TSE

The Test of Spoken English (TSE), the most widely used assessment of spoken English worldwide, measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to communicate effectively. The test is used for employment, graduate assistantships, licensure, and certification purposes.

REQUIREMENTS

Testing within your country of citizenship

You must present one of the following identification documents. The document must be valid, and contain a recent, recognizable photograph and your signature.

Acceptable identification documents

• Passport
• Driver's license
• National identification card
• Military identification card
• State identification card

If none of your documents from the above list contains both a photo and a signature, you must present a second document from the secondary identification list below. One of the documents must contain a recent recognizable photo and one must contain your signature. (You may choose to sign the document in order to meet the requirements).

Acceptable secondary identification documents

• Passport
• Driver's license
• National identification card
• Military identification card
• Student ID
• Confirmation of identity letter
• State identification card

APPLICATION STEPS

There are two ways to register for the Test of Spoken English™ (TSE®).

1. Online registration: To register online, you will need a valid American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, or Visa credit card. Online registration is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. Mail registration: To register by mail, you must order a print version of the TSE Bulletin and complete the scannable registration form.
   • Be sure to register early as some test centers fill up very quickly. You cannot register by personal letter, telephone, fax, cable, or e-mail. When you register, be sure that the spelling of your name matches the name printed on the identification document(s) you will present at the test center. If this information does not match, you will not be permitted to take the test and your test fee will be forfeited.
   • Select a test date for which you are sure you will be available. Once you mail your TSE registration form, you may NOT cancel your registration or request that your test date be changed.
   • You may take the TSE test only once on a scheduled test date. If you test more than once on a scheduled test date, only your first session will be reported and test fees for any additional sessions will be forfeited. Violation of this policy may result in additional action being taken.

EXAM FEES

TSE® Testing and Service Fees

As of July 1, 2005
Test of Spoken English	US$125
Additional Score Report Requests	US$17 (per recipient)
TSE Rescoring Request	US$50
Fee for Returned Check or Money Order	US$20

Preferred Forms of Payment

• Credit card - American Express®, Discover®, JCB®, MasterCard®, or VISA®
• Money order
• International money order
• Authorization voucher
• Bank draft (internationally)
• UNESCO coupons (internationally)
• Western Union® Quick Paysm—when completing the form, use the following under “Pay To:” Company Name: Educational Testing Service; Company Code: TOEFLPROGRAM NJ; Country: U.S.A.

Payment Policies
All test payments must be:

• made in full and dated within 90 days of the date of receipt at ETS
• have the correct numeric and written dollar amount
• have appropriate signature(s)
• dated correctly, post-dated checks will not be accepted.
• bank drafts, money orders, checks, and Eurochecks in U.S. dollars must be drawn on a bank in the U.S.
• the bank name and its address should be preprinted on the face of the check
• checks in Canadian dollars must be drawn on a bank in Canada at the prevailing rate of the U.S. dollar plus GST/HST and QST (if applicable).

The following guidelines also apply:

By sending your check, be aware that you are authorizing ETS at its discretion to use the information on your check to make a one-time electronic debit from your account for the amount of your check; no additional amount will be added. If you do not have sufficient funds in your account, an additional service fee of $20.00 will be debited electronically from your account. NOTE: This process applies to domestic checks only (in USD).

EXAM SCHEDULES

Philippines	Dec. 9, 2005	Mar. 10, 2006	Jun. 2, 2006
L315 — Bacolod City	x	x	x
L396 — Baguio City	x	x	x
L313 — Cagayan de Oro	x	x	x
Cebu City:
L304 — HA Cervantes Knowledge Systems	x	x	x
L302 — Training Education Development	x	x	x
L352 — Cotabato	x	x	x
L318 — Davao City	x	x	x
L331 — Iligan City	x	x	x
L329 — Iloilo City	x	x	x
L351 — Los Banos	x	x	x
L349 — Makati City	x	x	x
L346 — Manila	x	x	x
L350 — Pasay City	x	x	x
L345 — Pasig City	x	x	x
L361 — San Fernando	x	x	x

*Source: www.ets.org/tse

PASSING THE EXAM

Under the Standards set forth in section 212(a)(5)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (also known as section 343), immigrant health care workers must demonstrate competence in oral and written English as shown by an appropriate score on one or more nationally recognized, commercially available, standardized assessments of English language proficiency. The two testing services approved to provide this testing are the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the English Language Institute(ELI). Foreign-educated nurses applying to the VisaScreen program must take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Test of Written English (TWE) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE) provided by ETS or the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery(MELAB) provided by ELI. As of October 14, 1998 the following passing scores must be achieved by nurses:

In a letter dated January 23, 2003, to the INS, the HHS and State Department proposed to accept the English language exams offered by the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) and the Test of English in International Communications (TOEIC) to satisfy the VisaScreen requirement. The CGFNS will start accepting the new examinations, both of which have been approved by the HHS, by February 24, 2003.

Test	Passing Score
TOEFL/TWE	540/4.0
TSE	50
TOEIC; must include TWE and TSE	725
IELTS	6.5 overall with a spoken band score of 7.0

From http://www.cgfns.org/ICHP/vsenglish.htm

OTHERS

Test Center Procedures and Regulations

The same procedures are followed at every test center to make sure that everyone has equal testing time and that the operation of the center meets criteria for standardized testing. The success of the test administration depends on your cooperation.

• You will be assigned a seat by the test center staff. You may not select your own seat.
• There is no rest break during the TSE test. If you leave the room for any reason, you will not be allowed to finish the test.

You may take the TSE test only once on a scheduled test date. If you test more than once on a date, only your first session will be reported and you will forfeit test fees for any additional sessions. Violation of this policy may result in additional action being taken.

ETS reserves the right to take all action including, but not limited to, barring you from future testing and/or canceling your score for failure to comply with the test administration regulations or the test administrator's directions. If your score is canceled, it will not be reported, and your test fee will not be refunded.

Any of the above actions may be taken if a test taker:

• Attempts to remove test content from the test center
• Attempts to take the test for someone else
• Gives or receives assistance during the test
• Fails to follow directions given by the test center supervisor
• Communicates with anyone about the content of the TSE test while the test session is in progress
• Takes any unauthorized materials into the test center
• Creates a disturbance or behaves inappropriately
• Leaves the testing room without permission
• Uses a cell phone or any electronic or photographic device during the test session
• Fails to provide acceptable identification

Source: www.ets.org/tse