English Proficiency Test

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English Proficiency
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An English proficiency test is required to prove your ability to understand and use the language in both written and oral communication. These tests apply sophisticated research and development to provide objectively scored standardized English tests for all level learners – from beginner to advanced. At Stratmore, we provide guidance on meeting the requirements of the visa sponsors or host organizations in terms of scores. If you have taken any of the following tests, provide a report

IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System, and it is designed to assess the language ability of people who want to study or work where English is the language of communication. Recognized by over 12,000 organizations worldwide, it is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration.

The test has four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Each of these sections generates an individual score, which is subsequently used to award an overall score. Results are reported as band scores on a scale from 1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest). IELTS scores are valid for a period of two years from the date of your test.

There are two IELTS tests available – IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. The test you need to take will depend on what you want to do. IELTS Academic measures whether your level of English language proficiency is suitable for an academic environment, so it reflects aspects of academic language. IELTS General Training, on the other hand, measures English language proficiency in a practical, everyday context. Naturally, the tasks and sections reflect both workplace and social situations.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

TOEFL is an acronym for Test of English as a Foreign Language. It is the most prominent American English proficiency test and is accepted worldwide by universities and institutions. The test was originally developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. The language used in the test closely reflects how English is used in everyday academic settings, and the test content is entirely academic, with integrated tasks. Just as IELTS, this test also evaluates the four basic language skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Currently, the TOEFL iBT test can be taken in three different ways: at a test center, at home and on paper. The TOEFL iBT Home Edition is the same test you would take at a test center, taken from the comfort of your home. Similarly, the Paper Edition is the same four-skills TOEFL iBT test, but it has to be completed in two sessions. While the speaking is done at home on a computer, the other three sections are paper-based and held at a test center.

Each section of the TOEFL test has a score range of 0 to 30, so the maximum score that you can achieve is 120. Your scores are valid for 2 years.

TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication)

TOEIC stands for The Test of English for International Communication assesses your communication skills for the workplace. A total test score of 990 (equivalent to C1 level of CEFR) may be achieved, which is derived by adding the listening and reading scores. The test follows a different scoring pattern for the speaking and writing tests. Like the other tests, TOEIC scores are also valid for two years.

Since the test helps you to demonstrate your ability to communicate globally with co-workers and clients, it is highly valued by companies, multinational corporations, and international and governmental bodies all over the world. For example, companies in the aviation sector commonly use it to measure their employees’ level of English.

EF Standard English Test (EF SET)

The EF SET is a suite of free, online language tests designed to meet the high technical standards as the other standardized tests in the field, such as the TOEFL or IELTS.

With the EF SET, they set out to challenge the status quo – to build a testing solution that not only provides reliable measurement, but is also affordable, simple to use, and accessible. When it was launched in 2015, it was the world’s first completely free standardized English test for learners of all levels, from beginner to advanced.

The EF SET was created by EF Education First with a team of language testing experts. Our advisory team has extensive experience in large-scale, standardized language assessment, drawing from previous work on TOEFL, IELTS, and TOEIC for other organizations such as Educational Testing Service (ETS) and The College Board.

Chief among these have been Lyle Bachman (UCLA) , author of Language Assessment in Practice (Oxford 2010), the initial design consultant; Ric Luecht and John Willse of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, the psychometric consultants and data scientists; and Mari Pearlman (Pearlman Education Group), the lead test development and operations consultant. Nathan Carr and Yoko Ameriks have served as language assessment experts.

To take this free 50-minute test, go to https://www.efset.org/ef-set-50/ and save your score report.