A system to assess English language skills

THE CENTRAL Institute of English and Foreign Language (CIEFL), Hyderabad, has launched NELTS, a National English Language Testing Service (NELTS) to be held at various centres in India on November 19, 2000.

The NELTS team, in an e-mail interview to PADMINI DEVARAJAN, detailed the salient features of the newly designed test and its likely washback in the current English language teaching-learning scenario.

The NELTS test is scheduled to be held on November 19. What has the response to it been?

For a first test that is yet to receive support or recognition from any public or private sector organisation, the NELTS test has had a good response. Over 17,000 candidates will sit for the test on November 19.

What is the profile of the test-takers? There does not seem to be an age limitat the lower end. Why?

This first test has been targeted at test-takers who would like to know their ability to use English at the workplace and also at a tertiary level institution. The preferred age is 16 and above, but anyone can take the test.

What is the range of language skills that is likely to be tested and what is the level?

This test is in two parts. Part-1 is meant to test reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar. Part-2 tests the ability to write effectively for well-defined purposes. This test is a middle-level test (intermediate), and will be followed by at least two others: a test at the threshold level (basic) and one at the higher level (advanced).

NELTS is a proficiency test. Can you explain what a proficiency test is?How is it different from an aptitude test and an achievement test?

A proficiency test is a test of the skills and abilities required to do things with the language. Unlike an achievement test, it is not tied to a syllabus or a set of materials. Unlike an aptitude test, it does not measure one's special abilities (mainly endowed) for acquiring a language.

How would you compare this test with TOEFL and the like that are very popular with students aspiring to higher studies abroad?

The best known tests of today are, in most cases, British, American, or Australasian; they serve to accredit people for admission to western universities or for immigration purposes. All of them make use of events, contexts and relationships that are unfamiliar to our young people in India - especially those in smaller towns and villages.

Though the NELTS test does not exclude universal themes, events or happenings, it is in good measure Indian. In one important way, however, it is similar to the above tests: it too focuses on testing communicative abilities through tasks related to real- life needs.

What efforts have you made to ensure the quality and standardisation of a)the test and b) assessment?

The NELTS test has, in its several different versions, been trial-tested in different parts of the country and with different test populations. Each task has undergone various revisions and each has been tested for its validity - of various kinds - and reliability (with different testees, at various locations, and at different times). A whole year of collective effort has gone into perfecting the different aspects (eg. the difficulty level, the format and instructions, the authenticity of the text-type) of the test and to make it serve the specified aims. A lot of effort has also gone into the selection and training of senior teachers of English to serve as evaluators.

What is the value of the test certificate? Are any institutions/organisations likely to endorse this test?

Most importantly, the test should make the testee aware of where he or she stands in terms of using English for important functional purposes.

Several organisations have shown interest in adopting/adapting it for their needs, but the team is committed to improving it before offering it for sale or endorsement.

What is the role of Orient Longman in this venture?

Orient Longman has, under an agreement with CIEFL, undertaken the task of administering the test in different parts of India, using their network of branch offices across the country.

On what grounds have you priced this test?

The test has been priced so as to make it accessible to whoever sees the need to take it. A fee of Rs. 400 compares very favourably with what other reputable agencies presently charge.

What washback will the test have on the teaching and testing of English in India?

The short-term impact will be that teachers and testers will become aware of a more reliable system of measuring their students' English language abilities and skills.

The long-term impact that we anticipate will be to gear the teaching system towards the development of functional proficiency in English and the introduction of a more reliable and valid scheme of assessment.

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