National Public English Proficiency Test Preparation Guide (4)

Author: Li Liwen et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: PETS (Public English Test System) is a social public English examination 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 examinations at various levels and types across the country into the PETS framework, making it more standardized, authoritative, and comparable. To this end, the NEEC has conducted extensive preparatory work and sent a group of domestic item writers to Cambridge University for specialized training. They worked together with British experts to discuss and determine all aspects of PETS implementation. The examination format of PETS was designed by Chinese and British experts based on the characteristics of English learners in China. It reflects the current international trends in large-scale English examinations while fully considering the question types of mainstream domestic exams and taking into account the capacity of society and candidates.
Starting in 1999, the NEEC conducted pilot examinations of PETS in selected provinces and cities across the country, which immediately garnered widespread attention and popularity. The number of candidates reached tens of thousands in that year alone. The scale of candidates increased significantly in both 2000 and 2001. The status of PETS is determined by its distinctive features. First, the NEEC, 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 their results are widely recognized by government agencies, educational institutions, various enterprises and organizations (including foreign-invested companies in China), and society at large. The NEEC has a highly skilled professional team and receives support and cooperation from authoritative examination institutions in the US and UK. Therefore, the examinations it organizes are of high quality and objectively reflect candidates' foreign language proficiency.
One of the distinctive 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, including language expression and comprehension). Examinations that focus solely on language form deviate from the purpose of language learning and also mislead extracurricular teaching, causing teachers to neglect the communicative goals and language use context, 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 assessments of candidates' oral proficiency, 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 to language application, making the preparation process for PETS a journey of improving practical language skills.