The Language Training and Testing Centre in Taiwan in conjunction with the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance used BULATS in a study to broaden its understanding of the levels of English language proficiency among banking professionals in Taiwan.
Referenced to the ALTE and CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) frameworks, the results of the study should assist teachers in schools and other educational institutions in designing curricula and teaching syllabuses and in goal setting.
The BULATS standard test was administered to 200 candidates from Northern Taiwan and 70 candidates from Central and Southern Taiwan. Two post-test questionnaires adopted from the BULATS Benchmarking Project, the Use of Target Language and the Can Do questionnaires, were used.
The results revealed differences in the language levels between the territory groups and also in the various job ranking groups. Those in more senior positions were found to be more proficient, from which it is deduced that English language proficiency is essential to career progression.
The results also indicated differences between job category and language proficiency. Candidates working in consumer banking and wealth management were found to have lower levels of language proficiency than those in job categories such as corporate banking, financial products or back office.
‘The reason for this,’ says Mickey Bonin, Regional Development Manager, East Asia, ‘is that staff working in consumer banking and wealth management mostly deal with domestic clients, and consequently required less English language for their work.’
These findings indicate that banking and financial institutions, when setting requirements for English language proficiency, need to consider the appropriate standards of English language for the different job categories.