Dr Feng Yu is the Executive Director of TOEIC Global Program Management and Global Partnership Management at ETS, a worldwide leader in education assessment and research. Dr Yu has spearheaded launches of several new assessments and teaching and learning tools over the last 14 years. He has also made significant contributions to several research studies on language assessment and learning, the results of which he has presented during various industry professional and end-user conferences. Research led by Dr Yu has bolstered the strong case for English as an effective tool in talent management.
“96% of Indian HR leaders give priority to English-language skills and consider them to be very important to their organizations.”
The modern world is more connected than ever, and the widespread availability of technology makes communication across borders and territories much easier. As international communication becomes standardized, a common mode of communication has gained prominence: English has become the ‘language of business.’
Studies suggest that there are only 360 million native English speakers globally, but approximately 1.5 billion people around the world who can speak English which further emphasizes the importance of the language today.
During this challenging time, now more than ever, there is an emphasis on English-language communication skills as a global unifier for companies shifting to telework and striving to become more agile. India is a worldwide service provider, and the need to quickly and more reliably assess English-language communication skills in the workforce is vital to meeting business outcomes.
A recently released report by the TOEIC (The Test of English for International Communication) program, “English Communication Skills for the Modern Economy: The Value of Quality Data to Support Talent Decisions,” shares the results of a study by 800 HR managers from global companies which includes data specific to the Indian market. The report shows that a whopping 85% of global hiring professionals, including HR managers in India, feel that communication skills in English have become increasingly important to them in the last few years.
Strong English-language communicators have emerged as essential to nurturing global relationships and ultimately empowering business. 70% of Indian HR respondents believe that employees with a high level of English-language proficiency can communicate effectively with their company offices around the world. Besides, 72% of Indian HR professionals believe that establishing a more direct linkage between English language proficiency and tangible benefits is important while being considered for promotions and advancement (versus 49% globally).
Out of the global cohort, the majority (94%) agree that English-language skills play a vital role in their ability to secure new business opportunities and compete in the modern global economy. This sentiment is strongly echoed by a majority of the survey’s Indian HR managers, with (80%) of HR managers across manufacturing, telecom and professional services organizations supporting the importance of the language to succeed in a global economy.
Indian human resources leaders are now focusing on developing a culture of English proficiency within their organizations. While choosing suitable candidates for job roles, they are focused on minimizing decision-making errors and need a reliable tool to measure English-language communication skills. This is where The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC program) comes in.
TOEIC is a globally accepted and credible tool that accurately assesses an employee’s ability to communicate and perform work-related challenges effectively in English. That’s because TOEIC assessments focus on evaluating proficiencies in all four of the major English-language communication skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The tests, which are scientifically designed, task-based and data-driven, allow a job candidate or an employee to demonstrate that they have the level of English-language communication skills necessary to succeed in today’s global workplace.
With the loss of employment considered as a severe and immediate impact of COVID-19 and the growing need of English language proficiency for employability, TOEIC may serve as a key differentiator in employee retention, employability and service delivery.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating thereof! It is no wonder then that the TOEIC scores are trusted by companies around the globe and help businesses make important daily decisions, such as recruitment, job assignment, training and more.
More about Dr Feng Yu
Before his work in the Global Division, Dr Yu was a Senior Research Scientist in the Research and Development Division (R&D) at ETS. During his time in R&D, Dr Yu was heavily involved in the research and management of many new assessment designs and psychometric modelling, as well as the implementation of numerous high-stakes exams. Dr Yu has also taught graduate-level courses in psychometric modelling. Dr Yu received a PhD in statistics and psychometrics from the University of Delaware, and an MBA from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA.