Our mission
To be the
experts in language assessment: delivering excellence and innovation
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL) offers the world’s most valuable range of English qualifications. Cambridge ESOL is part of
Cambridge Assessment, a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge and Europe’s largest educational assessment organisation.
We take pride in the expertise, training and
experience of our staff. It is their dedication and involvement that has put
quality and excellence at the heart of our organisation, earning us the global
reputation of‘experts in
language assessment’.
Experts in
language assessment
We have 400 staff worldwide – 300 based in the UK and around 100 in our global network of 24 offices in
19 countries. Our extended network includes more than 2,700 centres and 200
examiners.
We have the largest dedicated research team of any UK-based language
assessor, including some of the world’s leading experts in the fields of
language assessment, and other assessment specialists dedicated to the
development and quality control of our examinations.
Dr Michael Milanovic
Chief Executive of Cambridge ESOL
Michael Milanovic joined UCLES in 1989 and in May 2003 he was appointed Chief Executive of Cambridge ESOL. He is in charge of a wide range of projects related to operational issues, the development of new examinations, procedures and research, and leading Cambridge ESOL’s teams of experts in language learning, teaching and exam production.
Chief Executive of Cambridge ESOL
Michael Milanovic joined UCLES in 1989 and in May 2003 he was appointed Chief Executive of Cambridge ESOL. He is in charge of a wide range of projects related to operational issues, the development of new examinations, procedures and research, and leading Cambridge ESOL’s teams of experts in language learning, teaching and exam production.
He is the Manager of the Association of Language
Testers in Europe (ALTE) and co-editor of Studies in
Language Testing published by Cambridge University Press. Dr
Milanovic has been involved in language education and assessment since 1977 and
has an MA in Applied Linguistics, along with a PhD in the same field focusing
on performance-based assessment.
Our
structure
Cambridge ESOL's staff work in six departments, reflecting different areas
of our operations, each overseen by a director:
·
The quality of our exams and the positive impact we have in over 130
countries depends on the work of thousands of professionals. These include
Cambridge ESOL’s permanent staff of around 400, the staff in over 2,700 centres
and more than 50,000 preparation centres,
as well as tens of thousands of examiners, teachers and publishers.
A global reach
Our global network includes:
Exam centres
There are around 2,700 authorised exam centres providing Cambridge English
exams worldwide. Cambridge ESOL is committed to making sure we offer the
highest security and quality to safeguard the fairness of our tests. We achieve
this by working closely with our exam centres to ensure they meet our exacting
quality standards, and giving them help and support to offer the best possible service to test takers.
Examiners
Our international reputation for excellence, reliability and fairness in
language assessment depends on the high quality and professionalism of our examiners around the world.
Cambridge ESOL takes great care to ensure that the marking of all papers is
fair and standardised. All examiners must meet our minimum professional
requirements. They undergo rigorous training and are closely monitored by Team
Leaders.
Teachers
As part of our mission to provide learners throughout the world with access
to language assessment of the highest possible
quality, giving support to teachers is a high priority. By providing
teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to help prepare candidates
more effectively, we raise the standards of language teaching and improve
opportunities for test takers, while also making life easier (and more
rewarding) for teachers.
Publishers
Cambridge ESOL works with a wide range of publishers throughout the world.
These publishers produce a huge range of course books, practice tests and
learning resources in the UK and overseas to
help prepare candidates for Cambridge English exams – there are several hundred
titles specifically linked to our qualifications.
We also collaborate with publishers on a range of other activities to
support our exams, such as teacher seminars, which can be found on the Teacher
Support website.
In addition, Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge University
Press work together on projects such as theStudies in Language Testing series, and on the
development of the Cambridge
Learner Corpus CLC).
Cambridge ESOL exams are developed and produced at our offices in Cambridge, England, and every year nearly 3
million people take the exams through a network of more than 2,500 centres that
spans 130 countries around the globe.
Cambridge ESOL is a part of the world-famous University of Cambridge and has been providing English Language examinations since 1913. You can
enjoy the benefits of our reputation for excellence by becoming part of our
network of centres.
There are two main ways of becoming part of our network; there are
advantages to each approach and the best one for you will depend on your
circumstances.
Exam centres
Exam centres provide the facilities and administration to take our exams.
An exam centre may or may not be involved in preparing candidates, but it
should be noted that Cambridge ESOL does not accredit preparation courses.
Benefits include:
a reputation for excellence
Becoming a Cambridge ESOL centre would show your customers that you meet our high standards of administration and customer service.
Becoming a Cambridge ESOL centre would show your customers that you meet our high standards of administration and customer service.
unrivalled support
As a centre you would be able to access a wide range of support services relating to Cambridge ESOL exams, including: use of the Cambridge ESOL centre logo; the benefits of our global marketing campaigns; marketing advice and resources, and access to information, support and materials through our online portal for centres. Teachers and schools would know that you run examinations which have unrivalled levels of support for teachers and students.
As a centre you would be able to access a wide range of support services relating to Cambridge ESOL exams, including: use of the Cambridge ESOL centre logo; the benefits of our global marketing campaigns; marketing advice and resources, and access to information, support and materials through our online portal for centres. Teachers and schools would know that you run examinations which have unrivalled levels of support for teachers and students.
the world's leading range of exams
Students would know that the exams they can sit at your centre are internationally recognised for work, study and travel.
Students would know that the exams they can sit at your centre are internationally recognised for work, study and travel.
While the benefits of becoming an exam centre are considerable, becoming a
centre requires a commitment to achieving and maintaining the high standards
which have made our exams famous around the world.
Your responsibilities would include:
· administering the exams to Cambridge ESOL quality standards
· ensuring the security of confidential materials
· ensuring you comply with guidelines for use of our branding and logo
· organising the recruitment and training of oral examiners
· actively promoting Cambridge ESOL exams
· making a financial investment for setting-up costs
· abiding by financial arrangements.
Cambridge ESOL is proud of the strong relationships we have forged with
other organisations. By working with other experts and education professionals
we combine our strengths to offer learners enhanced quality, choice and
opportunity.
Working to
improve language learning
Cambridge Assessment
As part of the Cambridge Assessment group, Cambridge
ESOL can access a vast resource of research and expertise in delivering
educational assessment services to the state sector in the UK and many other countries. Sister organisations Oxford Cambridge and
RSA Examinations (OCR) and University of Cambridge International Examinations provide
school and vocational examinations in many countries, and have been involved in
the development of numerous national
qualification systems.
IELTS
(International English Language Testing System)
Our work with IDP Education Australia and the British
Council to deliver IELTS remains
one of our key partnerships. Since its launch in 1989, more than 6 million
candidates have taken IELTS, with more
than 1.4 million taking the test each year. Over 6,000 organisations now
recognise IELTS.
Association
of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE)
We continue to be a very active partner in ALTE, and have been involved in
organising key ALTE events in Barcelona, Santiago and Maynooth, Ireland. We have taken a leading role in developing ALTE’s foundation
courses for professional development and have hostee major ALTE event ins in Cambridge (2008) and Kraków (2011). The ALTE
Secretariat is based in our head office in Cambridge.
Council of Europe
Cambridge ESOL worked closely with the Council of Europe to define the
principles and approaches of the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) – the standard benchmark used internationally to describe
language ability. All Cambridge English exams are mapped to the framework.
English
Profile
Cambridge ESOL is one of the key partners in the English Profile project
which will further develop the CEFR. English Profile
will deliver detailed descriptions of what English learners can be expected to
know at each CEFR level.
SurveyLang
Cambridge ESOL is leading the SurveyLang consortium that will deliver the
European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC) – a major initiative by the
European Commission to support the development of language learning policies
across Europe. The
survey will test the two most widely taught European languages (from English,
French, German, Italian and Spanish) in each country from a representative
sample of pupils in their final year of lower secondary education. The main
survey will be delivered in 2011.
Cambridge-Michigan
Language Assessments (CAMLA)
Since 2010, we have been working with the University of Michigan English Language Institute Testing and Certification Division to promote the Michigan
English language exams around the world. Together we are also working with
stakeholders in different commercial and educational sectors, especially in the USA, to develop testing solutions
precisely tailored to their needs. This means learners and institutions can
choose between a range of tests that exactly meet their needs.
National and
regional education authorities
Cambridge ESOL works closely with national and regional education
authorities to deliver strategic language assessment projects in countries all
over the world. In many cases these projects have formed the basis of long-term
relationships.
Schools and professional teaching associations
Cambridge ESOL is working increasingly closely with large language school
chains and other institutions, such as Bell, International House and Eurocentres, along with
professional organisations such as the Latin American British Cultural
Institutes (LABCI), the Associação Brasileira de Culturas Inglesas and the
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language
(IATEFL). We are also developing projects with PlanetEdu and Kaplan Aspect to
further extend our exams around the world.
Cambridge ESOL attends around 700 events a year around the world. They
range from organising small tutorials for teachers to presenting papers at
seminars, or hosting major international conferences that have a significant
role in contributing to the knowledge and understanding of language assessment.
Sharing our
research and expertise
As well as submitting papers to refereed academic journals and making
presentations at conferences, seminars and symposia, we share our experience
and research findings with the wider language assessment community through our
own publications.
Cambridge ESOL
Annual Review
The Annual Review provides news and information about our achievements in
the fields of language learning, teaching and assessment and also contains
updates on the many projects we are completing around the world with partner
organisations.
Research
Notes
This is a quarterly publication reporting on matters relating to research,
test development and validation within Cambridge ESOL. Each edition has:
· a central theme
· articles on assessment research and findings
· information on publications of interest
· conference reports
· other relevant news and features.
From the Research Notes website you can:
· join our mailing list to receive the printed version of Research
Notes.
· download each issue as an Acrobat PDF file. Viewing PDF files requires
Adobe Reader; free software is available from Adobe.
· read or download articles on your particular area of interest using the
Search facility (by Exam, Skill or Area).
Studies in
Language Testing (SiLT)
This is a series of academic volumes, edited by Dr
Michael Milanovic and Professor Cyril Weir, and published jointly by Cambridge
ESOL and Cambridge University Press (CUP). The series examines important issues
and new developments in language testing that are relevant to test users,
developers and researchers. You can order SiLT from the CUP website or from any good bookseller.
Cambridge Research Update
Cambridge Research Update is a newsletter summarising the latest research about language
learning and testing from Cambridge ESOL's Research and Validation Group.
It features work published in our own titles such
as Research Notes and Studies in Language Testing, but also research in independent
publications, and work from non-Cambridge ESOL staff which reflects on our
examinations and other services we provide.
Additionally, Cambridge ESOL publishes a wide range of support materials
for teachers and candidates which help prepare candidates for taking our tests.
Our continued success depends on the professionalism and talent of our
staff in a wide range of front-line and supporting
roles.
There are a number of ways you could join us and help us offer the world’s
most valuable range of English qualifications.
Work
with Cambridge ESOL
All our vacancies are listed on the Cambridge Assessment website. Here you
can find employment opportunities, not only for Cambridge ESOL, but also for
other parts of the group.
Become an examiner
Our international reputation for excellence, reliability and fairness in
language assessment depends on the high quality and professionalism of our
examiners around the world.
We welcome your application to become an examiner if you have:
· education to first degree level or equivalent
and/or
· a recognised qualification in teaching English as a foreign language
plus
· proof of substantial, relevant, recent teaching experience
· proof of overall language proficiency relevant to the examination level.
Note: If you can demonstrate considerable relevant
teaching experience supported by positive references, you may be exempt either from the formal teaching qualifications or from the first degree/equivalence requirement (but not both).
If you are
based in the UK
Please click here to find out more about becoming a Cambridge ESOL examiner in the UK and
to make an application. Note that all examiner applications in the UK are made directly to Cambridge ESOL, which
co-ordinates all examining assignments within the UK.
If you are
based outside the UK
Please read the notes about becoming a Cambridge ESOL examiner, then contact your local authorised examination centre for
more information about how to apply.
University of Cambridge ESOL
Examinations
University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations is a
non-profit assessment organization that provides examinations in English language ability for non-native speakers of English and English teaching qualifications.
Overview
ESOL stands for "English for Speakers of Other
Languages", see English language learning and
teaching. Cambridge ESOL is part of Cambridge Assessment, formerly known as
the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which
celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.
Cambridge English examinations are
taken by over three million learners in more than 130 countries each year. The
exams cover general English, business English, academic English and English
for young learners. Cambridge ESOL also offers teaching
qualifications such asICELT, CELTA and DELTA and is renowned for its major
research and validation operation.
]Individual exams
General
English and for School
§ KET (Key English Test): elementary
§ KET for Schools (Key English Test for Schools)
§ PET for Schools (Preliminary English Test for Schools)
Business
English
§ BEC (Business English Certificates): This exam
in Business English can be taken at three
levels (Preliminary, Vantage and Higher).
§ BULATS (Business Language Testing Service): This is an
assessment service for companies, for showing language skills in English,French, German and Spanish.
Legal
English
§ ILEC (International Legal English Certificate): A
high-level language qualification for lawyers set at levels B2 and C1 of the
CEFR. ILEC is equivalent in level to the FCE and CAE, and assesses language
skills in a legal context. Examinations at the C1 level may be used as proof of
the level of language necessary to work in an international legal context or to
follow a course of legal study at
university level.
Academic and
Professional English
§ IELTS (International English Language Testing System): IELTS is managed by
an international partnership of not-for-profit organisations -
the British Council, Cambridge ESOL and IDP Education,
and is administered through more than 400 test centres in 150 countries
worldwide. More than half a million candidates sit the test each year, which is
used by more than 1,000 universities and colleges in theAnglosphere,
including more than 700 institutions in the USA, as a standard entrance
requirement. Its main competitor is the US-basedTOEFL (Test of
English as a Foreign Language). Both exams test not just general English but also English for academic purposes.
Young
Learners' English
Skills for
life
Most Cambridge exams are available around the world and suit
anyone who wants to use English in their studies or work, in other words,English as a foreign language.
These exams, uniquely, are tailored to the needs of those who have moved to Britain, i.e. immigrants needingEnglish as a second language.
§ Certificates in ESOL Skills for Life: These
certificates also give separate marks for each type of ability. The exam is for
ESOL learners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
(Scotland has its own education system.)
Discontinued
exam
§ CELS (Certificates in English Language Skills): These
exams (now discontinued) allowed students to prove what they could do in each
skill (reading, writing, speaking, and listening); a separate mark was given
for each section.
Teachers
§ TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test): This exam is aimed at
teaching English to speakers of other languages, aka TESOL. It is given in
three modules, each consisting of eighty questions, that can be taken together
or separately in any order. It tests candidates on their knowledge of concepts
related to language, language use, and the background and practice of language
teaching and learning.
§ There are four optional modules of TKT - these can be added to the three
core modules above, or can each be taken completely independently: TKT:
Practical, TKT: Content and Language Integrated Learning, TKT: Knowledge About
Language, and TKT: YLE.
]Link to
Common European Framework
The Cambridge ESOL exams are related to the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). This
framework sets standards in foreign language teaching across Europe. It
divides learners into six levels of ability, with descriptions of what a
learner is able to do at each stage.
A1/0 is the level of the very beginners.[2] Some
awards are mapped onto this level, including YLE Starters/Movers, and Entry 1
Certificate in ESOL Skills for Life. However, a candidate would receive 1.0 for
IELTS, or 0 for BULATS, if he/she left the testing papers blank. Thus, 1.0 for
IELTS, or 0 for BULATS, should not be treated as an "award".
Global
partnership
University of Cambridge ESOL examinations and Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA), the renowned and the largest professional
accountancy body that offers Chartered Certified Accountant qualification
worldwide, have signed the global partnership agreement, which resulted in the
launch of the International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE), a new
financial English exam.
Very informative article! If you are a non-native English speaker and need to provide documented proof of your English language level, then ESOL exams are the solution.
BalasHapus