Posted 28 Sep 2009
TEFL teachers preparing students for international English exams may soon see the tests marked by computers.
According to the Times Educational Supplement, the Pearson Test of English Academic, an English-language exam, will launch on October 26th.
It will be used in 20 countries to determine university applicants’ English skills and will include essay questions.
Answers will be scanned by computers, which have been programmed to recognise the possible right responses, and the marks added up at the end.
Pearson maintains this will be a more accurate method than human marking but Bethan Marshall, senior lecturer in English and education at King’s College London, told the news source: "You don’t get a person reading it and it is people that we write for.
"If a computer is marking it then we will end up writing for the computer. People won’t be aiming for the kind of quirky, idiosyncratic work that produces the best writing."
Education publishers Pearson unveiled the exam earlier this month (September 8th), claiming it has already been recognised, or is in the process of being recognised, by more than 770 programmes around the world.
Category: TEFL Industry
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