In the San Francisco Bay Area, the 2013 Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) was offered twice this spring in Bay Area schools. In all, 78 American students participated in the first testing of their proficiency in elementary, intermediate, advanced and proficient Chinese during the April 5 testing at the University of California, Berkeley. In the second session, 31 students took the test at the International School of the Peninsula on May 9.
In recent years, the Chinese language education has thrived in the Bay Area. In an effort to prepare students for the challenges of an interconnected world, American schools are enhancing Chinese language courses as well as Chinese immersion programs. To evaluate non-native students’ learning level, a Chinese language proficiency assessment system was needed. This has made the TOCFL ever more popular as a standard testing tool.
Since 2008, the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco has been committed to promoting TOCFL among local American schools and universities offering Chinese language and East Asian studies. The test is now widely recognized by many teachers as a helpful assessment instrument. Students who take the test not only get a sense of their proficiency, but it also gives them added motivation to advance further in the language levels.
This October, the TOCFL will also be administered at Brigham Young University (BYU), Utah. Given the steady growth of Chinese language students at BYU, it is estimated that more than 90 examinees will take the test then.
