News
2018 China TOEFL Annual Meeting Held in Beijing
Beijing, China (December 12, 2018)
The 2018 China TOEFL® Annual Meeting and TOEFL® Circle Program Award Ceremony was successfully held by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Beijing with the theme of “Challenges and Breakthroughs,” aiming to involve more well-recognized education institutions, deepen cooperation and support Chinese students to realize their dreams of studying abroad.
The Conference
More than 100 representatives from the US, Australian and Canadian Embassies in China, as well as the National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA), Education Testing Service (ETS), and TOEFL® Circle Program member institutions, discussed the situation and policies related to Chinese students studying in the US, Australia and Canada. Participants also exchanged thoughts on the development of the TOEFL test worldwide and in mainland China, TOEFL Test Capacity and Security in China, the TOEFL-CSE Project and R&D conducted by ETS.
Srikant Gopal, Executive Director of the TOEFL Program, announced at the meeting that beginning this month the NEEA will link the TOEFL test registration to the new official TOEFL Chinese website. The new website is not only faster, but also guarantees students easy access to registration, score guidance, official preparation materials and a list of schools that accept TOEFL scores. In addition, the website also lists the score requirements for top universities in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, allowing students to make their application plans based on “one test for multiple destinations”.
Srikant Gopal said: “TOEFL was the first International English language test that came to China since the ‘reform and opening-up’ policy began. Since its establishment of cooperation with the NEEA in 1981, the TOEFL test has helped millions of Chinese students to realize their dream of going abroad, especially to universities in the US that continue to welcome the valued contributions of over 360,000 Chinese students a year, as well as those in Australia and Canada. The Executive Director stated that ETS has never stopped researching and improving the TOEFL test content, format, assessment method, information supply, and test security and integrity, in order to better serve Chinese test takers. He emphasized that: “The TOEFL test measures academic English skills the way they are actually used in the classroom, so students will be prepared for the English demands of a university. The launch of the new TOEFL Chinese website and the TOEFL Annual Meeting are the latest embodiments of our commitment to helping students succeed.” Mr. Gopal also shared with guests the updated development of TOEFL in the world and in China.
As the representative of the partner organization for the TOEFL test in China, Zhang Jin, Director of the International Division of NEEA, said at the meeting: “The NEEA will continue to remain in close communication and cooperation with ETS to uphold test security and ensure that the path to studying abroad remains safe, stable and worry-free for Chinese test takers. In recent years, both sides have cooperated to promote the application of vocal and facial recognition technology in identifying TOEFL test takers. As the only national agency participating in the TOEFL test, we have implemented measures to ensure that registration for the TOEFL test in China remains in line with national localization requirements. For example, the NEEA has the only website in the world that is connected to ETS in real time, and that supports localized payment methods, such as Alipay. The site can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to continuously monitor test data and candidate registrations, which can inform us to increase test seats when necessary. In 2019, we look forward to more opportunities to cooperate with ETS China to jointly resolve the problem of insufficient TOEFL test seats at the peak of major cities.”
Mr. Rhett Miller, Consul (Commercial) of the Australian Consulate-General Shanghai, also expressed his congratulations to the TOEFL Annual Meeting, saying that "Australia provides Chinese students with a truly global educational experience and the opportunity to develop cross-cultural skills and build networks which will enable them to deal more effectively with the global marketplace and the important role played by China therein. Congratulations to the first China TOEFL Annual Meeting -- we look forward to welcoming more Chinese students to study in Australia in the future." Mandy Xu, Education Manager of the Australian Embassy in China Commercial Section, has said: "Australia has always been one of the most popular destinations for Chinese students, and the TOEFL scores can be used to apply for post-doctoral, business, skilled migration, work and tourist visas apart from applying for all colleges and universities in Australia.”
Ms. Kim Ursu, First Secretary and Trade Education Commissioner for Education of the Canadian Embassy in China, thanked Chinese students for their love of Canada in her speech. She said: "I am very happy to attend the TOEFL Annual Meeting. Canadian colleges and universities widely accept TOEFL scores. As one of the countries with the highest quality of education in the world, Canada has a relatively low total cost of studying abroad and friendly student and immigration visa policies. We are pleased to see that the total number of Chinese students studying in Canada over the past decade has grown by more than 200%. We welcome more Chinese students to consider studying and working in Canada."
After Hsieh Ching-Ni, Lead Research Project Manager for the TOEFL program at ETS, introduced the development of the TOEFL-CSE Project and R&D conducted by ETS, Country Manager of ETS China Miranda Wang shared TOEFL’s market support plan in China. She said: “ETS China has been committed to promoting the development of the TOEFL program in China for many years, and has conducted in-depth cooperation with many government departments, embassies, consulates, universities, and educational institutions, and provided services for the majority of TOEFL candidates. Since 2017, ETS China has gradually introduced TOEFL family learning and test products to China in order to meet the diverse needs of China’s English learning market. The first TOEFL China Annual Meeting is held in recognition of the cooperation organizations that have made significant contributions to the promotion of the TOEFL program’s development. It is also a platform for ETS to deliver official voices, for institutions to exchange resources and interact with ETS, and for both sides to achieve win-win in the current international context where challenges and opportunities coexist.”
During the meeting, ETS also held an Award Ceremony for the TOEFL Circle Program members presented by Srikant Gopal and Miranda Wang. A total of 29 TOEFL test and training institutions from 32 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Tianjin, and Hangzhou were awarded the TOEFL Circle Program Star Member.
About the TOEFL Test
The TOEFL test of academic English is recognized by more than 10,000 universities and other institutions in over 150 countries worldwide. In the US, (China’s top study abroad destination), TOEFL is accepted everywhere and preferred over other English language tests. In Australia, (China’s second most popular destination), TOEFL scores are accepted by all universities and for all immigration purposes. With the central scoring of the test conducted by multiple anonymous human examiners, TOEFL offers a 100% fair and unbiased testing method. More information regarding the TOEFL test, including study tips and sample questions, is available on the TOEFL website at www.toefl.cn.
About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 10,000 locations worldwide. More information can be found through: www.ets.org.