WPLN is a test to show your English proficiency.
This can be important in a number of ways. A WPLN score is a requirement if you want to join most WSQ courses.
Also, if you employ non-Malaysian work permit holders in the F&B, Retail or Hotel industry, you can lower your foreign worker levy when your employees have a sufficiently high WPLN score.
If you need that WPLN cert, knowing what you are getting into and how to make the best of it is essential.
WPLN is an English proficiency test by SkillsFuture Singapore. Notice the N in WPLN; N means numeracy, so besides an English proficiency test, the test also tests your mathematics. It is not that complicated if you learned mathematics in school before.
Technically, you won’t fail WPLN, but you must score high enough for the cert to make sense.
WPLN scores are divided into eight levels. From Level 1 to 8.
What do the levels in WPLN mean?
WPLN is used to rate your English and maths proficiency somewhat similarly to IELTS and TOEFL. This is the framework that Skillsfuture uses for entry into their programs if you do not have an O level certificate.
In a nutshell
Workplace Literacy (WPL) – measures your English literacy (Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing)
Workplace Numeracy (WPN) – measures your Numeracy (How well you deal with numbers)
There are 8 WPLN levels.
| Level 1 (Beginner) | Level 2 (Elementary) |
| Level 3-4 (Pre-Intermediate) | Level 5 (Intermediate) |
| Level 6 (Upper-Intermediate) | Level 7-8 (Advanced) |
Which WPLN level do people usually aim for?
For all intents and purposes, Intermediate Level (WPLN level 5) is what most people aim to obtain first.
Why 5?
Because level 5 is high enough to gain entry to most WSQ courses. Some require only 4, e.g. Private hire driver’s license (PDVL).
Although it is important to aim high in life, there is a vast difference between level 7 and level 3 which could mean several extra years of English training in between, so it is important to find out the exact WPLN level you need.
We set it at WPLN 5 because at 5 you are at the level you are comfortable with listening and speaking English.
It is important to speak English well because if you don’t, you cannot work well with others and can’t take any higher learning courses in Singapore.
How do I improve my level to obtain level 5?
Remember I mentioned that moving from levels 3 to 7 can mean several years of training.
It is not all that surprising if you note that a typical Singaporean kid takes six years of English school to go for PSLE and another four years of secondary school to go for O levels.
Please note that time spent is not only in learning in school, and we can split it into three components:
Class time
Revision
Practice
From level 1 to 3
To break through from 1 (Beginner) to 3 (Elementary) level, you will need at least 300 hours.
From level 3 to 4
Congratulations! You only need around 150 – 200 hours to reach Pre-Intermediate Level.
From 4 to 5
You can speak, read and write but with glaring grammatical errors. You won’t sound professional, but it is good enough for you to get by. People at this level are usually stuck in a rut. It would seem impossible to progress, but everyone can advance to the next level with the right mindset and training. You will need between 200 to 300 hours. Over the years, we have helped many of our Intermediate level students to progress further and received reviews from them. You may find some of them here.
From 5 to 6,7,8
Your English level is quite close to that of a native speaker.
You can speak confidently and write well in various situations.
Students at this level usually attend specialised courses to work on a specific area they wish to hone. Such as pronunciation, email writing or presentation skills.
We run regular courses for students at WPLN level 5.
You may find some of the courses here.
I’m happy you took the first step by completing our English placement test. If you haven’t, click here for the test
Now that you know your average level, don’t you think it is time to advance to the next one?
WPLN Sample test paper
1. WPL Core Test (grammar and vocabulary)
The Core Test consists of two parts. The first part assesses your knowledge of English
grammar. The second part assesses your knowledge of English vocabulary.
2. WPL Reading Test
This test assesses your reading ability. The tasks become more difficult as the test
progresses.
3. WPL Listening Test
The Listening Test has four task types. You can choose to listen to the question once or
twice.
4. WPL Writing Test
There are four parts to the Writing Test. You will interact in a social media-type written
conversation and write emails. All writing tasks are marked by an examiner.
Make sure you fully understand the questions. Plan what you are going to write and then edit
your writing before clicking to the next question. The most common mistakes include:
• Not answering the questions (going off-topic).
Read the question and understand what you need to do.
• Writing too much but with poor grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Keep to the word count and focus on accuracy.
• Not using a variety of sentence structures.
• Not writing in sentences or paragraphs.
• Using SMS (text messaging) spelling.
The total time allowed for the Writing Test is 50 minutes. The timings for each section below
are recommendations only.
5. WPL Speaking Test
For each question, you are given a maximum amount of time to speak but you can end the
recording early by clicking on a stop button. Please make sure you fully respond to the
question before you stop the recording.
The most common reasons people receive lower scores than they expect include:
• not doing a proper sound check (details on how to do this are shown below)
• not speaking clearly
• not answering the questions
• giving under-length answers – not using the full amount of time to speak
• overusing words such as ‘and’ and ‘so’
• speaking in simple sentence lists
• not using a variety of sentence structures.
WPLN Preparatory Course
Before you take the test, know your target WPLN score. As we said earlier, level 5 is what you should aim for.
Three simple steps
1) Find out the WPLN level you need to achieve.
2) Click here to check your current level quickly with our in-house test.
3) Contact us here if your level test result is lower than your target WPLN level.
WPLN course from other schools
WPLN level 4 is a requirement to reduce foreign worker levy for hotel, retail and F&B industries
At English Express and other Crystal Learning language schools, we see language, first of all, as a tool. It is a tool to understand courses you plan to take or to communicate with your colleagues well.
Many students spend money to take the WPLN test but don’t do well because they are not at the correct level.
Over here, we spent years perfecting a test to determine your level. Instead of spending money to do it elsewhere, do it here first for free to quickly find out where you are at now.
Ready to start?
Take our English level test
Completely free