▲From left: Master of awards ceremony Carol Hu, Tony Chen, JP Cheng, Thomas Wang,
Sophie Chou(Director of Education Division, TECO in San Francisco), Scott Lai(Director
General of TECO in San Francisco), Lisa Wang(President of ANCCS), Sophia Chuang(Director of the Culture Center Of Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in San Francisco), Selena Shan(Vice President of ANCCS)
Education Division, TECO in San Francisco and Association of Northern California Chinese
Schools(ANCCS) co-hosted the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) and
Children’s Chinese Competency Certification (CCCC) Awards Ceremony at the Culture
Center Of Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in San Francisco (Milpitas) on January 14th.
The director general of TECO in San Francisco, Scott Lai, was invited to present the
awards, while the test takers, their parents, Mandarin teachers and principals of Chinese
schools also participated in the event.
The TOCFL and CCCC took place on November 6th, 2022. The attendance rate was over
97%, it was also the most test takers in these years. The passing rate of TOCFL was 84%,
and 100% for CCCC. “Learning Mandarin helps create another connection with the
world, it is also helpful even though living in the United States. Mandarin is a useful
language either for ordering food in a Chinese restaurant, or for extending one’s friend
zone.” Lai stated. Sophie Chou, the director of Education Division, TECO in San Francisco
said, there are 64 institutes in Taiwan that are eligible to enroll foreign students to study
Mandarin, the learners are very welcome to study in Taiwan.
Isabel Wang, the CCCC test taker who passed Blossoming Level, said, “English and
Mandarin are both important languages in the world, being proficient to both of them
made me be proud of myself.” Another test taker Isadora Wang shared her thoughts
about learning Mandarin, “Understanding Mandarin made me able to watch Chinese
series with my mom, and I could learn more Mandarin and Chinese culture from
watching the series. If there are new classmates who understand Mandarin only but
English, I would be able to help them merge into class, make new friends, and like to
come to school.” Una Yang, the test taker who passed Sprouting Lever, thought the test
was generally easy with a few difficult questions, but she would like to challenge the
higher level next time.
The test takers who passed TOCFL and CCCC received certificates from Taiwan’s Ministry
of Education and Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency – Huayu, which will be
helpful when they search for jobs or apply for schools in Taiwan. TOCFL matches the
ACTFL and CEFR criteria, and can effectively evaluate the learning outcomes. The test
takers can also apply for Huayu Enrichment Scholarship and Taiwan Scholarship to study
in Taiwan with their TOCFL scores.
There will be a TOCFL and CCCC on November 12 th at the Culture Center Of Taipei
Economic & Cultural Office in San Francisco (Milpitas), all the Mandarin learners who
would like to understand their levels are welcome to register.
▲CCCC Blossoming certificate recipients
▲Participants of the awards ceremony