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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 the end of 2008, more than 3.2 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. Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation,
Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance, NXP Semiconductors, EVA Air, 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, 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. |
