College English Test

The College English Test (Chinese: 大学本科非英语专业考试; pinyin: Dàxué Yīngyǔ Kǎoshì), better known as CET, is a kind of national English as a foreign language test in the People's Republic of China. It's for non-English-Major students, and its purpose is to examine the English proficiency of undergraduate students and postgraduate students in China and ensure that Chinese undergraduates and postgraduates reach the required English levels specified in the National College English Teaching Syllabuses (NCETS).[1] This test has existed in China for 26 years and now has a huge test population of 18 million people annually.[2]It includes two levels — CET4 and CET6.

Another kind of national English as a foreign language test is Test for English Majors (Chinese: 大学本科英语专业考试), better known as TEM.[3]It includes two levels — TEM4 and TEM8.

College English Test

Before 2005 reform

Before the 2005 reform, the maximum score was 100 points. A test score higher than 85 is graded as "Excellent", and a test score higher than 60 but below 85 is graded as "Pass" in the certificate. This test was held nationally twice a year in summer and winter. The CET consisted of the non-English-specialized "Band 4" (CET4), in which certificate-holders have reached the English level of non-English major undergraduate students, and "Band 6" (CET6), in which the certificate-holders have reached the English level of non-English major postgraduates. The test included listening, reading and writing sections. The spoken test was optional.

2005 reform

CET-6 Score Report foe non-English-Major students

The CET was reformed in 2005. Several changes were made, including:

The CET-4 is mandatory for university students in China who are not English majors. It is also a prerequisite for a bachelor's degree. Many employers in China prefer applicants with CET-4 or even CET-6 certification.

Passing the CET is important for Chinese college students. Graduates may only be able to get a degree or a good job if they can pass the CET with a high score.

While the CET tests reading, writing and listening, it does have a separate test for speaking. The speaking test is held twice a year and only students with a CET Band-4 score higher than 550 or a CET Band-6 higher than 485 are eligible for the test.

Test for English Majors

A similar but more rigorous test, the Test for English Majors (TEM), is mandatory for English majors, and it's generally only for English majors. For these students, passing the TEM-4 is a graduation requirement. The test should be taken by the end of the second academic or sophomore year. TEM-8 ("Band 8") is the highest level for English major students; it should be taken during the end of the last academic or senior year.

If an English-major student fails to pass the TEM-4 during his or her sophomore year, they may attempt to pass the TEM-8 during their senior year. Those failing the TEM-8 are only allowed one re-test (during the following year after they have graduated from college). A second failure results in disqualification lifelong.

Both TEM4 and TEM8 are only two qualifications for any students lifelong.

Vocabulary Requirements

CET circle

TEM circle

Social consequences

Some Chinese researchers point out the positive social consequences of the CET as it has promoted the role of English teaching and learning at the tertiary level in China over its 20-year history.[4][5] At the same time, other researchers[6] challenge the CET by pointing out that the test does not assess communicative competence as the teaching syllabus requires. Before the recent reform of the CET, the large proportion of multiple choice questions made this test an efficient one, but possible sacrifices in accurately measuring English language ability remained a concern.[7] Since the CET certificates had been one of the graduation requirements of undergraduates in the majority of Chinese universities for almost 20 years, test-oriented teaching was another severe problem. However, there have been changes made in the CET test content, format, and scoring systems are evidence of the endeavors to bring about positive washback of the test on English teaching and learning in China. It is the expectation of the CET committee that the test can reflect and catch up with the needs of rapid economic reform and the new open-door policy.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Syllabus for College English Test. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Language Education Press. 2006.
  2. ↑ 英语考试又要改革，四六级还有用吗？详细解答Retrieved 2016-12-03
  3. ↑ 现有的英语能力考试，你知道都是咋回事吗？Retrieved 2016-12-03
  4. ↑ Gu, X (2005). Positive or negative? An empirical study of CET washback on college English teaching and learning in China.
  5. ↑ Li, J (2002). "The current College English Test in China: Problems and thoughts". Language Education. 23: 33–38.
  6. ↑ Han,Yang, Dai, L (2004). "Problems with College English Test as". Foreign Languages and Their Teaching. 179: 17–23.
  7. ↑ Zhang, X (2003). "On the negative impact of College English Test Band 4". Educational Science. 19: 35–39.
  8. ↑ Jin, Y (2006). "On the improvement of test validity and test washback: The CET". Foreign Language World. 6: 65–73.
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