International Test of English Proficiency offers low-cost tests over the internet

As the demand for learning English, the world's lingua franca, stays strong, the market for English testing is also growing.

Perry Akins, an American, ventured into that area five years ago and offered an alternative to students aiming to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English-Language Testing System (IELTS).

"The English test market is getting bigger because the world is getting flatter," says Akins, a former president of ELS Language Centres, one of the largest chains of English-language schools in the world.

After seeing hundreds of thousands of students take lengthy assessment tests, he and his colleagues decided to offer alternatives that could be taken more conveniently and at a lower cost.

The result is the iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency), an exam taken on the internet which assesses students' speaking, writing, listening and reading skills much the same way as TOEFL and IELTS do.

Students register online, and may sit the test three days later. The results are available within five days. The test lasts just 90 minutes and costs HK$767, compared with fees of more than HK$1,000 for IELTS and TOEFL.