TASC Chinese study plan
TASC Chinese · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Listening and responding & Speaking
Diagnose current listening accuracy by completing three short audio passages and logging errors by type (sound discrimination, vocabulary, speed, inference)
Establish a daily 15-minute shadowing routine using short native-speaker clips, repeating each clip until pronunciation and rhythm match
Speak for two uninterrupted minutes on familiar topics (self, work, daily routine) while recording and marking hesitations
Build a personal error log with at least 20 entries tagged to listening or speaking causes
Your checkpoint
A recorded 2-minute self-introduction plus a scored error log showing baseline accuracy and three named weakness categories
Listening and responding & Speaking
Practice listening for gist first, then detail, on five short dialogues, writing one-sentence summaries before answering detail questions
Identify and drill 30 high-frequency connective words and discourse markers that signal contrast, cause, and sequence
Respond aloud to 10 recorded prompts within 5 seconds each to reduce hesitation
Self-assess two recordings against a 4-point rubric covering fluency, pronunciation, grammar, and task completion
Your checkpoint
Five dialogue summaries with a detail-question score of at least 80%, plus two self-scored speaking recordings
Listening and responding & Reading and responding
Map listening question types to reading question types and note which skills transfer (main idea, detail, inference, tone)
Read three 250-character passages and annotate unknown characters by radical and guess meaning from context before checking
Listen to one passage twice: once for main idea, once for specific numbers and names, and compare notes
Build a 60-item vocabulary list from listening and reading errors, sorted by frequency of recurrence
Your checkpoint
A one-page transfer chart linking listening and reading skills, plus a 60-item vocabulary log with example sentences
Reading and responding & Writing
Read two 300-character passages under timed conditions and answer main-idea and detail questions without rereading the whole text
Write a 150-character structured response using a clear opening, two supporting points, and a closing sentence
Self-edit three short writings for character accuracy, measure-word errors, and word order
Compare written output against model sentence patterns and rewrite two sentences per error type
Your checkpoint
A timed reading set scored at 75% or higher and one 150-character writing sample with a completed self-edit checklist
Speaking & Writing
Deliver three 2-minute spoken responses using a fixed structure: state position, give two reasons, conclude
Transcribe one spoken response and convert it into a 150-character written paragraph to expose grammar gaps
Practice 15 sentence patterns that differ between spoken and written Chinese and use each in one original sentence
Record a mock speaking task and score it against the same rubric used in week 4 writing
Your checkpoint
Three recorded 2-minute responses plus one written paragraph derived from a transcript, with a rubric score for each
Reading and responding & Writing
Complete two full reading sets under exam timing and review every wrong answer to classify the error
Write two 200-character responses in 25 minutes each, planning for 5 minutes before writing
Reduce recurring character and grammar errors by 50% compared with the week 4 writing sample
Build a personal writing template bank of five openings and five closings for common prompt types
Your checkpoint
Two timed 200-character writings and two timed reading sets with an error-classification table
Listening and responding & Speaking
Complete two integrated listening-speaking cycles: listen to a 90-second passage, take notes, and summarize aloud for 60 seconds
Practice note-taking shorthand and test it on five passages to improve recall accuracy
Record five responses and compare fluency across recordings to confirm reduced pauses
Simulate a full speaking section end to end and score it with the rubric
Your checkpoint
A full simulated speaking section recording with rubric scores and a note-taking sample showing at least 80% key-point recall
Listening and responding & Reading and responding & Speaking & Writing
Complete one full four-domain mock exam under official timing and record section scores
Review every incorrect item and write a one-line cause and correction for each
Re-record the week 1 self-introduction and compare it with the baseline to measure improvement
Finalize a one-page exam-day checklist covering timing, pacing, and error-prevention habits
Your checkpoint
A completed mock exam score report with all four section scores and a one-page exam-day checklist
Milestones
Week 4: Complete a half-length mock covering listening and reading with at least 70% accuracy, and submit one self-edited 150-character writing sample
Week 6: Complete a timed reading set and a timed 200-character writing task with scores recorded, and show a 50% reduction in recurring character and grammar errors versus week 4
Week 8: Complete a full four-domain mock exam, score all sections, and demonstrate measurable improvement over the week 1 baseline in both listening accuracy and speaking fluency