“Is there ____________ there?” said the traveller, knocking on the moonlit door

Unit 7

Evaluation and Testing

International TEFLInternational TEFL © and TESOL Training

CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) An advanced exam, for a student who can communicate with confidence in English for work or study purposes. Often the minimum entrance level to UK universities for non-native speakers of English.

CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) A very advanced level exam, for students who have achieved a high level of language skills and are able to function effectively in almost any Englishspeaking context.

Business English

BEC (Business English Certificates) A suite of three exams, designed to test English language ability used in the context of business, designed for students who are learning English in preparation for a career in business.

BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) A multilingual assessment service for companies that require a rapid, accurate means of assessing language skills in English, French, German and Spanish.

Trinity College London ESOL Skills for Life (UK)

Trinity’s ESOL Skills for Life qualifications are designed to meet the needs of learners aged 16 and over for whom English is a second or additional language and who have chosen to make a life in the UK. Exam tasks cover a range of skills needed to settle in the country and to get by on a day-to-day basis.

These include functional tasks such as reading and writing authentic correspondence with banks and other institutions, spoken interaction with an external examiner, work-related tasks to help job seekers and academic tasks.

There are many other external examinations. Some focus on testing integrated skills, as in the Edexcel London Tests of English, while others focus on just one skill, such as the Trinity exams in spoken English. Other examinations which are conducted on a wide scale internationally are the University of Michigan Proficiency in English examination, and the City and Guilds (London) examinations in all four skills.