Sara Jaaksola is from Finland, but have been living in Guangzhou, China since 2010. She originally went there to learn Chinese but ended up doing a both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees there. She also runs a Chinese language center called Expat Chinese. In 2023, she started a Ph.D. remotely at the University of Turku in Finland, researching Mandarin Chinese study motivation of adult students. In late 2022, she passed the new advanced HSK and earned a certificate on level 8. In this interview, we talk about her learning experience as well as insights from the new HSK!
HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì, 汉语水平考试) is the most widely used proficiency exam for non-native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. In July 2021, a new standard was released, initiating a process which will eventually change all levels of the HSK.
So far, levels 1-6 have yet to be rolled out, but the new advanced exam, covering levels 7-9, has been taken by real learners. Sara is one of them, and in this week’s podcast episode, she shares her experience with the new exam, as well as her own Chinese journey.
Tune in to the Hacking Chinese Podcast to listen to the related episode:
Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, YouTube and many other platforms!
If you want to know more about Sara or contact her, check the following links:
- Sara’s website: http://sarajaaksola.com/
- Sara’s YouTube channel
- Sara’s Twitter profile
If you want to know more about the HSK and how you can use it for improving your Chinese, I have written about this topic several times already here on Hacking Chinese:
The new HSK 3.0: What you need to know
Using the HSK as a roadmap to learning Chinese
How important is reading speed on tests like HSK and TOCFL?
What important words are missing from HSK?
If you have any questions, you can also leave a comment below!
