Test of English Language Proficiency (TELP)
Fees:
The TELP fee is $40 and is payable to OSU-Tulsa. Students may pay this fee in North Hall 103 when they arrive to take their exam.
The fee must be paid by cash, check, cashier’s check, or money order.
Registration:
We prefer that students register at least the day before the exam is scheduled for administration, but if they are unable to do so, they may register when they come to take the exam. Students will need to arrive at least 20 minutes early for registration in North Hall 103.
Required Identification:
Students must present a current passport at the time of registration. There are no exceptions to this form of identification.
Administration:
The TELP exam will be given on specified dates before Spring and Fall semesters. Contact Testing Services for upcoming dates. Students should go to North Hall 103 to check in, and they will be directed to the testing room at that time. The test results should be known approximately five days after the exam has been taken. Students will need to contact Testing Services to make sure their scores have arrived and to pick them up.
Make-up Examinations:
For students not on campus for the original test date, two alternate make-up test dates will be provided. Registration and the make-up test will be given in North Hall 103. Students may register up to 20 minutes prior to the beginning of the test. Students taking the make-up exam will be required to register for and attend English 0003 until the test results are available.
Description:
The Test of English Language Proficiency (TELP) assesses the academic English skills necessary for students to function well in graduate-level university classes. It has two parts: a listening subtest and a reading-writing subtest.
Part 1: Listening Subtest
The Listening Subtest requires you to listen to a tape-recorded passage on an academic topic and to write word-for-word what the speaker says. You will have 20 minutes to complete this section.
Your responses will be graded on your ability to write down correctly the content of the passage. You should listen carefully and be sure to write the exact words in the specific grammatical forms in which they are spoken.
Part 2: Reading-Writing Subtest
The Reading-Writing Subtest requires you to read two passages and to write a brief summary of specific parts of each passage. You will have 50 minutes to complete this task.
The passages discuss different academic topics and are written in the style of an academic publication. Each passage is approximately 600 to 650 words in length and may include a related table or figure. Your task is to read each passage and then write a summary of the specific parts of the passage relevant to the question that follows it. In order to complete the task efficiently, you should follow these steps:
- Read the passage once through quickly for general understanding.
- Read the question following the passage.
- Read the passage again, focusing on the parts that are relevant to the question.
- Write the summary, focusing on the most important information.
Make sure your summary addresses the question specifically and does not include information from the passage that is not related to the question.
Your summary should:
- be between 50 and 100 words.
- show a general understanding of the passage.
- include only the most important ideas from the parts of the passage needed to answer the question.
- omit unnecessary detail.
- omit general information from the passage that is not related to the question.
It is very important that your summary be written in YOUR OWN WORDS. Do NOT copy phrases or sentences directly from the passage.
Scoring Information:
The maximum score on each subtest is 100 points. A score of 70 or higher on each subtest is required to demonstrate academic English proficiency. Students who have a score below 70 on either subtest are required to enroll in an English course (ENGL 0003), which is designed to help improve their academic English proficiency. This is a university policy; see the OSU Catalog for details.
