SWITCHING TESTS WILL UNDERMINE SUCCESSFUL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CAMPAIGN

While I applaud the initiative taken by Raymond Kwok of Sun Hung Kai Properties in taking a lead in addressing the issue of improving English-language standards in the workplace (South China Morning Post, February 18), I am mystified as to why the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), developed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), is being promoted by him as a benchmark exam for his workplace.

IELTS is an exam used internationally to assess the pre-tertiary proficiency level of students wishing to study in overseas English-speaking countries such as Australia, the UK, New Zealand and Canada. It lacks validity, however, as a test of English proficiency in the Hong Kong workplace. It is even more mystifying that business people in Hong Kong are being encouraged to adopt this exam given the strides made by the Workplace English Campaign (WEC) over the last few years. The Hong Kong government has spent large amounts of money on promoting the WEC and the attendant internationally approved courses and exams that specifically meet the needs of employees in the workplace.

Employees who attend courses and/or pass exams such as the Business English Certificate (BEC-UCLES) and the Business Language Testing Service (BULATS-UCLES) get subsidies for these programmes and exams through the WEC. Many workplaces have already used BEC and BULATS to benchmark the levels of English language competency within their workplaces.

Why is IELTS, therefore, suddenly hitting the press as the desirable benchmark for working adults? And where does that leave providers like ourselves who have worked hard to promote valid internationally approved business English exams to workplaces? I simply do not see the sense in swapping a suit of valid business English courses and exams, subsidised through WEC, for IELTS.

Could the government please think again before it inadvertently nullifies the very good gains made by the WEC? The market place is becoming confused.

Dr JANE LOCKWOOD