Princeton, N.J. (December 11, 2006) —
Officials at ETS, creators of the TOEIC? test, the world's most widely used test of workplace English, announced today that registration is now open for the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests. The Internet-based tests will complement the TOEIC Test (Listening and Reading), which first premiered in Japan in 1979.
A trial administration of the new tests was held on Dec. 9. Approximately 300 TOEIC Speaking and Writing test takers took the exam at seven centers in Japan. Registration is now open for the forthcoming test administrations on January 21 and February 10, 2007.
"The introduction of the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests will enhance the product line by offering a four-skill assessment — listening, reading, speaking and writing — and provide score users with more information to make better decisions," says Paul A. Ramsey, Senior Vice President of ETS's Global Division. "At the same time, ETS will provide learners with additional opportunities to improve their overall communication skills."
"The addition of the new Speaking and Writing tests to the TOEIC program to measure productive English skills will open a doorway for Japanese business people to improve the skills that are becoming increasingly important in global business," says Naotomi Umezawa, Managing Director of the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC), ETS's representative in Japan. "Furthermore, along with the current TOEIC test's Listening and Reading sections, we believe the introduction of the new components will provide an additional guideline that will help Japanese decision makers benchmark their employees more effectively."
The Speaking test will measure the test taker's ability to use spoken English. Responses will be scored by ETS-trained raters through the ETS Online Scoring Network. Raters will evaluate ability in pronunciation, intonation, grammar, vocabulary, and relevance and completeness of response content. The test will last approximately 20 minutes. The Speaking test includes 11 questions that measure different aspects of speaking ability.
The Writing Test will measure the test taker's ability to use written English. Raters will also consider overall organization, appropriate and precise use of grammar, and vocabulary. The test will last approximately 60 minutes. The Writing Test includes eight questions that measure different aspects of writing ability.
Learners can access TOEIC Speaking and Writing Official Practice Tests online to help them prepare for the new productive-skills component of the TOEIC test.
"The TOEIC test requires listening and reading skills. In addition to those skills, TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests require skills to convey information and to express ideas and opinions. Improving my scores in these new tests will give me confidence to actually perform well in real life," says a business person who tried the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Official Practice Tests.
The Speaking and Writing Tests will be delivered through the ETS Internet-based test (iBT) online delivery system. Internet-based testing is designed to capture spoken and written responses in an efficient, standardized and fair manner.
"With the growing importance of English in the international market, ETS has designed these tests to sample the domain of workplace English with authentic tasks that reflect the kind of language people actually employ in the workplace and in everyday life," Ramsey adds.
About the TOEIC Test
TOEIC is the acronym for Test of English for International Communication?. The TOEIC test is a global standard for the assessment of communicative English ability in the international workplace. It is offered in some 60 countries around the world. The proficiency of the examinee is expressed as a numerical score between 10 and 990 rather than as a pass or fail. The scale is constant. Besides individual examinees, some 5,000 companies, government and other public offices, schools, and other organizations used the TOEIC test in fiscal year 2005.
About the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC)
IIBC, a nonprofit organization established in February 1986 under the auspices of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). It is currently called the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and promotes effective communication in the global business arena. IIBC engages in a wide range of activities centering on the TOEIC test and TOEIC? Bridge programs and Global Human Resources Development (GHRD). IIBC has been administering the TOEIC test since its introduction, and, in fiscal year 2005, the number of examinees in Japan reached 1.49 million – the largest annual total thus far.