耶魯日報： 雅思有可能取代托福
Raymond Carlson
記者發(fā)布于2008年10月21日星期二
托福，一度是考核英語能力的唯一考試，現(xiàn)在有了競爭對手，雅思。
在第二輪招生中，耶魯大學(xué)開始接受托福和雅思兩種成績來評估英文能力。盡管雅思的支持者說它比托福能更好的反映學(xué)生的語言能力，雅思在高中和大學(xué)的普及程度還遠遠不能和托付抗衡。
耶魯大學(xué)招生辦公室主任Jeff Brenzel說，接受托福和雅思成績給學(xué)生考試提供了便利條件。
“雅思考試已經(jīng)被證實為一個語言能力的考核，”Brenzel主任在電子郵件中寫到?！霸趦蓚€考試中有一個更便利的情況下，我們想讓學(xué)生有選擇的余地，就像我們對待SAT和ACT考試一樣?！?BR> 盡管托付和雅思考試考核同樣的技能，兩個考試的結(jié)構(gòu)截然不同。托?？梢詸C考和筆考，雅思只能筆考，只有例外的少數(shù)幾個機考中心。
雅思國際美國總監(jiān)Beryl Meiron說，除了托?？己说幕炯寄苤猓潘伎荚囉袃蓚€部分注重于學(xué)術(shù)的閱讀和寫作技能。雅思還有一個口語部分，與托福的全部筆試截然不同。
Meiron總監(jiān)在電話還說道，另外與托福不同的是，雅思還需要一個與受過訓(xùn)練的且英語為第二語言的官員面對面面試的板塊。
她說：“對于考生來說，雅思是一個更注重個人的體驗?！?BR> 在過去的四年中，所有八所常青藤盟校都悄悄地采納了雅思，盡管普林斯頓大學(xué)和賓西法尼亞大學(xué)的本科招生還是不接受這個考試。哈佛本科生院對本科申請人沒有英語能力考試的要求。
隨著更多學(xué)校接受雅思，全國的備考公司都已經(jīng)擴張了自己的業(yè)務(wù)，來對應(yīng)學(xué)生的新需求。
但是，一些國際私利學(xué)校仍然保持著對托福的重視。
Stanstead學(xué)院是魁北克的一所頂極備考學(xué)校，大學(xué)指導(dǎo)員Eryn Hessian說，學(xué)生可以通過輔導(dǎo)課程準備托?？荚嚒?BR> 但是，她說，到雅思考試被廣泛接受之前，學(xué)校提供專項雅思輔導(dǎo)的可能不大。
“我們先在只做托福，”她說，“它是美國和加拿大入學(xué)的標準，其他考試要得到更多的認可，我們才會開展業(yè)務(wù)?！?BR> Meiron總監(jiān)說，現(xiàn)在耶魯和其他常青藤盟校接受了雅思，她希望更多美國大學(xué)開始用它來衡量英語能力。
她說：“有很多學(xué)校都在關(guān)注常青藤盟校，特別是耶魯大學(xué)，來引領(lǐng)這個潮流?！?BR> 據(jù)雅思官方網(wǎng)站，雅思現(xiàn)在被1700多所美國學(xué)術(shù)機構(gòu)接受認可。
IELTS may replace TOEFL
Raymond Carlson
Staff Reporter
Published Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The TOEFL, once the only exam testing English proficiency, now has competition in the IELTS.
For the second admissions cycle, Yale is accepting both the Test of English as a Foreign Language and the International English Language Testing System as indicators of English-language proficiency. While supporters of the IELTS said it reflects students’ language abilities better than the more widely accepted TOEFL, the IELTS has still struggled to match the popularity of the TOEFL among high schools and universities.
Accepting both the TOEFL and IELTS gives students the opportunity to take the most convenient exam, Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel said.
“The IELTS exam has been well validated as a test of functional proficiency,” Brenzel wrote in an e-mail message. “We wanted students to have the option of going either way in the event that one form of testing was more readily available than another, just as we do with the SAT and ACT exams.”
While the TOEFL and IELTS exams test the same skill groups, the exams have significantly different structures. While the TOEFL can be taken online or with a pencil and paper, the IELTS exam can only be completed on paper, with the exception of a small number of computer-based test centers.
The IELTS exam features two sections focused on academic reading and writing skills, beyond the basic skills tested in the TOEFL, said Beryl Meiron, the United States executive director for IELTS International. The IELTS also has a speaking section, unlike the paper version of the TOEFL.
Also unlike the TOEFL, the IELTS exam requires a face-to-face interview portion by a trained English-as-a-second-language official, Meiron said in a telephone interview.
“IELTS is a much more personal experience for the test taker,” she said.
Over the past four years, all eight Ivy League universities have quietly adopted the IELTS, although Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania do not accept the test for undergraduate admissions. Harvard College does not require an English-proficiency test for undergraduate applicants.
By accepting the IELTS, institutions allow students to take the exam that best fits their test-taking styles, Meiron said.
“When students have an option to take IELTS, because the item types are different and … the test environment is more friendly, they may find that their test anxiety is down,” she said. “They may perform better and get a truer measure of their English-language proficiency.”
As more schools accept the IELTS, test-preparatory companies around the country have expanded their services to take advantage of new student demand.
Kaplan Aspect, the English-language preparation company for test-prep company Kaplan Inc., currently offers extensive IELTS study courses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said Kaplan Aspect spokesman Russell Schaffer.
Still, some international private schools remain focused on preparing their students for the TOEFL.
At Stanstead College, a top-tier preparatory school in Quebec, students can prepare for the TOEFL exam through tutoring programs, said Eryn Hessian, Stanstead’s university guidance coordinator.
But until the IELTS exam becomes widely accepted, she said, it is unlikely the school will provide IELTS-specific tutoring.
“We’re just working on the TOEFL for now,” she said. “It is the standard for admissions in Canada and the U.S. The other exam has to be more recognized for us to go with it.”
Now that Yale and other Ivy League schools have accepted the IELTS exam, Meiron said, she hopes more American colleges and universities will begin to use it as a measure of English language proficiency.
“There are a lot of institutions that look at the Ivies, and particularly a school like Yale, to take the leadership position,” she said.
IELTS is now accepted by more than 1,700 academic institutions, professional bodies and accrediting institutions in the U.S., according to the IELTS Web site.
Raymond Carlson
記者發(fā)布于2008年10月21日星期二
托福，一度是考核英語能力的唯一考試，現(xiàn)在有了競爭對手，雅思。
在第二輪招生中，耶魯大學(xué)開始接受托福和雅思兩種成績來評估英文能力。盡管雅思的支持者說它比托福能更好的反映學(xué)生的語言能力，雅思在高中和大學(xué)的普及程度還遠遠不能和托付抗衡。
耶魯大學(xué)招生辦公室主任Jeff Brenzel說，接受托福和雅思成績給學(xué)生考試提供了便利條件。
“雅思考試已經(jīng)被證實為一個語言能力的考核，”Brenzel主任在電子郵件中寫到?！霸趦蓚€考試中有一個更便利的情況下，我們想讓學(xué)生有選擇的余地，就像我們對待SAT和ACT考試一樣?！?BR> 盡管托付和雅思考試考核同樣的技能，兩個考試的結(jié)構(gòu)截然不同。托?？梢詸C考和筆考，雅思只能筆考，只有例外的少數(shù)幾個機考中心。
雅思國際美國總監(jiān)Beryl Meiron說，除了托?？己说幕炯寄苤猓潘伎荚囉袃蓚€部分注重于學(xué)術(shù)的閱讀和寫作技能。雅思還有一個口語部分，與托福的全部筆試截然不同。
Meiron總監(jiān)在電話還說道，另外與托福不同的是，雅思還需要一個與受過訓(xùn)練的且英語為第二語言的官員面對面面試的板塊。
她說：“對于考生來說，雅思是一個更注重個人的體驗?！?BR> 在過去的四年中，所有八所常青藤盟校都悄悄地采納了雅思，盡管普林斯頓大學(xué)和賓西法尼亞大學(xué)的本科招生還是不接受這個考試。哈佛本科生院對本科申請人沒有英語能力考試的要求。
隨著更多學(xué)校接受雅思，全國的備考公司都已經(jīng)擴張了自己的業(yè)務(wù)，來對應(yīng)學(xué)生的新需求。
但是，一些國際私利學(xué)校仍然保持著對托福的重視。
Stanstead學(xué)院是魁北克的一所頂極備考學(xué)校，大學(xué)指導(dǎo)員Eryn Hessian說，學(xué)生可以通過輔導(dǎo)課程準備托?？荚嚒?BR> 但是，她說，到雅思考試被廣泛接受之前，學(xué)校提供專項雅思輔導(dǎo)的可能不大。
“我們先在只做托福，”她說，“它是美國和加拿大入學(xué)的標準，其他考試要得到更多的認可，我們才會開展業(yè)務(wù)?！?BR> Meiron總監(jiān)說，現(xiàn)在耶魯和其他常青藤盟校接受了雅思，她希望更多美國大學(xué)開始用它來衡量英語能力。
她說：“有很多學(xué)校都在關(guān)注常青藤盟校，特別是耶魯大學(xué)，來引領(lǐng)這個潮流?！?BR> 據(jù)雅思官方網(wǎng)站，雅思現(xiàn)在被1700多所美國學(xué)術(shù)機構(gòu)接受認可。
IELTS may replace TOEFL
Raymond Carlson
Staff Reporter
Published Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The TOEFL, once the only exam testing English proficiency, now has competition in the IELTS.
For the second admissions cycle, Yale is accepting both the Test of English as a Foreign Language and the International English Language Testing System as indicators of English-language proficiency. While supporters of the IELTS said it reflects students’ language abilities better than the more widely accepted TOEFL, the IELTS has still struggled to match the popularity of the TOEFL among high schools and universities.
Accepting both the TOEFL and IELTS gives students the opportunity to take the most convenient exam, Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel said.
“The IELTS exam has been well validated as a test of functional proficiency,” Brenzel wrote in an e-mail message. “We wanted students to have the option of going either way in the event that one form of testing was more readily available than another, just as we do with the SAT and ACT exams.”
While the TOEFL and IELTS exams test the same skill groups, the exams have significantly different structures. While the TOEFL can be taken online or with a pencil and paper, the IELTS exam can only be completed on paper, with the exception of a small number of computer-based test centers.
The IELTS exam features two sections focused on academic reading and writing skills, beyond the basic skills tested in the TOEFL, said Beryl Meiron, the United States executive director for IELTS International. The IELTS also has a speaking section, unlike the paper version of the TOEFL.
Also unlike the TOEFL, the IELTS exam requires a face-to-face interview portion by a trained English-as-a-second-language official, Meiron said in a telephone interview.
“IELTS is a much more personal experience for the test taker,” she said.
Over the past four years, all eight Ivy League universities have quietly adopted the IELTS, although Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania do not accept the test for undergraduate admissions. Harvard College does not require an English-proficiency test for undergraduate applicants.
By accepting the IELTS, institutions allow students to take the exam that best fits their test-taking styles, Meiron said.
“When students have an option to take IELTS, because the item types are different and … the test environment is more friendly, they may find that their test anxiety is down,” she said. “They may perform better and get a truer measure of their English-language proficiency.”
As more schools accept the IELTS, test-preparatory companies around the country have expanded their services to take advantage of new student demand.
Kaplan Aspect, the English-language preparation company for test-prep company Kaplan Inc., currently offers extensive IELTS study courses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said Kaplan Aspect spokesman Russell Schaffer.
Still, some international private schools remain focused on preparing their students for the TOEFL.
At Stanstead College, a top-tier preparatory school in Quebec, students can prepare for the TOEFL exam through tutoring programs, said Eryn Hessian, Stanstead’s university guidance coordinator.
But until the IELTS exam becomes widely accepted, she said, it is unlikely the school will provide IELTS-specific tutoring.
“We’re just working on the TOEFL for now,” she said. “It is the standard for admissions in Canada and the U.S. The other exam has to be more recognized for us to go with it.”
Now that Yale and other Ivy League schools have accepted the IELTS exam, Meiron said, she hopes more American colleges and universities will begin to use it as a measure of English language proficiency.
“There are a lot of institutions that look at the Ivies, and particularly a school like Yale, to take the leadership position,” she said.
IELTS is now accepted by more than 1,700 academic institutions, professional bodies and accrediting institutions in the U.S., according to the IELTS Web site.