Thinking of taking a test of English?

Thinking of taking a test of English?

By Simon Marcus Gower

TANGERANG, Banten (JP): From school children as young as
kindergarten age to mature businessmen and women, literally
millions of Indonesians are learning English. For the children
this may be seen as the natural consequence of the national
schooling system that deliberately targets English as a second
language. For the adults this is further evidence of ever-
encroaching globalization and the accompanying need for an
international language such as English.

Along with the increasing need for, and use of, English comes
a range of tests that will allow the successful taker to certify
that he or she has achieved a certain degree of skill in the
targeted language. These tests and their accompanying
certificates are likely to increase in importance to Indonesian
learners of English as the global market gains greater influence
and international business and, critically, international
companies seek out Indonesian staff.

There is a range of testing devices and systems that may be
followed and taken. Probably the most renown of these is the Test
of English as a Foreign Language or as it is better known, in its
acronym form, TOEFL.

This American originated test is generally used as a check of
English language competence for academic purposes such as
students who wish to study at English language universities.

Along with this test procedure one may find others such as the
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), which is
business orientated, the International English Language Testing
System (IELTS), which could be defined as the British alternative
to TOEFL, Young Learners English (YLE) that tests children
between the ages of 7 - 12 and the Business English Certificate
(BEC) designed for English for international business purposes
-- to name but a few.

Each of these test systems have their own distinct
characteristics or design criteria that make them appropriate for
their target sector of learners of the language. But no matter
which test system a learner chooses to follow, they must remember
that the system they follow and the certificate they are pursuing
are just a means of testing English. They are not actual language
learning programs.

As more and more people will need to have such language
certification accredited to them, in an increasingly competitive
job market, the desire and demand for such tests and certificates
may compel people towards quite extreme measures in the pursuit
of their goal.

These "extreme measures" may lead them towards the test scores
they desire but may not achieve any real quality of learning.

Already courses exist that tout their ability to increase test
scores. Test taking strategies and techniques are developed and
familiarity with testing procedures is honed and refined to the
point where a potential test candidate is literally tuned in to
the testing device and how it works and thus taking the test
becomes second nature. Taking the test becomes a familiar task
that, at least in theory, means the test becomes easier through
familiarity. The chances of success are increased by literally
drilling into the mind of the candidate the best strategies to
adopt. Test preparation courses are promoted on grounds, true or
not, that they can guarantee higher scores in a minimum time of
study for those wishing to take the test. But courses such as
this are prone to leave those that follow them in an unfortunate
dilemma. For they may be able to boast of good test scores but
may still be relatively weak when performing in the language.

Many of these tests follow a multiple-choice format that,
whilst perfectly legitimate as a test procedure, does have a
tendency to leave the test taker passive and unproductive. The
answers are actually in the test, the taker just has to find them
rather than produce them for him or herself. This lack of
productivity and original creativity from the test taker can lead
to or nurture problems such as a lack of productive skills.

Take the example of an MBA student who had gained a
respectable score of 595 for his TOEFL. Although more than
sufficiently well equipped intellectually to face his business
studies this student was left with the still daunting task of
performing and being productive in English.

Indonesian being his native tongue he had sought out
preparation for the test and had thus taken an intensive course
to strengthen his chances immediately before taking his TOEFL. He
had enjoyed a reasonable amount of success and understanding in
taking the test and thus walked away with a score that was
acceptable to his chosen university, but problems remained.

By his own admission, and indeed experience, he still had much
to learn and understand about using and being academically
successful in his second language, English. Through no real fault
of his own, or even the testing system he had followed, he had
attained a score that was deemed to be sufficiently high to merit
admission into the American university of his choice but he still
found there was much for him to do and learn.

Here, then, lies the central crux of the problem for many
people when thinking about taking a test of English. The
concentration and potential for near obsession with the test
itself clouds the fact that the test and, of course, the
preparation of strategies and techniques for taking the test is
not language learning itself.

Likewise, test takers are prone to fall into the trap of
believing that they have achieved their score and this proves
that they are now able to use the language. It is worth
remembering that all these tests offer certificates that are
valid for a limited period only -- typically one or two years.

This implicitly makes the point that language learning and
development should be an on-going affair and cannot stand still
or be relied upon from a test once taken. The test taker is a
learner and needs to go on learning the language.

Tests, then, are a means to an end but they are not the end
itself. They offer a measurement of ability, signposts along the
road of learning that tell you how you are doing. They also give
other people (such as potential employers or university
admissions officers), an insight into the kind of language
ability you possess but they cannot show all the subtle details
and challenges of language skill. They are mere indicators.

Preparing for tests will, of course, help in learning aspects
of the language but for a more full appreciation and skill in the
language, a more diverse and holistic program of learning should
be pursued on which to found and enrich a depth of language
ability.

Dr. Simon Marcus Gower is the coordinator of English for the
Junior and Senior High Schools of St. Laurensia School, Serpong,
Tangerang, Banten.