English language teaching

TOEIC Test Score Improvement: Study Provides Data to Encourage EL Students

We regularly get inquiries on strategies for using TOEIC tests in English language teaching, as well as on how quickly scores can be expected to improve. Therefore I was interested to learn of research conducted by TOEIC representative Pro-Match in Australia that responds to both questions.

Pro-Match had the opportunity to work with results from almost 750 students at  Pacific Gateway International College (whose English language centers have since been purchased by the Canadian company ILSC). Teachers in all Pacific Gateway's varied types of English language programs administered TOEIC Listening & Reading tests once each month throughout enrollment periods that lasted a minimum of four weeks and an average of twelve weeks—providing a wealth of data!

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Eight Great Sites to Improve English Listening Skills

An interesting discussion took place on the LinkedIn group ESL Teacher Professionals last month relating to a question asked by teacher Renee in New York regarding ways English language learners could improve their listening skills beyond such usual recommendations as films, radio, and YouTube. Comments from around the world focused on free Web sites. I've had a chance to go through those sites myself now and wanted to share the best with you:

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Is English Easier than Other Languages?

The article “English: the Inescapable Language,” which appears in the latest issue of The American, a journal published by the American Enterprise Institute, has a somewhat different focus than you would expect from its title.

The article indeed does discuss how English has becomes the world’s common language of the workplace, including some interesting “did you know?” material such as the following—

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Global English: Teaching to the Need

As summarized in my last post, the numbers compiled in the recent “English Proficiency Index" from EF Education First provide overwhelming evidence of how the spread of  English as a common tongue worldwide has made the language a "basic," vital for individual and national success.
 
An unchanging reality, however, is that full fluency in a second language is not easy to achieve. In the best of all cases—when the language is learned as a child, in a full-immersion setting—it takes at least three to five years to attain native-level speaking skills, and five to seven to achieve full competency in academic English.
 
Governments worldwide are starting English instruction at earlier ages.
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Idioms: How Often Do They Pop Up?

Idioms are phrases that cannot be translated word-by-word but have meaning beyond their literal dictionary definitions. They are one of the hardest challenges for someone learning a language.
 
However, if you want to communicate with native speakers, knowing at least the most common idiomatic expressions is important. You’ll find that native speakers use them very, very frequently.
 
How frequently are idioms used in English? Trying to get solid facts, I came across the following two citations on Nada’s ESL Island, a tropical-looking, informative Web site established by Nada Salem Abisamra of George Washington University:
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Building Vocabulary: Keys from “ESL Teacher Professionals” LinkedIn Group

The ESL Teacher Professionals Group on LinkedIn currently has a membership of almost 3,000 English language teaching professionals.  I have found their discussions a good source of wisdom as I work to learn more about strategies learners can use to improve their English language skills, for TOEIC testing and for life.
 
About a month ago, a discussion began regarding techniques and resources to improve vocabulary that I thought was very helpful. Since the group is for members only (you can join on request), you may not be able to see the discussion through the link above immediately, but I am summarizing below a few ideas that were repeated and built upon by the group:
 
  • Flashcards. These could be paper cards, digital, or mobile phone apps.
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Language Research Publication Opportunity

Involved in academic research on language teaching and/or learning? Interested in building your CV/publications portfolio?

The Academic Exchange Quarterly, an international independent, double-blind-peer-reviewed print journal, is accepting submissions for a special issue on "Expanding the Language Teaching and Learning Knowledge Base" through August 2011. Below is the description of types of articles desired from the publication's Web site.

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TOEIC® Success Story: University of Toronto

I found the following story from the ETS "Success Stories" files about the TOEIC® Listening & Reading test particularly interesting for two reasons. First of all, it describes problems with in-house placement tests similar to those we frequently hear about from our clients. Second, it discusses an advantage that I don't think people always think about in relation to TOEIC tests the speed with which our university and other institutional clients can get information back on the English language skills of their students or employees.

The Challenge: Placing incoming students quickly and accurately.

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