Worried about the HSK listening test? Want to find effective strategies to improve your scores? Don’t worry! The five strategies below will help you feel more confident and composed when it’s time for the test.
1. Build a Solid Vocabulary Foundation to Strengthen Listening Comprehension
Vocabulary is the cornerstone of listening comprehension. In the HSK listening test, a rich vocabulary enables you to easily understand the listening content. It’s like building a house. Without enough bricks, the house won’t be stable. We should thoroughly study each word in the HSK vocabulary syllabus. We should not only remember their spellings and meanings but also master their usages in different contexts.
For example, for the word “方便 (fāngbiàn)”, you should know that it means “convenient”, as in:
Zhè lǐ jiāo tōng hěn fāngbiàn.
这里交通很方便。
The traffic here is very convenient.
Zhè gè shí jiān nǐ fāngbiàn guò lái ma?
这个时间你方便过来吗？
Is it convenient for you to come over at this time?
Also, it has the meaning of ”go to the toilet”. For example,
Wǒ xiǎng qù fāng biàn yī xià
我想去方面一下。
I’d like to go to the toilet.
2. Master Grammar Rules to Better Understand Sentence Structure
Grammar is like the framework of a building, which can help us organize vocabulary into meaningful sentences. In the Chinese language, grammar structures are of vital importance to listening comprehension. Familiarizing yourself with sentence components, such as the positions and functions of the subject, predicate, object, attributive, adverbial and complement, enables you to quickly analyze the sentences you hear.
For example：
Wǒ zài tú shū guǎn rèn zhēn de kàn shū.
我在图书馆认真地看书。
I am reading books carefully in the library.
Here, “我 (wǒ)” is the subject, “看 (kàn)” is the predicate, “书 (shū)” is the object, “在图书馆 (zài tú shū guǎn)” is the adverbial of place, and “认真地 (rèn zhēn de)” is the adverbial of manner.
Especially for some special sentence patterns, such as the “把 (bǎ)” sentence and the “被 (bèi)” sentence, you should have a deeper understanding. Mastering the semantic meanings and usage scenarios of the two sentence patterns like:
Tā bǎ chuāng hu dǎ kāi le.
他把窗户打开了。
He opened the window.
Chuāng hu bèi tā dǎ kāi le.
窗户被他打开了。
The window was opened by him.
It helps you accurately grasp the information in listening. By doing grammar-specific exercise questions and analyzing the reasons for wrong answers, you can better master the grammar rules, thus understanding the meanings of sentences more clearly in the listening test.
3. Preview the Questions in Advance to Predict the Listening Content
Before the start of the listening test, don’t waste that precious preparation time. Make use of the short intervals before each piece of listening material is played to quickly preview the questions and options. It’s like lighting a lamp in the dark, allowing you to know the general direction of the listening in advance.
For example, if the question is about a concert, and the options mention things like “performance time,” “location,” or “performers,” you’ll know to focus on these details while listening. Mark key information like numbers, names, and places with a pencil to keep track.
For instance, if you see options like:
明天下午3点 (míng tiān xià wǔ sān diǎn) – 3 PM tomorrow
周杰伦 (zhōu jié lún) – Jay Chou
上海体育馆 (shàng hǎi tǐ yù guǎn) – Shanghai Gymnasium
You’ll be able to quickly pick up on these details during the listening, making it easier to answer the questions correctly.
4. Capture Key Information and Skillfully Use Signal Words
During the listening process, you should be as 敏锐 (mǐn ruì, perceptive) as a hunter capturing prey to seize key words and signal words. Key words are the core of the listening content, including various nouns, verbs, adjectives and quantifiers.
For example, in a listening passage about traveling, “景点 (jǐng diǎn, scenic spots)”, “旅游团 (lǚ yóu tuán, tour groups)”, “风景优美 (fēng jǐng yōu měi, beautiful scenery)”, “三天 (sān tiān, three days)” are all key words.
Signal words are the compasses that guide us to understand the logical content, such as “首先 (shǒu xiān, firstly)”, “其次 (qí cì, secondly)”, “最后 (zuì hòu, lastly)” which can help us sort out the order of the content; “但是 (dàn shì, but)”, “然而 (rán ér, however)” which indicate a turn and usually the content that follows is the key; “因此 (yīn cǐ, therefore)”, “所以 (suǒ yǐ, so)” which 提示 (tǐ shì,prompt) a causal relationship and enable us to understand the intention of the speaker.
For example：
Wǒ men běn lái jì huá qù pá shān, dàn shì tiān qì bù hǎo, suǒ yǐ gǎi wéi qù bó wù guǎn.
我们本来计划去爬山，但是天气不好，所以改为去博物馆 。
We originally planned to climb mountains, but the weather was bad, so we changed to go to the museum.
Through “但是 (dàn shì)” and “所以 (suǒ yǐ)”, we can clearly know the change of the plan. Learning to capture these key information and signal words enables you to ride the waves in the ocean of listening and accurately grasp the main content of the listening.
5. Do Mock Exercises Regularly to Cultivate the Sense of the Exam
Practice makes perfect. Doing a lot of mock exercises is the only way to improve your HSK listening test scores. Through a large number of mock exams, you can get familiar with the types of questions, time arrangements and difficulty distributions of the exam.
During the mock exercise process, strictly follow the time and requirements of the exam regulations to answer questions. For example, the time of the HSK listening test is fixed. You should learn to allocate the time reasonably. Don’t spend too much time on a certain question, causing you to be unable to finish the following questions in time.
After finishing the mock questions, carefully analyze the wrong questions to find out your weak links, whether they are vocabulary problems, grammar problems or answering technique problems. Target these problems and conduct targeted review and intensive training. Meanwhile, through multiple mock exercises, you can gradually overcome the exam nervousness and cultivate a good sense of the exam, allowing you to perform at your best level in the real HSK listening test.
Get Help with Native Chinese Teachers
Master these strategies, and the HSK listening test will no longer seem daunting. With confidence, perseverance, and the right approach, you’ll improve your skills and achieve your desired score. Preparing for the HSK can be challenging, but with the right support, you’ll be ready to succeed.
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