Test for Mandarin Proficiency Being Held in Macao

Test for Mandarin Proficiency Being Held in Macao

A total of 62 Macao residents are scheduled to have their proficiency of Mandarin -- standard spoken Chinese -- tested in the three days beginning from Thursday.

The examinees include 25 civil servants and 18 teachers, according to Zhao Yongxin, director of the Macao Mandarin Training and Testing Center.

He explained that civil servants have more contacts with their counterparts in the inland areas of the country now that Macao has returned to the motherland, and that there is an obvious demand for Mandarin teachers in Macao.

Zhao said Macao people have showed lasting enthusiasm for learning Mandarin over the past several years. Nearly 10,000 people have attended various kinds of training classes.

"Up to now, the teaching of Mandarin has to be shifted from popularization to improvement," he said.

It is the third time that such a test is conducted in Macao. Two examinants from the State Language Working Committee have been sent here to preside over the test.