Comparison of British, American English Standards (includes TOPIC Business English Standards used in Asia as well)

1. Rachel Faith Zabala Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011
Comparative Matrix for Testing & Evaluation Course at LPU
IELTS TOEFL-IBT TOEIC
International English Language Testing System Test of English as a Foreign Language Test of English for International
– British based (Academic English Orientation) – American based (Academic English Orientation) Communication (Business English Orientation)
Difficulty level: B1 - C2 / intermediate/advanced Difficulty level: B1 – C2 / intermediate/advanced Difficulty level: B1 – C2 / intermediate/advanced
Who uses it?Universities employers in the Who uses it? It measures the ability of non-native Who uses it? This is for organizations to
countries of the EU like Australia, Canada, speakers of English to use and understand American determine whether an employee is suitable for
Ireland, New Zealand, UK and some African English as it is spoken, written and heard in college a particular task. People who want to work for
countries. The US business overseas also use it and university settings. Most people use it if they’re a large organization, in China, Korea, Indonesia,
for compatibility reason when working with the planning to study at colleges / universities with Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan take the TOEIC test to
UK or European Union governmentauthorities English instruction. Government agencies, show business qualifications in Asian countries
like immigration agencies may IELTS scores to scholarship programs, licensingagencies and shows professional International English
evaluate British English proficiency. certification regulatory institutions use TOEFL scores language proficiency.
to evaluate American English proficiency.
Listening - 4 sections, 40 questions, 30 minutes Reading 3-5 passages, 12-14 questions Listening and Reading test uses a paper and
Speaking – interview, 15 minutes 60-100 minutes each pencil and takes 2.5 hours at a test center.
Reading - Academic or General Training Listening: 4-6 lectures Speaking and Writing test is an online test
3 sections, 40 questions, 60 minutes. 6 questions 2-3 conversations taken at a test center - 90 minutes, but this
Writing - Academic or General Training 5 questions each 60-90 mins part is not available in some countries.
2 pieces of writing, 60 minutes Speaking 6 tasks, 2 independent & 2 integrated time
20 minutes each
Writing 1 integrated task - 50 minutes
Test are monitored but must be mailed back to Paper test done on site with keys given to the Test is organized by institution that purchases
headquarters for scoring. certified test monitor at the location site. it and has on-site with answer keys.
Multi-level. You get a score between 1 and 9. Listening Comprehension 30-40 minutes (50-Qs) Reading and Listening scores are between:
Half scores such as 6.5 are possible. Structure and Written Expression45 mins (40-Qs) 905 - 990 International Proficiency
Universities often demand an IELTS score of 6 Reading Comprehension 55 minutes 50 785 – 900 Working Proficiency Plus
or 7. They may also demand a minimum score Writing (Test of Written English) 30 mins 1 topic 605 – 780 Limited Working Proficiency
in each of the 4 sections. 405 – 600 Elementary Proficiency Plus
255 – 400 Elementary Proficiency
185 – 250 Memorized Proficiency
10 – 180 No Useful English Proficiency
Fees are set by test centers & vary by country. Prices vary in each country, in the USA the test costs Fees are set by test centers, but expect to pay
Expect to pay around £115 GBP, €190 Euros or $150. In the UK the TOEFL ibt is $185 while the around $85 USD for each component (Listening
$200 USD paper-based TOEFL is $150 and Reading / Speaking and Writing).
MAELS – Graduate School, Dean Amanda Banaag

2. The following table gives an approximate comparison between the different exams. The exams all use the Common European Framework (CEF) proficiency levels.
CEF Level Cambridge ESOL IELTS TOEFL iBT TOEIC Michigan BULATS PTE General PTE Academic
C2 ACPE 9 121-130 900 ECPE level 5 85+
8 90
CAE,
C1 7.5 110-120 880 level 4 76-84
BEC Higher
6.5 75
FCE,
B2 6 87-109 750 ECCE level 3 59-75
BEC Vantage
5 60
PET,
B1 4.5 57-86 550 level 2 43-58
BEC Prelim
4 40
A2 KET 3 0-56 350 level 1 30-42
20
And here is another table grouping the exams according to General English, Academic English or Business English:
A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
General English exams
KET PET FCE CAE CPE
ECCE
PTE 1 PTE 2 PTE 3 PTE 4 PTE 5
Academic English
ECPE
------------------ IELTS ------------------
------------------ TOEFL ------------------
Business English
------------------ TOEIC ------------------
BEC Prelim BEC Vantage BEC Higher
------------------ BULATS ------------------
Proficiency is the highest level of fluency. It indicates people who rarely have problems understanding a native English speaker. (IELTS score 7.5+,
TOEFL iBT score 110, TOEIC score 880). With these scores you can study on any course including postgraduate level at an English-speaking university
or work at any advanced level job in an English-speaking environment