TOEIC® Test - Short Interview with Rob.

[HamburgEnglish]

Rob is an official TOEIC administrator that visits the english-test.net forum regularly.

A New year and many students are looking towards the TOEIC Test. Here is a review of an online TOEIC preparation website that is becoming very successful.

They call it OnlineEnglish and it is part of the Hamburg-English online empire. The site is operated by an official TOEIC test centre and authorized TOEIC administrators are available by email to help, advise and answer questions. Additionally the website is far from inactive, each week the administrators take it in turns to give extra "homework" exercises and information regarding the TOEIC test and the website to the members.

So why is it so special? At OnlineEnglish ( onlineenglish.eu ) they use a focused training technique and additionally concentrate on the core skills you need to gain a good score in the TOEIC test. "In the first instance, a student has to cope with the procedures, routines and methods of the test. Needless to say that this is in addition to actually completing the test answers" said Rob, Manager and Senior TOEIC administrator at hamburg-english.de

OnlineEnglish offers advice regarding the test, administration and the questions pointing out those areas which past students have found difficult or have made mistakes. This knowledge gives students a useful advantage when they sit the test.

"Secondly, in a lot of cases a student needs the TOEIC certificate for other training, to enter a university or to obtain better job prospects without any intention for long term English improvement. For these reasons we offer focused training techniques for speed. We first assess a student's level and break this information down into TOEIC question parts. A student can then see where they need to improve and focus their training on these parts" continued Rob.

But OnlineEnglish has not forgotten the need to improve one's English proficiency. For this reason the website is full of support exercises based around the world of business English. "We cater naturally for the business world of people who wish to build their business English competence or just keep their English fresh. We also remember that no matter how much knowledge one accumulates, the core skills need to be addressed. At OnlineEnglish we address these core skills with special intensive exercises so that a student can actually practice what they learn and move knowledge into the position of natural skill. This method not only improves overall business English, but is also a very important part of that tested by the TOEIC test" continued Rob.

Recent introductions to the website have included what OnlineEnglish call the Training Coach. “The irony with many websites is that you must understand the language to learn the language. I mean by this, that the instructions and explanations to learn a language are normally written in the language you are trying to learn. This can be hard for lower level students and for this reason we created the training coach.” said Rob.

The Training Coach is quite a complex system that borders the line of intelligence. “we say it learns you as you learn English” said Rob. The training coach leads students through a training process that becomes more and more difficult, delivering at each stage, only the exercises the student should learn, focusing the training at all times on their weaknesses.

Whether you need to quickly prepare for the TOEIC test or wish to improve your business English over a longer time, or even just keep in practice, OnlineEnglish offers a serious option to be considered against the many other resources available.

[Torsten]

Hi Rob,

Can you please give us some more information on the current English placement situation in German companies? How many of them would you say are interested in finding out what their employees' level of English is what kind of tests and tools are they currently using? Also, what exactly is the role of the German trade unions in this process? By the way, what is the English equivalent to Betriebsrat? I know that the trade unions are the Gewerkschaften.

Many thanks,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[HamburgEnglish]

Hi Torsen,

Not so many and with the current economic crisis, fewer. But there are some. Cost is always the key factor and many companies stick ridgidly to their own tool, which themselves are integrated into their own internal systems.

It is not only German trade unions, but also the many Unions around the world that fight for the protection of job positions. In Germany and elsewhere, it is ok for a company to carry out actions for the development of the company, but this should not single out employees. For this reason testing must be done anonymously.

The closest I can think of for Betriebsrat under British English would be "shop stewards"

But I am a little confused at your questions in this thread.

Best regards and nice modifications, my fight still contiues though (smile)

Rob