English Placement Test

The purpose of the English Placement Test is to assess the English proficiency of new students who have not taken specified Hong Kong public exams and do not have an acceptable alternative qualification when they are admitted to CityU.

The ELC uses the test to determine whether such students need to take ELC course to meet the English Language Requirement.

Students who are not admitted through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) are invited upon enrolment to take the English Placement Test or to provide proof that they qualify for exemption from ELC course.

Students who think they are eligible to take the test should contact the ELC before mid-August if they have not been invited to take it.

The English Placement Test consists of two parts:

 

Part I – (computer-based) Listening, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar

 

Part II – (paper-based) Writing

Candidates can register for the test only once. If they fail to show up, they will be required to complete ELC course.

Format of the English Placement Test

Part	Approximate Duration	Tasks	Skills Tested
I Listening, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar (Computer-based)	90 minutes	Students will listen to recordings and read a number of texts and then answer questions that assess their standard of reading and listening. Students will answer multiple choice questions that assess their mastery of grammar and academic vocabulary.	locating the main and supporting ideas in spoken and written texts. demonstrating the ability to comprehend, analyse and evaluate spoken and written texts. displaying an understanding of accurate and appropriate grammatical structures and vocabulary.
II Writing	60 min	Students will write a 400 word academic essay.	writing coherent academic texts using lexico-grammatical choices appropriate to the task (Assessment criteria: Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy)