English Project l. International certification

If you’re an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student, you’re probably working hard to get your English up to a great standard.

This article introduces you to some of the many EFL exams you have to choose from and helps you decide which is the best one for you.

What EFL exams are out there?

When it comes to proving your level of English ability, you’re spoilt for choice. Here are the main providers of these sorts of qualifications; we’ve included exams with a range of different focuses, so whether you need to prove your English proficiency for university or work, or you just want to get more confident at English for your own sake, there should be a qualification listed below to suit you.

IELTS

Oxford University requires a demanding 7.0 in IELTS for international students; Cambridge asks for an even higher 7.5.

“IELTS” stands for “International English Language Testing System”, and it’s specifically geared towards those wishing to prove that they’ve attained a level of English language proficiency necessary for the workplace and academic study; its motto is “The test for study and work”. It’s one of the most popular and most widely accepted EFL qualifications there is, and it claims to be accepted by over 9,000 organisations worldwide – including “universities, immigration departments, government agencies, professional bodies and multinational companies.” It’s run by a collaboration of the British Council, Cambridge English Language Assessment and IDP Education Pvt Ltd; this partnership ensures that it’s not just one company’s way of doing things, but an objectively considered system of teaching the English Language.

You have two options in your IELTS studies:  Academic, designed for those wishing to study at university or college in the UK, and General Training, which is more geared towards those seeking work experience in the UK, or studying at secondary school level, or who are simply moving to the UK (or any other country in which English is spoken). Both tests feature the same Listening and Speaking elements, but the Reading and Writing tests differ. The tests last a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes, broken down into 30 minutes for Listening, 60 minutes each for Reading and Writing and 11 to 14 minutes for the Speaking part, which you might have to take up to a week later. This is the only real downside of the IELTS – rather than getting it all done in one day, you might have to come back a second day for the Speaking part. You neither pass nor fail; you simply get given an overall and broken down score out of nine, which means that even if you don’t get the top grade you might have been hoping for, you’ll still come out with a qualification.

It’s also worth noting that when learning English, it’s easy to forget that English is spoken with innumerable different accents, which many qualifications won’t prepare you for. However, the IELTS has a strong international focus that means that it’ll prepare you for a range of different accents and vocabulary from around the world. This means that it better equips you to speak English with anyone, anywhere.

TOEFL

TOEFL has recently begun using non-US voices in its listening test.

Like IELTS, TOEFL (“Test of English as a Foreign Language”) claims to be accepted by over 9,000 institutions worldwide. It’s more geared towards English for academic purposes, making it a good choice if your main aim in learning English is to study at a UK university (or any other English-speaking country). The test is focused on academic questions and activities, replicating situations from a university classroom by getting you to listen to lectures and read from textbooks. Like the IELTS, there are Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking elements to the test. The Speaking element of the test is recorded and independently evaluated by between three and six examiners, so you can be sure that you’re getting a fair mark. Its main advantage over the IELTS is that you get all parts of the test completed on the same day, so you don’t have to go back – saving you time and money by reducing your need to travel. 

BULATS

BULATS is no longer valid for UK visa application purposes.

BULATS is the Business Language Testing Service, which is geared specifically towards those who are looking to improve their English for the workplace. If your aim in learning English is to make yourself more employable, this could be the exam for you, because it focuses on English in a business context. The Speaking element, for example, covers topics such as buying and selling, the office environment and entertaining business clients – all essential skills for the modern businessperson.

The great thing about the BULATS is that you have the option to do it all online, so all you need is an internet connection; you don’t have to worry about getting to a test centre if this is going to be difficult. This makes them more flexible, as you can take any combination of the Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking tests at any time convenient to you. You can instead take paper-based tests at a test centre, which is split into the Standard Test (110 minutes, testing Listening, Reading and Language Knowledge), the Writing Test (45 minutes) and the Speaking Test (12 minutes). All parts of the test, both online and paper-based, use business scenarios to measure your English performance, such as taking down memos and writing email replies. BULATS is perfect if you want to improve your business English, but it’s not the best qualification for you if you’re aiming to improve your English in readiness for university.

The Trinity ESOL Exams

Trinity ESOL’s ‘Spoken English for Work’ prepares you for standard office skills.

Trinity College London has several qualifications geared towards English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). Unlike those we’ve mentioned so far, rather than having a business or academic slant, most of the Trinity exams focus on “the skills needed for effective communication in real life”. There are four exams:

·         Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) – these take you from beginner to advanced in 12 grades. Grades 10-12 are considered advanced, and at this level the exam tasks include giving a presentation on a topic of your choice, a discussion, interactive task, listening task and conversation. These exams are approved for UK visa and settlement purposes.

·         Integrated Skills in English (ISE) – these exams are also broken down into a number of levels, and include a portfolio element as well as a written exam and spoken interview. The aim of this is to judge your level of English on a variety of evidence.

·         Spoken English for Work (SEW) – the four levels of this qualification prepare you for life in an office, with tasks including a telephone conversation, a presentation and a discussion.

·         ESOL Skills for Life – this qualification focuses on the English you need to use in everyday situations. It’s broken up into five levels, and you can either take Speaking and Listening on its own, or cover all areas with Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

The Trinity exams are a much more long-drawn-out affair than the other EFL exams we’ve mentioned so far, with multiple levels to contend with, so they’re less suitable for a quick, standalone qualification to prove your proficiency. Some of the exams take more work, too, such as the portfolio element of Integrated Skills in English. However, Trinity College is a respected name (they’ve been doing this sort of qualification for 75 years), and the fact that the exams are divided into levels means that they offer a structured way of learning English with plenty of achievable milestones. If your level of English is already advanced, you can simply go straight in at the higher levels rather than bothering with the easier exams.

The Cambridge English Exams

The University of Cambridge also co-runs IELTS.

The Cambridge English exams are run by the University of Cambridge, so you know you’re in good hands. They have several exams to choose from, but the one that’s likely to be of most interest to you is the Academic and Professional English exam. It’s apparently accepted by over 15,000 employers and educational institutions, across 130 countries. There are several levels, the most advanced of which is the Certificate of Proficiency in English. The dates on which you can take the exam are fairly limited, so it’s not as flexible as some other options in this list; even the computer-based exams can be taken on just four days of the year. 

The Certificate of Proficiency in English consists of four papers: Reading and Use of English (an hour and a half); Writing (an hour and a half); Listening (40 minutes); and Speaking (16 minutes, shared with another candidate). The Reading and Use of English element tests your ability to cope with a variety of reading materials to simulate real life, including fiction, non-fiction, journals, newspapers and manuals, while the Writing part deals with how well you can write formal documents such as essays and reports. In the Listening part, you’ll be tested on how well you can follow lectures, among other things – so it provides the proof you need that your English is up to the standard it needs to be in order to cope with the demands of university study. To help you prepare, Cambridge English even tells you what set texts are used in the exams. 

TOEFL Overview

The chart below gives general overview of the sections included in the TOEFL iBT, the number of questions and the timing for each section.

Test section	Number and type of questions	Timing	Maximum points
Reading	3-4 passages; 12-14 questions in each passage	60 - 80 minutes	30
Listening	4-6 lectures; 6 questions each 2-3 conversations; 5 questions each	60 - 90 minutes	30
BREAK		10 minutes
Speaking	2 independent tasks 4 integrated tasks	20 minutes	30
Writing	1 integrated task 1 independent task	20 minutes 30 minutes	30
TOTAL		230 - 240 minutes	120

Now, let´s think together!

Good Luck!

 Mrs Paula Galeano