Language tests can’t tell if overseas students are well prepared

For many international students, a high IELTS or TOEFL score feels like proof that they are ready to study at an English-medium university. Yet after arriving on campus, some discover an uncomfortable reality: performing well in an English proficiency test does not necessarily translate into academic success.

Part of the problem lies in what standardised English tests are designed to measure. TOEFL and IELTS remain anchored, to a significant degree, in native-speaker norms. TOEFL listening and reading materials lean heavily towards American English, while IELTS more often reflects British or Commonwealth usage. Scoring criteria prioritise grammatical accuracy, appropriate lexis, clear pronunciation and fluent writing.

Candidates might therefore internalise the belief that the ultimate goal of English learning is to approximate native-speaker models as closely as possible. And they might expect university English to resemble the standardised English they have encountered in all their tests.

However, English-medium universities are increasingly multilingual environments, in which students, classmates and even instructors may come from diverse linguistic backgrounds. English therefore functions not simply as the language of native speakers but as a lingua franca: a shared means of communication among people who may not share the same first language.

Moreover, university study demands far more than language proficiency. Students are expected to read substantial amounts of specialised literature, evaluate evidence, construct arguments, write critical essays, deliver presentations, participate in seminars and engage in sustained conversations with lecturers and peers. These activities require what educators increasingly describe as academic literacy: an understanding not only of language but also of academic conventions, knowledge construction, critical thinking and academic integrity.

A high IELTS or TOEFL score can demonstrate a strong linguistic foundation but it does not necessarily entail possession of these abilities. Nor can language proficiency alone determine how actively a student is likely to participate in academic life, because this crucial element of academic success in many English-medium universities also depends on a range of other factors, such as motivation, confidence, intellectual curiosity and familiarity with classroom interaction.

How, then, can students move from examination success to genuine academic readiness? And how can universities help them do so?

First, in addition to stating their requirements as regards IELTS or TOEFL scores, universities should emphasise that applicants should widen their linguistic preparation for English-medium study beyond practising for the test. They should be encouraged to reorient their learning goals towards intercultural communicative competence, focusing on the clear transmission of ideas, the negotiation of meaning and the building of shared understanding, rather than communicating in native-like form. We should suggest that they seek out exposure to a range of accents and rhetorical styles – through international conference recordings, transnational academic podcasts or structured online exchanges – to heighten their listening flexibility and reduce anxiety about unfamiliar, non-standard varieties of English.

Second, universities should encourage the international students they accept to prepare themselves for study by reading articles in their intended fields, paying attention to how scholars organise arguments and use evidence. A university paper is fundamentally different from a standardised test essay. Academic writing requires a research question, engagement with existing literature, evidence, logical argumentation and well-supported conclusions.

They also need to learn basic citation practices, such as APA, MLA or Chicago, and be made to realise that academic referencing is not merely a matter of formatting: it is part of academic integrity. Universities could offer preparatory classes on this at the beginning of the semester.

Third, students should be encouraged to cultivate deep reading and critical thinking. Rather than simply extracting information from academic texts, as standardised texts generally require, they should ask whether an author’s evidence is sufficient, whether the reasoning is convincing and what perspectives might have been overlooked. Strong thinking can also compensate, to some extent, for limitations in linguistic expression by giving students substantive ideas to contribute to discussions.

As for classroom participation, this should be developed gradually. Students who feel anxious about speaking should be advised to prepare questions before class, contribute to small-group discussions and, eventually, offer brief comments or questions to the entire class.

Of course, enacting all this will require extra time and effort for academics and, especially, students. But an English-speaking ability that is genuinely functional in all circumstances is a valuable life skill to acquire.

Moreover, it is surely much better for everyone if all international students who are admitted to university can expect to succeed without any need for lowered standards, bent rules or recourse to illicit help from essay mills or artificial intelligence?

Carlos Chow is a lecturer at the Centre for Language in Education and manager of the Arthur Samy Language Learning Centre at the Education University of Hong Kong, specialising in global Englishes language teaching.