Testing Centre:
The Language Department of the Czech Language Institute
of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Na Florenci 3 (4th Floor)
Prague 1
For more information or to register online visit ETS web pages
Our relation to ETS: we have no influence and no “inside” information
Structure of the test
The format of the internet-based test is as follows:
|
SECTION
|
QUESTIONS
|
FORMAT
|
TIME
|
|
Reading
30 points
|
3-5 passages
12-14 questions each
|
Texts (approximately 700 words) followed by multiple choice questions
|
60-100 minutes
|
|
Listening
30 points
|
4-6 lectures
3-5 minutes long
6 questions per lecture
2-3 conversations 3 minutes long
5 questions per conversation
|
Academic lectures to simulate listening and speaking in the classroom
Conversations in an academic setting
|
60-90 minutes
|
|
Writing
30 points
|
Integrated
Independent
|
Read a short passage for 3 minutes (300 words) and listen to a short lecture for 2 minutes and then write (150-225 words)
Give and support your opinion about a general topic (300 words)
|
20 minutes
30 minutes
|
|
Speaking
30 points
|
Independent
Integrated
Integrated
|
Answer short questions about general topics
Answer questions about information you have read and listened to
Answer questions about a discussion or short lecture you have listened to
|
20 minutes
|
More specifics:
Speaking – 20 minutes
· Note-taking skills
· Practice necessary as time is short
· Always one formal and one conversation where a student is there (foreign accent)
· Authentic texts
· Purpose or motivation of conversation and degree of certainty
· 2 independent tasks (on familiar topics – personal experiences; describe people/place/objects, justify likes/dislikes, recount events or past actions) and
4 integrated tasks (2 reading/listening/speaking and 2 listening/speaking)
Writing
· Integrated task – 150-225 words in 20 minutes
· One listening and one reading – respond, summarize, compare and contrast (conflict between reading and listening texts) or filling in a chart
Essay – 300 words minimum in 30 minutes
· Independent task
Listening
· Note-taking skills – students allowed to take notes now on paper (provided, cannot be taken away) or on the computer
· Students can replay sections relevant to the questions – but maximum time still applies
Reading
· Much like the original test – some words are defined in the text (glossary), students can take notes
· Longer texts and some new questions – categorize using chart or paraphrasing or summarizing
Our Approach
· Skills development – study skills, listening, reading, speaking, writing skills
Study Areas
· Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Physical Sciences
· Academic and “normal” spoken English registers required
The maximum score on the iBT computer-based test is 120, which corresponds to 300 in the computer-based test and 677 in the paper-based test. Universities still tend to state their requirements in terms of the paper-based test:
The following table compares the scores of the two formats.
The scores will be valid for two years after the original test date.
|
Paper-based test
|
Computer-based test
|
Internet-based test
|
|
677
|
300
|
120
|
|
660
|
287
|
117
|
|
630
|
267
|
109
|
|
600
|
250
|
100
|
|
580
|
237
|
92
|
|
550
|
213
|
79
|
|
500
|
173
|
61
|
|
450
|
133
|
46
|
|
400
|
97
|
32
|
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