‘Women participation in STEM is improving in India’: TOEFL Global Head

Q: Why should students opt for TOEFL, and not other English proficiency tests which are cheaper and considered easier?

Omar Chihane: If you survey any student who is aspiring to study abroad, they are not just looking at one country. Statistics say that, on average, a student applies 10 times, which means the student might be filling out 10 application forms, which can be in different countries. While the admission process can be different and students may have to fill out different forms, you should have one English proficiency test that is accepted in all major countries.

TOEFL is accepted in over 13,000 institutes and more than 40 million people have taken the test across the world. The score is accepted by the universities in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada​.

Moreover, TOEFL is now approved by the IRCC for use in Canada’s Student Direct Stream (SDS), an expedited study permit processing program for international students from 14 countries, including India, who plan to enroll in one of Canada’s postsecondary designated learning institutions.

As per a recent survey by ETS, 98 per cent of English-language teachers agree that preparing students for the TOEFL iBT test also prepares them to do well in real-world academic settings. Additionally, 90 per cent of TOEFL takers surveyed got into their first or second choice university.

Q: …but now with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in play, is there any possibility that the TOEFL fee can see a reduction?

Omar Chihane: We invest heavily in important aspects of test conduction such as test centres, security, ensuring test scores are legit, and we are making investments in people on the ground to go speak to universities, and more. There’s a lot of investment that comes with what we’re doing right now. This investment is to ensure that our test results are correct and nobody can question the integrity of TOEFL scores.

All this investment takes a lot of resources. One needs to understand that this test cannot be looked at in isolation, and all of this has to be seen collectively as this cost is for running the programme A to Z. We are a private non-profit organisation, so we are not driven by profits, but by impact, access, and quality.

Q: Has there been an increase in the number of test takers from tier 2 or 3 cities?

Omar Chihane: Over the past three years, TOEFL test takers are less likely to be from major cities of Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and New Delhi. They are more often from other cities, such as, Guntur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Khamam, and Prakasam. 

Access is a major driver for ETS and we aim to establish more test centres, mobile test centres and spread more awareness. Additionally, we’re providing scholarships. Currently, there are scholarships and contest worth Rs 15 lakh, which includes UK-specific, GRE-specific scholarships, and more — and all of these are merit based.

Q: While there has been progress in bringing more access to tier 2 and 3 cities, participation of women test takers has seen a decline in India. Why do you think this happened?

Omar Chihane: India is largely a graduate market and the number of women TOEFL test takers reflects the participation of women in STEM in India.

While the female participation in STEM is improving in India, it is still new and therefore they are less on number. Some of the top courses opted by Indians heading for a study abroad degree are Computing and Information Technology, Engineering and Technology etc. So, if there is 30 per cent participation of women in STEM, how can one expect 50 per cent participation of women in TOEFL.

However, we want to provide better access to the students so that the number of women taking TOEFL can increase, and Indians can also hopefully match up the 60:40 global ratio.

Q: India has a huge market of coaching centres for English proficiency tests. Do you think Indians — who are taught English in schools from kindergarten till high school — need the help of a coaching class to crack this English proficiency exam?

Omar Chihane: If you want to get off a couch and run a marathon without practicing, you are probably going to have a worse time than if you practice for that marathon before you run. Even though I am a native English speaker, I am bound to perform better on the test if I practice before attempting the test. I think practice is always important. Additionally, while Indians are proficient in English, the range of language competency can be very different in different parts of the country. While test-takers from tier 1 cities may not need coaching, test-takers from tier 2 and 3 cities may benefit from in-person classes.

While we have a lot of resources available online, some people benefit more from offline classes. ETS cannot open offline classes everywhere so we are training over 2000 teachers who can train in their respective regions across the country, providing the preparation resources. Additionally, we launched a TOEFL TestReady portal that enables students to be better prepared for the test, and as per our survey, on average, students that have used the platform have scored five points higher on a TOEFL test than others.

From our side, we are investing heavily in our test prep. In this trip to India, we have launched a ‘TOEFL iBT Beginner’s Guide’ for Indian students. This hard-bound version has all the basics that one needs to prepare for while appearing for TOEFL.