|
At the start of 1999, to
promote the idea of life-long learning and to further encourage the study
of English, the Ministry of Education commissioned the Language Training
& Testing Center (LTTC) to develop a fair and reliable English test,
called the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), for all English
learners at all levels of proficiency.
The LTTC GEPT is
administered at five levels, Elementary, Intermediate, High-Intermediate,
Advanced, and Superior, and includes listening, reading, writing, and
speaking components. Each of the first four levels is administered in two
stages. Examinees must pass the first stage before proceeding on to the
second. Examinees who pass both stages is awarded a certificate of
achievement. The Superior Level is an integrated test of all four skills,
and is administered upon request. Applicants can choose to take whichever
level suits them best.
The LTTC GEPT is a criterion-referenced
test. The items and content for each level are designed based on specific
level criteria, which include a general level description of the overall
English proficiency expected at that level and specific skill-area
descriptions for the listening, reading, writing, and speaking
components.
The Intermediate Level of the LTTC GEPT was the first
to be made available in 2000, followed by the Elementary and
High-Intermediate Levels in 2001; the Advanced Level in 2002, and the
Superior Level in 2004.
As of September 2009, more than 3.7
million people had registered for these levels of the test. The
reliability of LTTC GEPT scores is widely accepted by the public. The test
is recognized by government agencies as a criterion for promotion. It is
also used by the MOE as a means of evaluating the English abilities of
applicants to its scholarship program, by Academia Sinica for its Taiwan
International Graduate Program, by public agencies, private enterprises or
finance agencies (e.g. China Airlines, Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, Taiwan Academy of
Banking and Finance, EVA Air, Cathay Financial Holdings, etc.), and by hundreds
of public and private schools (e.g. Central University, Chengchi
University, Cheng Kung University, Chiao Tung University, Chung Cheng
University, Chung Hsing University, Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan
University, Taiwan Normal University, Tsing Hua University, etc.) as a means of determining the
English abilities of their employees or as an admissions, placement, or
graduation criterion for their students. In addition, the internationally
respected journal Language Testing carried a review of the LTTC GEPT in
its July 2008 edition, in which it was concluded that the test's quality,
reliability, and service conform to a widely accepted code of
practice.
The Elementary, Intermediate, and High-Intermediate
Levels are administered twice a year, the Advanced Level once a year, and
the Superior Level upon request of sponsoring schools or institutions and
under appropriate conditions. |
