Lendi Institute of Engineering and Technology (LIET) is a renowned higher education institution based in the suburbs of Vizag and Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India.
With award-winning links to industry, LIET has around 720 graduate students each year and around 800 students taking courses within the English department at any one time.
The students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds, so the faculty at LIET ensures they receive the necessary support to improve their communication skills to prepare students for work placements, with English being a core part of the course syllabus.
Vice Principal and Professor of English at LIET, Dr Hari Babu Thammineni and his team decided to replace their traditional pen-and-paper exams with EnglishScore’s mobile English test, transforming their approach to English assessment.
The challenge
Before using EnglishScore, LIET used internally and externally-created English exams to test listening, reading, speaking and writing.
Dr Thammineni explains that conducting examinations is demanding on teachers’ time.
“I had to prepare students for the test, organise registration and set up the examination environment. Then the exam body conducts the test and it takes a month to return the results.”
The logistical obstacles involved in English assessment, particularly with arranging settings for speaking tests and marking writing tests, also meant they couldn’t guarantee the accuracy and validity of the assessment.
The action
LIET is a college with deep links to industry and a strong record of post-graduate employment.
Dr Thammineni, therefore, wanted a test that would provide students with an internationally respected certificate, which would also reduce the burden of traditional pen-and-paper exams on the faculty.
“English skills are very important in the IT industry. This is why we have a strong ideology for developing workplace communication skills, and English plays a key role in this. It is especially important for those looking to work abroad or for companies with an international client base.”
Dr Thammineni goes on to explain that “recruiters for IT companies will first want to get a picture of the candidate’s communication skills. Then they’ll ask about their technical knowledge. That is why I strongly believe in our communication programme.”
That’s why EnglishScore was made a compulsory test taken as part of the English for Jobseekers course.
The result
“We are incredibly excited to be using EnglishScore because our logistical burden has dropped to nearly zero. The whole process is also much faster. When students take the test, we can review and certify their score in a couple of days,” explains Dr Thammineni.
“Our students are very comfortable with EnglishScore. Being able to take the test when it suits them has provided them with much more flexibility.”
With EnglishScore, LIET no longer needs to create tests or organise room hire, proctoring and marking. Instead, they can accurately test hundreds of incoming students, manage their scores and certify test sittings from their dashboard.
