Seoul National University’s Language Education Institute has been performing a role as Korea’s leading language proficiency evaluation institute as well as a government-certified language proficiency assessment institute for more than 50 years. The TEPS Center was inaugurated as Department of Language Proficiency Testing in 1979, which was promoted to Language Proficiency Testing Center in 2001 and was separated as an independent center from the Language Proficiency Testing Center in 2011.

The development of TEPS, the TEPS Center’s representative official English proficiency test, began in 1991. Through many years of research, the first regular TEPS was administered in January 1999. In the same year, an English speaking test (TOP) and an English writing test (TWP) were developed and utilized by government agencies and universities as well as in English competitions. Regular administrations of TOP began in 2002. Afterwards, TOP and TWP were developed into TEPS-Speaking & Writing, which has been regularly administered since 2008. Soon after, in September 2009, we began regular administrations of i-TEPS that integrates English listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Recently, TEPS was revised to reflect changes in English use environments and the latest research results in language assessment. The revised TEPS has been administered since May 2018.

1979 Inaugurated as Department of Language Proficiency Testing

1991 Development of TEPS began

1999 Launching administration of regular TEPS; Development of TOP (Test of Oral Proficiency) and TWP (Test of Written Proficiency)

2000 Launching SNULT English Test administration

2001 Promoted to Language Proficiency Testing Center

2002 Launching regular TOP

2003 Launching an English test for initial ambassador applicants of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT); launching regular MOFAT language tests

2008 Launching regular TEPS-Speaking & Writing

2009 Launching regular i-TEPS

2011 Separated as TEPS Center

2014 Development of revised TEPS began

2018 Launching revised TEPS