#tocfl

I took two CAT practice tests in the two days before and scored lower on the listening both times (and only got a 4/B2 overall), so I was fairly surprised that it was the opposite on the actual test (although I had managed to finish both the practice CATs with time to spare, so maybe that last reading passage really did me in, idk). I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised though, because I tended to score higher in listening on the old Band B tests too- I think seeing the timer count down on the reading part made me extra nervous, but with the listening one can only go as fast as the questions are read, so I didn't feel the same sense of pressure.

I found some very useful vocabulary courses on Memrise language app. I like this app way better than anki tbh, as it actually focuses on prononciation.

TOCFL - Band A - Level 1 & 2

TOCFL Band B - level 3

TOCFL Band B - Level 4

Yesterday for fun, I took an HSK level test from hsklevel.com--I hope it is accurate because I am quite pleased with the results haha!

I will say that this test felt REALLY HARD. It shows you words/characters and you indicate whether you know the word or not. I felt like I was saying no to over half! But I guess it learned from my answers and was showing me more and more difficult words to find my “breaking point,” which is what my teachers have said a language assessment is supposed to do.

I actually took it twice. I got very similar results the second time, so I’m just going to show the scores from the first time.

I don’t really know how to assess if the 11,030 words is accurate, but it sounds like a lot so I am fine taking their word for it :) 

I wouldn’t say I’m at 90% comprehension for movies, social media, blogs, and literature...I’m guessing maybe the HSK words are sorted into categories, so it’s supposed to mean something like “you can understand 90% of literature written at an HSK 6 level.” Which isn’t quite as impressive. As it’s been said, HSK 6 only gets you halfway there. 

I will say it is definitely true in my experience that my news comprehension is lower. But I have some resources I’ve gathered that focus on news articles, so I know I can strengthen that skill later on.

This above is the HSK which is going to be phased out. I’ve estimated previously that I am in the HSK 6 zone because a fair number of new words I encounter are HSK 6 words (I think most are not in the HSK vocab list at all). So this feels pretty accurate to me!

I have been curious about how my ability maps onto the new/incoming HSK, so this is quite interesting to see. I know people reacted to the new levels with some disappointment that they might be bumped down in terms of the “number,” so I will admit I am pleased to see these results.

When I took the test a second time, it estimated my HSK 3.0 level as 6 instead, but the number of HSK 6 and 7-9 words it estimated I knew was not that much lower, so I guess I am somewhere around the cutoff. I’m happy either way.

I don’t know that much about TOCFL so I don’t really have anything to say. Does it correspond to CEFR levels?? It kinda looks like it might.

Now I am thinking I should look over the CEFR guides again...whenever I do look at them, I’m never sure if I’m under or overestimating myself, you know? I feel like it’s better to underestimate your ability and then surprise people, but also you wouldn’t want to miss out on opportunities due to this. And overestimating might push you to grow more.

TOCFL is over and I didn’t pass the level I wanted (Level 5).

It’s fine though. I’m a bit disappointed but I did kind of expect it to go that way. I did study every day, but I still think I didn’t really prepare enough. I almost made Level 5 in the Reading part, but I missed it by two points, that does annoy me a bit. As for Listening, I honestly never expected to reach Level 5, haha. So Level 4 it is then. Also, we got a cute washi tape as a gift afterwards, that was sweet.

Oh well. My friend said to do the HSK instead because it’s easier. I will consider that if I need to impress future employers, but for now I don’t feel like doing more tests any time soon.

That being said, I did learn some things:

First of all, I’m proud of myself that I even signed up for it. I don’t really need the test result for anything, I just wanted to do the test before leaving Taiwan. Usually I bail out of uncomfortable or scary situations if they’re not mandatory, but this time I did it anyway, so yay me!

Before important tests, I usually stay up very late studying and study more in the morning and then rush to the test without eating, and usually I’m super stressed and on edge. This time my friend reminded me to stop studying, go to bed early, have breakfast, drink water. I did that and I arrived at the test rested and relaxed, a really good feeling! It really helped my concentration as well.

I used Quizlet for reviewing vocabulary and I think it’s awesome? I’ve never been a fan of flashcards, but this time they worked remarkably well for me. I think I’ll make more sets there now and use it for Japanese vocab as well.

I realized that if I just reviewed all the stuff I learned before but forgot again, my level would be much higher. I did focus more on certain topics and completely ignored others (I guess most people do), and that really bit me in the ass today.

I still don’t know how to improve my concentration during listening tests though. I drift off soooo easily and miss half the recording by spontaneously daydreaming.

I checked my chinese vocabulary at hsklevel since I'm going to start preparing for TOCFL and I'm extremely pleased with the results! First of all, to make sure I can get a more accurate result but I took the test until I finished 150 words. I actually took it twice because my internet died the first time and I had to take it all over again!