The Minimal English Test: a new method to measure English as a Second Language proficiency

Abstract Maki, Wasada, and Hashimoto developed the Minimal English Test (MET), which is a five-minute English as a Second Language (ESL) test. The Maki Group has, since the development of the MET, investigated correlations between the scores on the MET and the scores on other ESL tests, the reliability of the MET, and what kind of ESL proficiency the MET measures. They found that there were statistically significant, relatively strong correlations between the scores on the MET and the scores on other ESL tests, that the scores on the MET were reliable, and that the MET, which appears to be a listening comprehension test, actually measures both reading and listening proficiency, rather than one or the other of them. The findings in this paper suggest that the MET, a radically time-saving test, can be used as a useful ESL test in ESL research as well as ESL classes.