Free online course to help students learn English

The Educational Testing Service, administrators of Test of English as a Foreign Language, is to release a massive open online course (MOOC) to help English learners in China better prepare for the test and improve their English.

The course is to be hosted on UMOOCs, a MOOC platform developed by Beijing Waiyan Online Digital Technology Co, part of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

It is the official course platform of China MOOCs for Foreign Studies, the first MOOC platform for foreign language education in China.

The course, called TOEFL Test Preparation: The Insider's Guide, has been developed by experts who create, administer and score the TOEFL test, and includes six modules, each focusing on one section of the TOEFL test and introductory sections, said Srikant Gopal, executive director of TOEFL Program of ETS.

"It is the first official TOEFL preparation course launched in China and more courses can be expected with continued cooperation with Waiyan Online," he said.

Each module takes about one week to complete and ETS will release the MOOC in the coming weeks, he said.

The MOOC will be free and accessible to anyone with a computer, he said.

This course is interactive and uses videos, sample questions and explanations, short quizzes and collaborative discussion boards.

Course participants will also have access to real test materials from past tests, according to ETS.

TOEFL continues to be one of the leading tests for Chinese students who want to study abroad, and the number of students taking the test has increased for ten consecutive years, Gopal said.

China scores ahead of many Asian countries on student performance in the TOEFL test because of government support for English language education, he said.

More than 600,000 Chinese people studied abroad in 2017, up about 11 percent from 2016.

Almost 80 percent, or 480,900 students, returned home after completing their studies, according to the Ministry of Education.