Exams: Counting The Ways to Use the TOIEC

Twenty years ago when the TOEIC® test was first developed by Educational Testing Service to foster English-language learning in foreign countries, few people imagined that the test would become a valuable resource in the United States. The TOEIC test, or Test of English for International Communication, is now the world's leading English test with more than 1.4 million tests taken every year.

Here in the U.S., over 16,000 people took the TOEIC test last year. Some of the diverse uses of the TOEIC test in this country include:

• Immigrant language training: Programs such as Learning English Adult Program Inc. (LEAP) in New York City use the test for placement and measuring progress for immigrants learning English for the workplace and everyday life.
  
• Intensive English Programs: Colleges such as University of California at Berkeley measure student progress through pre and post testing and provide their students with certification of their English ability.
  
• Companies: The test is an important human resources tool for corporations such as Honda and Arthur Andersen.
  
• Students: English learners demonstrate their proficiency to prospective employers by taking the test and obtaining an official

TOEIC certificate.
The test itself consists of 200 questions, divided equally into listening and reading. It takes about two and a half hours to administer. The content is drawn from various workplace contexts as well as everyday situations where one might need English such as in restaurants, hotels, airports and medical offices. Thanks to the general nature of the content, a number of Intensive English Programs have found that the TOEIC test is well suited as a placement tool for all of their students.

Scores are reported on a scale from 10 to 990, representing levels ranging from beginner to professional proficiency. This wide range of levels accurately measured by the TOEIC test means that a diverse group of students can be tested at the same time and easily placed in the appropriate class.

The TOEIC representative offices in the U.S. and Canada provide rapid scoring for placement purposes. Tests are normally scored the morning after the test is administered and the results faxed to the client. This enables programs to place students within 24 hours of testing. Organizations using the test for placement have found that its high reliability means that the vast majority of students accept their assigned class level as being appropriate. As well, there are many different - but equivalent - editions of the TOEIC test. Candidates are therefore unlikely to take the same test form twice.

Many Intensive English Programs provide a post or exit test in addition to the placement test. Teachers and examinees alike can then see student progress in learning English. Once again, the broad range of proficiency measured by the TOEIC test means that progress can be observed in as little as one or two months. The continual incremental score gains encourage individual learners. Says Leslie Kanberg, Academic Director for UC Berkeley Extension in San Francisco: "The students here are very motivated. They love to compare to see whose score has gone up the most."

Recently, individuals and organizations have asked for English-language learning tools of the same high quality of the TOEIC test. TOEIC Service International (now part of The Chauncey Group International, an ETS subsidiary) has responded with a new line of products called Tools for TOEIC! This new line was launched last year with the publication of a 200-page book called The Official TOEIC Test Preparation Guide. The English version, published and distributed by Peterson’s, is available in bookstores and through the U.S. and Canadian official TOEIC representative offices. Skill-building exercises and a full-length practice test written by the same people who develop the TOEIC test are some of the features of this book-cassette package.

It is already being used by both Intensive English Programs and by individuals who wish to improve their English ability.
Other Tools for TOEIC products are under development. This spring, a dynamic and practical CD-Rom pronunciation product called Pronunciation in American English will be available. Knowledge and skill in stress, intonation and rhythm are key learning objectives. The interactive nature of the program allows for both visual and aural stimulation and set pronunciation and other language exercises in a meaningful workplace context, allowing learners to practice and improve their communication skills. The pronunciation product is ideal for individual learners and for classroom and training environments and can also be adapted for distance learning courses.

To meet the diverse needs of organizations, teachers and learners in the United States, Canada and worldwide, the TOEIC program will continue to develop new products and new uses for the TOEIC test.