| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
The Hakka language has been marginalized and assimilated by other powerful culture for long and lost the social educational function it should have, gradually leading to the phenomenon of recession and invisibility. At present, there are fewer and fewer Hakka people who can communicate fluently in Hakka, which causes the identity crisis of the new generation. Based on such identification, Hakka Affairs Council has actively promoted “Hakka family, Hakka life school, basic level Hakka Proficiency Test, intermediate and high-intermediate level Hakka Proficiency Test, and Children’s Hakka Evaluation Game.” Those who pass the high-intermediate level test and get the certificate of the Hakka teaching support personnel issued by the county or city competent authority are allowed to engage in the Hakka teaching in junior high schools and elementary schools to enhance the practical efficacy of the Hakka certificates.
Based on Chen Siu-ki’s “Competence Indicators of the Hakka Language Proficiency Certification,” this paper aims to examine the exam setting and difficulty of the two major categories, written exam and oral exam, of the basic level Hakka Proficiency Test given by Hakka Affairs Council, from 2007 to 2011. The first two chapters of the paper deal with the research motives and objectives, background of the Hakka certification, as well as Chinese Competence Indicators, the competence indicators of HSK, ACTFL, CLB, and CEFR. The third chapter analyzes the questions of the Hakka certification and examines the questions in terms of the oral expression ability, listening comprehension, and visual comprehension in Chen Siu-ki’s “Competence Indicators of the Hakka Language Proficiency Certification.” This paper examines the “true-and false, multiple choice, and cloze test” of the written exam with the visual comprehension competence indicators and summarize that the indicator “being able to understand the familiar subjects on daily life or work” accounts for the largest part of the questions. What comes second is the indicator “being able to understand the basic common short sentences used in personal life.” It is evident that the examiners put emphasis on the short sentences concerning daily life, work, and personal life. The “listening comprehension competence indicators” are applied to analyze the questions in the oral exam “Translate Hakka into Chinese and Listening Test” and summarize the first indicator “being able to understand the sentences and expressions related to personal experience on the condition of low speed and clear pronunciation and the second indicator “being able to have a general understanding of the topics being discussed slowly and clearly.” The oral expression competence indicators are applied to analyze the questions of “Translate Chinese into Hakka.” It can be observed that the indicator “being able to describe the figures, life, work, likes and dislikes with the simple sentences” accounts for the largest part. The second is “being able to make a simple description of figures, location, and objects.” According to the above observation, the points of exam setting include understanding the expressions related to personal experience, figures, life, work, likes and dislikes. However, there is a shortage of the questions related to the topics of information, advertisement, transportation, and email.
Chapter Four examines the difficulty of the vocabulary in the Hakka proficiency certification. After examining the tests of each year, I have found that the percentage of the vocabulary ability test is too high. Even though the examinees memorize all the vocabulary, it doesn’t mean they are equipped with the oral ability and able to converse in Hakka in daily life. This is an issue worth pondering for Hakka Affairs Council. Besides, some of the vocabulary in the tests is above the basic level of the Hakka proficiency certification. If the examinees can’t answer these questions, it doesn’t mean that they are not equipped with the basic Hakka ability. There are still some questions about proverbs, Hakka master’s proverbs, or solar terms. They belong to the improper setting because what should be tested in the language certification is the language ability rather than the ability on Hakka proverbs and Hakka master’s proverbs. Chapter Five makes a conclusion of the research and proposes the future prospect and suggestion that the Hakka certification should encourage the young people’s participation by means of giving rewards to achieve the goal of learning Hakka. In the educational and learning field of Hakka Proficiency Certification-Basic, the professional academic institute should take charge. From drawing up the Hakka competence indicators, vocabulary grading, to establishing the digital certification question database, all should meet the standard of the international language certification so that the Hakka proficiency certification system will be complete. It is also hoped that Hakka Affairs Council will add the Hakka signs in public places, such as the Hakka menus used in restaurants, Hakka products with the Hakka marks, and the Hakka language used in public places and businesses. If there are more Hakka signs or speech sounds appearing in daily life, it is believed to have a positive effect on the understanding of Hakka. Those who pass the proficiency tests will be given the advantage for further studies or employment; those who fail will also upgrade their Hakka ability during the preparation. This should be the ultimate goal of the Hakka proficiency certification.
Keyword：Hakka, Hakka certification, Hakka competence indicator, oral communication ability, visual comprehension, listening comprehension
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