VOA慢速英语2014 免费在线英语学习者测试目标

 

Free Online Test Targets English Learners 免费在线英语学习者测试目标

A private company has just launched what it calls “the world’s first free standardized¹ English test.” Anyone with an Internet connection can take the test for free.

The new exam is called the EFSET, which is short for Education First Standardized English Test. The company, Education First, is known by the letters EF. It operates schools and offices in more than 50 countries.

Minh Tran is EF’s Director of Research and Academic Partnerships². He estimates there are two billion English language learners worldwide. Many of them are interested in attending an American college or university. To do so, foreign students need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language – better known as TOEFL. Tran says many foreigners are not wealthy enough to take the TOEFL, which can cost more than $250. In addition, test takers often have to travel overnight to reach an official testing site.

For example, it costs $175 to take the TOEFL Internet-based test in Cambodia. The World Bank says the average Cambodian worker earns only about $1,000 per year. That means the cost of taking the TOEFL is about 17.5 percent of the average worker’s yearly wages.

It is not just individuals who find the test pricey. Some governments find the costs to be prohibitive.

Mr. Tran says EF is in talks with education ministries³ in several countries. He hopes governments will use the EFSET to test millions of employees and students. He notes that not everyone needs official results from the TOEFL or IELTS – the International English Language Testing System.

“Well, it depends on who you are. If you are a beginner, or if you are someone who does not need to send your certified⁴ English scores to a third party, such as a school or an employer or immigration officer, then I would say the EFSET serves a unique function.”

Mr. Tran believes that EFSET meets the highest values in language testing. The test has been through years of research and psychometric analysis. Psychometrics is the method or process of mental measurement.

The new test was tested, or piloted, on thousands of students. The EFSET uses special computer software that makes the questions easier or harder, depending on one’s performance. The EFSET measures all English levels, while the IELTS and TOEFL only measure from moderate to advanced.

“The EFSET is unique and innovative⁵ and really groundbreaking in the sense that it gives free online access very much like a MOOC [Massive Open Online Course] would to anyone who interested in measuring their English proficiency⁶ level.”

There is a 50-minute and a two-hour version of the test, which its developers are calling the EFSET Plus. Both versions test only reading and listening skills. Will speaking and writing questions be added in the future? Mr. Tran is hopeful.

“That’s a very good question, and a question that our experts are working on right now. There are many ways that you can test productive skills -- speaking and writing. What’s difficult is standardizing⁷ those assessments⁸ and making sure the different graders have the same reliability⁹ and listening to the same samples or reading the same sample that they have the same score.”

IELTS and TOEFL still use humans to rate the speaking and writing sections. So far, no software program can measure speaking and writing ability as well as a human being.

It is too early to know if colleges and universities will accept EFSET results for admission. Julie Soper is Assistant Director of International Admissions at American University in Washington, DC. She finds the concept of a free online English test interesting but she also has some reservations.

“It’s very intriguing¹⁰. I like the idea that it’s free and that it’s easy to access—that’s a huge deal for students who are maybe in areas where they can’t get to a TOEFL, can’t get to an IELTS. So that’s great. But, with it being online, I mean of course there’s the question of being able to properly validate¹¹ the person’s identity and have that security around that test score. And then, additionally, with not having all of the components¹² of the exam that TOEFL and IELTS have I just wonder about it. I have not done any research on my own about it, so just am curious.”

Even without a speaking and writing section, some English language teachers are hopeful about the new test. Mark Dever is an English Language Fellow at the Police Language School in Indonesia’s capital.

“This test has great potential. This test can help those with fewer resources. For too long those who could afford the [TOEFL] courses were the ones that passed. This test has a chance to help the teachers inside the classroom as well because it’s an easy, free way for me to assess the level of my students, along with a way to perform a quick, free needs analysis for them as well.” 

EF offers the test for free as a way to advertise other EF products to possible users. The test was launched last month and tens of thousands of students have taken it. Tran says feedback from students has been good.

Time will tell whether this new test is a game-changer in the standardized test industry.

Words in this Story

launch – v. to offer or sell (something) for the first time

prohibitive – adj. so high that people are prevented from using or buying something

pilot – v. done as a test to see if a larger program, study, should be done

intriguing – adj. extremely interesting

game changer – n. an event, idea, or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something.

1 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

2 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

3 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

7 standardizing   

使合乎规格，使标准化( standardize的现在分词 )； 规格化

参考例句：

• These composite indices are derived by standardizing each of its component series. 这些综合指数是使通过把它们的组成部分中的各个数列标准化而获得的。
• Significant progress was made in rectifying and standardizing nonbank financial institutions. 整顿和规范非银行金融机构取得重要进展。

8 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

9 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

10 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

12 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。