English-language Education - Exams For Learners

Exams For Learners

Learners of English are often keen to get accreditation and a number of exams are known internationally:

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), an Educational Testing Service product, developed and used primarily for academic institutions in the USA, and now widely accepted in tertiary institutions in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, South Korea, and Ireland. The current test is an Internet-based test, and is thus known as the TOEFL iBT. Used as a proxy for English for Academic Purposes.
• iTEP (International Test of English Proficiency), developed by former ELS Language Centers President Perry Akins' Boston Educational Services, and used by colleges and universities such as the California State University system. iTEP Business is used by companies, organizations and governments, and iTEP SLATE (Secondary Level Assessment Test of English) is designed for middle and high school-age students.
• PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English Academic), a Pearson product, measures reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabular and written discourse. The test is computer-based and is designed to reflect international English for academic admission into any university requiring English proficiency.
• TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), an Educational Testing Service product for Business English used by 10,000 organizations in 120 countries. Includes a listening and reading test as well as a speaking and writing test introduced in selected countries beginning in 2006.
• Trinity College London ESOL offers the Integrated Skills in English (ISE) series of 5 exams which assesses reading, writing, speaking and listening and is accepted by academic institutions in the UK. They also offer Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE), a series of 12 exams, which assesses speaking and listening, and ESOL Skills for Life and ESOL for Work exams in the UK only.
• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations offers a suite of eighteen globally available examinations including General English: Key English Test (KET), Preliminary English Test (PET), First Certificate in English (FCE), Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).
• London Tests of English from Pearson Language Tests, a series of six exams each mapped to a level from the Common European Framework (CEFR- see below)
• Secondary Level English Proficiency test
• MTELP (Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency), is a language certificate measuring a students English ability as a second or foreign language. Its primary purpose is to assess a learner's English language ability at an academic or advanced business level.

Many countries also have their own exams. ESOL learners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland usually take the national Skills for Life qualifications, which are offered by several exam boards. EFL learners in China may take the College English Test. In Greece English students may take the PALSO (PanHellenic Association of Language School Owners) exams.