English Language Program Screening and Placement in English Classes Mary Wood SPEAK Test Beverley Earles

Screening and Placement in English Classes Placement in English classes Clearing English ELP curriculum New screening policy for graduate students

Minimum Passing Test Part Scores iBT 20 PBT on the TWE (Test of Written English) IELTS 6.5 (≈54-57 PBT, 19-21IBT) The equivalent score on the EPT is 57-60, with an Essay of 39 equivalent to a TWE of 5.0.

EPT Scores For Beginning Academic Work Part-timeFull-timeAcademic Reading5057 Listening5057 Grammar5057 Essay3339

Placement in ELP Classes Full-time Intensive EnglishExit Levels Level DAS 1 36 Beg 1 DAS 138 Beg 2 DAS 140 Int 1 DAS 150 Int 2 DAS 152 (full- time) DAS 154 (part- time) No ELP Classes EPT Score Total Total Total Total Str 46 Rdg 46 List 46 Essay30 Spk 3.0 Str 50 Rdg 50 List 50 Essay 33 Spk 3.0 Str 57 Rdg 57 List 57 Essay 39 Spk 3.0

Placement at the End of Semester in Non-exit Level Courses Students move to the next level of English by: Getting the EPT scores needed for that level OR Passing all of the Final Achievement Tests in their classes with grades of 70% or higher Students can skip a level with the appropriate EPT scores.

Finishing English Students clear English by: Getting a passing EPT score at the end of the semester in a non-exit level (DAS ) Getting grades of A, B, or C in their exit level classes (DAS 152, 154)

Reading Courses (152/154/176) Comprehension  Comprehend un-simplified texts  Identify main ideas, supporting details, and conclusions  Preview and make predictions  Recognize organizational patterns  Make inferences  Paraphrase and summarize  Read critically  Apply ideas to new contexts Fluency  Read text at minimum of about 220 WPM with at least 70% comprehension (UG native speakers = 250 WPM)

Vocabulary  Understand and use vocabulary at university level  Guess meanings of words in context  Use word forms accurately  Recognize and use collocations and connotations Classroom and Test-taking skills  Discuss readings  Use a mono lingual English dictionary  Respond to readings in short and/or essay-length answers  Understand and formulate appropriate responses to academic test questions and directions

Writing Courses (152/154/177) Grammar Skills in Sentence Level Writing Can use all verb tenses Can use simple, compound, and complex sentences Can use noun clauses, adjective and adverb clauses in writing Can use conditionals Can use gerunds and infinitives Writing Skills (without plagiarizing) Can use appropriate academic vocabulary and style Can write essays in different modes Can summarize articles Can respond to readings Can synthesize, citing sources appropriately

Speaking Courses (152/154/179) Basic Language Skills for Oral Communication Be able to use appropriate vocabulary and good oral grammar in speaking on a range of non-personal topics Produce consonant and vowel sounds, and can manage suprasegmentals Conversational Communication Demonstrates fluency in conversing about academic and non-academic topics Demonstrates fluency in “small talk” in non-academic situations Follow and participate in conversations Academic Communication Give sufficiently detailed explanations with appropriate academic vocabulary Demonstrates ability in basic communication, including working with a group, agreeing/disagreeing, interrupting, active listening, and impromptu speaking Support answers with clearly related reasons and examples Give summaries of academic material

Listening Courses (152/154/178) Comprehension Has sufficient vocabulary to comprehend an unsimplified academic lecture Can paraphrase academic discourse effectively in writing. Can paraphrase academic discourse effectively in discussion. Note-taking Can identify main idea and supporting details of a short unsimplified academic lecture Can take independent, thorough, well-organized notes on short unsimplified academic lectures. Can integrate information based on notes from multiple sources

For Grad Students With TOEFL Scores Guidelines for Grad Students With Low Part Scores TEST 1-2 PART SCORESREADINGLISTENINGSPEAKINGWRITING IBT PBT IELTS DAS 176 OR 154 Reading DAS 178 OR 154 Listening DAS 179 OR 154 Speaking DAS 177 OR 154 Writing 1. Before the beginning of the semester, students will take a diagnostic for the area (s) in which they have low scores: Ex. IBT Reading 18, Writing 16 – take Reading and Writing diagnostics. 2. The diagnostic will be the Final Exam for the course indicated. The test is written to the SLOs for the course(s).

TestPart Score IBT PBT IELTS < 14 < 48 < 5.0 EPTIndicates full-time English No Test Scores EPTEPT scores will indicate the English courses needed

SPEAK Screening and Policies SPEAK test overview Scoring Rater training SPEAK Policies IBT – SPEAK comparison

What does the SPEAK assess? The SPEAK test is a measure of oral language ability, particularly that needed by teaching assistants in the U.S. It focuses on the following:  pronunciation  fluency  oral grammar  vocabulary usage  register or appropriateness of answer  organization and presentation of ideas  test taking ability It does not assess teaching ability.

SPEAK Scoring Each test is scored independently by two raters Questions are scored with whole number scores(20, 30, 40, 50 or 60) for each of 12 questions The two scores are averaged. The resulting score is rounded.

Descriptors 20No effective communication 30Communication generally not effective 40Communication somewhat effective 50Communication generally effective 60 Communication almost always effective Factors Task completion Appropriateness Coherence Accuracy Fluency

Averaging Scores Scores for the 12 questions are averaged to get an overall score for each rater The scores for the two rates are averaged The resulting score is rounded to the nearest 5 E.g.Rater 1Rater 2AverageFinal score Ex Ex

Score ranges ScoreLowHigh

Discrepancy in Scores ETS allows a rater discrepancy of 10 For discrepancies greater than 10, there is a third grading.

Rater Training Training program developed by ETS  tapes with examples, explanations & practice  areas covered include score levels types of problems  norming with other ELP raters  6 test tapes – no discrepancies ELP – first year, new rater paired with experienced rater All ratings checked by SPEAK supervisor Rater reliability database maintained

SPEAK Testing Policy The SPEAK policy is from the Board of Regents. SPEAK raters rate according to ETS criteria. For Admitted students  first two tests are free.  subsequent tests are $10. January and August tests are reserved for newly admitted students only. Students who fail the test twice must seek remediation, DAS 179 or DAS 154. Students may schedule an appointment to go over the raters’ comments.

What does the speaking component of the iBT assess? The Speaking section of the iBT includes the following components:  2 independent tasks about familiar topics (based on personal experience)  4 integrated tasks (based on short listening and reading selections) The spoken responses are evaluated in the following areas:  delivery  language  topic development

How do the SPEAK and the iBT compare? Standards and comparisons on the SPEAK scores and iBT speaking scores are not statistically determined but rather set by a panel of International Teaching Assistant (ITA) experts. They have set the following standards: 22 iBT - lowest level for contact with undergraduates 26 iBT is equivalent to 50 SPEAK

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