What is the TSE -Test of Spoken English? 

TSE stands for Test of Spoken English. The Test of Spoken English (TSE) measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to communicate orally in English. The TSE is a standardized test of spoken English developed and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private, not-for-profit company based in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States. The test is approximately 20 minutes long and includes nine questions. Performance on the TSE indicates a student’s ability to communicate successfully in an academic or professional environment.

How it Test?
The TSE (Test of Spoken English) measures the ability of non-native English speakers to communicate orally in English. During the test, various situations are described by a speaker on an audiotape who also asks questions. (Typical situations include: Giving directions on a map, describing events in series of pictures, reading a passage out loud, or answering a question.) You are asked to find the best answer among those printed in the test booklet.

The TSE consists of 12 items, each of which requires examinees to perform a particular speech act. Examples of these speech activities include narrating, recommending, persuading, and giving and supporting an opinion. The test is recorded using a microphone and examinees use a test book for prompts. An interviewer on the test tape leads the examinee through the test; the examinee responds into a microphone, and the responses are recorded on a separate answer tape. These answer tapes are sent to the US for scoring.

While for the TOEFL exam you had to mark the correct option from a multiple-choice questionnaire, for the TSE you will be asked to listen to an audiocassette. Based on the conversation that you hear will then need to answer your test paper.

Your performance on the TSE indicates how your oral language ability might affect your ability to communicate successfully in an academic or professional environment. TSE scores are used by many North American institutions of higher education to select international teaching assistants, sometimes called ITAs. The scores also are used for selecting and certifying health professionals, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, and veterinarians.

Although the test itself is the same, there are two separate TSE registration categories: TSE-A (academic) and TSE-P (professional).

TSE-A is for teaching and research assistant applicants who have been asked to take the TSE test by the admissions office or department chair of an academic institution. TSE-A is also for other undergraduate or graduate school applicants.

TSE-P is for all other individuals, such as those who are taking the test to obtain licensure or certification in a professional or occupational field.

The test requires you to demonstrate your ability to communicate in English by responding orally under timed conditions to a variety of printed and recorded information. On the day of the test, a recorded interviewer will ask you questions. Some of the questions will be printed in the test book, and the time you will have to answer each one is printed in parentheses after the questions.

While most of the questions on the test may not appear to be directly related to your academic or professional field, each question is designed to tell the raters how well you communicate in English.

Important: While the TSE test is given at some TOEFL test locations, it is NOT administered as part of the TOEFL test. It is administered separately.

Find out if the college or university to which you are applying requires the TSE. Some professional licensing programs, government agencies, and scholarship programs also use the TSE to evaluate prospective applicants.

TSE Scoring
You have 30-90 seconds to respond to 12 separate questions. You may be asked to describe pictures printed in your test book or to state your opinion on a certain subject and back it up. Your responses are recorded, resulting in a 10- to 12-minute speech sample, which is scored on a scale of 20-60. There are no passing or failing scores on the TSE. Each institution determines for itself what scores are acceptable. To learn how scores are interpreted, contact the institutions that have received your test results.

TSE Registration
The TSE takes about 20 minutes and is given 12 times a year, on Fridays and Saturdays. Although the TSE is given along with the TOEFL at some test locations, you must register separately for it and specify a test location.

To register, order the TSE Information Bulletin to pick the test date and test center location you prefer, then mail the form back to the appropriate location for your area. You cannot register at a test center itself.

Validity: The score is valid for 2 years.

How to Register

1. ONLINE
Visit the TSE/TOEFL official website to register online. Only credit card payment is allowed when registering online. VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or JCB credit cards are accepted.

2. MAIL
There are several ways you can order the TSE Information Bulletin. You can write or call:

In the United States

TSE Publications
P.O. Box 6154
Princeton, NJ 08541-6154   USA
Tel: (609) 771-7100

In India
Institute of Psychological & Education Measurement (IPEM)
119/25-A, Mahatma Gandhi Marg,
Allahabad, 211001, U.P., India.
Tel.: 0532-2624881 or 2624988
www.ipem.org

TSE forms are also available at USEFI
Official Website:  www.toefl.org or www.ets.org

Please be sure to include your payment with your registration form and mail it in the enclosed, pre-addressed return envelope. (Faxed registration forms are not accepted.)

Test Fees
For the 2005-2006 testing year, it costs $125 to take the TSE. Late registration and STANDBY or "walk-in" registration is NOT permitted. When you give the test, you have the opportunity to send your TSE scores to any 3 schools of your choice-Free of Charge. AT the back of your hall ticket simply enter the code number of the school of your choice. You will find these codes in your TOEFL bulletin.

Acceptable forms of payment include: credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or JCB), personal checks, and money order payable to ETS-TSE.

Please note that the registration deadlines for each test are the receipt dates to the testing agency. That means that the testing agency must receive your registration form on or before the registration deadline.

What to Bring to the Test Center
1. Your valid passport
2. Your Admission ticket
3. Completed photo file record with a recent (less than 6 months old) photograph of yourself
4. Institution and department codes to which you want your test scores sent
5. Two #2 or HB pencils

AchieversPoint.com Advance TSE Prep Course
The TSE test is designed to measure proficiency in spoken English. Because spoken language proficiency can be achieved only after a relatively long period of study and much practice, an attempt to study English for the first time shortly before taking the test will not be very helpful. To help you become familiar with the TSE test, several practice questions are provided by us.

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