水草 发表时间： 2004-03-24, 10:45

WELT被多所大学作承认，特别是在中部地区，可以充当雅斯使用。

1. What is the University of Warwick English Language Test?

The University of Warwick English Language Test (WELT) is a test of language proficiency for students who wish to study at universities or colleges in Britain. It is specifically designed for students whose first language is not English and/or who have been educated in a language other than English. WELT provides a set of grades that indicates a student’s strengths and weaknesses in various aspects of general and academic English.

2. Where can the test be taken?

WELT can be taken at the University of Warwick and at designated WELT centres in Britain and overseas. The test is administered at Warwick University regularly in term time and during the summer period. It can also be taken at centres overseas on specific dates. Information about current WELT centres can obtained from The WELT Administrator, Centre for English Language Teacher Education, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL.

A number of universities have been given permission to administer WELT for their own admission purposes. They agree to follow the testing procedures and security measures laid down by the University of Warwick. The test is marked and graded by specialised staff at the University of Warwick.

Any further institution that would like to offer WELT is welcome to apply to the WELT Administrator.

3. Who can take WELT?

The test is open to any student from overseas who is submitting an application to a university, college or other higher education institution where English is the medium of instruction. It is useful for universities that wish to test individuals or groups of students at a time which suits their admission requirements or when they need the results to be delivered speedily.

WELT can also be taken by students who wish to evaluate their own proficiency in order to decide whether they need further language study before undertaking their degree courses. Test results can be given to students personally and/or sent directly to admission officers at institutions to which a student is applying.

WELT is accepted as evidence of language proficiency by many universities in Britain and other English speaking countries although some institutions may require additional certification.

4. How reliable is WELT?

The first version of WELT was developed in the 1980s for use on pre-sessional courses in the University of Warwick where it was trialled extensively and statistically validated. The test was designed and written by English Language teachers with experience on national testing committees in four overseas countries and on examination boards in the UK. Since then, further versions, including a special version for Foundation Programme applicants, have been developed and trialled, and the test is frequently revised.

All versions that are currently in use have proved reliable as a measure of students’ language proficiency. In addition, the test gives an indication of what further language training a candidate needs (see Section 7 below).
For admission purposes, the test has been recognized as a reliable indicator of an applicant’s English language ability by the University of Warwick since 1989 and by the colleges associated with the Higher Education Foundation Programme. A number of other British universities have used the test with success in the past and are currently using the test in overseas recruitment.

5. What does the test consist of?

The test consists of three papers. Papers with a code ‘G’ are suitable for students applying for university courses in general. Papers with a code ‘FP’ are intended for use particularly by students applying to follow a pre-university Higher Education foundation programme.

Paper G1/FP1: Grammar and English Usage

Time: One hour

The first half (30 minutes) of Paper G1/FP1 tests a candidate’s knowledge of English sentence structure, including group and clause structure, the use of verb tenses, and idiomatic expressions. In addition, it tests the ability to recognize common errors and choose appropriate academic language in context. Candidates are not required to know grammatical terminology, but they are required to distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical sentences and to recognize how best to complete sentences or short paragraphs.

The second half of Paper G1/FP1 (30 minutes) tests further aspects of English grammar including the relationship between sentences or parts of sentences (such as the relationship between cause and effect) and the way in which words and grammar interact.


Paper G2/FP2: Writing

Time: 45 minutes

Candidates are required to write two or more short essays in English on set topics of general interest. The set topics require candidates to use a variety of tenses (since they may address past, present or future events), to present facts and offer opinions, to support argument with reasons and to express hypothetical ideas. The essays are marked for coherence, use of vocabulary, accuracy in grammar, command of a range of grammatical structures, and appropriate style.


Paper G3/FP3: Academic Reading

Time: One hour

This paper tests a candidate’s reading proficiency. The candidate is required to read and answer questions on two or more reading passages. These are selected from the type of reading materials that students at university or college would need to read, such as information booklets, textbooks, reports, academic articles, or newspaper articles.

The questions test the candidates’ ability to understand and interpret the reading passages. Some questions are concerned with the meaning of specific words and expressions or require the students to pick out a good summary or paraphrase. Other questions address the candidates’ ability to follow arguments, recognize the writer’s purposes and the rhetorical devices used to express them, and distinguish main points from supporting detail and fact from opinion.


6. How are the results presented?

There is no pass or fail mark for this test. Instead each paper is graded and a candidate is given a profile of scores, which match a set of banded criteria. The grades A to E are used for each paper, with A being the highest grade and E the lowest. Plus and minus signs are also used to indicate high or low achievement within the band. This is similar to the type of grading system used by the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) and some other major tests of language proficiency. In technical terms, the test is criterion referenced, not norm referenced (see Section 7 below).

In order to arrive at the appropriate grade for each paper, the numerical raw scores from Papers 1 (a mark out of 100) and Paper 3 (usually a mark out of 30) are converted to grades.

7. How can an admissions officer interpret the grades?

An admissions officer can interpret the grades by matching them to the criteria provided by the examiners. These explain briefly what each grade indicates in terms of practical ability. The set of criteria can be found in Section 11

The advantage of this system is that a candidate’s strengths can be seen at a glance and recommendations can be made for further language study as required. A candidate with poor scores in Paper 1 (D or E) and weak reading skills will certainly need further extensive study of English before entering a British institution. A better candidate but one with a weak overall language profile (say, one D and two Cs) may be required to attend a pre-sessional course in English.

Occasionally, a candidate will have a mixed profile, achieving, for example, a high grade for Academic Reading (Paper 2) but a poor grade in Grammar and or Writing (Papers 1 and 3). In this case, the applicant would need a course to improve his grammar and writing skills. Where a candidate does well (A or B ) in Papers 1 and 2 but has a poor grade for Paper 3 (Writing), a decision needs to be taken as to whether writing in English will be important for the academic course applied for. There may be departments where writing is not of major importance, especially in the early stages, giving time for the students to take a supplementary writing course. For entry to departments where writing ability is highly valued, a student may need to improve writing skills before being admitted to the course.

Paper 3 (Writing) is graded by matching the candidate’s essays to the written criteria (section 11) and so cannot be given a numerical score.
It should be noted that different institutions may have slightly different admissions criteria. These may depend on how much English language support is available in a given institution.

8. How do the results on WELT compare with results on other English Language Tests?

The following Table of Equivalences is based on research into the scores of students who have taken more than one of the tests mentioned in the following table:

Table of Equivalences

IELTS WELT TOEFL (Computer-based) TOEFL CPE
8 AAA - - A
7 AAB/ABB/BBB 620 260 A/B
6.5 BBC/BCC 600-620 250-260 C
6 CCC 550 213 -
5.5 DCC 500 173 -

Abbreviations:

IELTS British Council International English Language Testing System
WELT Warwick English Language Test
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
CPE Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English


Grading Criteria

Note: A good general indication of ability in English can be gained from the results on Paper G1 (English Grammar and Usage) (or FP1 for the Higher Education Foundation Programme or other pre-university foundation courses). However, the skills of reading and writing are essential to performance in a British University and must, therefore, be taken into account for direct university entry.

In broad terms, the Grades can be interpreted as follows:

PAPER G1/FP1: English Usage

Grade A This indicates that the candidate should have few problems with language while studying in Britain once the initial adjustment to working in English has taken place, provided his academic reading skills are efficient (see PAPER G3/FP3).

Grade B This indicates that the candidate's English is sufficiently good for him/her to cope with academic work in Britain, but the student would be well-advised to attend supplementary English language classes during the first two terms in the university and to continue working at improving English skills. A four or five week pre-sessional course (depending on the exact provision of the institution) would be helpful.

Grade C This indicates that the candidate's English would be acceptable for admission to a British university, but that the student needs further language improvement. Attendance at supplementary English language classes during the first two terms would almost certainly be required and may be a condition of acceptance. A four or five week pre-sessional course (or longer) would be strongly recommended and may be considered essential for some disciplines.

Grade D This indicates that the candidate's English Language level falls short of the level required to cope with study in a British University, and that further study of English is required. A ten or twelve week full-time language course (depending on the maximum length of the course offered by the institution) could suffice with a well-motivated student, but a longer period of study would be necessary for a part-time language student.
Grade E This indicates that the candidate has insufficient command of English to cope with work in a British University. He/she would probably need at least one year's further study of the language.

PAPER G2/FP2: Writing

Note: It must be remembered that, as in similar tests, because of examination constraints, the length of the writing exercises is necessarily short. For this reason, the grade will not indicate the candidate’s ability to construct long pieces of writing, such as full length essays or dissertations. Most international students need extra preparation for such writing activities.

Grade A This indicates that the candidate writes English accurately and uses an appropriate academic style for communicating ideas and opinions. There will be very few mistakes in sentence structure and few errors of a formal kind. The ideas will be clear and coherent and the vocabulary precise. There will be room, of course, for stylistic improvements.

Grade B This indicates that the candidate is likely to be able to write accurately and in an appropriate style given sufficient time and availability of reference books (e.g. dictionaries). Any errors will be few and not hamper communication. Ideas will be coherent and the writer’s position will be clear. There will be need for stylistic improvement and vocabulary development.

Grade C This indicates that the candidate has a good basic command of written English, but still makes mistakes that need correction. Most of the ideas are, however, clearly communicated and the writer’s point of view comes across. He/she would benefit from instruction in academic writing but should acquire the required standard quickly given sufficient exposure to English and practice in writing.

Grade D This indicates that the candidate can convey basic information and points of view in English, but makes serious mistakes in grammar and/or spelling and/or use of vocabulary and has only a poor command of appropriate style. This candidate would need some intensive instruction in writing, and is not, therefore, suitable for direct admission to a university course in English at the present time.

Grade E This candidate has minimal command of written English. He/she cannot construct grammatically accurate sentences or convey information clearly in English. Much more instruction is needed.

PAPER G3/FP3: Academic Reading

Grade A This indicates that the candidate reads English with very good general comprehension at a reasonable speed.

Grade B This indicates that the candidate reads English well, with few misunderstandings. Given more time, further practice and support, he/she should soon become a very efficient reader.

Grade C This indicates that the candidate is a reasonably competent reader of English, who should be able to cope in the university context, but who still reads rather slowly and with some misunderstanding, - at least in examination conditions. The candidate would be advised to read widely in English and work on increasing his/her vocabulary.

Grade D This indicates that the candidate's misunderstanding of the texts is serious and that he/she is likely to be an extremely slow reader in English. The candidate needs further language instruction and more reading practice.

Grade E This indicates that the candidate cannot read with any useful understanding in English.



水草 发表时间： 2004-03-24, 10:58

Contact details for WELT

For enquiries about the Warwick English Language Test, please contact:

The WELT Administrator

CELTE

University of Warwick

Coventry CV4 7AL

Tel: 44 (0)24 7652 4315

Fax: 44 (0)24 7652 4318 / (0)24 7652 4438

email: welt@warwick.ac.uk