Examinations for English

[danb]

Hello, I have a couple of questions about Examination of English ( proficiency ??) in China. I am hearing about several different types of Exams. I am trying to figure out what is the difference between them. I have heard about CET6 and CET4. Are they use to show proficiency to get into school or out of High School or College or to study abroad? I am hearing about an ÑÅ˼ (YA SI) . I think is a test that is referred to as the IELTS. My Lao Po's daughter is trying to pass it. She is a junior in a university in Beijing. I think it has something to do with studying abroad but I am not positive. Her cousin just finished taking some type of examination that had an English component to it. That cousin is trying to get into grad school in Beijing. I am not sure what I can do but I would like to offer to help but I need to know more about it. Can any one shed some light on the different English examinations Chinese student have to take? Are there any useful websites to get more info on them. Thank you for any help/ info that you can give me.

 

DanB

[Cathy]

CET is College English Test. You must pass CET4 get a bachelor degree, and CET6 for a master degree in China. Of course, lots of college students take and pass CET6 as a proof of their English proficiency and a plus to apply for a grad school. CET is acknowledged in China officially. Ya Si is acknowledged in Europe, Australia (not sure about Canada),etc. It is used as a TOEFL score to apply for a college, university, or a grad school. Ya Si tests the ability in Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing, just as TOEFL.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Cathy (see edit history)

[Randy W]

CET is College English Test. You must pass CET4 get a bachelor degree, and CET6 for a master degree in China. Of course, lots of college students take and pass CET6 as a proof of their English proficiency and a plus to apply for a grad school. CET is acknowledged in China officially. Ya Si is acknowledged in Europe, Australia (not sure about Canada),etc. It is used as a TOEFL score to apply for a college, university, or a grad school. Ya Si tests the ability in Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing, just as TOEFL.

 

 

The CET is reading and writing only, correct?

 

I could carry on a conversation with only 2 or 3 of my students (even then, only if I did more listening than talking), but their reading and writing ability surprised me

[danb]

Thank you for the replies. They are giving me some insight into some of the examinations. I did some googling yesterday. I was taken to a lot of Chinese site of which I did not have a clue was being said. I ran a couple of the pages thru google translate. Those IELTS tests samples didn't seem all that easy. Definitely not so simple as: This is Spot and see Jane run and see Dick jump varieties. I just now googled the words Ya Si Test. That lead me to some very helpful info I am not sure why I wasn't get those hits yesterday. The IELTS seem to be adminstrated by UK and Australian folks. The daughter seem to be interest in going to Hong Kong to study. Sorry to show my ignorance but is the TOEFl for "US" English? I know that American English and Britsh English differs some but I wonder how much and if The Chinese government mandate that one or the other is taught in Chinese schools. As far as the Chinese students being able to speak English I have seen a wide range of ability but I give them a lot of credit.

 

Thanks again

Danb

[Randy W]

Thank you for the replies. They are giving me some insight into some of the examinations. I did some googling yesterday. I was taken to a lot of Chinese site of which I did not have a clue was being said. I ran a couple of the pages thru google translate. Those IELTS tests samples didn't seem all that easy. Definitely not so simple as: This is Spot and see Jane run and see Dick jump varieties. I just now googled the words Ya Si Test. That lead me to some very helpful info I am not sure why I wasn't get those hits yesterday. The IELTS seem to be adminstrated by UK and Australian folks. The daughter seem to be interest in going to Hong Kong to study. Sorry to show my ignorance but is the TOEFl for "US" English? I know that American English and Britsh English differs some but I wonder how much and if The Chinese government mandate that one or the other is taught in Chinese schools. As far as the Chinese students being able to speak English I have seen a wide range of ability but I give them a lot of credit.

 

Thanks again

Danb

 

 

TOEFL is a test for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The Chinese pretty much use the English English (W.C. instead of restroom, colour instead of color, company names are plural instead of singular (BP are, instead of BP is) - very minor differences, especially at their level. The tests I've seen for Chinese students at the university level are pretty much newspaper level reading and writing.

[thelocaldialect]

TOEFL is a test for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. The Chinese pretty much use the English English (W.C. instead of restroom, colour instead of color, company names are plural instead of singular (BP are, instead of BP is) - very minor differences, especially at their level. The tests I've seen for Chinese students at the university level are pretty much newspaper level reading and writing.

 

I teach TOEFL and actually the acronym stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. TOEFL is an American test and is still the standard English profficiency exam required for admission to American universities. IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System and is a test designed by the British Council and is recognized by universities around the world, and is gaining strength in America too. Many Chinese students prefer the IELTS over the TOEFL because TOEFL is rather difficult to do well on, even for students with good English,requiring specialized campus related and academic vocabulary, whereas IELTS focuses more on communicative ability and there is a perception, not necessarily true, among Chinese students that it is "easier." In order to be admitted to a university in America foreign students should score at least around 65-ish on the TOEFL or a 6 on the IELTS, depending, of course, on the university.

[Mick]

I taught English at the university (both Bachelors and Post-Graduate) level in China for five years. Also taught in the graduate Journalism program, which was quite fascinating considering the press restrictions at play over there. But that's another story. My point here is this: How well a student performs on CET 4 or 6 is no indicator on their ability to communicate. The exams are heavily slanted toward reading and grammatical themes. Most students study the prep books, memorize like crazy, pass the test, and forget everything in about a week. Of course there are exceptions to all this - I taught primarily English and Journalism majors and many of those were quite adept at conversation. But the exams did not reflect the oral aspect.

[danb]

Last week my Lao Po's daughter took her exam (ILETS). From what I hear she does not feel that she did that well on the vernacular speaking part. We will have wait to see what the her test score is. It seem like that she is hard working student and very bright. She just returned yesterday to Beijing to start her senior year at some University there. She has mentioned to her Mother that if she does not do so well on the next retest in October she may abandon her plans for grad school. It is a shame.

 

In the past she has not spoken that much to me. I wasn't sure what the issue was. I just thought that I would give her time. Lots of time if need be. In the past I feared a little that she did not like me that much. But it may have been more that she was umcomfortable or feared speaking English to me. This is the feedback that I am getting from others. And it also may not just be speaking English to me but to everyone. I would really like to help her get past this. She is rather bright. I am not one for pushing people but I feel that she need to practice speaking. Probably on a daily bases. Just 15 -20 minutes a day. I am thinking at some point that that something will "pop" and then she will realize this speaking English is not that difficult. And then I won't be able to get her to shut up!! Just joking. Am I naive? It really not that simple? Any suggestions? Thanks you for any input you can give me. Danb

[Randy W]

Last week my Lao Po's daughter took her exam (ILETS). From what I hear she does not feel that she did that well on the vernacular speaking part. We will have wait to see what the her test score is. It seem like that she is hard working student and very bright. She just returned yesterday to Beijing to start her senior year at some University there. She has mentioned to her Mother that if she does not do so well on the next retest in October she may abandon her plans for grad school. It is a shame.

 

In the past she has not spoken that much to me. I wasn't sure what the issue was. I just thought that I would give her time. Lots of time if need be. In the past I feared a little that she did not like me that much. But it may have been more that she was umcomfortable or feared speaking English to me. This is the feedback that I am getting from others. And it also may not just be speaking English to me but to everyone. I would really like to help her get past this. She is rather bright. I am not one for pushing people but I feel that she need to practice speaking. Probably on a daily bases. Just 15 -20 minutes a day. I am thinking at some point that that something will "pop" and then she will realize this speaking English is not that difficult. And then I won't be able to get her to shut up!! Just joking. Am I naive? It really not that simple? Any suggestions? Thanks you for any input you can give me. Danb

 

 

English is pretty much a required subject these days. They have a fairly good working knowledge of English.

 

At the university, they are required to pass an English exam. I have seen copies of it. It pretty much requires that they be able to read and write English at a newspaper level. Speaking and understanding, though, is an entirely different matter. Their spoken English was taught to them by (with few exceptions) Chinese teachers. What is missing is the influence of native English speakers. In a nutshell, they don't understand us, and we don't understand them. They are at most 2 or 3 students in each class that I can carry on a conversation with - sometimes not even that.

 

So, yes, you're right - they need the practice. But with a native English speaker. If one is not available, perhaps watching English language movies with Chinese subtitles - they can repeat a passage until they have the accent down. The best speakers here are the ones who have done that.

What I have found here at the university is th

[Cathy]

The CET is reading and writing only, correct?

No. The CET does have a Listening part in addition to the Reading and Writing. However, it is tested as multiple choice questions.

 

The English taught in China is not the one spoken in the States. I have never been to Europe, so I don't know that was British English or not. Usually we say we were learning the British English. The English education in China, I would say, is for academics application. The Chinese students are pretty good at reading comprehension and writing. The biggest problem about the Spoken English is of word choice. The Americans don't use the words taught in the classroom to express themselves. For example, CLOTHES in the classroom can be used for any kind of clothes. In reality, CLOTHES becomes dress, blouse, pants, trousers for man, etc.

[Randy W]

No. The CET does have a Listening part in addition to the Reading and Writing. However, it is tested as multiple choice questions.

 

The English taught in China is not the one spoken in the States. I have never been to Europe, so I don't know that was British English or not. Usually we say we were learning the British English. The English education in China, I would say, is for academics application. The Chinese students are pretty good at reading comprehension and writing. The biggest problem about the Spoken English is of word choice. The Americans don't use the words taught in the classroom to express themselves. For example, CLOTHES in the classroom can be used for any kind of clothes. In reality, CLOTHES becomes dress, blouse, pants, trousers for man, etc.

 

 

That's what I see here - a good working knowledge of English. But their English is taught to them by Chinese people. Most of the teachers spoken English is just as poor, with a few exceptions. I can hardly understand some of the CCTV English competition champions. But the word choice, I disagree is a problem. We all know that lift means elevator, most know that W.C. means restroom, and some know that lorrie means small truck. We will understand from the context what you mean. We have NO problems (almost) understanding someone speaking British English (although a heavy accent can be a problem anywhere). I think the biggest problems are grammar and pronunciation. Also, a shyness - many Chinese are reluctant to speak with a native English speaker because their "English is very poor" - I see this even among the teachers.

 

If someone says, "putting on my clothes", it's immaterial whether they mean ALL their clothing, or just a single article (generally, however, they WOULD mean ALL their clothing - if they meant they were just putting on a shirt, they would say so)

 

English English grammar is the same as American English grammar, with a few exceptions that don't impede understanding (e.g., company names in Britain are treated as plural, in the US singular - "BP don't ..." is British, "BP doesn't . . ." is American).

 

At my end, I find that a conversation goes better if I do a LOT more listening than speaking, and if I follow their train of thought rather than trying to steer it in another direction.

Edited September 14, 2010 by Randy W (see edit history)

[danb]

I received an email from my Lao Po's daughter this week. She just received some bad news. She did not pass the ILSETS exam. She is disappointed. She intends to try to take it one more time in October.

 

I told her that is too bad and I wished her luck on the next and perhaps last attempt. I also offered to help to her. I told her that we could chat on line everyday or even just 3 times a week if she wanted. For perhaps 15 minutes each seesion. I don't think she will take me up on my offer. In her email she said that she will study some more and intends to sign up for some help class. I hope that it work but I am not very confident. I believe that for her oral English skills to improve that she need to get to a point where she starts to process the langauage in English or at least in English and Chinese. But honestly speaking, what do I know?

 

Giving this some thought I came up with another way to help get past the point of thinking about English in Chinese and not in English. It may sound crazy or stupid but how about music videos? The Chinese seem to have a love of music. Pop music is popular with the young. Songs sung in English with English subtitles. Maybe throw in some Chinese characters but a only few Chinese characters. They would be used to help her understand the slang and colloquial sayings. If she could go somewhere that does Karaoke and practice with friends that might help her develop her oral English skills and to help her feel more at ease with her English. Is this a hair brain idea? What do you think?

 

Thank you for all your inputs.

 

DanB