Thursday, October 16, 2008

Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Malaysian University English Test (MUET), first launched in 1999 and administered by Malaysian Examinations Council (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia), is a test to measure candidates’ English language proficiency. MUET is taken by students who intend to pursue their tertiary education at local public universities since it is a mandatory test to gain entry into degree courses offered at all Malaysian public universities. This test is carried out twice a year, in April/May and October/November. Candidates usually register through their academic institutions while private candidates through State Education Departments (Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri), with a registration fee of RM60.

Unlike International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) which are globally accepted as the certification of English language proficiency, MUET is recognized only in Malaysia and Singapore (National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University).

MUET consists of four components: listening, speaking, reading and writing. New test specifications have been introduced officially and will apply from MUET October/November 2008 onwards while old test specifications will still apply for MUET October/November 2007 and April/May 2008. The table below shows the detailed comparison between new and old format of MUET.

TestOld Test SpecificationsNew Test SpecificationsPossible Genres
Listening (800/1)
Duration:
Weighting:
Number of texts:
Number of questions:
Question type:
45 marks

30 minutes
15%
3

15

Four-option multiple-choice
45 marks

30 minutes
15%
5

20

- Information transfer
- Short answer
- Four-option multiple-choice
- Three-option multiple choice
Lecture, briefing, talk, discussion, interview, telephone conversation, announcement, instructions, advertisement, news, meeting, documentary
Speaking (800/2)
Duration:
Weighting:
Number of tasks:
Task format:
45 marks

30 minutes
15%
2

A: Individual presentation
B: Group interaction
45 marks

30 minutes
15%
2

A: Individual presentation
B: Group interaction
Contemporary issues
Reading (800/3)
Duration:
Weighting:
Number of texts:

Number of questions:
Question type:
135 marks

120 minutes
45%
4


50

- Cloze
- Information transfer
- Four-option multiple-choice
120 marks

90 minutes
40%
6 shorter texts (at least one text with graphics)
50

- Three-option multiple-choice
- Four-option multiple-choice
Articles from journals, newspapers and magazines, academic texts, electronic texts
Writing (800/4)
Duration:
Weighting:
Number of questions:
Question type:
75 marks

90 minutes
25%
2

Task 1: Summary of not more than 100 words
Task 2: Extended writing not fewer than 250 words
90 marks

90 minutes
30%
2

Task 1: Interpretation of information based on specific stimuli provided (no less than 150 words)
Task 2: Extended writing based on a given topic (no less than 350 words)
Report, article, letter, essay

Candidates are rated into six bands – band one being the lowest and band six being the highest -- according to their test scores. The total score is 300 and the table below shows MUET band description.

BandAggregated ScoreDescription
6260 - 300Very good user - Very good command of the language. Highly expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate language: hardly any inaccuracies. Very good understanding of language and contexts. Functions extremely well in the language.
5220 - 259Good user - Good command of the language. Expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate language but with minor inaccuracies. Good understanding of language and contexts. Functions well in the language.
4180 - 219Competent user - Satisfactory command of the language. Satisfactory expressive and fluent, appropriate language but with occasional inaccuracies. Satisfactory understanding of language and contexts. Functions satisfactorily in the language.
3140 - 179Modest user - Modest command of the language. Modestly expressive and fluent, appropriate language but with noticeable inaccuracies. Modest understanding of language and contexts. Able to function modestly in the language.
2100 - 139Limited user - Limited command of the language. Lacks expressiveness, fluency and appropriacy: inaccurate use of the language resulting in breakdown in communication. Limited understanding of language and contexts. Limited ability to function in the language.
1Below 100Extremely limited user - Poor command of the language. Unable to use language to express ideas: inaccurate use of the language resulting in frequent breakdowns in communication. Little or poor understanding of language and contexts. Hardly able to function in the language.

Students that have taken MUET are eligible to be enrolled into degree courses offered at local public universities as long as their CGPA for Diploma STPM or Malaysian Matriculation examinations are good enough to fulfil the entry requirement. The difference between all these bands is that students from band 1 and 2 have to take two extra English courses during holidays while band 3 and 4 students take one extra course. Students with band 5 or 6 can skip the extra English course. Some competitive degree courses like medicine and pharmacy, however, require students to get band 5 or 6 in MUET.

1 comment:

  1. Can you please kindly send me sample copy of the new muet paper 2008/9. Mostgrateful if you can. Email add: leekh_brt@yahoo.com Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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