Emerging Market Trend of "Practical Use of English" Testing@Home in China

Despite the impact of the “double reduction” policies on the K-12 English education in 2021, the overwhelming demand for English learning and assessment have not cooled down. On the contrary, English as a medium in helping China to be aligned with the rest of world has always played a vital role both culturally and economically.

Market gap opening for Non-academic Test Programs in China

With China’s increasing presence and engagement in international affairs and economic exchanges, the domestic labor market is raising demands on “international talents”, who not only master English, but are also equipped with business acumen and cultural sensitivity. Focusing on language usage in real-life or workplace scenarios as opposed to merely grammar or vocabularies in traditional language exams, non-academic test programs, and “Practical Use of English” tests are heating up in popularity. Especially the international ones like BEC, TOEIC, etc.

At the same time, like many other Asian countries (e.g., TEPS in Korea and STEP Eiken in Japan), China also developed its own English usage tests to assess and select competent bilinguals from the Chinese workforce. For example, China Language Assessment (CLA, a university research lab in cooperation with Ministry of Education) has launched several test programs in recent years to evaluate a candidate’s proficiency level in international communication. The practical English skills being assessed can include “public speeches”, “business proposals/propositions”, “critical debates over current international affairs”, etc.

Nowadays, high caliber bilingual candidates are considered rare and valuable in the workforce, and are often granted with a “quick pass” inside the job market (an exclusive access to prioritized job opportunities or rapid internal promotions). Thus, test takers’ enthusiasm and demands for such exam programs are continuously booming, and such market gap is now opened for all relevant test publishers with a foreseeable growth potential.

Emerging market trend of Practical Use of English Testing @ Home

Over the years, Practical Use of English exams have commonly been categorized as “performance-based assessments”, in which Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing skills are tested through more situational and interactive approaches in practical scenarios. This has made those non-standardized test programs “pickier” in it choice of devices and software, network stability, exam environment, etc., and thus have long been considered only possible to be delivered in person in test centers or professional language labs.

However, the pandemic has brought radical changes to on-site test arrangements of Practical Use of English programs. On 25-26 July, English Test for International Communication (ETIC), which is published by CLA, was delivered at home for the FIRST time ever via ATA’s Remote Testing@Home solutions. Unlike other remote proctoring services that are merely an invigilation system, ATA’s solution is fully featured with both exam delivery and AI-enabled online proctoring functionalities, offering both test organizers and candidates a “one-stop” experience of a fair and secure examination.

But this is not the first time for ATA to deliver English Tests @ home. In fact, since early 2022, ATA has already delivered large volumes of home-based tests for various English programs in China, including both academic and non-academic ones. With the market demand for English tests remaining robust and high, stakeholders targeting the Chinese market are ubiquitously opting for Testing@Home as the new norm: If not a complete substitute for traditional center based exams then at least a proven effective backup plan in facing all the inevitable uncertainties.

Operating with stable test center networks in China, and taking pride in its state-of-the-art online proctoring technologies, ATA is there for whichever test arrangements you are looking for!

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