Expected English Proficiency for Students - The Common Test for University Admission and TOEFL Primary Junior - Introduction

Oct 2, 2026

The document explains expected English proficiency for university-bound students through the Common Test for University Admissions and the TOEFL Primary/Junior tests created by ETS. It argues that globalization and technology require practical English skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. The discussion compares how both test types assess learners’ ability to infer opinions from reading and listening contexts, and stresses information-processing and cross-curricular communication skills needed for studying and collaborating globally.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

ntroduction

Reading

Listening

Conclusion

Expected English Proficiency for Students:The Common Test for University Admissionand TOEFL Primary®Junior® Tomohisa Machida,Ph.D.〔Akita International University〕 ntroduction P1 Reading P2 Listening…… ……P4 Conclusion P6 … … Danke Sehr # ntroduction The world has been globalized,and eachcountry is closely connected due to thedevelopment of technology.English has becomethe global language of international conferencesand meetings,and 60.4%of the language usedon the Internet is already English in 2021(W3Techs;http://w3techs.com).Furthermore,the British Council(2013)predicted that morethan two billion people worldwide would beusing and learning English by 2020.Recently,more and more classes are being taught inEnglish at every school level,even at Japaneseuniversities.Therefore,when considering theEnglish language skills needed for studentsliving in the 21st century,teachers have to fostertheir practical English skills utilizing "criticalthinking,problem-solving,and creativity"(Shin,2021,p.4). The Common Entrance Examination forUniversity Admissions (after this referred to asthe "Common Test")has considered the currentstate of English in the fast-changing world.Accordingly,it has changed from a test offoreign languages based on rote memorizationto a test of the ability to use English as a tool forinformation analysisandglobalcommunication.In the future,it will be even more necessary for university students to havethe English ability to comprehend the outlinesand main points of familiar topics they willencounter while using various materials. On the other hand,the TOEFL®tests family(TOEFL®PrimaryTM,TOEFL Junior®,TOEFL®ITP,&TOEFL iBT®)created by EducationalTesting Service(ETS)in the U.S.have beenassessing the English language skills fornon-native English speaking children andstudents for a long time.In particular,TOEFLPrimary and TOEFL Junior,launched in 2014and 2011, can measure communicativecompetence among young learners,such aselementary to junior and senior high schoolstudents.Each test aims to help students acquirethe globally expected English skills they need ateach stage of their development as globalcitizens.Thus,TOEFL®tests measure whetherstudents can successfully develop their Englishto use it at each school level and can preparethemselves to study at the next academic level,which is similar to the aims of the newlylaunched Common Tests.As a result,both testshave similarities in the format of the questions.In the following,I will examine the reading andlistening questions of those two kinds of tests. In communication,people need to understandthe intentions of other people correctly.Inaddition,participants of global writtencommunication have to read English sentencesaccurately,understand other people's intentions,and infer their opinions behind the sentences.For example,in this year's Common Test,one ofthe questions asked students to distinguish between facts and opinions (Figure 1).Thequestion in the reading section explained theviews of the judges in a band contest.Studentsneeded to derive the "opinion"that the band andaudience were united in excitement at thecompetition from the“fact”that the band'sperformance and the audience's reaction. 問4 One opinion from the judges'comments and shared evaluation is that ①each evaluated band received the same total score ②Ms Wells'suggestion about originality was agreed on ③Silent Hill really connected with the audience ④the judges'comments determined the rankings Figure 1.Common Test,2021 about it.The word "surprised"is not used in thedialogue.However,students have to infer thecharacters'feelings from their hushed voices orunpreparedness for looking at the bear. The TOEFLPrimary has a similar question thatasks for "opinions"(Figure 2).Here,Lucy andher mother accidentally ran into a bear in thebackyard,and the question asks how they felt 17.How do Lucy and her mot

FAQs

Why does the document emphasize practical English skills for students in the 21st century?

Because globalization and technology have made English a global language, requiring learners to use English for information analysis and global communication rather than only rote memorization.

How does the Common Test assess students’ ability beyond factual understanding?

It includes tasks such as distinguishing facts from opinions, requiring students to infer attitudes or excitement based on contextual clues in reading.

What do TOEFL Primary and TOEFL Junior contribute in terms of skill measurement?

They assess communicative competence for non-native English speaking children and students, and they include question formats that evaluate how learners interpret opinions and content by combining materials with English explanations.

Oct 2, 2026

Uploaded by Emma Wilson