As Kariera notes, the globalization of the economy and the ever-increasing mobility of personnel have led to the creation in developed countries of special commissions that develop and organize language exams for foreigners both at home and abroad. Their main concern is to design the test so that it checks all the candidate's language skills at once: the ability to read, write competently, speak clearly, and understand spoken language. It is no less important that all applicants take the exams under equal conditions. This is not so simple when hundreds of thousands of people are tested annually.
The procedure for submitting an application to take exams requires special attention and calculation. Each examination center sets deadlines at its own discretion: a few days, weeks, or months before the exam. On the one hand, it is worth submitting an application as early as possible, otherwise you might miss the nearest scheduled exam day. On the other hand, if force majeure circumstances arise for the candidate on the eve of the exam and the exam needs to be rescheduled, you will have to pay again for registration for a new date: for general language exams - within $20-50, for professional ones - two to three times more. Sometimes, if there are enough applications, specialists from abroad come to examine our students; in these cases, an approximate exam date is first announced.
Not all professional language exams can be taken in one's home country. For example, the first part of the British exam for doctors - the theoretical part - is administered at examination centers around the world, while the second - the practical part - is only in the UK.
The atmosphere at qualification exams is extremely strict: you cannot be late, bring books, notebooks, mobile phones, pagers, calculators, electronic organizers, and especially electronic dictionaries. As for smoking or drinking water during the exam, don't even dream about it.
Champion tests
TOEFL is one of the most popular tests developed in the USA. Since 1964, its promotion and development have been managed by Educational Testing Services (ETS). Annually, the ETS examination commission evaluates between 750,000 and 1 million test results, which flow into Princeton from 470 examination centers in 170 countries. According to the portal "European Education", by the end of 2005, 17.5 million people worldwide had taken the TOEFL. They passed because it is impossible to fail: even if a person answers questions randomly, they still score some points, meaning they passed. However, you cannot score more than 100 points by guessing, and universities require a minimum of 600, employers 450, so paying $140-150 for a haphazard attempt is pointless.
There are three versions of TOEFL: the classic paper-based, computer-based (CBT), and the 2005 novelty - internet-based (iBT).
Natalya Postrigan, manager of strategic management practice: "Before the test begins, each examinee is registered, and although about ten people start simultaneously, in reality people start the test with an interval of about five minutes. So when it came to the Speaking section, a rather comical situation arose - a person in complete silence in the presence of at least 10-15 other people is forced to talk loudly for 20 minutes about their family and friends, or about dinosaurs, or something else. The feelings are quite unpleasant, especially if you happen to be on someone else's break - people are walking around who might laugh, make faces... Try starting to clearly and loudly talk about how dinosaurs went extinct in a library reading room... So you need to mentally prepare to overcome embarrassment. I took the internet version of TOEFL. Here everything happens one-on-one with a computer, so there are no problems with writing. And it's very convenient because many people have already lost the habit of writing by hand. In the Listening part, the text goes directly into the headphones, and the quality is almost perfect. Sound adjustment is allowed twice. The first time is before the exam starts. As soon as a person sits down at the computer, they are asked to say something into the microphone. Many people don't expect such a request and start mumbling something under their breath in confusion, which prevents proper sound adjustment. Before the Listening part, you can also adjust and regulate the volume when the instructions are being read.
Unlike the GMAT, where the main score is known immediately, TOEFL results are announced no earlier than 15 business days later. This must be taken into account so as not to be late in submitting documents to business school."
The TOEIC test, which has only existed for 25 years, is no less popular. According to ETS, in 2005 the test was taken by 4.5 million people, mainly employees of transnational corporations. TOEIC tests everyday communication skills in an international environment. The test is taken in a paper-based version. In two hours, you need to choose the correct answers to 200 questions on a wide range of topics: finance, production, management, office work, insurance, health, computers, etc. The result will be known in three to five days. 700 points out of a possible 900 will most likely satisfy HR departments.
Honorable second place
Unlike the USA, where only one organization handles language testing of foreigners, in the UK there are several. The oldest – City & Guilds – was founded in the 19th century, when local populations began to be recruited for work in British colonies. The natives learned English and took the ESOL exam developed by Pitman Institute. It can still be taken today: the Pitman ESOL certificate is recognized by the University of London, the University of Birmingham, and about two dozen other universities and colleges in the UK, Australia, and East Asia.
The Trinity College examination center offers a 12-level English language exam. It is convenient: even in three to four weeks of vacation or summer holidays, you can prepare and pass the next level exam. The first eight levels of the Trinity College Exam test only speaking skills. With a level eight certificate, you can apply for unskilled work in English-speaking countries. At higher levels, students take a grammar test and write an essay. For nearly 30 British universities, level ten is sufficient for admission of international applicants. However, the applicability of Pitman ESOL and Trinity certificates is still limited.
Another matter is the certificates of the independent commissions of Oxford and Cambridge, which are known and recognized worldwide. In Europe alone, hundreds of thousands of people register for these exams. The leader of the British examining team is the UCLES syndicate (University of Cambridge Local Examination System). Among the exams it offers, IELTS holds the first place - up to half a million candidates take it annually. With a score of 7.5 out of nine, it is not shameful to send documents to Oxford University. IELTS is recognized by the vast majority of enterprises and English-speaking universities in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. It is even accepted by some US universities, although most of them prefer their own TOEFL.
There are two versions of the exam: those moving for permanent residence take the General Module, those entering university or graduate school take the Academic Module, divided by fields: 'A' - physics, engineering sciences; 'B' - biology, medicine; 'C' - humanities.
Classic of the genre
Main Cambridge Exams are exams for all ages. Schoolchildren start with KET (Key English Test), the next level is FCE, then CAE, and at the highest level, CPE, which opens the doors of English-speaking universities on all continents to its holder. Cambridge exams are structured the same at all levels: reading (Reading), writing (Writing), use of English (Use of English), listening (Listening), and speaking (Speaking). Only the tasks become more complex and voluminous from level to level. For example, the CPE program lasts six hours, and it is usually taken in two sessions. The written papers are sent to Cambridge for grading, while the oral part is conducted by two teachers face-to-face. Students who have passed this test say: 'CPE is an endurance exam.' Why such torment? Because the Cambridge certificate is valid for life; you don't have to retake the exam after two years, like TOEFL or IELTS.
Nadezhda Puchinyan, student: 'During the oral part of the CAE exam, British Council staff sent us in pairs into a small room and handed out pictures. I got an expedition to the North Pole; I had to talk about its difficulties and dangers. While one examiner talked to us, the other silently made notes in a notebook. Seeing this, you involuntarily get distracted and think: what is he noting there? In the written exam, you have to complete three tasks in two hours. Of course, you can make it if you concentrate extremely and don't lose a second. And with the answers to questions, it's really tight: I saw that some candidates lacked literally two minutes to transfer their answers to the answer sheet. Begging is useless; no extra time is given, they are strict about that.'
Intelligence test
Foreign students applying to master's programs at English-speaking universities must demonstrate not only knowledge of English but also a sufficient general education level. Humanities and 'techies' take the GRE test, while candidates for master's programs in medical and law schools take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and LSAT. The test questions generally do not go beyond the school curriculum, but take into account the student's chosen specialization.
A special exam, GMAT, must be taken by future directors and top managers applying to international business schools. The test is computer-based; you cannot go back to previous questions or change answers. However, the computer adapts to the candidate's knowledge level: the selection of the next question is influenced by the answers from the previous stage. The highest total score is 800. Most European and American business schools consider 500-600 points sufficient for admission. However, for top business schools, such a result will be insufficient.
Victoria Soboleva, consultant: “Many people are scared by the math part of the test. In my opinion, no special knowledge of mathematics is needed. The main thing is to understand the principle of solving problems. It requires logical thinking and knowledge of all English mathematical terms (otherwise it’s easy to get confused or not understand the question). For me, for example, it was much harder to pass the linguistic part. Practice is very important in preparation. Perhaps that’s the most important thing. And, honestly, I didn’t have enough of it. To start, I took courses (they give the knowledge necessary for the test, but don’t expect them to teach you arithmetic), solved a couple of tests from a disk. Data posted on the global network turned out to be a good help; they aren’t buried that deep. I found an Indian version of the GMAT – Indians had posted a “pirated” copy of the test along with the correct answers, which helped me understand what is needed to pass it. Problems from a GMAT book also turned out to be decent practice. Taking the GMAT with such little preparation was pure adventure – I just went on a whim. Honestly, I was sure I would fail the exam: friends said that few people get the required score on the first try. Moreover, some questions in the test are deliberately designed to make you make a mistake – incorrect wording, trick questions. The metric scale creates even more confusion. For example, oil can be measured in tablespoons, something in British feet, something in American miles… The lack of time also adds nervousness – you constantly have to monitor how many minutes are left and whether you have fallen behind schedule. As for the process of taking the test itself, everything was surprisingly lenient. The ladies who noted who came at what time and who left at what time didn’t particularly nitpick. If someone was slightly late, they were allowed to take the test and weren’t even docked time; they simply extended it.”
Operation “Qualification”
For narrow-profile specialists, mastery of specialized vocabulary is no less important than general language training, which is why there are exams that are simultaneously language and qualification exams. The most in-demand are business English exams. BEC and OIBEC certificates are a significant advantage when hiring managers, administrators, secretaries, translators (simultaneous and technical translation in all areas of business). Preparation courses include vocabulary from production, marketing, finance, and touch on legal aspects of international trade and business etiquette. At exams, students compose contracts, analytical reviews, business letters, etc.
There are professions where a few phrases can ruin or, on the contrary, save a life: this is true for lawyers, doctors, teachers. They face higher requirements, even if they are native speakers, and foreigners are simply forbidden to engage in educational, medical, or legal activities until they pass special professional exams. The most difficult are considered to be medical exams – the American USMLE and the British PLAB. Only those who have scored at least six or seven on the IELTS are allowed to take the PLAB.
It is no easier for lawyers and teachers. Elena Kachkova, assistant at the European Parliament, says: “Having ended up in the UK, I quickly realized that a diploma from an institute of foreign languages means nothing there. I could teach Russian, but there were too few people wanting to learn it. To engage in teaching in England, you need an international CELTA certificate. The process of obtaining it takes four weeks. You cannot just come and take the exam; you have to work every day for seven to eight hours: in the morning give test lessons to students, in the evening attend the ‘debriefing’, do written assignments, etc. Grades are given daily, not only for English but also for mastery of methodology, erudition, and the ability to hold the audience’s attention. By the end of the course, barely half the group gets the necessary score. I got the certificate and started looking for work. It turned out that CELTA is known and respected by employers throughout Europe, and its scope of application is much wider than teaching at language courses or in schools. In the end, I managed to get a job as a secretary-assistant in the Scottish branch of the European Parliament.”