TOCFL - Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language

TOCFL stands for Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language, obviously meant to be associated with TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and is the standardized Mandarin proficiency exam in Taiwan. The Mainland Chinese counterpart is the HSK (Hà  nyÇ” ShuÇ pà ­ng KÇŽoshà ¬). TOCFL is arranged by the Ministry of Education and held regularly both in Taiwan and abroad. The exam was previously known as TOP (Test of Proficiency). Six Levels of Proficiency Just like the HSK, TOCFL consists of six levels, although the final level is still under development. What these levels mean exactly depends on whom youre asking, but lets look at a quick overview: TOCFL level TOCFL name CEFR HSK level* 1 A1 3 2 A2 4 3 B1 5 4 B2 6 5 C1 6 C2 *Comparing proficiency exams is notoriously difficult, but this assessment made by  Fachverbands Chinesisch, a German association for teaching and promoting the Chinese language. There is no official HSK to CEFR conversion table (there was, but it was retracted after being criticized as too optimistic). Even though there are six distinct levels, there are actually only three tests (bands): A, B,  and C. That means that you can achieve levels 1 and 2 on the same test (band A), depending on your final score, levels 3 and 4 on the same test (band B), and levels 5 and 6 on the same test (band C). The tests are structured so that they become gradually  more difficult, allowing for a wider span of difficulty for each test. In order to pass a certain level, you not only need to reach a certain total score, you also have to meet certain minimum requirements for each separate parts. Thus, you wont pass if your reading ability is lousy, even if your listening ability is stellar. Resources Official TOCFL website -  This is where you go for basic information about test locations and dates, as well as any other kind of official information. You can also sign up for exams here, both in Taiwan and abroad.TOCFL mock exams - There is one mock exam for listening and one for reading. In comparison with HSK, this isnt much, so if you want more, we suggest you check the resources for HSK and use the table in this article to figure out roughly what level you should aim for.