TOEIC Requirement in PCCU

張貼日期：May 29, 2014 2:20:39 PM

Eric Li

How important is TOEIC? Many students in the English Department of PCCU fear under the inevitable realization that TOEIC is a required standardized test all students in the English Department must take in order to receive a diploma. In fact, recent statistics show that almost one of every four students in the senior class of the English Department in PCCU has yet to pass the required score of the TOIEC set by the English department to receive their diploma. In the past, the required score is set to be 700. However, in the school year of 2014-2015, the freshmen class along with the classes to come will be required to obtain a 750 score on TOIEC to satisfy the graduation requirement in the English Department. This raise in the requirement has sparked some controversy. I fully support the idea of raising the bar for students to achieve in TOIEC because of three reasons: school reputation, student quality, student educational attitude.

One of the ways the English department in universities around Taiwan are being ranked upon is TOEIC score requirements or other equivalents for graduation. In order for the English department for a university to be prestigious and competitive, the TOEIC requirement imposed on the students for graduation must also be set at a bar which is respectable. Through some research on the internet, out of all the decent private universities in Taiwan, the TOIEC requirement in the English Department of PCCU is slightly lower than that of English departments of other universities. At the moment, the TOEIC requirement for English majors in PCCU is 700, whereas the TOEIC requirements for English departments for universities such as Tamkang University and Fujen University are set at 750. Unfortunately, this slight difference in the TOIEC requirements for graduation may be a minor reason why both those universities are somewhat slightly more respected than PCCU. As a result, by raising our TOEIC requirements to 750, we also raise the status of the English Department of PCCU to the level of those two universities.

In reality, finding jobs at the current market as an English major is a tough challenge and in many cases, employers will look at the TOEIC score of recent graduates to determine the English capability of an individual. Unfortunately a score of 700 may be discredited among the employers. In today’s global market, everything is becoming more internationalized. As a result, having the ability to speak and read multiple languages is a major advantage. The problem with TOEIC underachievers is that their English abilities may be subpar and unable to be a beneficial contributor towards the company. In fact, many of these companies also keep their own statistical profile of all the fresh employees they recruit and in order for the company to be more competitive and look more respectable, the quality of their fresh employees must be decent. By raising the TOEIC requirement of our students, we can better ensure our students to get into a more reputable and competitive company.

For students who have weak English abilities, raising the requirements of TOIEC may be a wakeup call if they wish to graduate on time. Since coming here early last year, my experiences have told me that a majority of the students in PCCU do not have the ambition and the determination to work hard in class. Unfortunately, many students in PCCU have this “all I have to do is to pass” mentality. This is unfortunate as many students in PCCU have no regard for their future. The lack of self-respect as well as the habit of procrastination are two horrible qualities I see in a number of students in PCCU. By raising the requirements of TOIEC requirements, students who wish to graduate must work harder in school and must be determined to learn in class. Optimistically speaking, raising the TOEIC score requirements from 700 to 750 may increase the motivation of the students in PCCU to work harder in class.

Unfortunately, raising the TOIEC requirements may also pose a serious problem. Many students simply do not have the English abilities to pass this exam and lose motivation towards this subject altogether. The fact that one fourth of every senior failed to pass a score of 700 is a direct indication that the situation will be a lot worse if the score is raised to 750. In my opinion, although cruel, the school cannot allow these students who fail to pass a score of 750 on TOEIC to receive a diploma. For the reasons of school reputation as well as alumni quality, I believe that students should not be able to receive a bachelor’s diploma unless they manage to somehow work themselves to a score of 750.

The implementation of a raise of TOIEC requirements in the long run should be a positive addition to the English Department of PCCU for its reputation as well as the graduate’s quality. I firmly believe that a score of 750 is definitely achievable by all English major students in PCCU if hard work is put in. Last year, a senior came up to me worrying that he might not be able to pass the previous TOEIC requirement of 700. His last score was 510. He was, however, determined to work very hard for two months and asked me for guidance. After two hard-working months, he managed to achieve a score of 720 just a month before graduation. For me, this is a prime example of how students with determination can achieve great improvement and pass the TOIEC requirement in PCCU.