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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Test of Chinese proficiency hits record numbers
Elementary-school children in Thailand study Mandarin with Taiwanese teachers on Sept. 11 last year. Photo: CNA
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA
The Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language （TOCFL） last year saw record-high numbers of examinees and sessions being held, highlighting the government’s efforts to promote Mandarin Chinese education overseas.
The test was administered more than 100,000 times, with 632 sessions being held in 47 countries, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu said in a statement yesterday.
The test is an important part of the government’s Chinese education for foreigners policy and serves as an excellent test to gauge students’ Chinese-language skills, it said.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Education, National Taiwan Normal University started the TOCFL program in 2005, committee head CEO Chen Po-hsi （陳柏熹） said.
To date, more than 740,000 tests have been administered, with Vietnamese accounting for the majority at 49 percent, he said.
Indonesians came in second at 12.2 percent and Japanese were third at 8.8 percent, he said.
The exam is available in more than 120 countries, with students accounting for the majority of examinees at 86.7 percent, the committee said.
People aged 21 to 30 comprised 49.4 percent of the test-takers, while examinees under the age of 20 accounted for 38.9 percent, it said.
The deadline for applications to take part in the examination next month is on Thursday next week, it said.
To encourage balanced learning of Chinese Mandarin, those taking the written, oral and audio-comprehension exams in one sitting can enjoy a 20 percent discount on exam fees, the committee said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
