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2013 Report on Test Takers Worldwide:The TOEIC® Listening and Reading Test

INSIDE FRONT COVER

Worldwide Report 2013 1

Table of Contents

Page

The TOEIC Background Questionnaire ........................................................................................................................2

Description of TOEIC L&R Test Takers in 2013..........................................................................................................3

Mean TOEIC Scores Across Native Countries .............................................................................................................4

Relationship Among Listening and Reading TOEIC Scores ........................................................................................6

Test Takers by Demographic Variables .........................................................................................................................6

Age .......................................................................................................................................................................11

Gender ..................................................................................................................................................................12

Education .............................................................................................................................................................13

Academic Major ...................................................................................................................................................14

Employment Status ..............................................................................................................................................15

Type of Industry ...................................................................................................................................................16

Type of Job ...........................................................................................................................................................18

Years Spent Studying English ..............................................................................................................................19

Language Skill Most Emphasized When Studying English ................................................................................20

Daily English Use Requirement ...........................................................................................................................21

Most Frequently Used Language Skill .................................................................................................................22

DifficultywithEnglishAffectingCommunication ..............................................................................................23

Time Spent in a Native English-Speaking Country/Region.................................................................................24

Purpose for Time in a Native English-Speaking Country/Region .......................................................................25

TOEIC Test-Taking Experience ...........................................................................................................................26

Purpose for Taking TOEIC L&R Test ..................................................................................................................27

Appendix A – TOEIC Background Questionnaire ......................................................................................................28

Appendix B – Response Rates to Each Background Questionnaire ...........................................................................30

AppendixC–CorrelationsBetweenListeningandReading–byRegion .................................................................31

2 Worldwide Report 2013

The TOEIC Background Questionnaire is a self-survey that gathers information about TOEIC test-takers’ educationalbackground,workexperience,Englishlanguage study and use and the TOEIC test-taking experience. Responses to the questionnaire enable users to learn more about the backgrounds of people whotakethetestandsomeofthefactorsthataffecttheir TOEIC scores and related improvement in Englishproficiency.Testtakersareaskedtocompletethe TOEIC Background Questionnaire before taking the TOEIC test.

The TOEIC Background Questionnaire is presented in Appendix A.

This report is based on the information gathered from alltesttakerswhocompletedtheTOEICBackgroundQuestionnaire administered in 2013.

The vast majority of test takers included in this report are from Asia and so the results may not be representative of other regions. In addition, the response rates varied across different background questions (Appendix B). Consequently, care should be taken in making inferences based on this data.

Pleasenotethatallpercentageswithinthetextareroundedtothenearestwholenumberandinsomecases may sum to more than 100 percent. Also note thatalltablesandfiguresreflectresultsonlyforcategories containing 500 or more test takers.

The TOEIC® Background Questionnaire


Description of TOEIC Listening & Reading (L&R) Test Takers in 2013

BackgroundinformationwascollectedfromthetotalgroupoftesttakerswhotooktheTOEICL&RTestin 2013, either through the Public Testing Program or theInstitutionalTestingProgram.Thefollowingisageneral description of the test takers included in this analysis. As noted earlier, the number of test takers whorespondedtoeachbackgroundquestionvariedacross questions.

• Thelargestproportionoftesttakers(40%)werebetween21and25yearsofage

• 57%oftesttakersweremale

• Most test takers (58%) had an undergraduate degree orwerepursuingone

• 25%ofthetesttakersmajoredinEngineeringwhile19% majored in Business

• 36%oftesttakerswereemployedfull-time,while52%werefull-timestudents

• 16%oftesttakersworkedinclericaloradministrativepositions,and31%workedinscientific/technicalprofessionalpositions

• 31% of test takers selected Reading as their most often used English language skill

• Only 12% of test takers had spent six months or more in a native English-speaking country/region

• 44% of test takers used English 1 to 10% of their daily life

• 81% had spent more than 6 years studying English

• 49%oftesttakerswhotooktheTOEICtestin2013had previously taken it on three or more earlier occasions

• 30% had taken the TOEIC test for job application purpose


Mean TOEIC Scores Across Native Countries/Regions

Table 1 is organized by the native country/region of testtakersandshowstheaveragetestscoresofallindividuals from a given country/region. Please keep in mind that the native country/region of a test taker is

notnecessarilythecountry/regioninwhichheorshetooktheTOEICtest.Onlycountrieswithmorethan500 TOEIC test takers are included in this table.

367 (96)

353 (95)

317 (122)

311 (95)

273 (124)

335 (100)

313 (98)

261 (122)

257 (102)

224 (122)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Europe

Africa

North America

Asia

South America

Reading Means (SD) Listening Means (SD)

Figure 1: Mean TOEIC Scores by Region

Note: All charts reflect results only for categories containing 500 or more test takers. Mexico is included in the data for North America.

2013 Worldwide TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores

Reading Means (SD) Listening Means (SD)


Table 1: Mean Performance by Native Country/Region

Country/regionListening Reading Total

Mean (SD)* Mean (SD)* Mean (SD)*BANGLADESH 464 (62) 432 (66) 895 (123)

INDIA 449 (70) 413 (82) 861 (147)

CANADA 428 (71) 391 (81) 819 (146)

NEPAL 423 (101) 390 (101) 814 (197)

SWITZERLAND 419 (87) 373 (88) 792 (168)

PORTUGAL 414 (86) 372 (99) 786 (178)

GERMANY 422 (77) 361 (100) 783 (171)

SRI LANKA 410 (99) 370 (108) 780 (203)

LEBANON 401 (88) 352 (107) 753 (189)

PAKISTAN 398 (125) 343 (154) 741 (274)

FRANCE 378 (89) 349 (90) 728 (173)

CHINA, PEOPLE`S REPUBLIC 372 (97) 344 (101) 716 (191)

ITALY 362 (82) 349 (84) 711 (158)

PHILIPPINES 383 (80) 328 (95) 711 (167)

TUNISIA 376 (87) 335 (91) 710 (172)

ARGENTINA 371 (117) 336 (118) 706 (229)

COSTA RICA 381 (90) 324 (98) 706 (180)

MOROCCO 373 (87) 329 (93) 702 (172)

MALAYSIA 368 (90) 320 (101) 687 (184)

RUSSIA 364 (107) 319 (116) 683 (217)

SAUDI ARABIA 378 (119) 305 (149) 683 (263)

REUNION 346 (96) 322 (96) 669 (184)

JORDAN 366 (104) 301 (120) 667 (217)

COLOMBIA 346 (113) 310 (117) 655 (223)

SENEGAL 344 (89) 309 (89) 654 (171)

SPAIN 331 (106) 321 (103) 651 (202)

ALGERIA 344 (96) 302 (100) 646 (189)

HONG KONG 342 (101) 301 (117) 644 (212)

CAMEROON 336 (85) 300 (86) 636 (162)

KOREA (ROK) 344 (85) 287 (95) 632 (172)

COTE D`IVOIRE (IVORY COAST) 321 (97) 302 (95) 623 (184)

BRAZIL 317 (119) 283 (119) 600 (232)

GREECE 332 (93) 257 (95) 589 (179)

PERU 300 (123) 280 (121) 580 (237)

TURKEY 317 (120) 262 (126) 579 (240)

EGYPT 311 (115) 267 (118) 578 (225)

TAIWAN 306 (93) 263 (98) 569 (182)

POLAND 316 (117) 249 (122) 565 (232)

MEXICO 297 (120) 238 (116) 535 (229)

JAPAN 283 (91) 229 (97) 512 (181)

THAILAND 279 (103) 214 (98) 493 (195)

VIETNAM 244 (94) 225 (97) 469 (183)

MONGOLIA 253 (108) 189 (108) 441 (209)

MACAO 249 (95) 189 (96) 438 (184)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 260 (113) 176 (112) 436 (211)

INDONESIA 236 (107) 187 (96) 423 (196)

CHILE 241 (116) 181 (103) 422 (210)

ALBANIA 221 (116) 184 (111) 404 (222)

*SD=Standard Deviation


Relationship Among Listening and Reading TOEIC Scores

ThecorrelationbetweenthetwosectionsoftheTOEICtestwasabout0.85.(AppendixCpresentsthecorrelationsbetweenListeningandReadingacrossregions.)Thisisconsistentwithearlierresearch(e.g.,Woodford,1982)andwiththefindingspresentedinthe2012Worldwide Data Report. This level of correlation indicates that the twomeasuresarecloselyrelated,giventhatbothmeasuredtesttakers’proficienciesinusingEnglishinbusinesscommunication and test takers tended to put forth the same amount of effort to study both skills together.

Test takers by Demographic Variables

Table2presentsthenumberandpercentageoftesttakersfallingintodifferentdemographiccategories,aswellasthe average TOEIC Listening Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, and Total scores for each category. More in-depthinformationabouttesttakersinthesecategoriesisshownlaterinthisreport.Thecategoriesusedinthisreport are those found in the TOEIC Background Questionnaire.

Table 2: Mean Performance by Demographic Categories

% of Test takers

Listening Reading Total

Mean (SD)* Mean (SD)* Mean (SD)*

Ag

e

Under 20 18.3 276 (98) 216 (100) 491 (191)

21 – 25 39.5 327 (93) 273 (100) 601 (185)

26 – 30 18.7 335 (90) 281 (98) 617 (180)

31 – 35 8.8 320 (94) 272 (102) 592 (188)

36 – 40 5.7 304 (97) 260 (106) 563 (195)

41 – 45 4.3 290 (98) 245 (106) 535 (197)

Over 45 4.6 284 (100) 240 (107) 524 (201)

Gen

der Female 43.5 327 (96) 266 (103) 593 (192)

Male 56.5 304 (96) 256 (103) 560 (192)

Ed

ucat

ion

Graduate school 10.7 349 (86) 310 (93) 659 (171)

Undergraduate college 57.7 334 (87) 281 (94) 615 (172)

Junior high school 0.6 280 (115) 209 (106) 490 (213)

High school 6.0 272 (112) 207 (111) 479 (216)

Elementary school 0.3 262 (114) 215 (107) 476 (213)

Community college 19.6 265 (88) 209 (92) 475 (172)

Vocational school after high school 2.6 262 (102) 195 (95) 458 (189)

Language institution 1.0 263 (101) 191 (101) 454 (196)

Vocational school 1.7 223 (83) 160 (76) 383 (151)



% of Test takers



Maj

or

Social studies 11.6 329 (94) 280 (101) 609 (187)

Liberal arts 18.7 333 (94) 270 (103) 603 (190)

Business related 19.4 325 (97) 278 (103) 603 (192)

Sciences 10.8 311 (92) 263 (98) 575 (183)

Engineering 24.5 307 (89) 256 (96) 564 (178)

Other 5.4 301 (100) 236 (104) 537 (196)

Health related 9.7 279 (90) 228 (97) 507 (180)

Cur

rent

sta

tus Not employed 7.9 347 (87) 291 (94) 637 (172)

Part time employee 4.1 325 (102) 272 (106) 596 (201)

Full time student 52.3 315 (94) 259 (101) 574 (188)

Full time employee 35.7 298 (96) 250 (103) 548 (192)

Typ

e o

f in

dus

try

Service-Education (High school or below) 2.2 356 (100) 308 (104) 663 (197)

Service-Foreign Affairs 0.1 352 (109) 306 (112) 658 (213)

Service-Education (College or above) 2.5 349 (102) 302 (112) 651 (207)

Mass Media 1.0 344 (93) 289 (102) 632 (186)

Public Utility Production 1.4 331 (88) 292 (94) 622 (174)

Other 4.4 329 (95) 279 (101) 608 (188)

Finance 5.2 323 (95) 283 (101) 606 (189)

Manufacturing-Pharmaceuticals 1.7 323 (88) 280 (96) 603 (177)

Telecommunication 1.9 324 (90) 276 (98) 600 (180)

Trading 3.2 325 (95) 274 (102) 599 (191)

Service-Legislative 3.1 317 (97) 271 (106) 587 (196)

Service-Armed forces 2.0 311 (94) 269 (102) 581 (189)

Insurance 1.6 310 (92) 268 (101) 578 (186)

Manufacturing-Other 4.2 309 (98) 260 (105) 569 (197)

Service-Health 2.0 312 (92) 256 (99) 568 (183)

Service-Other 13.6 310 (93) 257 (101) 567 (187)

Table 2: Mean Performance by Demographic Categories (continued)



% of Test takers



Typ

e o

f in

dus

try

(co

nt.)

Manufacturing-Clothing 0.4 316 (103) 248 (104) 565 (198)

Transportation 2.1 312 (93) 250 (97) 561 (183)

Real Estate 0.5 301 (101) 252 (108) 553 (202)

Service-Traveling 1.8 311 (98) 240 (100) 551 (190)

Manufacturing-Food 1.6 298 (98) 251 (103) 549 (193)

Manufacturing-Petroleum 1.0 294 (96) 251 (103) 544 (192)

Manufacturing-Chemicals 3.9 293 (89) 250 (96) 543 (178)

Retail/Wholesale 1.6 297 (99) 236 (104) 533 (196)

Agriculture 0.5 287 (108) 239 (109) 526 (210)

Construction 2.9 286 (102) 237 (106) 523 (202)

Manufacturing-Metals 2.2 279 (92) 236 (100) 516 (185)

Manufacturing-Electronic 16.3 276 (93) 230 (101) 506 (187)

Manufacturing-Machinery 6.8 278 (92) 227 (99) 505 (184)

Manufacturing-Glass 0.5 273 (92) 232 (98) 505 (183)

Manufacturing-Fabric 0.9 270 (92) 224 (100) 494 (186)

Manufacturing-Vehicles 7.1 273 (88) 221 (95) 494 (176)

Typ

e o

f jo

b

Teaching/Training 4.7 353 (106) 306 (112) 659 (210)

Management 4.4 329 (103) 291 (107) 620 (203)

Professional Specialist 8.8 319 (96) 279 (104) 597 (192)

Clerical/Administrative 16.2 321 (95) 268 (102) 589 (189)

Services 5.3 322 (98) 262 (104) 583 (194)

Marketing/Sales 13.8 302 (96) 249 (102) 551 (191)

Technician 7.2 299 (94) 250 (100) 549 (186)

Other 8.2 292 (105) 242 (111) 533 (208)

Scientific/Technical Professionals 31.4 285 (89) 239 (97) 524 (178)

Year

s sp

ent

stud

ying

Eng

lish

> 10 years 45.7 350 (85) 300 (93) 650 (170)

6–10 years 35.4 296 (90) 242 (96) 538 (178)

4–6 years 10.6 270 (95) 212 (97) 482 (185)

< 4 years 8.3 258 (96) 201 (98) 459 (187)




% of Test takers



Lang

uag

e sk

ills

mo

st

emp

hasi

zed

Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing 25.9 349 (92) 298 (100) 646 (185)

Speaking 15.5 319 (92) 260 (99) 578 (184)

Listening & Speaking 25.6 317 (90) 257 (97) 574 (180)

Reading & Writing 6.0 302 (97) 258 (106) 560 (196)

Reading 13.3 283 (89) 241 (95) 524 (176)

Listening 11.0 283 (94) 230 (100) 512 (187)

Writing 2.8 269 (103) 220 (108) 489 (204)

Tim

e sp

ent

dai

ly

usin

g E

nglis

h

51–100% 4.2 374 (91) 319 (103) 692 (186)

21–50% 11.6 348 (92) 292 (101) 641 (185)

11–20% 20.2 334 (91) 279 (99) 614 (183)

1–10% 44.4 310 (92) 257 (99) 568 (183)

None 19.6 274 (92) 223 (97) 496 (181)

Eng

lish

lang

uag

e sk

ills

used

m

ost

oft

en

Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing 12.7 358 (88) 304 (98) 662 (179)

Reading & Writing 8.7 332 (93) 282 (100) 614 (185)

Listening & Speaking 16.4 325 (92) 261 (99) 586 (183)

Reading 31.1 304 (91) 261 (98) 564 (181)

Speaking 11.6 303 (97) 242 (101) 545 (190)

Listening 15.9 300 (99) 241 (104) 541 (196)

Writing 3.7 285 (100) 233 (104) 517 (197)

Diffi

cult

y w

ith

Eng

lish

com

mun

icat

ion

Sometimes 32.1 335 (92) 280 (100) 615 (184)

Seldom 18.2 317 (100) 264 (107) 581 (200)

Frequently 22.7 318 (86) 263 (95) 581 (172)

Almost always 12.4 295 (89) 243 (97) 538 (177)

Almost never 14.6 283 (102) 233 (108) 517 (203)





% of Test takers



Tim

e in

Eng

lish

spea

king

co

untr

y/re

gio

n

Yes, > 2 years 3.6 414 (81) 348 (98) 762 (171)

Yes, 1–2 years 2.7 389 (86) 320 (98) 709 (175)

Yes, 6–12 months 6.1 385 (79) 317 (92) 702 (163)

Yes, < 6 months 23.8 330 (87) 274 (97) 604 (176)

No 63.7 294 (91) 245 (99) 540 (183)

Pur

po

se f

or

tim

e in

E

nglis

h sp

eaki

ng

coun

try/

reg

ion

To study 15.7 387 (92) 326 (104) 713 (189)

Other 9.1 377 (93) 311 (104) 688 (189)

To participate in language program 31.0 361 (81) 294 (92) 656 (164)

To work 12.6 332 (93) 285 (103) 617 (188)

To travel 31.5 328 (88) 271 (97) 599 (176)

Tim

es t

aken

T

OE

IC

Three times or more 48.7 341 (84) 287 (92) 629 (168)

Twice 12.1 310 (92) 255 (99) 566 (183)

Once 15.9 296 (95) 242 (101) 538 (189)

Never 23.3 280 (102) 230 (108) 510 (203)

Pur

po

se f

or

taki

ng

TO

EIC

tes

t

For job application 30.3 338 (87) 280 (95) 618 (175)

For graduation 19.0 314 (97) 264 (104) 578 (194)

For learning 32.0 305 (98) 251 (104) 556 (194)

To assess language program 8.4 295 (100) 243 (105) 538 (197)

For promotion 10.3 293 (93) 243 (100) 536 (185)



Age

A closer look at the demographic categories revealed that across all countries, the typical TOEIC test taker wasbetween21and25yearsofage(40%),18%oftesttakerswereunder20yearsofage,19%werebetween26and30yearsofage,andtheremaining23%were31yearsofageorolder.Macao(72%),Greece (62%), and Indonesia (55%), had a high percentageoftesttakersthatwereunder20yearsofage. Italy (79%), China (73%), and Morocco (72%)

hadthehighestpercentageoftesttakersbetween21and 25 years age. For the 26 to 30 years of age group, India (38%), Bangladesh (37%), and Senegal (33%) had the highest proportion of test takers.

Figure2showsthemeanTotalTOEICscoresasillustrated by a composite of Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension scores.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

26 - 30

21 - 25

31 - 35

36 - 40

41 - 45

Over 45

Under 20

335

327

320

304

290

284

276

281

273

272

260

245

240

216

Mean Total TOEIC Scores

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Age Levels

Listening Reading

Figure 2: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Age Levels

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Age Levels

Listening Reading



Gender

Overall, a larger proportion of males than females tooktheTOEICL&RTest(asshowninTable2).Suchcountries that had a large male test taking population include Bangladesh (91%), Saudi Arabia (79%), Pakistan (76%), Turkey (73%), and United Arab Emirates (73%).

Insomecountries,however,therewasahigherproportion of female than male test takers. These

countries include Hong Kong (72%), Albania (67%), and China (63%). In other countries the ratio of male tofemaletesttakerswasfairlyequal.

Figure3showsthatfemaleshadhigheraveragetotalscores than males for both Listening and Reading.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Female

Male

327

304

266

256


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Gender

Listening Reading

Figure 3: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Gender

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Gender

Listening Reading



Education

The majority of test takers (58%) held an undergraduate degreeorwaspursuinganundergraduatedegreeatthetimethattheyansweredtheBackgroundQuestionnaire.Ahigherpercentageofwomen(60%)thanmen(56%)heldorwerepursuinganundergraduatedegree.Incontrast,moremen(12%)thanwomen(9%)heldorwerepursuingagraduatedegree.

Because of differences among countries in educational systems,comparisonsofeducationallevelaresomewhatsubjective.ResultsshowthatKorea(79%),Thailand

(74%), and Brazil (66%) had the highest proportion of testtakerswithanundergraduatedegree,whileSenegal(79%), Algeria (76%), and Morocco (73%) had the largest proportion of test takers holding or pursuing graduate degrees. Chile (63%), Peru (49%), and Spain (29%)hadthehighestproportionoftesttakerswithavocational degree after high school.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Graduate school

Undergraduate college

Junior high school

High school

Elementary school

Community college

Vocational school after high school

Language institution

Vocational school

349

334

280

272

262

265

262

263

223

310

281

209

207

215

209

195

191

160


TOEIC Listening and Reading Compehension Scores Across Education Levels

Listening Reading

Figure 4: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Education Levels

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Education Levels


Listening Reading


Academic Major

The largest percentage of TOEIC L&R test takers majored in Engineering (25%). The highest percentages oftesttakerswithanEngineeringmajorwereinTunisia(53%), Morocco (49%), and Senegal (48%). Business wasthesecondmostpopularmajorwith19%.Countrieswithahighpercentageoftesttakerswithbusiness majors include Peru (46%), China (45%), and Vietnam (44%).

Across all test takers, more females (31%) majored in Liberal Arts than males (10%) and more males (34%) majored in Engineering than females (12%).

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Social studies

Liberal arts

Business related

Sciences

Engineering

Other

Health related

329

333

325

311

307

301

279

280

270

278

263

256

236

228


Listening Reading

Figure 5: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Academic Majors

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Majors


Listening Reading


Employment Status

OverallthemajorityofTOEICL&Rtesttakerswerefull-time students (52%). Countries such as China (86%), Morocco (79%), and The Philippines (76%) had the highest proportion of full-time students. Thirty-sixpercentoftesttakersindicatedtheywerefull-timeemployees.Resultsshowthattesting

populations in Peru (80%), Mongolia (75%), and Brazil(59%)weremostlyfull-timeemployees.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Not employed

Part time employee

Full time student

Full time employee

347

325

315

298

291

272

259

250


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Employment Status

Listening Reading

Figure 6: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Employment Status

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Employment Status


Listening Reading


Type of Industry

AsseeninTable2,mosttesttakerswhowereemployedfull-timeworkedineitherthemanufacturingor service industries.

Figures 7a, 7b and 7c provide average scores of Listening and Reading for the various industry type.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Service-Education (High school or below)

Service-Foreign Affairs

Service-Education (College or above)

Service-Legislative

Service-Armed forces

Service-Health

Service-Other

Service-Traveling

356

352

349

317

311

312

310

311

308

306

302

271

269

256

257

240


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Industry Type

Listening Reading

Figure 7a: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Industry Type — Service


Listening Reading



0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Manufacturing-Pharmaceuticals

Manufacturing-Other

Manufacturing-Clothing

Manufacturing-Food

Manufacturing-Petroleum

Manufacturing-Chemicals

Manufacturing-Metals

Manufacturing-Electronic

Manufacturing-Glass

Manufacturing-Machinery

Manufacturing-Fabric

Manufacturing-Vehicles

323

309

316

298

294

293

279

276

273

278

270

273

280

260

248

251

251

250

236

230

232

227

224

221



Listening Reading

Figure 7b: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Industry Type — Manufacturing

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Mass Media

Public Utility Production

Other

Finance

Telecommunication

Trading

Insurance

Transportation

Real Estate

Retail/Wholesale

Agriculture

Construction

344

331

329

323

324

325

310

312

301

297

287

286

289

292

279

283

276

274

268

250

252

236

239

237



Listening Reading

Figure 7c: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Industry Type — Other

Listening Reading




Listening Reading



Type of Job

The types of jobs performed by test takers varied greatly across countries. Overall, the largest group oftesttakerswasScientific/TechnicalProfessionals(31%). Japan (43%) and Mongolia (29%) had the largestpercentageoftesttakersworkinginscientific/technical positions. For management positions, Morocco (32%) and Peru (24%) had the largest percentage of test takers. For teaching/training

positions, The Philippines (42%) and Costa Rica (31%) had the largest percentage of test takers.

Overall,morefemales(11%)workedinteaching/training positions than males (2%), and more males (38%)workedintechnicianpositionsthanfemales(15%).

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Teaching/Training

Management

Professional Specialist

Clerical/Administrative

Services

Marketing/Sales

Technician

Other

Scientific/Technical Professionals

353

329

319

321

322

302

299

292

285

306

291

279

268

262

249

250

242

239


Listening Reading

Figure 8: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Job Types

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Job Type


Listening Reading


Years Spent Studying English

Similar to the results from previous years, 2013 test takers exhibited very similar patterns in the length of time spent studying English. Eighty-one percent of 2013 test takers indicated that they studied English for six or more years.

Peru (61%), Mongolia (52%), and Brazil (48%) had the largest percentage of test takers that studied English for less than 4 years.

In contrast, countries that had a high proportion of testtakerswhohavestudiedEnglishformorethan ten years include Hong Kong (66%), Macao (66%), and the Philippines (65%)

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

> 10 years

6 - 10 years

4 - 6 years

<= 4 years

350

296

270

258

300

242

212

201


Listening Reading

Figure 9: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Years Spent Studying English

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Years Spent Studying English

Listening Reading



Language Skill Most Emphasized When Studying English

indicatedthatListeningandSpeakingskillsweretheskills most emphasized.

Test takers from Indonesia (67%), China (51%), and Reunion (47%) indicated an emphasis on all four English-language skills.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing

Speaking

Listening & Speaking

Reading & Writing

Reading

Listening

Writing

349

319

317

302

283

283

269

298

260

257

258

241

230

220


Listening Reading

Figure 10: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Language Skills Most Emphasized

After indicating the number of years spent studying English,testtakerswereaskedtoidentifywhichlanguageskillsweremostemphasizedduringtheirstudies.Twenty-sixpercentofalltesttakersindicatedthat all four English-language skills (Listening, Reading,Speaking,andWriting)wereemphasized.However,thesamepercentageoftesttakers(26%)

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Language Skills Most Emphasized


Listening Reading


Daily English Use Requirement

Inresponsetothequestion“Howmuchtimemustyouuse English in your daily life?” nearly half of all test takers (44%) indicated that they had to use English for only 1–10% of their daily life. Countries that had a large proportion of test takers in this category include Macao (49%), Indonesia (46%), and Japan (45%).

Test takers from Vietnam (32%), Hong Kong (31%), Italy (31%) and Peru (31%) responded that they spent 11–20% of their daily life using English. Test takers in The Philippines (22%), Costa Rica (18%), and Egypt (18%) indicated that they spend 51-100% of their daily life using English.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

51-100%

21-50%

11-20%

1-10%

None

374

348

334

310

274

319

292

279

257

223


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Time Spent Daily Using English

Listening Reading

Figure 11: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Time Spent Daily Using English

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Time Spent Daily Using English

Listening Reading



Most Frequently Used Language Skill

Thirteen percent of test takers indicated that they use all four language skills equally.

Overall,malesweremoreinclinedthanfemales(35%vs. 25%) to choose Reading as the English-language skill they used most often.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing

Reading & Writing

Listening & Speaking

Reading

Speaking

Listening

Writing

358

332

325

304

303

300

285

304

282

261

261

242

241

233


Listening Reading

Figure 12: Mean TOEIC Scores Across English Language Skills Used Most Often

Thirty-one percent of all test takers indicated that ReadingwastheEnglish-languageskillthattheyusedmostoften.Chile(46%)andTaiwan(45%)hadthehighestpercentageoftesttakerswithReadingastheirmost used skill. For Listening, 16% of all test takers indicatedthatwastheskillusedmostoften.Countriesthat had a high percentage of test takers selecting Listening include Italy (35%) and Reunion (35%).

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across English-Language Skills Used Most Often

Listening Reading



Difficulty with English Affecting Communication

Whenasked“HowoftenhasdifficultywithEnglishaffectedyourabilitytocommunicate?”Thirty-twopercent of all test takers responded “Sometimes.” Twenty-threepercentrespondedthatdifficulty

withEnglish“frequently”affectedtheirabilitytocommunicate,and18%respondedthatdifficultywithEnglish“seldom”affectedtheirabilitytocommunicate.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Sometimes

Seldom

Frequently

Almost always

Almost never

335

317

318

295

283

280

264

263

243

233


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Difficulty with English affecting ability to Communicate

Listening Reading

Figure 13: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Difficulty with English Communication

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Difficulty With English Affecting Ability to Communicate

Listening Reading



Time Spent in a Native English-Speaking Country/Region

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Yes, > 2 years

Yes, 1-2 years

Yes, 6-12 months

Yes, < 6 months

No

414

389

385

330

294

348

320

317

274

245


Listening Reading

Figure 14: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Time Spent in English-Speaking Country/Region

Respondentswereasked“Haveyoueverlivedinacountry/regioninwhichEnglishisthemainspokenlanguage?” Only 12% of all test takers indicated that they had spent six months or more in a country/region

inwhichEnglishwasthemainspokenlanguage.Sixty-four percent indicated that they have never spent time in an English-speaking country/region.

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Amount of Time Spent in English-Speaking Country

Listening Reading



Purpose for Time in a Native English-Speaking Country/Region

indicated travel as the purpose for spending the time. Another 31% of test takers indicated they did so for the purpose of participating in a language program.

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

To study

Other

To participate in language program

To work

To travel

387

377

361

332

328

326

311

294

285

271


Listening Reading

Figure 15: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Purpose of Living in a Native English-Speaking Country/Region

Inresponsetoaquestionasking,“Whatwasyourmainpurposeforlivinginacountry/regioninwhichEnglishisthemainspokenlanguage?”Thirty-twopercent

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Purpose for Time Spent in English-Speaking Country


Listening Reading


TOEIC Test-Taking Experience

ThepercentageoftesttakerswhohadpreviouslytakentheTOEICL&RTestvariedwidelyacrosscountries,fromalowof9%inChileandEgypt,toahighof85% and 79% in Korea and Japan, respectively. The

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Three times or more

Twice

Once

Never

341

310

296

280

287

255

242

230


Listening Reading

Figure 16: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Frequency of Testing

majority of test takers (77%) had taken the TOEIC L&Rtestbefore,withthelargestpercentageoftesttakers (49%) having taken the TOEIC L&R Test three or more times previously.

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Frequency of Testing

Listening Reading



Purpose for Taking TOEIC L&R Test

A high percentage of test takers indicated that the purposeoftakingTOEICL&Rwasforlearning(32%), for job application (30%) and for graduation (19%). A large proportion of test takers in Korea (48%) and Costa Rica (34%) took the test for job

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

For job application

For graduation

For learning

To assess language program

For promotion

338

314

305

295

293

280

264

251

243

243


TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Purpose for Taking TOEIC Test

Listening Reading

Figure 17: Mean TOEIC Scores Across Purpose for Taking TOEIC L&R Test

application purposes. For learning purposes, Chile (51%) and Japan (49%) had the highest proportion of test takers. For graduation, Morocco (82%), France (74%) and Reunion (74%) had a highest percentage of test takers.

TOEIC Listening and Reading Comprehension Scores Across Purpose for Taking TOEIC Test

Listening Reading



APPENDIX A

Copyright ©2007. EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, ETS, ETS logo and TOEIC are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service.

Background Questionnaire

4. If you are currently employed, which industry best describes that of your current employer?

01. Agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining02. Construction/building design03. Manufacturing—food04. Manufacturing—pharmaceuticals05. Manufacturing—chemicals06. Manufacturing—fabric/paper07. Manufacturing—oil/petroleum/rubber08. Manufacturing—steel/other metals09. Manufacturing—machinery/fine machinery10. Manufacturing—electronic 11. Manufacturing—vehicles (includes

manufacturing of all modes of transportation)12. Manufacturing—cement/glass13. Manufacturing—clothing14. Manufacturing—other15. Service—education (high school equivalent

or below)16. Service—education (college equivalent or

above, assessment, research)17. Service—court/legislative/municipal/

prefecture18. Service—foreign affairs19. Service—armed forces20. Service—health/hospital/medical research 21. Service—hotel/recreation/restaurant/travel22. Service—other23. Public utilities production/management

(electricity/water supply)24. Broadcasting/mass media25. Telecommunication26. Retail/wholesale27. Trading28. Accounting/banking/finance/security29. Insurance30. Real estate31. Transportation32. Other

5. If you are currently employed, which of the following best describes the type of job you do? (The jobs shown in parentheses are examples only.)

A. Management (executive, manager, director)B. Scientific/technical professionals (engineer,

mathematician, programmer, researcher, scientist)

C. Teaching/training D. Professional specialist (accountant, broker,

financial specialist, lawyer)

Read the choices below each question and select the one best answer. Fill in only one answer for each question.

Section I. Your educational and/or work-related background

1. Choose either the level of education in which you are currently enrolled or the highest level that you have completed.

A. Elementary school (primary school)B. General secondary school (junior high

school)C. Secondary school for university entrance

qualification or equivalent (high school)D. Vocational/technical high schoolE. Vocational/technical school after high schoolF. Community/junior college (for associate

degree)G. Undergraduate college or university (for

bachelor’s degree)H. Graduate or professional school (for

master’s or doctoral degree)I. Language institution

2. Choose the major that you are currently enrolled in or the major of your highest degree. (The majors shown in parentheses are examples only.)

A. Liberal arts (education, fine arts, languages, literature, music, psychology)

B. Social studies/law (international studies, law studies, political science, sociology)

C. Accounting/business/economicsD. Finance/marketing/tradingE. Sciences (agriculture, computer science,

mathematics, physics, statistics)F. Health (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public

health)G. Engineering/architectureH. Other/none

3. Which of the following best describes your current status?

A. I am employed full-time (including self-employed).

B. I am employed part-time and/or study part-time.

C. I am not employed. (Skip to Question #6.)D. I am a full-time student. (Skip to Question #6.)


APPENDIX A (continued)

E. Technician (carpenter, electrician, equipment operator, plumber)

F. Marketing/sales (foreign exchange broker, marketing analyst, real estate agent, sales representative, travel agent)

G. Clerical/administrative (office staff member, receptionist, secretary)

H. Services (customer service representative, human resources representative, hotel staff member, public relations representative)

I. Other

Section II.

Your English-language experience

6. How many years have you spent studying English?

A. Less than or equal to 4 yearsB. More than 4 years but less than or equal to

6 yearsC. More than 6 years but less than or equal to 10

yearsD. More than 10 years

7. Which of the following language skills are/were most emphasized?

A. ListeningB. ReadingC. SpeakingD. WritingE. Listening and speakingF. Reading and writingG. Listening, reading, speaking, and writing

8. How much time must you use English in your daily life?

A. None at allB. 1 to 10%C. 11 to 20% D. 21 to 50% E. 51 to 100%

9. Which of the following English-language skills do you use most often?

A. ListeningB. ReadingC. SpeakingD. WritingE. Listening and speakingF. Reading and writingG. Listening, reading, speaking, and writing

10. How often has difficulty with English affected your ability to communicate?

A. Almost neverB. SeldomC. SometimesD. FrequentlyE. Almost always

11. Have you ever lived in a country in which English is the main spoken language?

A. No (Skip to Question #13.)B. Yes, for less than 6 monthsC. Yes, for 6 to 12 monthsD. Yes, for more than 1 but less than or

equal to 2 yearsE. Yes, for more than 2 years

12. What was your main purpose for living in a country in which English is the main spoken language?

A. To study (in other than an English-language program)

B. To participate in an English-language program

C. To travel (not work related)D. To workE. Other

Section III.

Your experience in taking the TOEIC test

13. Before today, how many times have you taken the TOEIC test?

A. Never B. OnceC. TwiceD. Three times or more

14. What is your main purpose for taking today’s TOEIC test?

A. For a job applicationB. For promotionC. To assess the effectiveness of an English-

language programD. To assess future learning needsE. To graduate from a course of study

Background Questionnaire - Side 2


APPENDIX B

Response Rates to Each Background Questionnaire

N Response Rate

Total number of people using new Background Questionnaire 5,280,037

1. Education 4,688,931 89%

2. Major 4,390,123 83%

3. Employment Status 4,770,595 90%

4. Type of Industry 1,797,700 95%

5. Type of Job 1,582,393 83%

6. Years Spent Studying English 4,297,511 81%

7. Language Skills Most Emphasized 4,282,290 81%

8. Time Spent Daily Using English 4,289,296 81%

9. Language Skills Used Most Often 4,248,732 80%

10. Difficulty with English Communication 4,271,130 81%

11. Time in English Speaking Country/Region 4,250,861 81%

12. Purpose in English Speaking Country/Region 1,530,220 99%

13. Times Taken TOEIC 4,410,972 84%

14. Purpose for Taking TOEIC 4,340,885 82%

Note: N=1,898,960 was used to calculate response rates for questions 4 and 5 (after excluding test takers who selected options 03 and 04 in question 3); N=1,542,606 was used to calculate response rate for question 12 (after excluding test takers who selected option 01 in question 11).


APPENDIX C

Correlations Between Listening and Reading – by Region

Regions Correlations

Africa 0.85

Asia 0.85

Europe 0.86

North America (including Mexico) 0.90

South America 0.88

BLANK PAGE BLANK PAGE

INSIDE BACK COVER

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