TO THE EDITOR:
The March 1, 2016 article titled "English proficiency exam may not reflect abilities" neglects a significant amount of information about the initial assessment and placement of international students using English as a second language, and about the support that is available to students throughout their academic careers.
For the past two years, the Miami University ESL Composition program has administered its own in-house placement test for students arriving at the university whose Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores meet the requirements for full admission. The TOEFL is used only for preliminary placement. The test used by the ESL Composition program is designed and regularly updated by our own faculty, with important contributions from faculty in the American Culture and English (ACE) program. The test is administered during orientation with the invaluable support of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS).
Based on the results, students may be placed at the same level indicated by their TOEFL scores, or they may be moved to a higher or lower level. Our test is the product of years of discussions about the shortcomings of the TOEFL, and we have found that its results are a more reliable predictor of student performance in ESL Composition courses (English 108 and 109) and in other first-year writing courses.
Outside of ESL Composition and ACE, students have several important resources that they can draw on throughout their years at Miami. The Department of English offers Writing Studios (ENG 104 and 105) that are open to all undergraduates, and that work with students on writing assignments from all majors.
Like all students, international/second language students can also schedule consultations at any Howe Writing Center location on campus. Howe has been one of our most important partners, and consultants are prepared to work with language learners on a wide array of writing issues in any project. ACE also offers two courses that students can enroll in at any time for extra assistance, ACE 212 and ACE 310G. For verbal English development, ISSS offers the Global Buddies program, in which international and domestic students partner for conversations.
Anthony Cimasko
Lecturer, Department of English,
ESL Composition