Acronym | DET |
---|---|
Type | Internet-based standardized test |
Developer / administrator | Duolingo |
Knowledge / skills tested | English proficiency |
Purpose | To assess the English language proficiency of non-native English speakers |
Year started | 2016 |
Duration | 1 hour |
Score / grade range | 10–160 |
Score / grade validity | 2 years |
Countries / regions | International |
Languages | English |
Fee | $59 |
Scores / grades used by | Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, Stanford (Undergraduate Admissions), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Undergraduate Admissions), and around 5,000 other institutions |
Website | englishtest |
The Duolingo English Test (DET) is a standardized test of the English language designed to be internet-based rather than paper-based. DET is an adaptive test that uses an algorithm to adapt the difficulty of the test to the test-taker. [1] [2] [3] It was developed by Duolingo and grew in popularity and acceptance at universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] [5] [6] The test is used by around 5,000 university admissions offices, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Yale. [7] [8] Ireland accepts the test as part of its student visa program. [1] Universities in the United Kingdom, such as the London School of Economics, Imperial College London, Kingston University, the University of Southampton, and Middlesex University, also accept the Duolingo test. [9]
The Duolingo English Test is scored on a scale of 10–160, with scores above 120 considering the test taker to be proficient in English. The test costs less than TOEFL or IELTS.
TOEFL iBT Score (0–100) | IELTS Academic Band (0–9) | Duolingo English Test (10–160) | CEFR |
---|---|---|---|
120 | 8.5–9 | 160 | C2 |
119 | 8 | 155 | |
117–118 | 150 | C1 | |
113–116 | 7.5 | 145 | |
109–112 | 140 | ||
104–108 | 7 | 135 | |
98–103 | 130 | ||
93–97 | 6.5 | 125 | B2 |
87–92 | 120 | ||
82–86 | 6 | 115 | |
76–81 | 110 | ||
70–75 | 105 | ||
65–69 | 5.5 | 100 | |
59–64 | 95 | B1 | |
53–58 | 5 | 90 | |
47–52 | 85 | ||
41–46 | 80 | ||
35–40 | 4.5 | 75 | |
30–34 | 70 | ||
24–29 | 65 | ||
0–23 | 0–4 | 10–60 | A2 – A1 |
Sample: TOEFL iBT data included 328 official score reports and 1,095 self-reported scores. IELTS Academic data included 1,643 official score reports and 4,420 self-reported scores [10] |
Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it is intended to be a universal second language for international communication, or "the international language". Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language, which he published under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. Early adopters of the language liked the name Esperanto and soon used it to describe his language. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes".
Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities and other institutions in over 190 countries and territories. TOEFL is one of several major English-language tests worldwide, including IELTS, Duolingo English Test, Cambridge Assessment English, and Trinity College London exams.
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address.
International English Language Testing System is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP and Cambridge English, and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English-language tests in the world. The IELTS test has two modules: Academic and General Training. IELTS One Skill Retake was introduced in 2023, which allows a test taker to retake any one section of the test.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR, CEF, or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching, and assessing that applies to all languages in Europe.
Malaysian University English Test (MUET) is a test of English language proficiency, largely used for university admissions in Malaysia. The test is set and run by the Malaysian Examinations Council and was established in 1999. MUET is largely recognised in Malaysia and Singapore, with other countries such as United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and Hong Kong.
The Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency, informally Eiken and often called STEP Eiken or the STEP Test, is an English proficiency test conducted by the Eiken Foundation of Japan, a public-interest incorporated foundation. The foundation is backed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
Automatic pronunciation assessment is the use of speech recognition to verify the correctness of pronounced speech, as distinguished from manual assessment by an instructor or proctor. Also called speech verification, pronunciation evaluation, and pronunciation scoring, the main application of this technology is computer-aided pronunciation teaching (CAPT) when combined with computer-aided instruction for computer-assisted language learning (CALL), speech remediation, or accent reduction. Pronunciation assessment does not determine unknown speech but instead, knowing the expected word(s) in advance, it attempts to verify the correctness of the learner's pronunciation and ideally their intelligibility to listeners, sometimes along with often inconsequential prosody such as intonation, pitch, tempo, rhythm, and stress. Pronunciation assessment is also used in reading tutoring, for example in products such as Microsoft Teams and from Amira Learning. Automatic pronunciation assessment can also be used to help diagnose and treat speech disorders such as apraxia.
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy which transfers meaning in production and comprehension.
Luis von Ahn is a Guatemalan entrepreneur, software developer, and consulting professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is known as one of the pioneers of crowdsourcing. He is the founder of the company reCAPTCHA, which was sold to Google in 2009, and the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo.
The Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) is a test developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to measure a non-native speaker's proficiency in spoken English. It is usually taken as a professional certification, especially by graduate teaching assistants and medical professionals in the American college and university system for communication with their students and patients, respectively. It is very similar to the Test of Spoken English (TSE), and is in fact a form of the TSE developed for institutions by using retired forms of the TSE.
The Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies offers a joint degree program at the University of Pennsylvania, combining an MA in international studies from the School of Arts and Sciences with a MBA from The Wharton School or JD from the Law School.
Swedish as a foreign language is studied by about 40,000 people worldwide at the university level and by over one million people on Duolingo. It is taught at over two hundred universities and colleges in 38 countries. Swedish is the Scandinavian language most studied abroad.
Ahn Byong-man was a South Korean academic, and the former President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Seoul National University in 1964 and 1967, and went on to the University of Florida for doctoral studies, graduating in 1973. In 1975 he joined the faculty of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, South Korea. While at this institution he served as the Dean of Student Affairs, Dean of the Graduate School, and in 1994 he was named president. He served in this capacity until 2004.
Language assessment or language testing is a field of study under the umbrella of applied linguistics. Its main focus is the assessment of first, second or other language in the school, college, or university context; assessment of language use in the workplace; and assessment of language in the immigration, citizenship, and asylum contexts. The assessment may include listening, speaking, reading, writing, an integration of two or more of these skills, or other constructs of language ability. Equal weight may be placed on knowledge and proficiency, or greater weight may be given to one aspect or the other.
The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program, or CELPIP, is an English language assessment tool which measures listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. The test is administered by Paragon Testing Enterprises., a subsidiary of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Paragon is the only Canadian company delivering Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) designated English proficiency tests. The CELPIP test is offered in two versions, CELPIP-General, and CELPIP-General LS.
Duolingo, Inc. is an American educational technology company that produces learning apps and provides language certification. Duolingo offers courses on music, math, and 43 languages, ranging from English, French, and Spanish to less commonly studied languages such as Welsh and Irish. Other services include the Duolingo English Test, an online certification program, and Duolingo ABC, a literacy app for children. The company uses a freemium model, with its optional premium service, Super Duolingo, being ad-free and offering more features.
Teaching English as a second (TESL) orforeign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TEFL, TESL, and TESOL distinguish between a class's location and student population, and have become problematic due to their lack of clarity. TEFL refers to English-language programs conducted in countries where English is not the primary language, and may be taught at a language school or by a tutor. For some jobs, the minimum TEFL requirement is a 100-hour course; the 120-hour course is recommended, however, since it may lead to higher-paid teaching positions. TEFL teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.
Computational psychometrics is an interdisciplinary field fusing theory-based psychometrics, learning and cognitive sciences, and data-driven AI-based computational models as applied to large-scale/high-dimensional learning, assessment, biometric, or psychological data. Computational psychometrics is frequently concerned with providing actionable and meaningful feedback to individuals based on measurement and analysis of individual differences as they pertain to specific areas of enquiry.
Alina Anca von Davier is a psychometrician and researcher in computational psychometrics, machine learning, and education. Von Davier is a researcher, innovator, and an executive leader with over 20 years of experience in EdTech and in the assessment industry. She is the Chief of Assessment at Duolingo, where she leads the Duolingo English Test research and development area. She is also the Founder and CEO of EdAstra Tech, a service-oriented EdTech company. In 2022, she joined the University of Oxford as an Honorary Research Fellow, and Carnegie Mellon University as a Senior Research Fellow.