Why are there so many language tests?
IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, DALF, HSK, TestDaf… Have you ever wondered why there are so many language tests? Before jumping into the question, it is a good idea to review some of the earliest tests.
The first known language test was quite simple. Test takers were only asked to pronounce one word. However, the stakes were probably higher than any of the language tests we have today. According to the Book of Judges, about three thousand years ago, two tribes, Ephraim and Gilead (now in the Middle East) were at war. Gilead won and set up a barricade to capture any Ephraimite trying to flee. To identify Ephraimites, the Gileadites developed a simple, one-word test. They asked anyone who attempted to cross the barricade to pronounce the word “shibboleth” (which probably meant “stream in flood”). The Ephraimites pronounced the word without a “sh” sound. Those who pronounced it as “sibboleth” were killed on-site.
Fortunately, the time when a person could be slaughtered because they failed a test is long gone. Languages tests similar to what we have today didn’t appear until the 1910s. One such test was Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency of English (CPE), which was a qualification for language teachers. The 12-hour exam included translation, writing, literature, phonetics and speaking. In comparison, the test duration of popular language tests nowadays are a blessing.
After learning about the above two tests, you probably have realised that they both aim to distinguish people rather than just languages. The differences between the two lie in the specific purpose of the test and the dialect/language being tested: the shibboleth test distinguishes “us” (the Gileadites who speak one dialect) from “them” (the Ephraimites, who speak another dialect); the CPE distinguishes those who are qualified to teach English from those who aren’t. That brings us back to the question of why there are so many language tests. Firstly, tests are for different languages and have different purposes. The DELF is for French, HSK for Chinese and TestDaf for German. As for English tests, there is the OET, which is for healthcare professionals; there is BEC, which is for business English. Secondly, tests have different traditions and modes. IELTS Academic, PTE and TOEFL are all used to assess academic English. However, with IELTS, test takers get to talk to human examiners; in TOEFL, test takers talk to computers; in PTE, all the test responses are scored by computers. Finally, there are the changing needs for alternative tests. Duolingo, for instance, can be taken online at home.
If you want to learn more about language testing and assessment, check out our world-renowned Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) and the amazing projects that it is involved in. The Centre also offers a Professional Certificate in Language Assessment for those who want to develop expertise in language testing.