In another weird and absurd story to surface about English study in South Korea, this time it’s the Minister of Education coming up with an idea to replace TOEIC and TOEFL tests in Korea.
According to an article in the country’s oldest English language newspaper, “Korea is pushing for a state-developed, standardized English test that will replace English proficiency tests in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and TOEFL and TOEIC by 2012.”
That sounds like a novel idea for a country of test takers, but will the new test stand up to the TOEIC and TOEFL?
Well, in the words of Ahn Byong-man, who is the Minister of Education, Science and Technology, “the new exam surpasses other similar exams in its credibility because of the fact that it is supported and approved by the state.”
Excuse me? The new test surpasses all the other tests in credibility because it is supported by the state? Credibility? Who designed it? Native speakers or was it just copied from other tests?
Or, to tweak something Wayne Campbell might say, “Yeah right and monkeys will fly out of my butt.”
I wonder if the real reason for the test is that millions of dollars have been spent by TOEIC and TOEFL test takers over the years. Of course, the TOEIC has become a magic potion for English proficiency in Korea. Once upon a time, the TOEIC (which was first created by ETS for Japanese businessmen) was only for businessmen in Korea; now it is being used to assess high school students. The test itself and all the preparation books for how to score more points on it are big business in Korea. It is not only ETS that is profiting, but all these other writers and companies coming up with their own books on how to score more points.
Obviously, a homemade test will save money, but will it work? Ahn thinks so. “Once it is made available, I am sure that it is just a matter of time before all schools start to use it,” Ahn was reported as saying.
According to the article, the new test is similar to EIKEN, Japan’s test in practical English proficiency with a round of pilot tests are really being conducted.
Because the new test is intended to provide a pass-or-fail result for applicants, the article mentions that the “adoption in the annual standardized college entrance exams means a significant disincentive for students to take private English lessons.”
I doubt it. Korean students and parents are always looking for an edge and advantage for getting a higher score. Whether it’s TOEFL, TOEIC or Mr. Kim’s English test, students who are weak in English or assertive parents who want their kids to score high are going to do whatever they can for their kids to get those big scores.
Now let’s turn our attention back to what Mr. Ahn said about the test being credible. Credible enough for would be applicants to American universities? Students will still have to take the TOEFL to get into an American university.
However, the real problem is this desire to become English proficient and using a test to measure it—without really working on any language skills. Students can become good test takers and get good scores, but they still might have difficulty speaking English. I’ve taught students who could score high on these tests but still could not string along two sentences in spoken English. If that’s all that they want or is required of them, fair enough. The problem is the desire to become English proficient for getting into a good university or for job promotion creates a lot of frustration for language learners and as such they will spend lots and lots of money on books, lessons, tapes, and other resources to have an edge when they take the test.
