It's easy to assume "everyone knows" this or that when you work daily with a particular test (or any product or service). Then you start talking to someone outside your small world and realize that's not the case.

Here are a few misunderstandings about TOEIC testing that I've seen come up repeatedly in communications about the test.

1. Myth: there's only one TOEIC test.

False. The TOEIC Speaking & Writing test is entirely separate from the TOEIC Listening & Reading test; the two are even administered on different days. It's also possible to take the TOEIC Speaking test as a stand-alone test.

2. Myth: TOEIC is a test of American English.

False. TOEIC tests are developed by an American organization, ETS, but every question on every test is thoroughly reviewed and tested to ensure that what is being tested is international English, common worldwide. The tests include only widely used idiomatic expressions that would be familiar across English-speaking countries. They include a variety of accents. Your accent will not affect your score unless it would make your English hard to follow even with fellow English speakers in your home country (and at that point it's a matter of pronunciation problems rather than simply an accent).

3. Myth: TOEIC tests require knowledge of specialized business vocabulary.

False. TOEIC tests measure the ability to communicate in the context of daily life and the global workplace. Candidates are not required to have specialized business knowledge or vocabulary.

4. Myth: you can fail TOEIC.

False. The TOEIC test is not the type of test that you "pass" or "fail." TOEIC tests measure many levels of ability; there is even a TOEIC Bridge test that allows precise understanding of the skill levels of lower/lower-intermediate language learners. Employers may set their own required score based on the duties involved in a particular position, but there is no official cut-off score. Nor will there ever be, since different types of job responsibilities require different levels of English language skills.
 
5. Myth: if you can't take TOEIC tests on the dates/locations listed on the ETS site, you are out of luck.

Depends. If your employer or the educational institution you attend is willing to administer the test, we can almost certainly arrange TOEIC testing for you through them.

We are also working to expand public test sites for TOEIC Speaking & Writing tests (ETS handles the TOEIC Listening & Reading public tests) so if that's the test you want, let us know where you are. If there is a site in your area that already administers TOEFL iBT, they would have the type of facilities the TOEIC Speaking & Writing test requires, so you might also contact them directly to discuss your need. We'd be happy to get them started as a test center. We're contacting such centers ourselves but it can make a big difference if they see the demand for themselves.

Those are my pearls of wisdom about TOEIC tests for today. Thoughts, questions, or misunderstandings you've encountered?

—Lia Hutton, TOEIC USA Team