A new government-administered test of English proficiency for students will be introduced during the second half of 2009, and for adults in 2011, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development on July 31.
The move comes as an effort to meet growing demands for qualified English proficiency tests, as scores on such tests are widely reflected in school admission, university graduation, civil servant appointment, certificate acquirement, employment and promotion.
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC. In comparison, domestic tests including PELT, TESL, TEPS, ESPT and MATE have been unsuccessful in attracting as much applicants.
Against this background, the government plans to spend about 21.5 billion won ($23.32 million) in the next four years to develop the first government-administered English tests in Korea. The aim is to create a comprehensive and qualified exam which would be internationally recognized, and to enhance domestic capacity for English education and assessment.
The new tests involve speaking, listening, reading and writing exams, which will be conducted through the internet. The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for primary first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will establish a tentatively named ‘Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation’ this year to develop and oversee the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by interested universities, the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation(KICE) and the public Educational Broadcasting System(EBS), under the finance of the government.
A preparation committee for the foundation will also be set up this year under KICE. The committee will conduct researches on English proficiency tests of other countries, develop an assessment framework, create evaluation and management methodologies, and secure budgets and legal grounds.
With the new development, the ministry seeks to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency tests and prompt schools to improve their English education. Government endeavors are expected to see further facilitation once the bill on the Special Law on English Education Promotion, submitted earlier by the ministry, passes the National Assembly.
http://english.moe.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=070101&brd_no=30&cp=1&pageSize=10&srchSel=&srchVal=&brd_mainno=542&mode=v
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