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Part of
Applied Linguistics in the Middle East and North Africa: Current practices and future directions
Edited by Atta Gebril
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 15] 2017
► pp. 227–247

Chapter 10
A survey of English language proficiency requirements for admission to English-medium universities in Arabic-speaking countries

| The American University in Cairo, Egypt
| The American University in Cairo, Egypt
| Saint Michael’s College

This exploratory study surveyed English-medium universities (EMUs) in the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East and Africa about the English language proficiency assessments used to make decisions about admitting and placing students in English language support programs. Data from 95 EMUs were collected and analyzed, showing great variation in the setting of cut-off scores, as well as the amount of language support offered to students. Further inquiry is needed to explore the specific practices of individual EMUs’ interpretation and use of test scores. The study provides a number of implications and guidelines for language instructors, admission officers, and academic programs in Middle Eastern universities.

Keywords: test use, admissions, placement, English-medium universities, TOEFL, IELTS, cut-off scores
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • English language proficiency assessments in university admissions
    • English proficiency assessments outside English-speaking countries
    • Determining cut-off scores
  • Research questions
  • Method
    • Identification of EMUs
    • Sampling
    • Collection of information about English language proficiency requirements
    • Analysis
  • Results and discussion
  • Implications
  • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 18 July 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.15.10bor
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