Jose Carillo's Forum

PREPARING FOR ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TESTS

Getting ready to take English proficiency tests

The Forum has put this section to help Forum members prepare for any of the English-language proficiency tests required by prospective employers or for college or graduate school admission. Every week, the Forum will present a new set of practice tests in four of the most commonly measured areas of English-proficiency: vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and reading comprehension. Most of the testing instruments for English proficiency today also measure picture identification skills, listening comprehension, writing ability, and speaking competence, but since these instruments require sophisticated technical equipment and scoring by actual human raters, the Forum won’t be able to provide practice tests for them here. Instead, it will concentrate on pencil-and-paper tests that can be self-administered and self-scored by the test taker: grammar error recognition, incomplete sentences, and reading comprehension. For parts of English proficiency tests that involve visuals and sound, those preparing to take the actual tests soon are encouraged to get the practice tests in the CD-ROM format that are offered by the testing or test-review companies.

After reading the overview to this section, “Is Your English Good Enough?”, simply click the link to the practice tests for the week and start testing yourself. Always remember when taking these tests: Practice makes perfect!

This Week’s Practice Tests:
1 .G-TELP Level 3 Grammar Test No. 1        Click to take it now!
2. G-TELP Level 3 Reading and Vocabulary Test No. 1     Click to take it now!

Previous Practice Tests:
1. TOIEC Incomplete Sentences Test No. 1   Click to take it now!
2. TOEIC Error Recognition Test No. 1         Click to take it now!
3. TOEIC Reading Comprehension Test (Part VII) No. 1         Click to take it now!
4. TOEFL English Structure and Written Expression Test No. 1  Click to take it now!
5. TOEFL Reading Comprehension Test No. 1    Click to take it now!
6. G-TELP Level 2 Grammar Test No. 1        Click to take it now!
7. G-TELP Level 2 Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Test No. 1     Click to take it now!

How criterion-referenced tests can help improve your English

Two weeks ago, I posted on the Forum sample G-TELP Level 2 tests for grammar and for reading comprehension and vocabulary. Level 2, categorized as “Authentic and Modified English in Normal Communication,” is the second highest level among the five G-TELP English proficiency levels. This week, I am posting sample G-TELP Level 3 tests also for grammar and for reading comprehension and vocabulary. It’s one level lower than Level 2 and is categorized as “Modified English in Simple Communication.”

The makers of the G-TELP tests, the International Testing Services Center (ITSC), compares these two levels as follows: “Level Two requires a higher order of skill than Level Three since many of the tasks are authentic. They reflect real-world tasks rather than textbook and classroom-based tasks. In other words, the skills that are required of a person to successfully complete the tasks at Level Two reflect the nature and complexity of those tasks. The successful application of those skills indicates that the person is a relatively independent, autonomous user of the language.”

For a clearer picture of the entire G-TELP test hierarchy, here (in descending order) are the five levels of English proficiency in G-TELP:

Level One - Authentic English in Complex Communication
Level Two - Authentic and Modified English in Normal Communication
Level Three - Modified English in Simple Communication
Level Four - Basic English in Simple Communication
Level Five - Basic Classroom English

These title descriptions reflect the criterion-referenced nature of the G-TELP tests; criterion-referenced means that the primary purpose of the test is to give information about the examinee’s functional language abilities through performance on specific tasks. This is where G-TELP differs from TOEIC and TOEFL, which are both single-level, norm-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests compare the performance of examinees to all others who take the test—the kind of test that can be used to, say, select or recommend a person for admission to a university in the United States. In contrast, the G-TELP provides a specific indication of the skills and language tasks that the examinee is able to perform; as such, it can be useful for determining if the examinee is qualified for a job or level of academic study that requires a specific level of English competence.  

You can look over and take the practice G-TELP Level 3 tests now to get a feel of their difficulty level compared to Level 2. Your level of comfort in answering the Level 3 test questions can give you a rough idea of what your actual English proficiency level is at this time. (It will be very instructive comparing the differences in the grammar and semantic elements used in each test—verb tenses and answers by direct inspection, inference, similarity of meaning, etc.) Of course, it’s possible that both Level 2 and Level 3 would be too easy for you, in which case you probably are already Level 1, capable of handling “Authentic English in Complex Communication.” Conversely, however, you may find that even Level 3 is too difficult for you—an indication that you haven’t progressed much beyond Level 4 or “Basic English in Simple Communication.”

If the latter is the case, you know what to do—start improving your English in earnest and work your way up through the G-TELP proficiency ladder until you get to Level 1 or at least to Level 2. This is how a criterion-referenced, multilevel test might prove to be more helpful in your English self-improvement program than a norm-referenced, single-level test.

This Week’s Practice Tests:
1 .G-TELP Level 3 Grammar Test No. 1        Click to take it now!
2. G-TELP Level 3 Reading and Vocabulary Test No. 1     Click to take it now!

Previous Practice Tests:
1. TOIEC Incomplete Sentences Test No. 1   Click to take it now!
2. TOEIC Error Recognition Test No. 1         Click to take it now!
3. TOEIC Reading Comprehension Test (Part VII) No. 1         Click to take it now!
4. TOEFL English Structure and Written Expression Test No. 1  Click to take it now!
5. TOEFL Reading Comprehension Test No. 1    Click to take it now!
6. G-TELP Level 2 Grammar Test No. 1        Click to take it now!
7. G-TELP Level 2 Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Test No. 1     Click to take it now!

Click to view all the English-proficiency practice tests!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Page last modified: 12 December, 2009,12:25 a.m.