Test Design of the Intermediate Level Chinese Listening Proficiency Test and Reflection on Teaching

Over the past few decades, Chinese learning has become a growing global trend. Following the demand, language proficiency tests have emerged for Chinese learners. This paper examines the test design of the intermediate level of the Chinese listening proficiency test, and aims to establish what a competent Chinese listening proficiency test looks like, especially one that truly tests language communicative functions. Through examining the existing two influential Chinese listening proficiency tests – Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) and Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), both of the intermediate level – we discovered that neither one adequately designed its structure, test materials, question types, and other elements so as to meet the objective of testing Chinese as a communicative language. This study references tests that conform to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), including the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), then proceeds to the establishing principles and guidelines for the intermediate level of Chinese listening proficiency tests, and tries to construct a test that accurately reflects the examinee’s proficiency. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows: 1.The study constructs an intermediate level Chinese listening proficiency test designed to test for communicative purposes. Designing within the framework of a thematic test, this study refers to the Chinese language competence scale, including testing principles, test methods, and test construction, and creates a test that involves language forms and contents that are applicable in daily life. Materials chosen are valued for their authenticity, normativity, availability, and the principles of universality. Furthermore, when choosing the question types, scientific and interactive features are all considered. 2.Through examining test design, the study reflects on the teaching aspect of intermediate level Chinese listening. Since it is clear that general Chinese curriculum do not emphasize listening comprehension or comprehension strategies, three suggestions are made: i.To lead students to apply the method of ‘listening and understanding at the same time’ in order to teach them to associate “phonetics and semantics” with “content comprehension.” ii.To increase specialized listening comprehension training in the curriculum and teaching, and to add interactive tasks in the teaching materials. iii. To guide students to apply listening comprehension strategies and question answering strategies to lead Chinese learners to achieve a native speaker’s listening ability. The above findings can serve as a reference not only for future researches on intermediate level Chinese listening proficiency tests but also for listening teaching and material writing. Hopefully, this study can contribute to some degree towards Chinese listening testing and teaching.