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S.87-76

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Memorandum

To: Senate ?

From: N. Heath

Secretary, S.U.A.B,

Subject: English requirements

Date: 87/11/16

for non-native speakers: SFU/Dougl as College

ESL Program

At the meeting held on 21 October 1987, the Senate Undergraduate

Admissions Board took action which gives rise to the following motion:

That the English language requirements for non-native speakers

of English be amended as follows

(see paragraph 4, p. 16, 1987-88

Calendar - proposed changes

are

underlined):

Using the above factors, applicants who In the judgement of

the University, do not have sufficient experience or skills in

written and spoken English will be required to achieve a

satisfactory score on a standardized English test acceptable

to the University. The test must include a writing

comoonent.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFI) and the

T es t of

English (TWEI are acceptable tests for this

purpose. The minimum scores required for admission are

570 for the TOEFL and 5 for the TWE.

That the University's ESL program, administered on behalf of the

University by Douglas College, be discontinued, effective twelve

months from the date of Senate approval of this amendment.

• ?

That this policy be subject to annual review by S.U.A.B.

NH:f

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

melacriandus

To: SUAB

From: N. Heath

Secretary, SUAB

Subject: Douglas College/SFU ESL

Date: Nov. 17, 1987

Program. SUAB 176 (Revised)

Concern over language deficiencies of some international students led

to the adoption by Senate of the mandatory testing and remedial ESL

program which began in May 1983.The English requirement at that time

was a minimum TOEFL score of 570. A major drawback of the TOEFL is the

lack of any measure of creative writing ability; receptive skills only are

tested.

The test developed by Douglas College for SFU students is a full day

comprehensive diagnostic test, including reading, comprehension, verbal and

written components. It is taken almost exclusively by new students who

have already met the University's TOEFL requirement. It is specifically

aimed at university-level students, who are expected to show. some level of

sophistication in their use of English for academic purposes. The remedial

English courses are given at an advanced level. Students must achieve

mastery of the material within their first two semesters in order to continue

in their studies at SFU.

However, several serious disadvantages have become apparent in the

four years that the program has been in operation. These are:

No demonstrable effect on academic performance of students.

Deters better-qualified students due to lack of credit in first

semester.

3. Deters some students because of cost ($405 per course or 42025 for

full semester ESL load. Equivalent 15 semester hours load at SFU

costs 3

1410 (visa students)).

SUAB 176 (Revised)

Scheduling and logistical problems in

attending two

institutions in

the same semester.

Testing is not carried out independently - suspicion among students

of vested Interest among Instructors.

Ex-students of other colleges (public and private) frequently are

found to be In need of further ESL training, after completion of ESL

programs in their first college, causing students and other

institutions to question the test's validity.

Only two versions of test currently available - content is by now

well-known among local Institutions, putting out-of-town students

at a disadvantage. ?

Test is available only locally. Students'

registration plans often

require complete revision after test results are released.

Procedures for administering the test and resulting mandatory

courses are administratively complex and subject to error.

The writing component (TWE) of TOEFL has been Introduced quite

recently and now offers a means of measuring English writing ability,

wherever the student is located. This provides significantly more

information on the student's readiness for university study than does the

TOEFL alone. The Test of Written English (TWE) has been offered by ETS on

a pilot basis for over a year. It is available at only three or four of twelve

TOEFL sittings per year. It consists of a half-hour essay taken at the

beginning or end of the regular TOBFL. It is expected that the test will be

offered more frequently in the future, but a decision to offer TWE as a

required component of the TOEFL has not yet been made.

SUAB 176 (Revised)

.J3

The TWE essay question will normally ask a student either to compare

and contrast two opposing arguments or points of view and defend a position

in favour of one, or to describe and interpret a chart or graph. The TWE is

scored on a 1-6 holistic scale and the test result is included on the official

TOEFL score report. The scoring is as given on the attached "Scoring

Guidelines".

An option to allow a student without the TWE to attend the University

is necessary, because the TWE is not available at every TOEFL session and

students might be unable to secure registration in one of the three or four

testing sessions per year. A minimum score of 600 would roughly equate

with the TOEFL scores of native English speakers and would indicate that a

. ?

students writing ability should be no worse than that of their English-as-

first language fellow students. Although it would be desirable to screen all

new students for English writing proficiency, this option has been rejected as

too costly.

NH:sf

Demonstrates minimal competence In writing on both

the rhetorical and syntactic levels.

A paper in this category

—is adequately organized

—addresses the writing topic adequately but may

slight parts of the task

—uses some details to support a thesis or illus-

trate ideas

—demonstrates adequate but undistinguished or

inconsistent facility with syntax and usage

—may contain some serious errors that occasion-

ally obscure meaning

Demonstrates some developing competence In wrIt-

Ing, but It remains flawed on either the rhetorical or

syntactic level, or both.

A paper in this category may reveal one or more of

the following weaknesses:

—inadequate organization or development

—failure to support or Illustrate generalizations

with appropriate or sufficient detail

—an accumulation of errors in sentence structure

and/or usage

—a noticeably inappropriate choice of words or

word forms

Suggests Incompetence In writing.

A paper in this category Is seriously flawed by one or

more of the following weaknesses:

—failure to organize or develop

—little or no detail, or irrelevant specifics

—serious and frequent errors in usage or sen-

tence structure

—serious problems with focus

Demonstrates incompetence In writing.

A paper in this category will contain serious and

persistent writing errors, may be illogical or incoher-

ent, or may reveal the writer's inability to compre-

hend the question. A paper that is severely underde-

veloped also falls into this category.

TEST OF WRITTEN ENGLISH (TWE)

CN 6151

Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA

Scoring Guidelines

The Test of Written English is the thirty-minute writing test

administered at the July, November and May TOEFL adminis-

trations. This is the scoring guide that readers use to score the

TWE.

Scores

Clearly demonstrates competence in writing on both

the rhetorical and syntactic levels, though It may have

occasional errors.

A paper in this category

—is well organized and well developed

—effectively addresses the writing task

—uses appropriate details to support a thesis or

Illustrate ideas

—shows unity, coherence, and progression

—displays consistent facility In the use of lan-

guage

—demonstrates syntactic variety and appropriate

word choice

Demonstrates competence in writing on both the

rhetorical and syntactic levels, though It will have

occasional errors.

A paper In this category

—Is generally well organized and well developed,

though it may have fewer details than does a 6

paper

—may address some parts of the task more effec-

tively than others

—shows unity, coherence, and progression

—demonstrates some syntactic variety and range

of vocabulary

—displays facility In language, though it may have

more errors than does a 6 paper

(continued)

57506Jll • YI26P130 • 233207 • Printed in U.S.A.