Communications Requirements

AEOCPT (American English Oral Communicative Proficiency Test)
All International students must take the AEOCPT exam offered through the Department of Applied Linguistics prior to serving as a Teaching Assistant. This is normally scheduled during your first semester on campus. The Graduate Program Coordinator will schedule your exam.

The score you receive on this test will determine when you may assume teaching duties as a teaching assistant. An American English Oral Communicative Proficiency Test Score is required for enrollment in ESL 115G, ESL 117G, and ESL 118G. Students who have not taken the oral proficiency test will not be permitted to enroll in these courses.

The American Oral English Communicative Proficiency Test consists of four sections of questions and activities. Your responses to these are evaluated on the way you express your ideas, not the actual ideas.

In the first section, you are asked to explain a common term from your field. You should explain the term, using examples or analogies if appropriate, and its importance. The second section consists of a role play. You will interact with one of the evaluators about a topic that you should be able to discuss easily. In the third section, you are asked to respond to three questions of general interest. One of the evaluators will ask you the questions. They will not be in written form. In the fourth section, you are given information, which you are then asked to "present" to a group of students. You are able to refer to the information printed in the test booklet. You are given time to prepare you answers and should answer as completely as possible.

You will be evaluated on three important aspects of your English language proficiency. These include: pronunciation (the articulation of specific sounds, and the stress and intonation of your speech); fluency (the rate and appropriateness of pauses in your speech); and comprehensibility (how extensive and appropriate your usage of vocabulary and grammar is).

You will be tested by two evaluators (trained graduate students in the Department of Applied Linguistics). One of them will give you instructions, but both will be evaluating your English language proficiency. The test will be tape recorded. If there is a test discrepancy, a third rater will listen to the tape to score your test. Tapes are destroyed after six months.

Before the evaluators begin the test, one of them will explain procedures to you and ask you informal questions about yourself. This "warm-up" conversation is meant to help you relax. It is not graded, even if it is recorded.

One of the evaluators will give you a booklet so you can follow the instructions in writing as the evaluator reads them to you. You are allowed to ask questions about the instructors or the content of the test throughout. You will NOT be penalized for asking questions.

The test takes approximately 25 minutes to complete. Within one week of taking the test, you should receive your score in LionPATH. Scores range from 0-300. Effective August 1999, a score of 250 or higher allows an international student to assume teaching responsibilities with no restrictions. Scores under 250 require additional coursework in English. The following scores and interpretations constitute the guidelines followed by the Department of Applied Linguistics.