TOCC

Test of Oral Communicative Competence (TOCC)

What is the TOCC?

NUS has recently introduced an “Able Communicator Initiative”. The TOCC, which has been highlighted on TODAY and Channel News Asia websites, is part of this initiative.

The objective of the TOCC is to enable NUS students, undergraduate or postgraduate, to assess how well prepared their oral communication skills are for Singapore’s multinational workplace.

The TOCC is a criterion referenced proficiency test of oral communicative competence. This means that as long as a candidate fulfils the basic criteria of communicative competence as defined by the test framework they will be given a score to reflect their proficiency at that point of time.

The TOCC may be used either as a self-diagnostic tool at the start of, or during, a course of study in NUS or as an assessment of achievement in oral communicative competence just before graduation.

Six competencies are examined in the test. These are discrete but work together holistically to make a speaker persuasive and convincing in presentations and discussions.

  • Discourse competence – holistic impression of speaking ability – persuasiveness, articulateness
  • Linguistic competence – fluency and accuracy of language
  • Interactional competence – ability to give feedback or comment on another’s ideas without offending
  • Strategic competence – ability to recover from mistakes, or to think on feet
  • Socio-cultural and formulaic competence – expected courtesies as heard in common expressions

Who can take the TOCC?

  • NUS undergraduates
  • NUS postgraduates
  • NUS executive staff

Organizations may write in to the Director of the Centre for English Language Communication,
Assoc. Professor Wu Siew Mei, if they would like the TOCC to be customized for their staff needs.

What is the TOCC like?

The TOCC

  • is conducted with a group of four candidates.
  • has an oral presentation component where each candidate presents for 5 minutes to the other three candidates, who will listen attentively. Each candidate is given 24 hours (to prepare for the oral presentation)
  • has a 15-20 minute discussion component for all four candidates to express their views on the presentation topic to each other. A group which feels they have had enough discussion time may stop after 15 minutes; a very active group will be stopped at 20 minutes.

Sample Test Prompt

 


5 Minute Presentation

You are a member of the NUSSU executive committee.

NUS would like to start a cultural tie up with a Malaysian University in order to boost understanding of our nearest neighbour. You have been asked to suggest a Malaysian university that has, in your evaluation, a strong Malay studies department. You need to make a presentation to the management of the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) on why you think having a tie up with the university you have chosen would be advantageous for NUS.

15-20 Minute Discussion

Discuss what benefits in terms of academic, cultural and extra-curricular activities there would be in this tie up for NUS students and decide which benefits should be highlighted in the promotional material to encourage students to sign up for the programme.

 

What do you get out of the TOCC?

You will get a report informing you of your performance in two areas. In addition, you will be directed to appropriate courses and workshops to help you further hone your oral communication skills.

Oral Presentation component - tells you how well you

  • express your ideas
  • convey a persuasive message to an audience
  • pitch a message appropriately to a given audience

Discussion component - tells you how well you

  • participate in a discussion
  • express agreement or disagreement
  • offer counter arguments
  • negotiate meaning e.g. clarifying someone else’s point, or re-stating your own point
  • take on a leadership role
  • draw out a more reticent member of the group
  • give constructive suggestions

Workshops

A number of workshops on various aspects of oral communication will be conducted by staff from the Centre for English Language Communication in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Teaching & Learning. These workshops will run from February 2013. They will be accessible via the CELC-CDTL Workshops page of this website (under Programmes).

What do previous takers of the TOCC say?

It is really interesting - I enjoyed it – Ting Zhuo Min Samuel

It stretched our ability in preparing a presentation in such a short time – Law Yun Lin

Nerve wrecking but good – A.P. Pravween Raam

It has given me the necessary experience – Theun Jun Ping

I thought that was a good idea to have this, because it is akin to an assessment centre during recruitment – Emily Low

How can you register for the TOCC?

Please check here in June 2013 for details of how to register for the next TOCC, which will be held in August 2013.