by Justin Pope
The Associated Press
The Oregonian
September 24, 2005
Boston - For American students, tests such as the SAT, ACT and GRE mark the path to college and graduate school. But for hundreds of thousands of international students hoping to study in the United States, a major concern is proving their language skills on the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
Now that test has undergone a major makeover, aimed at better evaluating how well applicants can communicate in English. As the test debuts today, some students, particularly Asians, are worried they'll be at a disadvantage because of how they were taught English.
Last year, 750,000 students took the old, mostly multiple-choice test.
In recent years, many of the 5,200 English speaking colleges and universities that use the exam have grown concerned the test fails to identify students who master only textbook English. Also, [American] undergraduates have complained they cannot understand the foreign graduate students teaching their classes.
After a decade's research, the Educational Testing Services will be giving the new TOEFL "iBT" (Internet-based test) this weekend in U.S. test centers. The exam will phase in worldwide over the next year.
Perhaps the biggest change is a new speaking component. Previously, the testing service offered a separate speaking test, but few students took it.
More broadly, the focus shifts to how well students read, write and speak in combination. Students may be asked to listen to a recording and read a passage, then to speak about both. Their responses will be digitally recorded, then downloaded by experts to grade.
In school, "you're always using a combination of skills," and Mari Pearlman, ETS senior vice president. "When you read, you take notes. When you're in a classroom, you're also speaking and writing."
Students need all three skills outside the classroom, too, whether it's finding housing or figuring out a washing machine.
It's a much more significant re-working than the recent makeover of the SAT. The changes have some students nervous, particularly those from Asia, where schools generally emphasize vocabulary and grammar over speaking.
"Most Asians, especially (from) Japan, Korea, Taiwan, love reading, structure, grammar," said Yoshihiko Iwasaki, a Japanese student hoping to attend business school, while on break from a Kaplan test-prep class earlier this week in Boston.
"(Our) speaking is weak, because sometimes, it's impolite to speak out, to describe an opinion or talk to the teacher. When we take a class, we just sit and take notes and memorize."
Pearlman said pre-testing does not suggest students from particular countries will suffer. She acknowledged Asian students may have disadvantages but said they will make up for them because "they are ferociously capable and determined."
Educators hope the change will improve English teaching worldwide. When ETS added writing to the test in the 1970s, curricula around the world adjusted. ETS predicts the new speaking section will have a similar effect.
English test
Content: In a new speaking section, students express opinions on familiar topics and discuss academic material they read and hear. In listening, there's more emphasis on discerning a speaker's purpose. Test-takers must respond in writing to reading and listening material. Grammar now is tested troughout instead of in stand-alone section.
Structure: The new version will be administered online at secure testing centers. Previously, students took a version stored on testing center computers or a paper version.
Time: Four hours, up from about 3.5 hours.
Scoring: 0 - 120. The computer based test was scored 0 - 300; the paper-based, 310 - 677.
Cost: $140, up from $130.
To learn more: http://www.ets.org/toefl
Source: Educational Testing Service