Real English Written Placement Test

A new thing we’re doing since our teachers are so very busy… being awesome.

Directions for students:

Read the questions in bold and answer them. Write on the back of this paper if you need more space. More is better!

Directions for teachers:

Read the rationale for the questions in italics below each question.

1. What is your primary motivation for studying English?

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This is important since we want interested students and not class potatoes.

2. What does a typical day in your life look like?

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How comfortable are students describing their daily routines?

3. Who is the most unique person you know personally? What makes them so special?

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Are students able to elaborate beyond funny and interesting?

4. If you had one chance to meet American president Barack Obama what would you say to him?

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Are students creative? If they aren’t, are they at least able to use modals (I would, I’d, if…) correctly?

5. Describe one significant event in your life. What was it? How has it changed you?

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Even our highest-level students struggle with simple conjugations. Can students correctly use past tense forms?

Open-ended questions are a better fluency and oral competence indicator than multiple-choice exams. This simple exam
should help us identify students who are suitable to attend Real English-level classes. Questions test grammar usage, too!

Renato Ganoza for EF Zhengzhou, 2009