National Public English Proficiency Test Preparation Guide 2

Author: Zuo Fangjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: Equivalent to the English proficiency of an excellent high school graduate (mastering approximately 2,000 vocabulary words and related phrases). PETS (Public English Test System) is a social public English test implemented by the National Education Examination Center (NEEC) with the assistance of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) in the UK. The medium- and long-term goal of PETS is to incorporate all public English tests for social use across the country into the PETS framework, making it more standardized, authoritative, and comparable. To this end, NEEC has conducted extensive preliminary preparations and sent a team of domestic item writers to the University of Cambridge for specialized training. They worked together with British experts to discuss and finalize all aspects of implementing PETS. The examination format of PETS was designed by Chinese and British experts based on the characteristics of Chinese English learners. It reflects the current international trends in large-scale English examinations while fully considering the question types of mainstream domestic tests and taking into account the capacity of society and candidates.
NEEC began piloting PETS in selected provinces and cities across the country in 1999, which immediately garnered widespread attention and popularity. The number of candidates reached tens of thousands that year. The scale of candidates increased significantly in both 2000 and 2001. The status of PETS is determined by its distinctive features. First, the National Education Examination Center, which is responsible for its implementation, is the largest and most authoritative examination institution in China. It administers most of the national foreign language examinations, which are highly authoritative and widely recognized by government agencies, educational institutions, various enterprises and organizations (including foreign-invested companies in China), and society at large. The center has a highly skilled professional team and receives support and collaboration from authoritative examination institutions in the U.S. and the UK. Therefore, the examinations it organizes are of high quality and objectively reflect candidates' foreign language proficiency.
One of the key features of PETS is its emphasis on assessing communicative competence. The purpose of learning a foreign language is to use it for communication (both oral and written, as well as language expression and comprehension). Exams that focus solely on language form the purpose of language learning and mislead classroom foreign language teaching, causing teachers to detach from communicative goals and language use contexts, teaching grammar for the sake of grammar. Students, in turn, may view foreign language as a knowledge-based course and blindly memorize it without understanding. PETS introduces a relatively high proportion of subjective questions, including face-to-face oral assessments, listening tests, and written composition evaluations, which are rare in large-scale English examinations in China. Its positive orientation is to shift the focus from language form-based learning to the cultivation of language application skills, making the PETS preparation process a journey of improving practical language use ability.
Based on the above understanding, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press has organized the publication of this series, including the "PETS Tutorial," "PETS Preparation Guide," and "PETS Vocabulary." The experts and professors who participated in the writing of the tutorial come from several well-known universities and institutions across the country (including Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Normal University, People's Education Press, Zhejiang University, and Xi'an Foreign Language University, among others). These experts and professors have long been engaged in English teaching, textbook writing, and examination item development, and they are also very familiar with the principles of PETS item development. This tutorial is designed with reference to all levels of PETS examinations, incorporating the writing characteristics of similar textbooks both domestically and internationally, while fully considering the characteristics of Chinese students. It can be used as teaching material for PETS training courses at all levels or as self-study material for PETS candidates.
The authors of the "PETS Preparation Guide" and "PETS Vocabulary" are also teachers who have long been involved in college English teaching and research. Based on the materials I have received, both of these series are serious and well-designed, meticulously crafted and written, and are expected to provide significant help in PETS preparation.
It is hoped that the nationwide promotion of PETS will contribute positively to updating teaching guidelines, reforming traditional teaching methods, shifting from the transmission of language knowledge to the cultivation of language skills, and moving from isolated language skill training to the comprehensive development of language skills. It is also hoped that these three series will genuinely help improve the practical English application ability of PETS candidates.