Eiken Test level pre1

[dimwit]

Sorry, I haven't been around much lately but I was wondering if someone (perhaps Taro) could help. Has anyone noticed that the Eiken pre1 test has been massively watered down? I have been interviewing any number of people lately all claiming to have passed the pre1 and yet their spoken English level is really, really poor. In the past, if I had a pre1 interviewee, I could pretty much assume they could hold their own in a conversation, but over the last year or so it is no longer the case. I have tried in vein to search the intrawebs to confirm my suspicions, but I have drawn a blank.

My theory is that because of MoE policy directives to increase the number of high level speakers, those in officialdom have pressured EIken to lower their standards. Any thoughts?

[Mike Oxlong]

Could it be they are being scored more generously?

[Takechanpoo]

how the fuck on earth many years have you lived in eikaiwa world?
its because toeic and toefl have come to the forefront, needless to say.
and its not even a recent phenomenon. declining eiken and instead prevailing toeic/toefl has already started 20 years ago.

[Wage Slave]

My impression is that level of the speaking part, as with all the Eiken levels, is and has always been far below the other sections. The earlier papers act the gatekeeper and as long as you can read a text out loud and utter a few formuliac sentences you are through. That is still pretty much true at Pre 1.

I am speculating but I get the impression the schools are doing a much better job of teaching reading and listening than they used to and the texts used in school and in Eiken are a lot less dodgy. And the texts/tasks used in schools are aligned with the kind of texts/tasks found in modern Eiken papers. They always said they taught reading well but it wasn't true - now it is far more true.

So, in the past people getting through Eiken Pre 1 had to rely on their own learning/privately contracted learning rather than just school/juku - and that meant developing better speaking skills. They didn't need them to pass, but they acquired them on the voyage.

[dimwit]

I agree that the Eiken seems to emphasize the listening/reading test but it was still possible to pass them and still fail the interview especially at above level 2. But in the past year, I have seen a major and abrupt shift which to me is indicative of some change in the test or marking of it rather than an improvement in studying techniques. Other people I am touch with had mentioned the same issue. In the past, I could calibrate a pre1 with about a 700-750 TOEIC, whereas nowadays I would put it at 500.

[Wage Slave]

You might well be right - Come to think of it I recently saw someone get it first time and I think she might have struggled a few years ago. Maybe they felt the gap between grade two and pre 1 was too wide? I think the vocabulary, texts and questions have become less arcane and dated as well though.

Which TOEIC test do you mean? The original and usual one only tests reading and listening claiming that writing and speaking level can be accurately inferred from those results. In addition extensive listening or reading is not tested, just snippets. Personally, I think its a test designed to hide inability to really use the language rather expose it. I have met people with a score over 800 who can barely manage greetings and exchanging personal information. Waste of time of a test really even if, for now, it still has some currency with Japanese companies. And you need to check where it was taken - it and TOEFL are not really secure enough.

I hear reports that more and more graduates/young salaried workers are taking IELTS these days so I suspect that at least some companies are starting to wake up to TOIEC's shortcomings.

[Mike Oxlong]

A Twitter thread that might be somewhat tangentially helpful.

https://twitter.com/cosymira/status/974845927579033601