Preparation Guide for the National Public English Proficiency Test 2

Author: Zuo Fangjun, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Equivalent to the English proficiency of an outstanding graduate from a regular high school (mastering around 2,000 words and related phrases). PETS (Public English Test System) is a public English proficiency exam implemented by the National Education Examination Administration Center (NEEA) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge Assessment (UCAS) in the UK. The medium- and long-term goal of PETS is to incorporate various public English exams across the country into the PETS framework, making it more standardized, authoritative, and comparable. To this end, NEEA has conducted extensive preparatory work and sent a group of domestic expert item writers to the University of Cambridge for specialized training. They collaborated with British experts to discuss and finalize all aspects of PETS implementation.
The exam 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 exams while fully considering the question types of mainstream domestic exams and taking into account the capacity of society and candidates. Since 1999, NEEA has conducted pilot tests of PETS in selected provinces and cities across the country, which immediately garnered widespread attention and popularity, with tens of thousands of candidates participating in the first year. The scale of candidates increased significantly in 2000 and 2001.
The status of PETS is determined by its distinctive features. First, the National Education Examination Administration Center, responsible for its implementation, is the largest and most authoritative examination institution in China. It administers most of the country's national foreign language exams, which are highly authoritative and recognized by government agencies, educational institutions, various enterprises and organizations (including foreign-invested companies in China), and society at large. The center boasts a highly skilled professional team and receives support and collaboration from authoritative examination institutions in the US and UK, ensuring that all exams it hosts are of high quality and objectively reflect candidates' foreign language proficiency.
Emphasizing the assessment of communicative competence is one of the key features of PETS. The purpose of learning a foreign language is to use it for communication (including spoken and written communication, as well as language expression and comprehension). Exams that focus solely on linguistic forms deviate from the purpose of language learning and mislead classroom foreign language teaching, causing teachers to detach from communicative objectives and language use contexts, teaching grammar for the sake of grammar. Students, in turn, view foreign language as a knowledge-based course and blindly memorize content without understanding. PETS introduces a relatively high proportion of subjective questions, including face-to-face assessments of candidates' oral skills, listening tests, and written composition evaluations, which are rare in large-scale English exams in China. Its positive orientation is to shift the focus from language form-centric learning to the cultivation of language application skills, making the PETS preparation process a journey to improve practical language proficiency.
Based on these understandings, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press has organized and published this series, which includes the "PETS Course," "PETS Preparation Guide," and "PETS Vocabulary." The expert professors who participated in the writing of the course come from several renowned universities and institutions across the country (including the 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 exam question-setting, and they are well-versed in the principles of PETS item development. This course is oriented toward all levels of PETS exams, incorporating the strengths of similar domestic and international textbooks while fully considering the characteristics of Chinese students. It can be used as teaching material for PETS training classes at all levels or as a self-study guide for PETS candidates.
The authors of the "PETS Preparation Guide" and "PETS Vocabulary" are also teachers who have long been involved in English teaching and research in higher education. Based on the materials I received, both series are serious, meticulously designed, and carefully written, and I believe they will provide great 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 integrated language skills. It is also hoped that these three series will genuinely assist PETS candidates in improving their practical English proficiency.