HSK is difficult for overseas students in China. Anne, from Russia, told us that she had studied in China for three years and had participated in the HSK twice. But the scores were very low every time. She said: “This exam is torture, my spoken Chinese is very good but it turns out to be bad when it is time for the examination. Now my state of mind is better than before as language is used for communication. I have no problem living in China. I have many Chinese friends. We can understand each other very well. So I’m fine now.”

A student from Greece said: “For me, my Chinese level is not high; I always misuse some words, for example, postpositions. I have no problem when speaking to Chinese. While in the written examination, I usually make mistakes.” She set an example: “If a friend called me, I want him to go somewhere. I tell him I would go there or I would come there. My Chinese friends can understand me. Why isn’t it right in the written examination?” The student expressed she wanted to get a high level, because she wants to receive a reward from her parents. Even when she goes back to her hometown to hunt for jobs, it is a certification.

“I regret coming to China for Chinese study.” Heinrich, from Germany, said: “Chinese are so smart to create such magical words. I really want to pull all my hair out of my head and become Einstein when seeing Chinese characters that are difficult to distinguish in every final examination.” Heinrich has been in China for two years, he said: “Now I can understand why many people in other countries say English is easy. Chinese characters are too plentiful such as a desk, an apple, a light, a car, a door, a chair. In English, a or an is enough to modify the words while in Chinese it is totally not.”