Thousands of Students Around the World Participate in Inaugural TOEFL® Young Students Series GO English! Project

PRINCETON, New Jersey, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Educational Testing Service (ETS), creator of the TOEFL^® test, received over 400 projects for its TOEFL^® Young Students Series GO English! project — "Our Town. In Our Words." Launched in October 2014, the global campaign was designed to inspire students, under the guidance of their English-language teachers, to practice and improve their English skills in the classroom.

Video - http://youtu.be/gio3DB0NJJM

More than 3,500 students from 23 countries used their English-language skills to share what is great about their towns through video, radio, poster and newspaper column advertisements. Students, under the guidance of their teachers, were encouraged to be creative and use their knowledge of the English language to effectively communicate their messages.

"We're proud of the students and teachers who participated in the TOEFL Young Students Series GO English! project," said David Payne, Vice President and COO of Global Education at ETS. "It's becoming increasingly important for students at younger ages to develop their English-language skills, and the number and quality of the projects submitted show us just how committed these schools are to helping students prepare for the future."

Participating countries include Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. Many of the projects can be viewed online at www.ets.org/toefl/goenglish.

"We'd like to thank ETS for the chance we were given to participate in the project," said Mr. Nainggolan, English teacher for Class VIII-02, Soetomo School in Medan, Indonesia. "We've gained experience, had a lot of fun, and hope that we will get another chance to take part in a project like this in the future."

Participating schools and classes received certificates and a plaque as part of a thank-you kit, as well as English-learning educational and promotional materials to support teachers in the classroom. ETS in-country partners in several countries also hosted ceremonies for participating schools.

The campaign is part of the TOEFL Young Students Series, a natural extension of the ETS TOEFL program, and is specifically geared to the English language learning needs of younger students. It includes the TOEFL^® Primary™ tests, designed for students ages 8+ to set the right foundation for successful development of English-language skills, and the TOEFL Junior^® tests, designed for students ages 11+.

For more information on the project, visit the TOEFL Young Students Series GO English! website at www.ets.org/toefl/goenglish.

About the TOEFL^® Young Students Series 

Designed to set the foundation for the successful development of English-language skills, the TOEFL^® Young Students Series features age-appropriate assessments, products and services — including the TOEFL Junior^® and TOEFL^® Primary™ tests — to help guide younger students to the next steps of learning.

About ETS

At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC^® tests, the GRE ^® tests and The Praxis Series^® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org