and assessment systems from child to university levels. Since 2015,
570-850: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;
627-501: Is an international association of institutions and organisations involved in language education, active throughout Europe and following the CEFR. In France, the Ministry for Education has created a government-mandated certificate called CLES, which formalises the use of the CEFR in language teaching programmes in French higher education institutions. In Germany, Telc, a non-profit agency, is
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#1733086151602684-516: Is based on the appropriateness and substance of the test-taker's responses to situational tasks, compositional structure and completeness, correct syntax, and the use of a suitably wide range of appropriate vocabulary. Aside from being available in Taiwan, SC-TOP has been providing overseas testing services since 2006. However, compared to the HSK exam, the number of test locations is somewhat limited. According to
741-541: Is intended for non-native speakers of Mandarin. Those who wish to know their level of Mandarin Chinese proficiency, and those who want to study, work, or do business in Mandarin Chinese-speaking countries or contexts are welcome to register for the test. The following table sets out the suggested learning hours of Mandarin Chinese, and suggested vocabulary base at each test level. Please note: Taiwan Benchmarks for
798-566: Is under the direction of Taiwan's Ministry of Education . The test was formerly known as the TOP or Test Of Proficiency-Huayu . For children aged 7–12, an age-specific test exists called the Children's Chinese Competency Certification (or CCCC , Chinese : 兒童華語文能力測驗 ; pinyin : Értóng Huáyǔwén Nénglì Cèyàn ). The test cannot be taken in Mainland China , Hong Kong or Macao , where only
855-483: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to
912-469: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). However, for each test the number of words or characters required differs. For example, TOCFL generally requires more vocabulary at each level compared to the pre-2021 HSK. In 2010, Hanban asserted that the HSK's six levels corresponded to the six levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). However,
969-562: The Kensiu language . Common European Framework of Reference for Languages The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment , abbreviated in English as CEFR , CEF , or CEFRL , is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate
1026-760: The PRC 's HSK exam can be taken. Conversely, the HSK exam is not available in Taiwan. The Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP) was established in November 2005 under the direction of the Republic of China's Ministry of Education . Originally called the Chinese Language Testing Center and renamed in January 2007, the Committee aims to develop and promote an effective Chinese assessment system, mainly
1083-622: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝ 'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for
1140-498: The "Research on Plurilinguistic and Pluricultural Skill Development in Integrated Foreign Language Education" has followed up. The framework was translated into Chinese in 2008. In 2011, French sinologist Joël Bellassen suggests the CEFR together with its metalanguage could and should be adapted to distant languages such as Chinese , with the necessity to adapt and extend it with relevant concepts proper to
1197-459: The ACTFL is stricter with regard to receptive skills than productive skills, compared to the CEFR. The following table may not be read as an indication of what ACTFL level follows from taking a CEFR-aligned test. For convenience, the following abbreviations will be used for the ACTFL levels: Similar correspondence has been proposed for the other direction (test aligned to CEFR) in a panel discussion at
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#17330861516021254-510: The CEFR calls domains. Four broad domains are distinguished: educational, occupational, public and personal. These largely correspond to register . A language user can develop various degrees of competence in each of these domains and to help describe them, the CEFR has provided a set of six Common Reference Levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2). The Common European Framework divides learners into three broad divisions that can each be further divided into two levels; for each level, it describes what
1311-455: The CEFR has been connected to recent changes in English language policy, efforts to reform higher education, orientation toward economic opportunities and a tendency for administrators to look outwards for domestic solutions. Noriyuki (2009) observes the "mechanical" reuse of the European framework and concepts by Japanese teachers of mostly Western languages, missing the recontextualisation part:
1368-596: The CEFR to set up systems of validation of language ability. The six reference levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) are becoming widely accepted as the European standard for grading an individual's language proficiency . An intergovernmental symposium in 1991 titled "Transparency and Coherence in Language Learning in Europe: Objectives, Evaluation, Certification" held by the Swiss Federal Authorities in
1425-626: The CEFR. For example, the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) is an initiative funded by the European Community to promote the CEFR and best practices in delivering professional language training. The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is a consortium of academic organisations that aims at standardising assessment methods. Eaquals (Evaluation and Accreditation of Quality in Language Services)
1482-514: The Chinese Language (臺灣華語文能力基準, TBCL) is a guideline developed by Taiwan's National Academy for Educational Research to describe seven levels of Chinese language proficiency. It includes lists which contains 3,100 Chinese characters, 14,425 words, and 496 grammar points. For exams starting from August 2021, the TBCL ability level column will be added to the transcripts to help Chinese learners around
1539-489: The German, French and Italian associations of Chinese language teachers argued that HSK Level 6 is only equivalent to CEFR Level B1/B2/C1 (about TOCFL Level 4); thus rejecting Hanban 's claim of equivalency. The new Chinese Proficiency Standard , effective on July 1, 2021, adds 300 required characters to every level and adds three more levels, therefore the amount of words that must be studied increases exponentially. According to
1596-552: The ILR scale. Also, the ILR and NB OPS scales do not correspond despite the fact that the latter was modelled on the former. A 2007 document by Macdonald and Vandergrift estimates the following correspondences (for oral ability) between the Public Service Commission levels and the CEFR levels: Language schools may also propose their own equivalence tables. For example, the Vancouver English Centre provides
1653-781: The Osaka University of Foreign Studies by one of the coauthors of the CEFR, Brian North. He stated that a "sensible hypothesis" would be for C2 to correspond to "Distinguished," C1 to "Superior," B2 to "Advanced-mid" and B1 to "Intermediate-high" in the ACTFL system. This agrees with a table published by the American University Center of Provence giving the following correspondences according to "estimated equivalencies by certified ACTFL administrator": The following table summarises three earlier proposed equivalences between CEFR and ACTFL. Some of them only refer to one activity (e.g. speaking). The French Academy Baltimore suggests
1710-547: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China
1767-603: The SC-TOP's official website, the test can be taken in the following countries: Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until
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1824-603: The Swiss municipality of Rüschlikon found the need for a common European framework for languages to improve the recognition of language qualifications and help teachers co-operate. A project followed to develop language-level classifications for certification to be recognised across Europe. A preliminary version of the Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
1881-598: The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL), for Chinese learners worldwide to assess their Chinese proficiency. The SC-TOP has the following major missions: The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) is a standardized language proficiency test developed for non-native speakers of Chinese. It is the result of a joint project of the Mandarin Training Center , the Graduate Institute of Teaching Chinese as
1938-521: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,
1995-422: The bands has two levels. Therefore, there are a total of eight levels: Novice 1 and 2, followed by Levels 1 to 6. The items on the test of each level are 50 multiple choice items, to be answered in 60 minutes. Test takers can choose the test levels best suited to them based on their Chinese language proficiency and learning background. The former version (until 2013) had only five levels. TOCFL test takers who reach
2052-556: The domains in which the language activities occur, and the competencies on which a person draws when they engage in them. The CEFR distinguishes four kinds of language activities: reception (listening and reading), production (spoken and written), interaction (spoken and written) and mediation (translating and interpreting). General and particular communicative competencies are developed by producing or receiving texts in various contexts under various conditions and constraints. These contexts correspond to various sectors of social life that
2109-562: The federal government's exclusive partner for language tests taken at the end of the integration courses for migrants, following the CEFR standards. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has published a one-directional alignment table of levels according to its ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the CEFR levels. It is based on the work of the ACTFL-CEFR Alignment Conferences that started in 2010. Generally,
2166-471: The following different equivalence: A study by Buck, Papageorgiou and Platzek addresses the correspondence between the difficulty of test items under the CEFR and ILR standards. The most common ILR levels for items of given CEFR difficulty were as follows: As Canada increasingly uses the CEFR, Larry Vandergrift of the University of Ottawa has proposed Canadian adoption of the CEFR in his report Proposal for
2223-703: The framework. Differences in estimation have been found to exist, for example, with the same level on the PTE A , TOEFL , and IELTS , and is a cause of debate between test producers. The CEFR, initially developed to ease human mobility and economic growth within the highly multilingual European Union, has since influenced and been borrowed by various other areas. In Japan, the adoption of CEFR has been encouraged by academics, institutional actors ( MEXT ), politicians, business associations, and by learners themselves. Adoption in Malaysia has also been documented. In Vietnam, adoption of
2280-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from
2337-464: The language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching, and assessing that applies to all languages in Europe . The CEFR was established by the Council of Europe between 1986 and 1989 as part of the "Language Learning for European Citizenship" project. In November 2001, a European Union Council Resolution recommended using
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2394-531: The level requirements will receive a certificate, which can serve as a credential of proficiency in Chinese for: Currently some undergraduate and graduate programs in Taiwan adopt the TOCFL certificate as the requirement for admission or as the evaluation of an applicant's Chinese proficiency. In addition, many international businesses in Taiwan, such as LG , adopt TOCFL as a reference for their employee dispatch programs. Several overseas companies also refer to candidates' TOCFL certificates when recruiting. The TOCFL
2451-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as
2508-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In
2565-975: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often
2622-448: The middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of the predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by the People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is
2679-567: The need to adapt the conceptual vocabulary to the local language and to adapt the framework to the local public, its language and practices. Around 2005, the Osaka University of Foreign Studies developed a CEFR-inspired project for its 25 foreign languages, with a transparent and common evaluation approach. While major languages had long had well-defined tools for the Japanese public, able to guide teachers in teaching and performing assessments in
2736-1389: The new Chinese Proficiency Standard, levels 1, 2, 3, 4 in the coming HSK would be more difficult than its 2010 version, and less so in levels 5 and 6. The more difficult levels (7–9) would equivalent to CEFR level C. TOCFL tests four language skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing. Novice has three sections. There are 25 multiple-choice questions in total. This test takes approximately 25 minutes. Band A has four sections: Picture Description, Single-round Dialogue (questions with picture options), Multiple-round Dialogue (questions with picture options), and Dialogue (questions with text options). There are 50 multiple-choice questions in total. This test takes approximately 60 minutes. Band B and Band C have two sections: Dialogue and Monologue. There are 50 multiple-choice questions with text options. This test takes approximately 60 minutes. Novice has two sections. There are 25 multiple-choice questions in total. This test takes 25 minutes. Band A has five sections: Sentence Comprehension, Picture Description, Gap Filling, Paragraph Completion, and Reading Comprehension. There are 45 multiple-choice questions and 5 matching questions. This test takes 60 minutes. Bands B and C have two sections: Gap Filling and Reading Comprehension. Each test consists of 50 multiple-choice questions and takes 60 minutes. The TOCFL Speaking test adopts
2793-665: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as
2850-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as
2907-513: The pilot projects then informed the Manual revision project from 2008 to 2009. The CEFR divides general competences in knowledge , skills , and existential competence with particular communicative competences in linguistic competence , sociolinguistic competence and pragmatic competence . This division does not exactly match previously well-known notions of communicative competence , but correspondences among them can be made. The CEFR has three principal dimensions: language activities,
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#17330861516022964-578: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with
3021-970: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write
3078-509: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being
3135-571: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c. 200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c. the 5th century . Although
3192-475: The world understand the correspondence between TBCL, CEFR , and ACTFL guidelines . The TOCFL will also use the TBCL as one of the references for test design. It is difficult to directly compare the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) with the TOCFL. Unlike TOCFL, the pre-2021 HSK had 6 levels. The six HSK levels and the six Band A, B and C TOCFL levels were all claimed to be compatible with the six levels of
3249-599: Was published in 2003. This draft version was piloted in a number of projects, which included linking a single test to the CEFR, linking suites of exams at different levels and national studies by exam boards and research institutes. Practitioners and academics shared their experiences at a colloquium in Cambridge in 2007 and the pilot case studies and findings were published in Studies in Language Testing (SiLT). The findings from
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