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 There are great numbers of tests that are developed in order to examine the abilities of non-English speakers to use the English language. One of these tests, which puts an emphasis on using English in everyday working activities is Test of English for International Communication or TOEIC.

The test itself evaluates the listening and reading abilities of the candidates, lasts for two hours, consist of 200 questions, and the total score of the test is between 10 and 990 points, where half of them are awarded for reading comprehension and half for listening comprehension. The candidates, who pass the test are given a certificate in one of five possible colors - orange, brown, green, blue, or gold. The orange certificate indicates that between 10 and 215 points have been scored, while the gold certificate indicates that between 860 and 990 points have been scored.

Even though the idea for this particular test originated back in the 70s of the previous century, its last version, which includes speaking and writing sections, was introduced in 2006. For the listening section, speakers are hired from Britain, North America, Australia, and New Zealand and the candidate could choose to take only the Speaking part. This adaptation of TOEIC is rewarded between zero and two hundred points, and eight levels are used to group the candidates according to their speaking and reading abilities. Some organizations and institutions have adopted and extended the TOEIC to include sections that they deem important for their prospect candidates.

The TOEIC test is extremely popular in Japan and close to 1.5 million Japanese men and women are taking it annually - there, the test could be taken in two possible ways. The candidate could take the test at a test center at an announced date, or at one of the various organizations that administer the test, however, this is also done in accordance with the recommendations of a Steering Committee.