Business Chinese Test (BCT)

To  meet Chinese language learners’ need for a business Chinese test,the  Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) commissioned the International  Business Chinese Language Teaching and Resource Development Base,  University of International Business and Economics to organize Chinese  and overseas experts on business Chinese language teaching, linguistics,  psychology and educational measurement to revise the Business Chinese  Test (BCT) which has existed since 2006 on the basis of the latest  research results on international language testing and business Chinese  from recent years.

The  new BCT, as an international,standardized test of Chinese language  proficiency, focuses on assessing non-native Chinese speakers’ abilities  to use the Chinese language in real business or common working  environments and evaluating the language tasks they are able to  complete. It aims to provide references for companies to recruit and  select employees, for schools and training institutions to organize  teaching activities, and for learners to evaluate themselves.

The  BCT, as a test series, consists of three independent tests: BCT (A),  BCT (B) and the BCT Speaking Test. The BCT (A), which is oriented  towards beginners, is designed to examine test takers’ ability to  communicate in Chinese in daily life and during basic business  activities. The BCT (B),which is oriented towards intermediate and  advanced learners, is designed to examine test takers’ ability to  communicate in Chinese during complex business activities. The BCT  Speaking Test, which is oriented towards learners of all levels, adopts  the form of a computer-based test as well as personalized and targeted  questions to examine test takers’ ability to complete various  communicative tasks by using spoken Chinese.

The  BCT has the following characteristics: first, it focuses on the  practical use of Chinese when conducting business activities. The test,  following the principle of practicality, oriented towards speaking and  listening, and emphasizing abilities in the workplace, aims to recreate  actual situations in the workplace. Second, it has set the Standards for Business Chinese Language Competence and advocates a combination of teaching and examination as a method of improving Chinese language skills. The Standards for Business Chinese Language Competence, which is based on large-scale surveys and data analyses and aligned with the BCT Outlines,  provides a basis for a refined assessment of competence and systematic  teaching activities. Third, it includes business culture as a part of  the test so as to improve learners’ intercultural communicative  competence.

Test Takers

The  BCT is held for non-native Chinese speakers. Anyone who is a non-native  speaker, whether capable of basic communication or fairly skillful  communication in Chinese, may take the BCT. There are no restrictions on  test takers’ age, education or length of time spent learning Chinese.

Test Time and Location

The  BCT is held regularly in mainland China and other countries each year.  In addition, BCT can provide special testing services as required by  relevant enterprises or organizations.

For information about the test dates and test centers for the BCT, please log on to the Chinese test service website www.chinesetest.cn. 

Test Purposes

1.Provide  a basis for employers to assess non-native Chinese speakers’  (candidates) Chinese competence in daily work. Test scores can be used  as a reference for employee recruitment, selection, placement and  promotion.

2.Help  relevant teaching and training institutions to assess students’  business Chinese proficiency in recruitment, class divisions, and  granting credits.

3.Help learners to improve and evaluate their business Chinese competence.

BCT (A)

The  BCT (A) is an international, standardized exam in Chinese language  proficiency that focuses on testing non-native Chinese speakers'  abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working  environments, and that evaluates the language tasks they are able to  complete. Following the principle of practicality, oriented towards  speaking and listening, and emphasizing abilities in the workplace, this  test aims to recreate actual situations in the workplace and takes  practical content for communications as the method of examining test  takers’ abilities to use Chinese to meet their needs in a working  environment.

I. Test Structure

BCT (A) contains 70 question sand consists of three parts: listening, reading and writing.

The duration of the whole test is about 150 minutes (including 5 minutes for writing down personal information).

1. Listening

Section  One contains twenty questions. A two-sentence dialogue between two  people and a question based on the dialogue will be read once for each  question. Choose the best answer from the four choices on the test paper  according to what you hear.

Section  Two contains fifteen questions. A four-sentence dialogue between two  people and a question based on the dialogue will be read once for each  question. Choose the best answer from the four choices on the test paper  according to what you hear.

Section  Three contains fifteen questions. Five passages followed bya few  questions will be read to you once. Choose the best answer from the  choices on the test paper according to what you hear.

2. Reading

Section  One contains twenty questions. A series of reading materials will be  provided, including pictures, tables, paragraphs, passages, etc. Each  piece of reading material will be followed by a few questions, each with  four choices. Choose the best answer to the question.

Section  Two contains ten questions. There are two passages with five blanks  each. Choose five best answers from seven choices to complete each  passage according to the context. 

Section  Three contains ten questions. This section is divided into two groups,  each with five questions. Four passages and several questions or  sentences will be provided on the test paper. Match each question or  sentence with its related passage.

3. Writing

Section  One contains one question. A written text or table will be provided.  Write at least 80 Chinese characters according to the directions.

Section  Two contains one question. A written text or table will be provided.  Write at least 150 Chinese characters according to the directions.

II. Reference Vocabulary

The  BCT (B) has set up a reference vocabulary of 4000 words according to  language competence, can-do statements, word frequencies of various  authoritative Chinese corpora, and the state of international Chinese  language teaching.

III. Score System

The  BCT (B) score report records a test taker's sub-test scores and total  score, without setting any passing score. The report will also provide  competence descriptions for all levels of test takers.

The  BCT (B) written test consists of three sub-tests: listening, reading  and writing, with a total score of 300 points. Its score system is shown  in the table below:

IV. Test Principles

Promote  learning through examination: encourage Chinese language learners'  interest and confidence, and further broaden the scope of the test in  accordance with the actual demands of overseas Business Chinese learners  and Chinese speakers in a general working environment.

Promote  teaching through examination: provide teachers and self-learners with  graded, task-based teaching resource sand suggestions related to  business Chinese, and help teaching and training institutions systematically  and effectively improve business Chinese learners and speakers'  abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working  environments.

Provide positive feedback for test takers: evaluate  test takers' ability to complete various language tasks by asking them  to carry out a series of typical business language tasks and provide  positive feedback for Chinese language learners to plan their future  studies.

BCT (B)

The  BCT (B) is an international, standardized exam in Chinese language  proficiency that focuses on testing non-native Chinese speakers'  abilities to use the Chinese language in real business or common working  environments, and that evaluates the language tasks they are able to  complete. Following the principle of practicality, oriented towards  speaking and listening, and emphasizing abilities in the workplace, this  test aims to recreate actual situations in the workplace and takes  practical content for communications as the method of examining test  takers’ abilities to use Chinese to meet their needs in the working  environment.

I. Test Structure

The BCT (B) written test contains 92 question sand consists of three parts: listening, reading and writing.

The duration of the whole test is about 150 minutes (including 5 minutes for writing down personal information).

1. Listening

Section  One contains twenty questions. A two-sentence dialogue between two  people and a question based on the dialogue will be read once for each  question. Choose the best answer from the four choices on the test paper  according to what you hear.

Section  Two contains fifteen questions. A four-sentence dialogue between two  people and a question based on the dialogue will be read once for each  question. Choose the best answer from the four choices on the test paper  according to what you hear.

Section  Three contains fifteen questions. Five passages followed bya few  questions will be read to you once. Choose the best answer from the  choices on the test paper according to what you hear.

2. Reading

Section  One contains twenty questions. A series of reading materials will be  provided, including pictures, tables, paragraphs, passages, etc. Each  piece of reading material will be followed by a few questions, each with  four choices. Choose the best answer to the question.

Section  Two contains ten questions. There are two passages with five blanks  each. Choose five best answers from seven choices to complete each  passage according to the context. 

Section  Three contains ten questions. This section is divided into two groups,  each with five questions. Four passages and several questions or  sentences will be provided on the test paper. Match each question or  sentence with its related passage.

3. Writing

Section  One contains one question. A written text or table will be provided.  Write at least 80 Chinese characters according to the directions.

Section  Two contains one question. A written text or table will be provided.  Write at least 150 Chinese characters according to the directions.

II. Reference Vocabulary

The  BCT (B) has set up a reference vocabulary of 4000 words according to  language competence, can-do statements, word frequencies of various  authoritative Chinese corpora, and the state of international Chinese  language teaching.

III. Score System

The  BCT (B) score report records a test taker's sub-test scores and total  score, without setting any passing score. The report will also provide  competence descriptions for all levels of test takers.

The  BCT (B) written test consists of three sub-tests: listening, reading  and writing, with a total score of 300 points. Its score system is shown  in the table below:

IV. Test Principles

Promote  learning through examination: encourage Chinese language learners'  interest and confidence, and further broaden the scope of the test in  accordance with the actual demands of overseas Business Chinese learners  and Chinese speakers in a general working environment.

Promote  teaching through examination: provide teachers and self-learners with  graded, task-based teaching resource sand suggestions related to  business Chinese, and help teaching and training institutions systematically  and effectively improve business Chinese learners and speakers' Chinese  language communicative competence in a realistic business environment.

Provide positive feedback: evaluate  test takers' ability to complete various language tasks in a business  environment by asking them to carry out a series of typical business  language tasks and provide positive feedback for Chinese language  learners to plan their future studies.