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 Benesse Corporation and Berlitz International, Inc. (BI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Benesse based in New Jersey, today announced the launch of the English Communication Assessment Business to market an innovative English proficiency testing program that has been jointly developed by the two companies. The Global Test of English Communication (GTEC) system is an interactive online program that can accurately assess a test taker's reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking abilities within an 80-minute test period, automatically choosing test questions that are appropriate to the test taker's level of English comprehension.

Benesse and Berlitz developed GTEC to meet the growing need for a low-cost testing system to comprehensively evaluate English-language proficiency, as the global economy places a premium on businesspeople who can conduct business in English. GTEC has been designed to evaluate the kinds of English-language skills that are particularly needed for business communication, as well as the more general proficiency required for conducting daily activities. Companies will find GTEC suitable for assessing the English skills of new graduates and mid-career job applicants, as well as a useful tool for selecting employees for overseas assignments and promotions. GTEC can be also used to evaluate the effectiveness of English training courses by measuring improvements in trainees'skills.

An interactive test system that runs on Internet-accessible PCs, GTEC can be accessed at the test taker's convenience at Berlitz Language Centers or future designated test locations. Sales of GTEC started today at Berlitz Language Centers in Japan, where individual registration will cost 9,500 yen, with the rate for current Berlitz students set at 7,500 yen. Benesse and Berlitz plan to market the new assessment program to corporations and universities on a contractual basis, starting in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005 (FY2004). The contractual corporate and university rate has also been set at 7,500 yen per test unit. Total sales of the program are expected to reach 100,000 units in Japan by the end of fiscal 2006.

The marketing potential for GTEC in other countries is currently being studied, with local computer specifications and Internet access environments receiving careful review. Benesse and Berlitz plan to gradually introduce GTEC into countries in Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and North America, beginning in fiscal 2004.

Major features of GTEC
1) Use of global standards to evaluate English proficiency
Development of the GTEC test relied heavily on research data collected from Berlitz schools around the world, giving this measurement tool a global standard of comparison. Berlitz has 125 years' experience in teaching English, and a network of about 500 locations in 60 countries.

2)Comprehensive testing of reading, writing, listening comprehension and speaking abilities
GTEC takes just 80 minutes to complete, making it an efficient and practical test for evaluating the four major language skills: reading, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking. Unlike conventional English tests, no personal interview is required to evaluate conversational skills.

3)A format that provides accurate evaluations in a variety of testing situations
Test questions are delivered over the Internet to PCs at Berlitz Language Centers or designated locations, where test takers submit their answers over the Internet. An individual can take the test alone, while a company or a university can arrange testing sessions for groups of individuals.

GTEC uses computerized adaptive or tailored testing, in which a test taker's response to each question helps determine the next item to be administered. Consequently, each test taker receives a tailored test, whose difficulty level is constructed item-by-item to better measure individual performance. This system enables accurate measurement of English-language abilities based on a relatively small number of test items.

4)Use of most sophisticated testing method increases reliability of results
GTEC has made effective, accurate and reliable measurement possible by applying the latest test analysis theory1 to measure English writing and speaking performance for the first time in the world.2 GTEC results are given as scores on an absolute scale from 0 to 1,000.

Note 1: Like other major English proficiency tests, GTEC uses Item Response Theory (IRT), a set of statistical procedures for analyzing and describing test performance that correlates ability levels to item-by-item performance. GTEC scores are not directly based on the number of correct answers.

Note 2: Benesse has applied for a patent in Japan and plans to apply overseas on this innovative application of IRT to English writing and conversational proficiency.

Overview of GTEC
(1)Test organization: About 30 questions each in reading and listening comprehension sections; 3 items in writing section; and 4 items in speaking sections. Test takers must also complete a registration questionnaire that solicits information about the person's background in English studies and purpose for using English.
(2)Time limit: 80 minutes
(3)Required PC environment: PCs (Windows98 and later versions); headsets; CD-ROM; Internet connection of ADSL 1.5MB or high speed
(4)Results: Score reports are sent to test takers within two weeks (ten business days) of the testing date.