The fundamental purpose of this study is to investigate the degree of correlation between the receptive and speaking skills by comparing the scores of the TOEIC (the Test of English for International Communication) and the ESPT (the English Speaking Proficiency Test). A recent research (Cunningham: 2002) shows that gaining scores on the TOEIC do not affect much improvement of communication skills. In this study, two instruments were used to collect data: the TOEIC and the ESPT. These two tests were administered to freshmen at one of the universities at Kyungsang Province. On the basis of the TOEIC scores the participants got, they were divided into two groups: intermediate and basic. The results show that the overall correlation coefficient between the TOEIC scores and the ESPT test for all was 0.51. However, the correlation coefficient between these two test scores for the intermediate level was as low as 0.43 and the basic level 0.25. This study implies that interpreting the correlation between receptive and speaking skills should be cautious.

• 김종남(ESPT 창안 및 대표)