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TOEIC test : native English speakers average score ?

BKKdreaming
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BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

Posted
Posted

Have you taken a TOEIC test ?

Does anyone know what the average score is for a native English speaker American . Aussie or Brit ?

top score is 990 , but I see some places wanting 600+ scores , which seems very low ,

What score is considered "excellent" for a Thai Non - Native English speaker ?

Thanks for your thoughts

zeichen Gold Member

zeichen

Posted
Posted

TOEIC is relatively simple but uses a lot of jargon. Most Native speakers would probably get 99% correct. The TOEFL test is more academic in nature and definitely has a lot of things that sound right to native speakers but are grammatically incorrect. Native speakers seldom score high on TOEFL without practice.

BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

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TOEIC is relatively simple but uses a lot of jargon. Most Native speakers would probably get 99% correct. The TOEFL test is more academic in nature and definitely has a lot of things that sound right to native speakers but are grammatically incorrect. Native speakers seldom score high on TOEFL without practice.

and which is the "correct" answer ?

the academic answer probably, even when it is not used that way in daily speech !

Rob13 Senior Member

Rob13

Posted
Posted

TOEIC is relatively simple but uses a lot of jargon. Most Native speakers would probably get 99% correct. The TOEFL test is more academic in nature and definitely has a lot of things that sound right to native speakers but are grammatically incorrect. Native speakers seldom score high on TOEFL without practice.

and which is the "correct" answer ?

the academic answer probably, even when it is not used that way in daily speech !

Where are you going with this thread?

BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

Posted
  • Author
Posted

TOEIC is relatively simple but uses a lot of jargon. Most Native speakers would probably get 99% correct. The TOEFL test is more academic in nature and definitely has a lot of things that sound right to native speakers but are grammatically incorrect. Native speakers seldom score high on TOEFL without practice.

and which is the "correct" answer ?

the academic answer probably, even when it is not used that way in daily speech !

Where are you going with this thread?

My Thai friends son is worried about his score of 750 , he wants to get a job with an international company after he finishes Uni ,

and is not sure if he needs to take the test again after taking a " TOEIC prep class"

I was just wondering how hard the TOEIC test was for native speakers .......I would think getting 100% is almost impossible !

7by7 Star Member

7by7

Posted
Posted

Most people take IELTS these days.

For UK visa purposes; yes.

See table one of the UKVI Approved English Language tests and Centres. (Test centres in Thailand are on page 9.)

For other purposes; depends on what exam the relevant people, e.g. potential employers, require. As does any pass mark or grade.

As to the question in the OP; who knows? It depends on the individual. Being a native speaker does not guarantee a high pass mark.

Personally, many years ago now, I only managed a 'C' in my English language 'O' level sad.png; but that was written, not oral!

Rob13 Senior Member

Rob13

Posted
Posted (edited)

TOEIC is relatively simple but uses a lot of jargon. Most Native speakers would probably get 99% correct. The TOEFL test is more academic in nature and definitely has a lot of things that sound right to native speakers but are grammatically incorrect. Native speakers seldom score high on TOEFL without practice.

and which is the "correct" answer ?

the academic answer probably, even when it is not used that way in daily speech !

Where are you going with this thread?

My Thai friends son is worried about his score of 750 , he wants to get a job with an international company after he finishes Uni ,

and is not sure if he needs to take the test again after taking a " TOEIC prep class"

I was just wondering how hard the TOEIC test was for native speakers .......I would think getting 100% is almost impossible !

750 puts him way above average for Thailand.Maybe him tink too mutt

Edited by Rob13
brewsterbudgen Diamond Member

brewsterbudgen

Posted
Posted

Most people take IELTS these days.

For UK visa purposes; yes.

See table one of the UKVI Approved English Language tests and Centres. (Test centres in Thailand are on page 9.)

For other purposes; depends on what exam the relevant people, e.g. potential employers, require. As does any pass mark or grade.

As to the question in the OP; who knows? It depends on the individual. Being a native speaker does not guarantee a high pass mark.

Personally, many years ago now, I only managed a 'C' in my English language 'O' level sad.png; but that was written, not oral!

In Thailand IELTS Life Skills is taken by about 50 candidates per month (IDP and BC). However the Academic IELTS is taken by well over 500 candidates per week (on test weeks) at IDP and BC. It's quite a goldmine for IELTS, IDP & BC, and us examiners!

BobbyL Silver Member

BobbyL

Posted
Posted

My fiancé did IELTS before studying a MsC in England. I certainly don't think I would have scored top marks on it. Some extremely odd questions.

BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

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Posted

750 puts him way above average for Thailand.Maybe him tink too mutt

I understand 750 is pretty good , but is that also considered a high score if you are trying to get a job at an international company where you would deal with native English speakers daily ?

Yes he thinks too much , but he is just wondering if another prep class might get him another 50 points and if its worth it ,

thanks again for your thoughts , no idea how this ended up in Visas and immigration ????

brewsterbudgen Diamond Member

brewsterbudgen

Posted
Posted

My fiancé did IELTS before studying a MsC in England. I certainly don't think I would have scored top marks on it. Some extremely odd questions.

If she did the Academic IELTS test, it's far more than just a test of English. Candidates have to describe statistical data, write about and verbally discuss academic topics, and be able to develop ideas and arguments, as well as complete academic reading and listening tests. Many native speakers would struggle to achieve the highest bandscore.

siam2007 Gold Member

siam2007

Posted
Posted

I have some Asian friends (not Thais) and they want to work in a call center as bi-lingual agents (English and their native tongue).

As I have seen, some members who replied here are actually involved in the language scene, what would you recommend. TOEIC or rather TOEFL for that purpose ? thanks

attrayant Gold Member

attrayant

Posted
Posted
Most people take IELTS these days.

No they don't.

Compared to TOEIC, TOEFL and the other standardised tests they do.

Cite for your numbers? These are from the institutions themselves:

The international English language testing system (IELTS) [...] with over 2 million tests taken in the last year.

It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by over 9,000 organisations worldwide, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies.

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/choose-ielts/what-ielts

For more than 30 years, the TOEIC test has set the standard for assessing English-language skills used in the workplace. Today TOEIC test scores are used by nearly 14,000 companies, government agencies and English Language Learning programs in 150 countries, and more than seven million TOEIC tests were administered in 2013.

https://www.ets.org/toeic/succeed

I further note that the 2 million figure is less than the 2.5 million which appears on an older version of the page (still viewable via Google cache), so popularity appears to be waning.

BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

Posted
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Posted

I looked on YouTube and found a 10 question sample TOEIC test ,

it was not easy , since it seems like they are trying to trick you !

this was looking at a picture and picking one answer out of 4 ,

I wonder if the interviewers at the International companies ever took the same test :)

brewsterbudgen Diamond Member

brewsterbudgen

Posted
Posted
Most people take IELTS these days.

No they don't.

Compared to TOEIC, TOEFL and the other standardised tests they do.

Cite for your numbers? These are from the institutions themselves:

The international English language testing system (IELTS) [...] with over 2 million tests taken in the last year.

It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by over 9,000 organisations worldwide, including schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies.

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/choose-ielts/what-ielts

For more than 30 years, the TOEIC test has set the standard for assessing English-language skills used in the workplace. Today TOEIC test scores are used by nearly 14,000 companies, government agencies and English Language Learning programs in 150 countries, and more than seven million TOEIC tests were administered in 2013.

https://www.ets.org/toeic/succeed

I further note that the 2 million figure is less than the 2.5 million which appears on an older version of the page (still viewable via Google cache), so popularity appears to be waning.

I was referring to Thailand only.

brewsterbudgen Diamond Member

brewsterbudgen

Posted
Posted

I have some Asian friends (not Thais) and they want to work in a call center as bi-lingual agents (English and their native tongue).

As I have seen, some members who replied here are actually involved in the language scene, what would you recommend. TOEIC or rather TOEFL for that purpose ? thanks

TOEFL is primarily an American test and these days is mostly internet based. It requires a very high level of academic English. So I would think TOEIC would be preferable. Much depends on the employer's requirements. They might also want to consider the IELTS General Training module which is a less academic version and is used by many employers.

BudRight Gold Member

BudRight

Posted
Posted (edited)

"Have you taken a TOEIC test ?"

Yes. My score was 990.

"Does anyone know what the average score is for a native English speaker American . Aussie or Brit ?"

There is no useful average for the scores of native English speakers, because not enough of them take TEOIC to make the scores normally distributed. See "central limit theorem" in mathematics.

TOEIC is not a useful test for native speakers. I took it because my boss made me do it.

The problem is that the test is extremely boring to a native speaker - you're likely to doze off and miss something.

"top score is 990 , but I see some places wanting 600+ scores , which seems very low , "

600 is quite good for TOEIC. Alot of it is reading comprehension. You'd be impressed speaking to a Thai with a 600+ TOEIC score.

"What score is considered "excellent" for a Thai Non - Native English speaker ?"

600+

"Thanks for your thoughts"

You're welcome.

Edited by BudRight
BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

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if you scored 990 that was amazing :)

or maybe I am reading too much in the small practice test I took ( 10 questions) , but if I had a time limit I am sure I would miss a few ,

or like you said just get bored with the test,

Did you even study for the test or look at practice tests ?

I am sure that the study classes know what most of the questions are , unless they change them every 6 months or so ,

And with all the $$$$ involved I can see why there is more than one testing company , I just asked about TOEIC as that is what my friends son was worried about ,

Thanks for the imput

7by7 Star Member

7by7

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am sure that the study classes know what most of the questions are , unless they change them every 6 months or so

As I said, I have no personal experience of this, or any similar, test so do not know if there is a question bank or not.

However, the key to success in any test or exam, be it multiple choice or essay, oral or written, is not attempting to memorise a question bank, if there is one, and the correct answer to each question; it lies in studying the subject matter.

My personal experience in this area comes from my time as a driving instructor in the UK. The driving theory test bank contains, or contained during my time, 1500 questions. Of course, not 1500 different questions as such; many were the same questions asked in a different way.

The test paper consisted of 35 questions.

Attempting to learn all 1500 questions and the correct answer to each and then remember and recognise the question and it's answer come the test is an impossible task for all but those with an eidetic memory, and even they may struggle.

Learn the syllabus; do not attempt to learn all the questions in a question bank and the answers to same for that way is sure to lead to failure.

That is the advice I gave my pupils and is the advice I still give to those studying for the Life in the UK test.

Edited by 7by7
BKKdreaming Gold Member

BKKdreaming

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I agree trying to remember a few thousand questions would just make you crazy ,

I think the study classes are helpful to give you an idea how the questions are asked , and how there are often 2 answers that seem correct but you can only pick one !

If it was free I would love to take it just to see what I got , But the people taking it for a job or a future study path have a lot of stress also thrown in......

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