Lessons from six years of online proficiency testing associated with the freshman and sophomore English course in a technology university

Abstract

Since 2010, HungKuang university in Taiwan, which teaches almost entirely through the medium of Chinese, has undertaken an increasingly intensive program of twice yearly online English testing of freshman and sophomore students, using both the Bridge and Full Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in mock and real versions. The purpose is to inform the institution, English staff, and students themselves about the developing English proficiency of the students and plan future policies accordingly, so as to not only meet ever increasing external demands for graduates with good English but also to propose potential innovating plan for future English course. A preliminary analysis of more than 4000 students’ online assessment results found the overall mean proficiency is well below the institutional target of minimum total score 350. Pedagogical implication was proposed to innovate the online learning and testing platform in order to meet the challenge of future course planning.