The TOEIC Listening and Reading exam measures a person’s English proficiency in the workplace and is an internationally accepted standard for hiring and promotion. Get to know how goFLUENT’s new TOEIC courses can help you ace this test.
The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is a widely used marker of workplace English proficiency. It measures different English skills and uses reliable scoring, making it one of the essential requirements for entering international organizations.
Get a rundown of the TOEIC Listening and Reading test, know what your TOEIC scores mean for you, and learn more about goFLUENT’s new TOEIC training courses. If you’re preparing for an English proficiency test or exploring language learning solutions for test preparation, this article is for you.
Say What? Understanding the Listening and Reading Test
There are different TOEIC exam types, but the Listening and Reading test specifically looks at a person’s ability to handle oral and written communication in the workplace.
All parts of the TOEIC Listening and Reading exam parallel real-life situations using voice recordings and text snippets, capturing a complete picture of how well a person understands the content of conversations, emails, and other official correspondences.
However, can practical skills like language abilities truly be assessed objectively? How does the TOEIC Listening and Reading exam measure language skills exactly?
One thing you have to know is that TOEIC scores are mapped to the CEFR or the Common European Framework of References for Languages. Simply put, scores correspond to one of the six levels of the CEFR. For the Listening and Reading test, that range will be 4 to 495 for each section. The numbers reflect test performance and higher scores mean higher proficiency levels.
The CEFR is a globally recognized classification. As an established set of metrics, it is standardized for international use. This means that regardless of the test taker’s background, where the exam location is, or what the purpose of the test is, TOEIC’s CEFR score allows consistency in leveling systems.
Aside from being recognized worldwide, CEFR provides descriptors alongside their numerical scoring making it easier for organizations to identify what practical skills individuals can perform.
With CEFR as a basis for TOEIC exam scores, organizations get streamlined and objective language proficiency evaluations.
Why TOEIC Scores Matter
English proficiency is vital to thriving in a global workplace. As the international business language, English is the vector for communication in a multicultural setting. It’s the key to performing day-to-day tasks and interacting with colleagues and clients.
The TOEIC scores, particularly the Listening and Reading exam, can be helpful for different organizations for many reasons.
Recruitment
Whether college students preparing for employment opportunities after graduation or job seekers looking for their next career step, the TOEIC exam can become an edge during recruitment.
Companies include English proficiency scores as part of hiring and assessment to know if the candidates have enough language skills to accomplish their tasks using the common language. Companies can determine if a candidate is a good fit by looking at their English-speaking skills on top of their job-specific credentials.
Career Advancement
Aside from getting new talents onboard, companies use TOEIC exam scores as a basis for mobility or promotion.
In the same vein as recruitment, having an employee’s English scores on hand gives companies an indicator of their comprehension and communication levels. Companies can then use this information to see if an employee is eligible for a higher position or if they’re ready to take on more responsibilities.
Training and Development
An employee’s proficiency level can be the prelude to mobility. Rather than viewing scores from tests like the TOEIC exam as an endpoint, a language assessment can be a starting point for identifying potential training opportunities, setting learning goals to qualify for a promotion, or developing job-specific communication skills.
From an organizational perspective, companies can use their employees’ collective scores to examine if they’re ready for global expansion. This can be the first step in their strategy: standardized scores help identify which employees can be assigned abroad and which ones can benefit from further learning.
Prepare for TOEIC with goFLUENT
Knowing the ins and outs of the TOEIC is one thing, but preparing for it is another. With the amount of test preparation guides out there, it’s easy to lose time (and effort) trying to determine which would work best for you.
goFLUENT makes language learning easier by having courses on vocabulary, grammar, and test preparation all in a single platform. Language Academy is a hyper-personalized, interactive solution that adapts to a learner’s pace and proficiency level.
Language Academy is accessible anytime, anywhere. You can practice reading and listening in English with over 13,000 multimedia learning resources. Among its massive library of learning content are courses that correspond to all seven parts of the TOEIC Listening and Reading test.
Aside from the TOEIC Exam, other test preparation courses that are available on Language Academy include the Test of English as a Foreign Language Exam (TOEFL) and the Cambridge First Language and Business Examinations.
Test preparation doesn’t have to be a tedious process. For test takers looking for career growth and organizations aiming to develop global talent, a flexible and individualized learning approach to get the best language assessment score is possible. Reach out to us to make it happen.
