The Analysis Between New HSK Level 4 And IGCSE Chinese Examination With Reference To The CEFR

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(hereinafter referred to CEFR)is a guideline to European language teaching and assessment;it also serves as the theoretical framework for the design and development of many international language tests.The new Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi Level 4(meaning Chinese Proficiency Test Level 4 in English,hereinafter referred to new HSK-4)is an international Chinese proficiency test developed by Hanban for non-native Chinese learners,and its level corresponds to the CEFR B2 level.The International Certificate in Secondary Education(IGCSE)is a series of international examinations developed by the Cambridge Examinations Center.The Chinese Proficiency Test is known as IGCSE Chinese Proficiency Test(hereinafter referred to IGCSE-CPT)and it corresponds to the CEFR B2 level Although the two exams theoretically refer to the CEFR,relationships of their ability requirements is under-documented in literature.Based on the CEFR,this paper aims to compare the new HSK-4 and IGCSE-CPT regarding 1)the closeness-of-fit between the test and CEFR B2 level and 2)the similarities and differences between the new HSK-4 and IGCSE-CPT.The present study employs various research methods including literature study,statistical analysis method and comparative analysis method.The analytical data were collected from the authentic tests and samples of the two tests from 2014 to 2017.This study finds that: 1)Compared with the description of CEFR B2 level,listening ability requirements of the new HSK-4 and IGCSE-CPT are consistent with that in CEFR B2;the speaking and writing ability requirements see substantial agreement to that in CEFR B2 while the reading ability requirements of the two tests are significantly inconsistent with the description in CEFR B2.2)There are similarities and differences between the new HSK-4 and IGCSE-CPT.In terms of listening,similarities and differences are detected in the test content and item type,and overall,the new HSK-4 is more difficult in listening.In terms of speaking,Compared with the new HSK-4,IGCSE-CPT pays more attention to the interaction between examinees and examiners,and the test requirements and item types were more consistent with the difficulty level of CEFR B2.In terms of reading,both of the tests mainly adopt the item type of multiple choice,but there exist differences concerning the item amount,test format and topics of the reading passages.In terms of writing,differences are found regarding the amount of writing section,time allotment and test form between the two tests;the new HSK-4 attaches more importance to assessing grammar but emphasizes less more discourse;furthermore,IGSCE-CPT has a more appropriate design on the item type,but the content of the short essay writing is above the CEFR B2 level.This paper further analyzes and discusses the aforementioned research findings with the hope to provide reference for researchers to study the two exams in the future,and offer valuable suggestions to relevant Chinese test institutions for test design and development.