How universities can ensure spoken English excellence during placement

The placement success metric associated with colleges and universities is the key to attracting talented and skilled students. Most students assess the promise of placement before applying for different courses in colleges and universities.

Therefore, talent and placement officers (TPOs) are expected to offer relevant training during placement to improve hiring numbers. It helps young talent seek favorable positions in top companies, enhancing the institution’s placement success.

Spoken English language skills are necessary to appropriately communicate and offer solutions to questions asked by recruiters. Hence, TPOs focus on improving final-year students’ spoken English language skills using English placement tests. It enhances students’ confidence during the interview, helps them express their answers without hesitation, and understand the interviewer’s point of view.

During campus placement drives, interviewers evaluate candidates based on their English speech nuances. The way candidates answer, their pronunciation, grammar, listening skills, and fluency contribute to their ability to impress the interviewer.

Five tips that can help TPOs improve students’ spoken English skills using English placement tests are:

1. Focus on main components

Focusing on main components, such as grammar and pronunciation, naturally improves students’ English-speaking skills and helps instill confidence. Utilize the following English tests for placement success:

TPOs should support students in improving their vocabulary and grammar regularly. This involves:

• Practicing grammar rules, such as tenses, verbs, nouns, and pronouns, to correctly frame sentences in different tenses.
• Practicing basic vocabulary related to their field improves language. For example, engineers can use appropriate vocabulary and terms to highlight their knowledge.

Pronunciation helps speak words in the right way. If students speak words incorrectly in front of interviewers, it may invoke unknown bias. Proper pronunciation impresses the interviewer and increases the chances of securing a job role.

• Students should practice common short and long ‘I’ sounds.
• Students should practice stressing words correctly to change their meaning in different sentences.

2. Arrange mock interviews

TPOs can consider investing in mock interviews or assessment tools. Using such tools instills confidence and provides additional support to students.

3. Organize podcast sessions

Organizing podcast sessions allow students to evaluate how the English language is utilized. Listening helps catch correct pronunciation, language tone, and usage.

For example, podcasts on feminism, earning online, current affairs or other subjects may invoke students’ interest. Listening to English content clears doubts about words, their enunciation and sentence usage. While reading and learning may only deliver documented knowledge, listening provides practical and hands-on knowledge.

4. Prepare for technical rounds

Spoken English skills are not only about learning the language but also about technical knowledge. When students don’t have the technical knowledge and don’t know the precise details, they lack confidence, which automatically impacts their tone and voice clarity. However, knowing they are moving in the right direction during the interview improves their presentation, the way they speak, and even the clarity of their voice. This increases their efficiency in the pre-employment English test.

5. Encourage reading

Enhancing grasp of the English language is a collective effort involving reading, learning, speaking, and listening. Therefore, students should read books, newspapers, and research papers to improve their spoken English skills. Students can understand common errors they make related to tenses, prepositions, and vocabulary and explore how words that sound positive in some references may turn negative in others. Reading helps clarify these doubts, improving spoken English skills.

Mercer | Mettl’s SpeechX is an AI-based tool to assess candidates’ English proficiency, speech, pronunciation, and grammar. Its smart functioning assesses candidates accurately and prevents cheating during evaluation. SpeechX is Mercer | Mettl’s patented technology for speech assessments, which offers automated evaluation and real-time reports.

Universities and colleges can use SpeechX English tests to help students prepare for placements. Its spoken English evaluation and real-time reports help students find common errors in their speech and make improvements. Continuous practice using spoken English assessments increases the chances of placement in top companies.

Spoken English is imperative to communicate confidently with interviewers during campus drives. It helps express ideas and solutions without errors and improves the first impression. As a result, proficiency in spoken English increases the chances of placement during recruitment drives. Colleges and universities can utilize spoken English placement tests, such as SpeechX, to prepare students for interview rounds of recruitment drives.