Malaysian University English Test (MUET), first launched in 1999 and administered by Malaysian Examinations Council (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia), is a test to measure candidates’ English language proficiency. MUET is taken by students who intend to pursue their tertiary education at local public universities since it is a mandatory test to gain entry into degree courses offered at all Malaysian public universities. This test is carried out twice a year, in April/May and October/November. Candidates usually register through their academic institutions while private candidates through State Education Departments (Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri), with a registration fee of RM60.
Unlike International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) which are globally accepted as the certification of English language proficiency, MUET is recognized only in Malaysia and Singapore (National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University).
MUET consists of four components: listening, speaking, reading and writing. New test specifications have been introduced officially and will apply from MUET October/November 2008 onwards while old test specifications will still apply for MUET October/November 2007 and April/May 2008. The table below shows the detailed comparison between new and old format of MUET.
| Test | Old Test Specifications | New Test Specifications | Possible Genres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening (800/1) Duration: Weighting: Number of texts: Number of questions: Question type: | 45 marks 30 minutes 15% 3 15 Four-option multiple-choice | 45 marks 30 minutes 15% 5 20 - Information transfer - Short answer - Four-option multiple-choice - Three-option multiple choice | Lecture, briefing, talk, discussion, interview, telephone conversation, announcement, instructions, advertisement, news, meeting, documentary |
| Speaking (800/2) Duration: Weighting: Number of tasks: Task format: | 45 marks 30 minutes 15% 2 A: Individual presentation B: Group interaction | 45 marks 30 minutes 15% 2 A: Individual presentation B: Group interaction | Contemporary issues |
| Reading (800/3) Duration: Weighting: Number of texts: Number of questions: Question type: | 135 marks 120 minutes 45% 4 50 - Cloze - Information transfer - Four-option multiple-choice | 120 marks 90 minutes 40% 6 shorter texts (at least one text with graphics) 50 - Three-option multiple-choice - Four-option multiple-choice | Articles from journals, newspapers and magazines, academic texts, electronic texts |
| Writing (800/4) Duration: Weighting: Number of questions: Question type: | 75 marks 90 minutes 25% 2 Task 1: Summary of not more than 100 words Task 2: Extended writing not fewer than 250 words | 90 marks 90 minutes 30% 2 Task 1: Interpretation of information based on specific stimuli provided (no less than 150 words) Task 2: Extended writing based on a given topic (no less than 350 words) | Report, article, letter, essay |
Candidates are rated into six bands – band one being the lowest and band six being the highest -- according to their test scores. The total score is 300 and the table below shows MUET band description.
| Band | Aggregated Score | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 260 - 300 | Very good user - Very good command of the language. Highly expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate language: hardly any inaccuracies. Very good understanding of language and contexts. Functions extremely well in the language. |
| 5 | 220 - 259 | Good user - Good command of the language. Expressive, fluent, accurate and appropriate language but with minor inaccuracies. Good understanding of language and contexts. Functions well in the language. |
| 4 | 180 - 219 | Competent user - Satisfactory command of the language. Satisfactory expressive and fluent, appropriate language but with occasional inaccuracies. Satisfactory understanding of language and contexts. Functions satisfactorily in the language. |
| 3 | 140 - 179 | Modest user - Modest command of the language. Modestly expressive and fluent, appropriate language but with noticeable inaccuracies. Modest understanding of language and contexts. Able to function modestly in the language. |
| 2 | 100 - 139 | Limited user - Limited command of the language. Lacks expressiveness, fluency and appropriacy: inaccurate use of the language resulting in breakdown in communication. Limited understanding of language and contexts. Limited ability to function in the language. |
| 1 | Below 100 | Extremely limited user - Poor command of the language. Unable to use language to express ideas: inaccurate use of the language resulting in frequent breakdowns in communication. Little or poor understanding of language and contexts. Hardly able to function in the language. |
Students that have taken MUET are eligible to be enrolled into degree courses offered at local public universities as long as their CGPA for Diploma STPM or Malaysian Matriculation examinations are good enough to fulfil the entry requirement. The difference between all these bands is that students from band 1 and 2 have to take two extra English courses during holidays while band 3 and 4 students take one extra course. Students with band 5 or 6 can skip the extra English course. Some competitive degree courses like medicine and pharmacy, however, require students to get band 5 or 6 in MUET.
Online Resources for MUET
MUET Tips by Melanie, MUET Listening Tips, MUET Speaking Tips, MUET Reading Tips and MUET Writing Tips
Recommended: Free MUET Tips & 10 Reasons Why You Should Buy This MUET Guide (Panduan MUET) written by MUET teacher & examiner at RM30! Liked this post? Subscribe now to read more post like this one! Tweet
51 Comments
i just want to ask...i matriculation's student...i got band 2 in muet 2008...if i repeat muet as calon persendirian 2009...how bout the result that i'v obtain from muet 2008? is it might be effect for my courses that iv been chosen before?
ReplyDeletenow the format have change...the percentage of reading and writing are same which are carry 30% respectively^^
ReplyDeletei'll be matriculation's students soon and i really worry with my english..im not really good in english..~speaking,writing.really bad for me..n how can i handle this?? i really want pass n get a good band for my MUET..please help me guys..
ReplyDeletehye...i have lost ma MUET certificate ...how is possible for me to get back ma certificate....i really hope somebody will help me out...i'm really grateful for your kindness..thank you.
ReplyDeleteHey I would like to confirm one thing...
ReplyDeleteIs it true students who are doing locally need to take MUET, or else we can't graduate?! Currently, I'm in Year 1 Semester 2, and I only took IELTS but not MUET, so what I heard was I must take MUET or else there will be a no graduation ceremony for me...
i am now studying on a particular degree..i already taken MUET 2004..but the question here is how long the validity of MUET..what should i do? it is i have to renew my muet..pliz clear me.
ReplyDeletei am pre law student of uitm kuantan pahg...i really afraid bout my future muet..if i want 2 pursue my study,i need 2 get band 4 for muet...what preparation should i do now 2 pass wif flying colours??
ReplyDelete5 year
Deletei really worry with my english..im not good in english.. especially in speaking and writing. My grammar really poor.
ReplyDeleteEven thought i thankful to GOD coz my last exam i got 4B in English subject.
But, can u tell where can i find sample witing for MUET coz i will take muet examination this octorber.
Please help me mr/miss ....*beg*
what i must to do? i am taking STPM for MUET.. there is something i don't really get understand..about MUET assignment..
ReplyDeletei even don't know how to started the introduction~
help me!
i had taken already for my MUET in MID-Year 2009 but i did not achieved any band..i got "X" at my slip result and what suppose it means?Previously..i had not been seated for MUET exam in part of "Speaking" and yet i'll rather confused..is it that i have failed..?But now in process i have to take back for my MUET and will be seated on this October for speaking.Now, i'm just self-study for preparation taking MUET exam that will be running on October..started with "Speaking" papers.So my question is, what a minimum band should i obtain that qualify a person to enroll at local university?i have intended to continue my study at local university next year..i hope.Because i had reads so many times admission on local university, it says the student should has a muet at least band 1.Now, i'm just waiting for my diploma convocation but has been postponed for H1N1 disease.I am taking diploma in engineering..and many of my friends and colleague talked that for engineering courses, the person should obtained at least band 3 because a lot of references in university mostly in english..i'm not denying about it.so..plzz help me!
ReplyDeletei have lost my MUET certificate..how ia possible for me to get back the Muet certificate slip
ReplyDeleteai...sad ! i will take muet next month.it is my 3rd time to take tis exam... last time i jz miss 4 marks to get band3... plsss... help me !!!
ReplyDeleteactually,I'm looking for statistics about past years MUET listening results(like how many students manage to get band 6 in listening)...can anyone upload some of it?
ReplyDeleteHow can I sit for muet exam. Any class before the exam at malacca?
ReplyDeletei am a matriculation student..
ReplyDeletei only get band 3 in muet..
is that okey for me to get into university??
i'm a form 6 student, and i'm doing my upper 6 this year. i'm going to sit for muet exam this april, and i'm lack of self-confidence. i'm afraid i won't be able to speak fluently in muet speaking, if there is no point or ideas for me to deliberate. what am i supposed to do? i need a guideline to speak. i need someone to tell me how to buy time. should i start by defining the stimulus? and go on to my point and then, elaborate my pionts with example?
ReplyDeletedear muet dilemma,
ReplyDeleteactually the speaking part is not as hard as it seems.the most important thing is to communicate well with your group members.i would advise you to practise every week in your group to familiarise yourself with the flow.u can assign everyone in your team to pick up a certain point so that everyone can give feedback to each other.believe me,team cooperation is the outmost important aspect.it may make you or break you in the speaking test.another thing,do not monopolise or dominate the conversation.ask a lot of questions to your group members as it carries marks as well.a good group doesn't necessarily agree on a point at the end but try to consolidate/merge points.eg:i believe that point A is as important as point B.
(p/s:im very happy with my group and i got Band 5)
Is it possible to get band 4 if i miss my speaking? i will not be going for my speaking due to some issues!
ReplyDeleteim difficult wit muet exam...hw 2 get band 3...
ReplyDeletehere, i want to share my experience related on MUET...
ReplyDeletei already sat this examination 3 @ 4 times before... i dont know, my marks in 2 times ago decreased... i'm too surprised with this situation... i dont know how can be happened? sometimes the question makes candidates confuse...
hye..i'll take muet today at 8.00 a.m...
ReplyDeletei don't actually have formal class for muet..
i only have 6 hours of classes..
so i'm a bit nervous...
wish me luck.
n good luck for 2010 muet candidates..
hey, i am going to sit 4 muet dis october, can you help me on how can i make sure that i'm not going to run out of ideas coz i'm sure i'm going to be very nervous when i talk in front of audience...especially in front of the examiners....
ReplyDeleteI'm polytechnic student. I finish my diploma ready but I never take my MUET exam yet. I just want confirm that can I take my MUET exam at Univercity or I must take the exam before I enter the Univercity
ReplyDeleteu must take the exam before u enter the university,,
DeleteI also worry for my MUET test...my english also very poor...
ReplyDeleteI also worry for my becoming exam MUET..
ReplyDeletemy english is not good enough..I think
I'm first year of degree student,and now i study in MMU MELAKA. I want to know about should i must pass the muet exam in first year of degree.If no pass,can i continue to study for second year?? And then i want to ask about if the due date for change the place for exam exam is over already,can i still to apply it?? Pls,i need to know as soon as possible!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks:)
hi..did MMU let u to continue degree without MUET in a first place?
Deletebecause i am studying in MMU and pursuing diploma, i am worrying now cuz i wanted to continue my degree this november but so do i need wait for next year intake ? i dont want to waste my time to wait for a next intake just because of MUET :(
Gosh... i can see quite a number of negative comments here..
ReplyDeleteDearest people,
Stop thinking that your English is not good. What you think is what you are. Even if you know your English is not good, then TRY to improve it! Try to speak as much as you can in English.. also, like my lecturer said, THINK in English! Read newspaper! I'm sure you guys can pull it off! :)
Oh. Miranda Kerr also said, even if you're not confident, just SHOW that you're confident. You'll feel like that along the way. :))
I'm having my MUET this 12th. All the best to us! :D
i just want to share something with all of u... i took muet in the middle of 2010... and i scored band 3 only in the muet.. but the most important here i want to mention again that the most difficult paper in muet is reading!! Reading paper seems like a funny test, but, we should realize that it actually the killer for us to score much better.. i also did not achieve band 4 is due to my reading part.. sometimes, we could not expect the difficulties of the passages that would be come out!! It carries different difficulties.. for instance, we can see usually the reading part for end of year exam is more difficult as compared to mid year exam.. why is it happen? We noticed about that, isnt it?
ReplyDeletehi..tomorrow i will take my muet 4 speaking paper...i'm very nervous actualy...my english very poor...please pray for me....good luck for all candidate...(sorry because broken english)
ReplyDeletewhat does it mean with band achieved "X"? is it because i missed speaking test? give me an answer please....
ReplyDeleteI just want to ask，if I lost my muet result，where could I get my result again？？？
ReplyDeletethe articles very helping me in preparation before sitting the muet .thenk you.
ReplyDeleteomg...my muet is coming, im so afraid, im not so improve in english
ReplyDeletemy english bad,what should i do, i dont have any preparation in muet
hai..now im lower 6..my english xso bad..only..i did't know how to write essay muet..so difficult..now..i tension how to find sample essay for my muert folio..help me!
ReplyDeletei want to improve my english.. at least 4 band ...i need learn more about muet..help me!.. i want score my muet this year..
ReplyDeleteI just want to ask，if I lost my muet result，where could I get my result again？？？
ReplyDeleteKEHILANGAN SLIP KEPUTUSAN
(a)
Calon yang kehilangan slip keputusan MUET boleh memohon untuk mendapatkan Penyata Keputusan MUET yang sah daripada Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia. Bayaran sebanyak RM20.00 (jika permohonan kali pertama) atau RM30.00 (jika permohonan kali kedua) atau RM50.00 (jika permohonan kali ketiga dan seterusnya) akan dikenakan.
(b)
Pemohon hendaklah melengkapkan Permohonan Penyata Keputusan Peperiksaan STPM/MUET yang dapat diperoleh dan dicetak daripada laman Web Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia www.mpm.edu.my.
(b)
Penyata Keputusan MUET dapat diperoleh melalui cara yang berikut:
(i)
Pos
Bayaran perlu dibuat dalam bentuk Wang Pos/Kiriman Wang/Bank Draf atas nama Ketua Eksekutif Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia berserta dengan salinan Kad Pengenalan. Permohonan juga perlu disertakan dengan sampul surat berukuran 23cm x 32.5cm yang beralamat sendiri dan bersetem RM2.00 berserta bar code Posdaftar dalam Negeri bernilai RM2.20.
Penyata MUET akan diposkan kepada calon dalam tempoh sehari selepas permohonan diterima oleh Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia. Permohonan yang tidak disertakan dengan perkara yang diminta pada perenggan di atas akan dianggap tidak lengkap.
(ii)
Datang sendiri ke Majils Peperiksaan Malaysia
Bayaran boleh dibuat dalam bentuk wang tunai dan pemohon akan menerima Penyata MUET dalam tempoh setengah jam selepas permohonan diterima. Salinan Kad Pengenalan calon dan wakil perlu disediakan jika pemohon meminta wakil datang ke Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia.
I wonder whether lowersix student can sit for the MUET examination or not so that more trials can be made. Please kindly reply me.
ReplyDeletei had sat the muet examination on november 2011, just want to know, when can i check for the result.?.. a bit curios on what am i going to get, coz i han't prepared for the test actually..;-)
ReplyDeletei got band 2 for MUET . I just want to ask I fail or not ?
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteHere is a helpful website - it has some information on MUET FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and the relevant responses.
http://www.mpm.edu.my/en/muet1
Hopefully, the information clears up all your doubts - good luck!
Edu. Editor :-)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me.. can i ask u something... and i need the answer urgently... plzz... coz i'm worried.. ^_^
ReplyDeleteMy question is simple... i just took the MUET exam yesterday.. (2012/NOV) and i'm not sure about my answer is right or wrong... not the answer... but on how i write the answer... for Part 2 (Listening test) for Question 9 and 10...
where i'd been answering the question by rewrite the sentences of the answer.. instead of write its answer in the form of letter from A-F... based on your opinion.. is my answer in that form of sentences is correct..? i beg for ur kindness to answer... hopefully my answers will be accepted... thank you for listening...
I accidently forget to come for my writing test but i have taken the speaking test earlier.so how can i sit or retake the writing test that ive missed? Or must i repeat all over again?
ReplyDeleteYes, you need to repeat all components again because MUET is a bundle of 4 tests (reading, listening, speaking and writing). You cannot just choose to take one component.
DeleteCan ESOL certificate replace MUET?
ReplyDeletemy college is offering IELTS for me , but i m still considering whether to take MUET course or not . What is the advantages of MUET which is doesnt appear in IELTS ?
ReplyDeleteGuys , please give me some opinion , someone please help me , as the due date of buying pin number isgetting closer and closer .
Take MUET if you plan to enter local public university. Take IELTS if you plan to further study abroad.
DeleteIm doing form 6 and my ambition is to be a psychologist .What is the band requirement I should get to head to gov uni in psychology course
ReplyDelete