Are you a bit intimidated by the idea of giving a secure, Web-based test at your institution? Before I knew the process, certainly it sounded rather scary to me.

In fact, however, delivering TOEIC Speaking & Writing tests is no more difficult than setting up a Skype or iTunes account. That is to say, it’s easy.

All you generally need to do for the computers on which you’ll be testing is—

A simple database created a decade ago using TOEIC has become one driver for skyrocketing foreign direct investment in Chile. Such investment quadrupled to around $15 billion in the seven years between 2003 and 2010 and reached over $28 billion in 2012.

In creating this database, the National Register of English Speakers, the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) was acting on the realization that lack of information on English language proficiency of job candidates was affecting Chile’s growth. Some companies had stated that the sole reason they did not outsource business to Chile was because they were unable to assess the English language skills of Chile’s workforce.

Validity, to give a short and non-technical definition, means “the extent to which a test measures exactly what the test maker intends it to measure, nothing more, nothing less.” (definition courtesy of Donald E. Powers, ETS).

Why is understanding a test's validity important? It's simple--not knowing how valid a test is means you don't know to what extent results are meaningful and actually provide the information you need.

How can you determine how valid a test is? As a test user, you can simply ask the testing company for test development background and validity statistics. For the test's creator, however, ensuring validity is a huge challenge.

SoftBank, recently in the news for its acquisition of the third largest U.S. telecommunications company, Sprint Nextel, has now made another investment—this time in its employees.

Beginning this year and continuing through 2015, those scoring 900 out of possible 990 points on the TOEIC Listening & Reading test will earn a bonus of 1 million yen ($11,269).

Employees scoring between 800 and 899 will receive a smaller bonus of 300,000 yen (about $3,380).

I recently got back from a training session at Educational Testing Service that took me deep into the workings of TOEIC and other common standardized workplace English tests. A lot of interesting material was covered, and TOEIC representatives from around the world had great opportunities to share their experiences and “war stories.”

Every organization and every job is unique. TOEIC test developers recognize that and so rather than setting “one size fits all” pass-fail standards for hiring or employee evaluation, they encourage employers to define what English language skills people in particular positions need to succeed with their individual job responsibilities.

Such flexibility makes sense—an assembly line worker does not need the same English language skills as a software consultant. In the U.S., such distinctions also need to be considered to ensure compliance with government anti-discrimination standards. 

But how do you know what score levels you need for your organization's different types of positions? The answer is that you don’t have to know. We will help you.

We have access to a range of tools from simple charts and industry averages to a questionnaire analysis process or statistical review of actual pilot testing.

For the first time, the annual “EF English Proficiency Index” has collected English proficiency data on immigrant adults learning English as a second language in predominately English-speaking countries.

Every month for almost two years now, we've been publishing a "business English site of the month" in our free e-newsletters for English language learners and for professionals working with non-native English speakers.

Today at last we've published a compilation of these sites on a single page, meaning you no longer have to click through every newsletter to reach these great links. Much faster and easier!

While we expect to update the page periodically  we encourage you to sign up for the appropriate newsletter now to get new links as they are published (along with other useful news and information). Since we have different newsletters for different countries, please visit the new links page for full (simple) instructions on signing up for the right newsletter for you.

Smart event planners use TOEIC not only in hiring paid employees but also in selecting volunteers. As discussed in an earlier post, TOEIC testing can be a great way to sort out the qualified from those with insufficient English skills, helping ensure event success.

The latest model for TOEIC use with volunteers comes from Russia in its selection for volunteers to support the 2012 Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, which they will host this fall in Vladivostok. The APEC summit, attended by heads of state and leading professionals from 21 member economies, many of whom will not know Russian but can communicate in English, provides a great opportunity to promote Russia's free trade interests and highlight its international strengths, including multilingual talent and efficient delegate support.

I've already updated my earlier post on United Kingdom English language visa requirements to reflect the newly increased expectations for immigrating family members of UK citizens and permanent visa holders, but a more detailed explanation seems in order, especially as the change hasn't crossed everyone's radar.

Adult family members will now be required to meet B1 speaking and listening levels on the Common European Framework Reference (CERF) language levels, as opposed to the previous A1 levels. To clarify what this means, here are descriptions of A1 communication abilities versus B1, as defined under CEFR: