IFTM recently signed an agreement with Smart Education, the official TOEFL and TOEIC representative office in Hong Kong, on 31 August 2023. This partnership marks IFTM’s upgrade to become a designated TOEFL iBT examination centre in Macao and reinforces their commitment to offering comprehensive preparation for test-takers, including preparatory courses.
Referred to as the Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL is one of the most recognised English proficiency tests in the world for learners of English as a foreign language. The majority, if not all, of higher education institutions in the Western world rely on TOEFL results as a benchmark to assess a candidate’s English ability.
Speaking about IFTM’s appointment as the new TOEFL iBT centre in Macao, Dr. Fanny Vong, the institution’s President, emphasised that IFTM will not be a mere test centre. In addition, the institution will use its respected English faculty to assist exam takers by providing preparatory courses.
“A majority of our programmes have English as the medium of instruction, which is very convincing for test takers who want to improve their English standards and cope with the style of the test. We also have a well-established School of Continuing Education, which has long taught courses in English,” Dr. Vong underlined. “With that said, we are not only establishing a centre for members of the public to take the TOEFL test, but will also do our best to support prospective test takers. In fact, we have already concluded a course even before signing the agreement.”
The course was popular and received satisfactory feedback, which is encouraging for IFTM to further offer similar courses in the future.
During the early phase of the new centre’s establishment, a test will be offered each month, which equates to 40 seats. Additional seats may be realised should demand remain on an increasing trajectory. Actually, demand is the prominent reason behind the establishment of the new test centre.
“The new centre at IFTM will not only be opened to students in IFTM or in Macao, but also to students from nearby locations such as Hong Kong SAR or cities in Mainland,” Dr. Vong explained. “There is a centralised platform operated by the TOEFL authority for registration, and all prospective test takers will register on the same platform.”
Dr. Vong expects that demand for the test will continue to rise in Macao. Besides the strong demand from more students considering seeking tertiary education overseas after the resumption of normal travel, IFTM students will also be part of the strong demand. With IFTM’s increased recognition worldwide – ranked 10th globally and the best institution in Asia for tourism and hospitality management – graduates from IFTM will be more appealing to overseas institutions for studying and researching purposes. By doing so, graduates will need to meet the English benchmark set by the respective institutions represented in TOEFL grades. Moreover, students will also be able to identify the areas in which enhancements are needed in terms of English aptitude by obtaining a result in the test.
Mr. Kevin Chan, President of Smart Education, spoke highly about IFTM’s facilities and equipment and is confident about IFTM’s success as a TOEFL iBT Centre. “The campus is nice, with fast and stable Internet access, ample spaces, and a competitive location,” he complimented, adding that IFTM’s location in the heart of Macao will be critical to improving students’ performance at the test as there is less hustle. Mr. Chan also believes that IFTM students will also benefit from the institution being assigned as a test centre.
