Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Guide

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Posted by Chong

Malaysian University English Test (MUET), first launched in 1999 and administered by
Malaysian Examinations Council (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia), is a test to measure candidates’
English language proficiency. MUET is taken by students who intend to pursue their tertiary
education at local public universities since it is a mandatory test to gain entry into degree courses
offered at all Malaysian public universities. This test is carried out twice a year, in April/May
and October/November. Candidates usually register through their academic institutions while
private candidates through State Education Departments (Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri), with a
registration fee of RM60.

Unlike International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a
Foreign Language (TOEFL) which are globally accepted as the certification of English
language proficiency, MUET is recognized only in Malaysia and Singapore (National University
of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University).

MUET consists of four components: listening, speaking, reading and writing. New test
specifications have been introduced officially and will apply from MUET October/November
2008 onwards while old test specifications will still apply for MUET October/November 2007
and April/May 2008. The table below shows the detailed comparison between new and old
format of MUET.

Old Test New Test Possible

Test
Specifications Specifications Genres
Listening 45 marks 45 marks Lecture,
(800/1) briefing, talk,
Duration: 30 minutes 30 minutes discussion,
Weighting: 15% 15% interview,
Number of 3 5 telephone
texts: conversation,
Number of 15 20 announcement,
questions: instructions,
Question Four-option - Information advertisement,
type: multiple-choice transfer news, meeting,
- Short answer documentary
 - Four-option
multiple-choice
- Three-option
multiple choice
Speaking 45 marks 45 marks Contemporary
(800/2) issues
Duration: 30 minutes 30 minutes
Weighting: 15% 15%
Number of 2 2
tasks:
Task A: Individual A: Individual
format: presentation presentation
B: Group B: Group
interaction interaction
Reading 135 marks 120 marks Articles from
(800/3) journals,
Duration: 120 minutes 90 minutes newspapers
Weighting: 45% 40% and
Number of 4 6 shorter texts (at magazines,
texts: least one text with academic
graphics) texts,
Number of 50 50 electronic texts
questions:
Question - Cloze - Three-option
type: - Information multiple-choice
transfer - Four-option
- Four-option multiple-choice
multiple-choice
Writing 75 marks 90 marks Report, article,
(800/4) letter, essay
Duration: 90 minutes 90 minutes
Weighting: 25% 30%
Number of 2 2
questions:
Question Task 1: Task 1:
type: Summary of not Interpretation of
more than 100 information based
words on specific
Task 2: Extended stimuli provided
writing not fewer (no less than 150
than 250 words words)
Task 2: Extended
writing based on
a given topic (no
less than 350
 words)

Candidates are rated into six bands – band one being the lowest and band six being the highest --
according to their test scores. The total score is 300 and the table below shows MUET band
description.
Aggregated
Band Description
Score
Very good user - Very good command of the
language. Highly expressive, fluent, accurate
and appropriate language: hardly any
6 260 - 300
inaccuracies. Very good understanding of
language and contexts. Functions extremely
well in the language.
Good user - Good command of the language.
Expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate
5 220 - 259 language but with minor inaccuracies. Good
understanding of language and contexts.
Functions well in the language.
Competent user - Satisfactory command of
the language. Satisfactory expressive and
fluent, appropriate language but with
4 180 - 219
occasional inaccuracies. Satisfactory
understanding of language and contexts.
Functions satisfactorily in the language.
Modest user - Modest command of the
language. Modestly expressive and fluent,
appropriate language but with noticeable
3 140 - 179
inaccuracies. Modest understanding of
language and contexts. Able to function
modestly in the language.
Limited user - Limited command of the
language. Lacks expressiveness, fluency and
appropriacy: inaccurate use of the language
2 100 - 139 resulting in breakdown in communication.
Limited understanding of language and
contexts. Limited ability to function in the
language.
Extremely limited user - Poor command of
the language. Unable to use language to
express ideas: inaccurate use of the language
1 Below 100 resulting in frequent breakdowns in
communication. Little or poor understanding
of language and contexts. Hardly able to
function in the language.
Students that have taken MUET are eligible to be enrolled into degree courses offered at local
public universities as long as their CGPA for Diploma STPM or Malaysian Matriculation
examinations are good enough to fulfil the entry requirement. The difference between all these
bands is that students from band 1 and 2 have to take two extra English courses during holidays
while band 3 and 4 students take one extra course. Students with band 5 or 6 can skip the extra
English course. Some competitive degree courses like medicine and pharmacy, however, require
students to get band 5 or 6 in MUET.
Scoring Band 6 in MUET on your first try

Wowzio

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I am a Malaysian medical student studying in Russian Federation right now. I am 23 this year. I sat for
STPM and MUET in the year 2004. My interests include playing and watching football, blogging and
programming.

Scoring Band 6 in MUET on your first try

by Manager for Writing Contest 2008

Scoring Band 6 in MUET on your first try is not that hard. Here are some tips on how to do exactly that.

Listening test
This is one of the tests in MUET which you could possibly get a perfect score. You should get a perfect
score here, it is important for you to get a Band 6 because you will lose points in other tests.

Listening does not really indicate your level of English, especially if the speaker is English! So if you do
lose points here, don't worry. Just try not to lose too many points here, practise many times with your
MUET teachers before the actual test, try to listen to as many tapes as you can get your hands on.
During the test, please look to your friends for help if you could not catch the questions or remember
the correct answers. I am not encouraging you to be dishonest, but you could always pay attention to
your friends gestures, read their lips, spot the blink of an eye, the touch of an ear, etc. Having a system
before the actual tests does help.

Speaking test
If you can speak English naturally, please do all you can to convince the examiners that you have a good
command of English during you individual presentation. Otherwise, use short sentences, put forward
your main ideas in simple grammatically correct sentences. Do not just harp on a single point, try a few
points, the positive side and negative side of an issue, etc. to show that you are not a narrow-minded
student.
In the group discussion, you would be able to get a good score if you could lead the discussion. Be
warned though, do not overdo it. Give others the opportunities to speak too. You should be polite, try to
keep the flow of the discussion and help out should any of the fellow students got stuck in mid-sentence
or is stammering. Remember, lead the discussion, keep its flow ("What do you think about this issue?")
but do not be extravagant! Like it or not, this test is subjective and you will most probably not get a
perfect score here.

Reading test
There are not many tips to share in this test, it is similar to Form 5 SPM English exam, just do your best.
There are some tricky questions with similar answers. If you are lucky, you could get a perfect score here
but usually the better students would be able to get near perfect scores, making a few mistakes here
and there.

Writing test
Seriously, I have always told people that the writing test in MUET is even easier than SPM GCE 'O' Level.
In this test, it is important to keep to the rules, follow the recommend length of essays and finish them
in allocated time.

Even if you are a good English user, do not attempt to write beyond the recommended length.
Concentrate instead on presenting your main ideas, this test papers are marked by Malaysian teachers,
so don't bother having too many idioms, figurative meanings, etc.

For students who are not too comfortable with English, this may be one of the tests which you would
tend to lose many points. To avoid that, keep your sentences short, check your grammars, try to
compensate for your lack of flowery language with good ideas, mature arguments and logical
explanations.

To be honest, it is not so easy to score a Band 6 in MUET after all. It is not the perfect test, but it is
indicative of one's command of English, mainly because it includes listening and speaking tests. Good
luck scoring a Band 6 in MUET on your first try, do let me know if my tips are useful.

Labels: MUET, Writing Contest 2008