Higher learning

Source:Global Times Published: 2014-1-16 20:38:01

Students attend an information session on studying abroad and trends in English exams, held by New Oriental on October 16, 2012. Photo: IC



Wang Fanyi, an 18-year-old freshman student majoring in public administration at a Beijing university, has been planning to study abroad since high school.

"I definitely want to go to another country and experience a new culture," she said Tuesday.

However, like any other student whose native language is not English, Wang has to overcome a daunting hurdle: achieving a high enough score in an English proficiency test.

These tests include the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), administered by US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS), and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), jointly managed by Cambridge English Language Assessment, the British Council and IDP Education.

Wang said she plans to take the IELTS test, and has just started a 16-day IELTS training class offered by New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc, which claims on its website to be China's largest provider of private educational services.

"I don't think I could get a satisfactory score without taking the training class," she said.

New Oriental, founded in 1993, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is known for preparing Chinese candidates for standardized examinations.

The company announced Sunday it had agreed to work with Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment to publish the world's first official guide for IELTS candidates.

Burgeoning business

The number of Chinese students who went abroad for education increased for eight consecutive years from 2004 to 2012, rising from 114,663 to 399,600, according to the Ministry of Education. Data from New Oriental shows the number rose to more than 450,000 in 2013.

This rise also means that demand is growing for IELTS training, which is why New Oriental has been investing in providing IELTS-related products in recent years, Song Penghao, senior manager of the company's Overseas Testing Management Center, said Tuesday.

"The investment will keep increasing," Song said. "The research and design of IELTS classes and other products will be one of our most important tasks in 2014."

According to Song, the IELTS test was taken more than 500,000 times in 2013 in the Chinese mainland, up by 25 percent from 2012. One student can register for the test multiple times a year.

However, the cost of taking an IELTS training course at New Oriental is not cheap. Wang, who took her class from 8 am to 12 pm for 16 days, paid 5,980 yuan ($974.1), which did not include the new IELTS official guide.

A New Oriental salesperson said Wednesday that the school charges 1,000 yuan an hour for its 10-hour VIP one-on-one classes. The hourly rate goes down by 50 yuan for 10 hours of classes, the salesperson said, and the lowest rate is 600 yuan an hour.

Get the guide

Tony Lund, Asia regional managing director for Cambridge University Press, said Monday that the soon-to-be-published Cambridge Official Guide to IELTS would offer Chinese students greater opportunities to do well in the examination.

"It is the combination of the Cambridge University Press as the publisher, and Cambridge English Language Assessment as the test's writer and examiner, and it is the official gold stamp of approval," Lund said, nothing that the book will be sold in New Oriental's education centers and its directly operated book stores.

The Chinese edition of the IELTS official guide will be the first of its kind in the world, whereas ETS has published four editions of The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test.

Lund said the guide will be published in other countries, adding that Chinese students are not being given an unfair advantage in having the book first.

"It's preparing students for the future; it's not guaranteeing them that they will pass the test," he said.

Song said the 400-page book, which contains eight full sets of examinations, will be sold from mid- to late-February at a price of between 100 and 200 yuan.

Like other guidebooks for standardized tests that are steppingstones for going abroad, the IELTS official guide is likely to face the challenge of rampant piracy.

The Cambridge University Press, for example, publishes nine editions of real examination papers, which are priced on its official website at 17.9 pounds ($29.40) each. Book stores on online marketplace taobao.com, however, sell bundled pirate editions for as little as 40 yuan, or only 3.8 percent of the price of the genuine product.

Song said New Oriental will encourage students to use the genuine version of the official guide in class, and will discuss ways to fight piracy with the firm's publishing department.

No illusions

Wang said she was attending the New Oriental classes to learn exam techniques, such as noting the key words in the reading section to increase her speed, rather than seeing it as a way to improve her overall English.

It's common for English training services in China to focus specifically on exam techniques.

Another student, Zoe Wong, who graduated from the University of Rouen in France, said Monday that she spent 20,000 yuan for 40 hours of one-on-one IELTS training with the Global IELTS School, just to learn the examination skills.

"It is impossible to improve your English by taking these classes. Even my teacher said, 'I'm not an English teacher, I'm an exam technique teacher,'" Wong said.

However, both Lund and Song said they are trying to put more focus on teaching IELTS candidates how to communicate in English, instead of just exam technique.

New Oriental is cooperating with search giant Baidu Inc to conduct research into the characteristics of Web users who search for key words such as "IELTS" online.

According to figures provided by New Oriental, the US is the most popular overseas destination for Web users who are interested in taking the IELTS test, and over one-third of the students spend three to six months to prepare for the examination.

"The goal is to offer more tailored products that can meet the students' needs better in the future," Song said.

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