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China to Launch Homegrown Tests for English-Language Skills by 2020
Published on: 2016-11-16
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050China plans to roll out by 2020 a new set of standard tests to streamline the way the English-language skills of its population are tested - from primary school students to professional interpreters.


The Ministry of Education said it is borrowing elements from two major English-proficiency tests - the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Universities worldwide use those tests to admit international students.


Over 100 Chinese and foreign linguists have been developing the new series of English-language tests for over two years, and its format will be made public before the end of 2017. The testing system will be enforced beginning in 2020.


The new test includes modules for listening, reading, speaking and writing, as well as a section to test students' ability to use English in an international setting, as well as the students' cross-culture communication skills, Lin said.


Liu Jianda, a Professor at Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies who has been involved in designing of the tests, said that the tests will have nine levels, targeting students in primary and secondary schools and universities as well as students majoring in English; professionals using English in the workplace; and translators and interpreters.


The new tests will be used as the de facto standard, replacing a wide range of expensive exams offered by different institutions. Analysts say the move can save students tens of thousands of yuan spent on test preparation and language courses.


The market for English-language education in China is huge. Over 300 million Chinese were learning English in 2014, and each student spent 2,000 to 6,000 yuan on average on language courses that year, according to a joint study conducted last year by Peking University and 51Talk, an online language-training firm.

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