STEP Eiken
|
Type
| Language proficiency test
|
---|
Developer / administrator
| Eiken Foundation of Japan
|
---|
Knowledge / skills tested
| Proficiency in English
|
---|
Year started
| 1963
(
1963
)
|
---|
Offered
| 3 times yearly
|
---|
Countries / regions
| Japan
|
---|
Languages
| English
|
---|
Annual number of test takers
| 2.3 million
|
---|
Website
| www
.eiken
.or
.jp
/eiken
/en
|
---|
The
Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency
(
?用英語技能?定
,
Jitsuy? Eigo Gin? Kentei
)
, informally
Eiken
(
英?
,
Eiken
)
and often called
STEP Eiken
or the
STEP Test
, is an
English
proficiency test conducted by the Eiken Foundation of Japan (formerly the Society for Testing English Proficiency), a
public-interest
incorporated foundation. The foundation is backed by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
(MEXT).
[1]
Format and contents
[
edit
]
Eiken is a
criterion-referenced test
. There are seven levels that examinees either pass or fail. The levels are called
grades
(
級
,
ky?
)
:
Eiken level
[2]
|
CEFR
level
[2]
|
MEXT
benchmark
[3]
[2]
[4]
|
Grade 1
|
C1
|
|
Grade Pre-1
|
B2
|
English teachers
|
Grade 2
|
B1
|
High school graduates
|
Grade Pre-2
|
A2
|
High school graduates
|
Grade 3
|
A1
|
Junior high school graduates
|
Grade 4
|
A1
|
|
Grade 5
|
A1
|
|
Eiken is a four-skills test, assessing a combination of receptive and productive skills. In addition to reading, listening and
speaking
tests, all grades except Grades 4 and 5 include a handwritten
composition
task.
[5]
Eiken in Japan
[
edit
]
In Japan, Eiken is conducted three times a year: January/February, June/July, and October/November. There are two stages in the test, the first stage (
vocabulary
,
reading
,
listening
, and
writing
) and the second stage (speaking, applicants for Grades 4 or 5 are exempted). Only those who pass the first stage can progress to the second stage. The second stage is conducted about one month after the first stage. Applicants who pass both stages receive certification.
English teachers in junior high schools and high schools in Japan often encourage their students to take the Eiken. Approximately 18,000 schools serve as test sites. Japanese high schools and universities often grant preferential status to student applicants who have passed a specified Eiken grade, such as waiving the English portion of the school's entrance examination.
In its 2003 strategic initiative
"Japanese with English Abilities"
and 2011 follow-up "Five Proposals and Specific Measures for Developing Proficiency in English for International Communication"
(
?際共通語としての英語力向上のための5つの提言と具?的?策
)
,
[6]
MEXT designated Eiken Grade 3 as a benchmark proficiency level for junior high school graduates, Grades 2 and Pre-2 for high school graduates, and Grade Pre-1 for English teachers.
In fiscal 2010, examinees for all Eiken grades totaled approximately 2.3 million. According to the
Eiken website
, the test has been taken by over 100 million applicants since its inception in 1963.
Eiken outside Japan
[
edit
]
A number of schools outside Japan use Eiken as an admission qualification for international students. In
Canada
and the
United States
, approximately 400 colleges and universities recognize Eiken Grade 2, Grade 2A, Grade Pre-1, and/or Grade 1 for incoming students, as of 2021. In
Australia
, the state of
New South Wales
recognizes Eiken at all Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes and all state high schools. The test is also used at institutions in Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
In 2009,
The Korea Times
quoted
Ahn Byong-man
,
Minister of Education, Science and Technology
, announcing that South Korea's new national English test being developed by the ministry is based on the Eiken.
[7]
Research
[
edit
]
The Eiken Foundation offers grants for independent research projects conducted by educators. Grants are not limited to research on the Eiken tests or testing in general, and are available for a variety of projects that examine aspects of
language education
and suggestions for improving English education in Japan. Reports on these projects are published in the journal
Eiken Bulletin
.
[8]
In 2003, work was begun on the Eiken Can-do List.
[9]
The finished list, published in 2006, is based on a survey of 20,000 Eiken certificate holders and is designed to investigate what "test takers believe they can accomplish in English in real-life language use situations."
[10]
[11]
More recent projects include an evaluation of the Eiken testing program carried out by international testing specialist James D. Brown
[12]
and a number of criterion-referenced validity studies investigating the relationship between the Eiken grades and other criterion measures of English ability.
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"About Eiken"
. Eiken Foundation
. Retrieved
July 22,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
"EIKEN Grades"
. Eiken Foundation
. Retrieved
May 2,
2015
.
- ^
"Japanese Government Policies in Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2002 [2.4.1]"
. Retrieved
May 2,
2015
.
- ^
?際共通語としての英語力向上のための5つの提言と具?的施策: 英語を?ぶ意欲と使う機?の充?を通じた確かなコミュニケ?ション能力の育成に向けて
(PDF)
(in Japanese). Commission on the Development of Foreign Language Proficiency. June 30, 2011.
- ^
過去問?試??容
. Eiken Foundation
. Retrieved
August 2,
2023
.
- ^
"Five Proposals and Specific Measures for Developing Proficiency in English for International Communication"
(PDF)
. Commission on the Development of Foreign Language Proficiency. June 30, 2011.
- ^
Byong-man, Ahn (November 1, 2009).
"Korea to Replace TOEFL With State Tests"
.
The Korea Times
(Interview). Interviewed by Young-jin, Oh; Shin-who, Kang
. Retrieved
August 2,
2023
.
- ^
All issues of
Eiken Bulletin
are available online. See
"Eiken Bulletin"
(in Japanese). English Education Research Center, Eiken Foundation.
- ^
Dunlea, J. (2010). "The EIKEN Can-do List: improving feedback for an English proficiency test in Japan." In L. Taylor & C. Weir (Eds.), Language Testing Matters: Investigating the wider social and educational impact of assessment - Proceedings of the ALTE Cambridge Conference, April 2008, Studies in Language Testing volume 31. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^
"The EIKEN Can-do List"
(PDF)
. Eiken Foundation. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on December 7, 2010
. Retrieved
December 7,
2010
.
- ^
英?Can-doリスト
(in Japanese). Eiken Foundation. Archived from
the original
on May 28, 2010
. Retrieved
December 7,
2010
.
- ^
Brown, James D. (2008). "Testing-Context Analysis: Assessment is Just Another Part of Language Curriculum Development".
Language Assessment Quarterly
.
5
(4): 275?312.
doi
:
10.1080/15434300802457455
.
ISSN
1543-4303
.
- ^
"Research"
. Eiken Foundation
. Retrieved
May 2,
2015
.
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