Cambridge Assessment English - Wikipedia

The first Cambridge English exam CambridgeAssessmentEnglish FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Amajorcontributortothisarticleappearstohaveacloseconnectionwithitssubject.ItmayrequirecleanuptocomplywithWikipedia'scontentpolicies,particularlyneutralpointofview.Pleasediscussfurtheronthetalkpage.(March2018)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) CambridgeAssessmentEnglishEstablished1913[1]TypeForprofit,butpartofataxexemptcharityPurposeExaminationboard-TheyhelppeoplelearnEnglishandprovetheirskillstotheworldHeadquartersCambridge,UKRegionservedGlobal.Operatingin130countrieswith5.5million+candidatesperyearMembership52,000+registeredpreparationcentres.Recognisedbyover25,000universities,employersandgovernments[2]ParentorganizationCambridgeAssessment/UniversityofCambridgeSubsidiariesCaMLA,OET,ELiTWebsitewww.cambridgeenglish.orgFormerlycalledCambridgeEnglishLanguageAssessment/UniversityofCambridgeESOLExaminations(CambridgeESOL)/UniversityofCambridgeLocalExaminationsSyndicate(UCLES) CambridgeAssessmentEnglish,orCambridgeEnglish,isthebiggestofthreemainexamboardsformingCambridgeAssessment,anon-teachingdepartmentoftheUniversityofCambridge. CambridgeAssessmentEnglishdevelopsandproducesCambridgeEnglishQualificationsandIELTS. TheorganisationcontributedtothedevelopmentoftheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferenceforLanguages(CEFR),thestandardusedaroundtheworldtobenchmarklanguageskills.[3]ItsqualificationsandtestsarealignedwiththelevelsoftheCEFR.[4] Contents 1Individualexams 1.1CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Schools 1.2CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Generalandhighereducation 1.3CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Business 1.4Multileveltests 1.5CambridgeEnglishTeaching 1.6Discontinuedexams 2Partnershipsandacquisitions 3AlignmentwiththeCEFR 4Research 5Awards 6Qualificationdevelopment 6.1CambridgeUniversity’sexaminationboard(UCLES) 6.2ThefirstCambridgeEnglishexam 6.3Examquestionsin1913 6.4Revisionstothe1913exam 6.5WorldWarII 6.6Post-war 6.7Qualificationatdifferentlevels 6.8IELTS 6.9RSAandteachingqualifications 6.10ChinaandbusinessEnglish 6.11Younglearners 6.12Candidates 6.13TheCambridgeEnglishScale 6.14Timeline1209–2017 7Seealso 8References 9Externallinks Individualexams[edit] CambridgeEnglishQualificationsprovideapathtoimprovinglanguageskills.EachqualificationfocusesonaleveloftheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReference(CEFR).[5] CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Schools[edit] CambridgeEnglishQualifications:SchoolsprovidealearningframeworktohelpchildrenandteenagersimprovetheirEnglishlanguageskills.[6] Exams[7][8] PreA1Starters A1Movers A2Flyers A2KeyforSchools B1PreliminaryforSchools B2FirstforSchools C1Advanced C2Proficiency CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Generalandhighereducation[edit] Thesequalificationsaredesignedforadultlearners.[9] A2Key,B1PreliminaryandB2Firsthavethesameexamformat(e.g.numberofpapers,numberofquestions,timeallowance)astheschoolsversionsofthesequalifications,butusedifferenttopicsandcontentsuitedtoadultlearners. Exams[10][11] A2Key B1Preliminary B2First C1Advanced C2Proficiency CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Business[edit] CambridgeEnglishQualifications:Businessaresetinabusinesscontext.[12] Exams[13] B1BusinessPreliminary B2BusinessVantage C1BusinessHigher Multileveltests[edit] Multi-leveltests,suchasLinguaskill,BULATS,theCambridgeEnglishPlacementTestandtheCambridgeEnglishPlacementTestforYoungLearners,covermultiplelevelsoftheCEFRinonetest.Theyareusedtofindoutthelevelsofmixed-abilitygroupsofstudents,andplacethemontherightEnglishlearningprogrammesorenterthemfortherightexams. CambridgeAssessmentEnglishisalsotheproduceroftheIELTStest.CambridgeExamsPublishing,ajointventurewithCambridgeUniversityPress,producesCambridge-brandedIELTSresourcesandmaterialstohelplearnersprepareandpracticefortheirtests.IELTSismanagedbyaninternationalpartnershipoforganisations–theBritishCouncil,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishandIDPEducation.[14] Tests CEFRlevel CambridgeEnglishPlacementTest[15] A1-C2 CambridgeEnglishPlacementTestforYoungLearners Pre-A1-A2 Linguaskill[16] A1-C BULATS[17] A1-C2 IELTS A1-C2 CambridgeEnglishTeaching[edit] Qualificationsandcoursesforteachersofalllevelsofexperience. Exams[18] TeachinglevelontheCambridgeEnglishTeachingFramework Coursedelivery CELTA(CertificateinTeachingEnglishtoSpeakersofOtherLanguages)[19] Foundation/Developing Full-time/part-time.Face-to-facecourseoronlinecoursewithface-to-faceteachingpractice. CELT-P(CertificateinEnglishLanguageTeaching–Primary)[20] Foundation/Developing Onlinemodularcoursewithoptionalface-to-faceelements.Assessedthroughanexamandteachingpractice. CELT-S(CertificateinEnglishLanguageTeaching–Secondary)[21] Foundation/Developing Onlinemodularcoursewithoptionalface-to-faceelements.Assessedthroughanexamandteachingpractice. LanguageforTeaching[22] Foundation/Developing/Proficient Onlinelearningwithoptionalface-to-faceelements. TKT(TeachingKnowledgeTest)[23] Foundation/Developing Examswithaflexiblemodularformat. ICELT(In-serviceCertificateinEnglishLanguageTeaching)[24] Developing/Proficient Part-timeface-to-facecoursewithteachingpracticeanddistancelearningsupport. Delta(DiplomainTeachingEnglishtoSpeakersofOtherLanguages)[25] Proficient/Expert Flexiblemodularformatcombiningcourseworkandexams.Distancelearningsupport,localtutoringandassessedteachingpractice. CertificateinEMISkills(EnglishasamediumofinstructioninHigherEducation)[26] Proficient/Expert Onlinelearningwithoptionalface-to-facesessions. TraintheTrainer[27] Proficient/Expert Part-timeface-to-facecourse. Discontinuedexams[edit] CambridgeEnglish:Financial(ICFE)discontinuedinDecember2016.[28] CambridgeEnglish:Legal(ILEC)discontinuedinDecember2016.[29] CertificatesinESOLSkillsforLife(SfL)(UKonly)discontinuedinJune2017.[30] CELS(CertificatesinEnglishLanguageSkills):modularqualificationsforEnglishlanguagelearners. DTE(E)LLS(DiplomainTeachingEnglish(ESOL)intheLifelongLearningSector)andADTE(E)LLS(AdditionalDiplomainTeachingEnglish(ESOL)intheLifelongLearningSector):thesequalificationsforEnglishlanguageteachersintheUKwerediscontinuedinSeptember2012.CELTAisarecommendedalternativeforthosewantinganEnglishteachingqualificationforteachingintheUK. IDLTM(InternationalDiplomainLanguageTeachingManagement)discontinuedinJune2016.[31] PTLLS(PreparingtoTeachintheLifelongLearningSector):discontinuedinNovember2012.[32] YoungLearner(YL)ExtensiontoCELTAdiscontinuedinDecember2016. TKT:KALandTKT:PracticaldiscontinuedinDecember2016.[33] Partnershipsandacquisitions[edit] Inthe1980s,CambridgeAssessmentEnglish,theBritishCouncil,andIDPEducationformedtheinternationalIELTSpartnershipwhichdeliverstheIELTStests.[34] In2010,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishandtheEnglishLanguageInstituteTestingandCertificateDivisionoftheUniversityofMichiganagreedtoformanot-for-profitcollaborationknownasCaMLA(CambridgeMichiganLanguageAssessments).CambridgeAssessmentEnglishowns65%oftheventure.[35] Since2011,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishhashadapartnershipwiththeEnglishLanguageTeaching(ELT)businessofCambridgeUniversityPress,CambridgeExamsPublishing,whichdevelopsofficialCambridgepreparationmaterialsforCambridgeEnglishandIELTSexams.[36] In2013,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishformedajointventurewiththeBoxHillInstitutetodelivertheOccupationalEnglishTest,knownasOET.[37] In2019,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishacquiredEnglishLanguageiTutoring(ELiT),anartificialintelligencedevelopedofftechnologyfromtheUniversityofCambridge,tosupportnewEnglishlanguageassessmentproducts.[38] AlignmentwiththeCEFR[edit] CambridgeAssessmentEnglishwasinvolvedintheearlydevelopmentoftheCEFRandallCambridgeEnglishqualificationsandtestsarealignedwiththelevelsdescribedbytheCEFR.[39][40] CambridgeEnglishQualificationstargetparticularlevelsoftheCEFRandcandidatesareencouragedtotaketheexammostsuitabletotheirneedsandlevelofability.WhileeachexamfocusesonaparticularCEFRlevel,theexamalsocontainstestmaterialattheadjacentlevels(e.g.B2FirstisaimedatB2,buttherearealsotestitemsthatcoverB1andC1).Thisallowsforinferencestobedrawnaboutcandidates’abilitiesiftheyarealevelbeloworabovetheonetargeted.[41] Research[edit] TheCambridgeEnglishEFLEvaluationUnitwasestablishedin1989andwasthefirstdedicatedresearchunitofitskind.[42]ThisunitisnowcalledtheResearchandValidationGroupandisthelargestdedicatedresearchteamofanyEnglishlanguageassessmentbody.[43]ResearchispublishedintheStudiesinLanguageTesting(SiLT)series. Awards[edit] In2015,CambridgeAssessmentEnglishwasawardedtheQueen’sAwardforEnterpriseinthe'internationaltrade'category.[44][45] Qualificationdevelopment[edit] CambridgeUniversity’sexaminationboard(UCLES)[edit] ThefirstCambridgeEnglishexamwasproducedin1913byUCLES(UniversityofCambridgeLocalExaminationsSyndicate).[42] UCLEShadbeensetupin1858toprovideexamstostudentswhowerenotmembersofauniversity.TherewasagrowingconcerninBritainwithstandardsofschooleducationandthetransitionfromsecondarytotertiary-leveleducation.Anumberofschools"petitionedtheUniversitiesofOxfordandCambridge[toprovide]meansofcomparingachievementsofpupilsacrossschools."[46] Thesecondaryeducationsectorwasstillvoluntaryinnature.Withoutsupportfromthestate,itwaslogicaltoseekhelpfromuniversitiesthatwerelongestablishedandwidelyadmired.TheUniversityofOxfordandUniversityofCambridge,inparticular,were“regardedasviablesourcesofsupervision.”[47] UCLESwasinvitedtosetexamsandinspectschoolswiththeaimofraisingeducationalstandards.TheUniversityofOxfordalsocreateditsownexaminationboard:theUniversityofOxfordDelegacyofLocalExaminations(UODLE).UODLEanditspartner,theAssociationofRecognisedEnglishLanguageSchools,mergedwithUCLESin1995.[48] ThefirstUCLESexaminationstookplaceon14December1858.Theexamsweredesignedtotestforuniversityselectionandweretakenby370candidatesinBritishschools,churchesandvillagehalls.Candidateswererequiredto‘satisfytheexaminers’intheanalysisandparsingofaShakespearetext;readingaloud;dictation;andcomposition(oneithertherecentlydeceasedDukeofWellington;awell-knownbook;oraletterofapplication).[49] FemalecandidateswereacceptedbyUCLESonatrialbasisin1864andonapermanentbasisfrom1867.CambridgeUniversityitselfdidnotexaminefemalestudentsuntil1882anditwasnotuntil1948thatwomenwereallowedtograduateasfullmembersoftheuniversity.[50] Inthemidtolate19thcentury,UCLESexamsweretakenbycandidatesbasedoverseas–inTrinidad(from1863),SouthAfrica(from1869),GuyanaandNewZealand(from1874),Jamaica(from1882)andMalaya(from1891).ManyofthesecandidateswerechildrenofofficersoftheBritishcolonialserviceandexamswerenotyetdesignedfornon-nativespeakersofEnglish.[51] ThefirstCambridgeEnglishexam[edit] In1913UCLEScreatedthefirstexamfornon-nativespeakersofEnglish–theCertificateofProficiencyinEnglish(CPE–nowknownasC2Proficiency).ThismayhavebeenpromptedbythedevelopmentofEnglishexams‘forforeigners’byotheruniversities.[52] CPEwasoriginallyaqualificationforteachers:‘theCertificateofProficiencyinEnglishisdesignedforForeignStudentswhodesiresatisfactoryproofoftheirknowledgeofthelanguagewithaviewtoteachingitinforeignschools.’Theexamwasonlyavailableforcandidatesaged20orover.[53] In1913theexamcouldbetakeninCambridgeorLondon,forafeeof£3(approximately£293in2012prices[54]).Theexamlasted12hoursandincluded: TranslationfromEnglishintoFrenchorGerman:2hours TranslationfromFrenchorGermanintoEnglish,andEnglishGrammar:2.5hours EnglishEssay:2hours EnglishLiterature:3hours EnglishPhonetics:1.5hours Oraltest:dictation(30minutes);readingaloudandconversation(30minutes)[55] Themaininfluencebehindthedesignoftheexamwasthegrammar-translationteachingapproach,whichaimstoestablishreadingknowledge(ratherthanabilitytocommunicateinthelanguage).In1913,thefirstrequirementforCPEcandidateswastotranslatetexts.Translationremainedprominentinforeignlanguageteachingupuntilthe1960s.ItwasacorepartofCPEuntil1975,andanoptionalpartuntil1989.[56] However,CPEwasalsoinfluencedbyHenrySweetandhisbookpublishedin1900:APracticalStudyofLanguages:AGuideforTeachersandLearners,whicharguedthat‘themostnaturalmethodofteachinglanguageswasthroughconversation.’Duetothisinfluence,speakingwaspartofCambridgeEnglishexamsfromtheverybeginning.[57] Examquestionsin1913[edit] CandidateswererequiredtotranslatefromEnglishintoFrench/German,andtranslatefromFrench/GermanintoEnglish.HereisashortsegmentfromoneofthepassagescandidateswereaskedtotranslatefromEnglishintoGerman: ThesentimentswhichanimatedSchiller’spoetrywereconvertedintoprinciplesofconduct;hisactionswereasblamelessashiswritingswerepure.Withhissimpleandhighpredilections,withhisstrongdevotednesstoanoblecause,hecontrivedtosteerthroughlife,unsulliedbyitsmeanness,unsubduedbyanyofitsdifficultiesorallurements… IntheEnglishEssaypaper,candidateswereaskedtowriteanessayfortwohours,ononeofthefollowingsubjects:theeffectofpoliticalmovementsuponnineteenthcenturyliteratureinEngland;EnglishPre-Raphaelitism;Elizabethantravelanddiscovery;theIndianMutiny;thedevelopmentoflocalself-government;orMatthewArnold.Theexamboardprovidedlittleornoformalstructure.Conceptssuchasaudienceandpurpose,andthelengthoftheessay,wereleftforthecandidatetodecide. ThequestionsintheEnglishLiteraturesectionwereborrowedfromtheUniversity’sLanguageandLiteraturematriculationexamsfornativespeakersandincludedquestionsonShakespeare’sCoriolanusandMilton’sParadiseLost.Hereisanexamplequestion:explainfullyandcommentonthefollowingpassages,statingtheconnexionsinwhichtheyoccurandanydifficultiesofreading,phraseologyorallusion:"WertthoutheHector,Thatwasthewhipofyourbragg’dprogency,Thoushould’stnot‘scrapemehere."Itwasnotuntil1930thataLiteraturepaperwasdesignedspecificallyforCPEcandidates. Thegrammarsectioncontainedquestionsaboutgrammarandlexis,e.g.givethepasttenseandpastparticipleofeachofthefollowingverbs,dividingthemintostrongandweak…,andquestionsaboutgrammarandlexisusage,e.g.embodyeachofthefollowingwordsintoasentenceinsuchawayastoshowthatyouclearlyapprehenditsmeaning:commence,comment,commend…Atthetime,thismirroredtheapproachtolearninggrammarinLatinandGreek(aswellasmodernlanguages). Finally,aPhoneticspaperwasincludedasitwasthoughttobeusefulintheteachingofpronunciation.Thepaperrequiredcandidatestomakephonetictranscriptionsoflongpiecesofcontinuoustext;describethearticulationofparticularsounds;explainphoneticterms,andsuggestwaysofteachingcertainsounds.Herearetwoexamplequestions:explaintheterms:“glide”,“narrowvowel”,“semi-vowel”andgivetwoexamplesofeachinbothphoneticandordinaryspellingandhowwouldyouteachapupilthecorrectpronunciationofthevowelsoundsin:fare,fate,fat,fall,far? Revisionstothe1913exam[edit] The1913CPEexamwastakenbyjustthreecandidates.Thecandidates"wereabletoconversefluently,expressingthemselvesonthewhole,withremarkableeaseandaccuracy."However,allthreecandidatesfailedtheexamandnoneofthemwereawardedaCPEcertificate.[58] Initssecondyear(1914),CPEgainedinpopularity,with18candidatesandfourpassing.However,forthenext15yearscandidatureremainedstatic.[51]ItalianandSpanishwereaddedaslanguagesforthetranslationpaperin1926.However,CPEstill‘teeteredalongwith14or15candidatesayear.’In1928,CPEhadonly14candidatesandby1929itwasindangerofbeingdiscontinued.[59] JackRoach,AssistantSecretarytotheSyndicatefrom1925to1945,decidedto"saveitfromthescrapheap"andintroducedanumberofchanges.[59]ThePhoneticspaperwasdroppedandtheessayquestionsbecamemoreatestofwritingproficiencyratherthanatestofknowledgeaboutBritishculture.Questionssuchas"Thebestmonthoftheyear"werepreferredtothemoreculture-boundtopicssetin1913,suchas"Elizabethantravelanddiscovery."[52] Thetargetcandidaturewasbroadenedbeyondteachers,to"allforeignstudentswhodesiretoobtainevidenceoftheirpracticalknowledgeofthelanguages,bothwrittenandspoken,asoftheirabilitytoreadwithcomprehensionstandardworksofEnglishliterature." In1932itwasdecidedtoestablishoverseasexamcentres.ThefirstoverseascentresweresetupinHamburg,ParisandSanRemo(1933),followedbyfurthercentresinItaly(RomeandNaples),theNetherlands,SwedenandSwitzerland.LatinAmericaalsobecameanexamareainthe1930s,withcentresinArgentinaandUruguay. In1935CPEstartedprovidingalternativestotheLiteraturepaper,withanEconomicandCommercialKnowledgepaper–anearlyforerunnerofEnglishforSpecificPurposes. Then,in1937–38,theUniversityofCambridgeandUniversityofOxforddecidedtoacceptCPEasrepresentingthestandardinEnglishrequiredofallstudents,Britishorforeign,beforeentrancetotheiruniversity.Tothisday,CPEstillservesasaqualificationforentrytohighereducation.FollowingthesechangesCPEcandidatenumbersinstantlybegantorise,reaching752bytheoutbreakofWorldWarII.[57] WorldWarII[edit] From1939onwards,thousandsofrefugeesfromtheSpanishCivilWarandoccupiedEuropestartedarrivingintheUKandbegantakingUCLESexamswhilestationedintheUK. UCLESlaunchedtheLowerCertificateinEnglish(LCE)tomeetthedemandforcertificationatalowerlevelthanCPE.APreliminaryexam,atalowerlevelthanLCE,wasalsoofferedfrom1944asaspecialtesttomeetthecontingenciesofwar.Thesewerethefirststepstowardsdevelopinglanguageassessmentatdifferentlevels. Polishservicemenandwomenmadeupalargeproportionofthecandidature.In1943,overathirdofallLCECertificateswereawardedtocandidatesfromthePolisharmyandairforce.Thispatterncontinuedthroughoutthewarandintothepost-warperiod.Ononesingledayin1948,nofewerthan2,500PolishmenandwomenofthePolishResettlementCorpstooktheLCE. UCLEStestsweremadeavailableforprisonersofwarinBritainandinGermany.InBritain1,500prisonersofwartooktheexams,almost900ofthemItalians.InGermany,theWarOrganisationoftheBritishRedCrossandOrderofStJohnofJerusalemmadearrangementsforUCLESexaminationstobeofferedatprisoner-of-warcampswithmanyIndianprisonersofwar,inparticular,takingLCEorSchoolCertificateexams. Examinerswereaskedtoreporton"disturbance,lossofsleep,etc.,causedbyairraids,andonanyexceptionaldifficulties…duringtheexaminationperiod."Onereportnotedthatthecandidateshadbeenspending"mostofeachdayintheair-raidshelter";thatcandidate5224,aprobationernurse,hadbeenshowingstraincausedbyhelpingwith"rescuework";andthatthehouseofcandidate5222hadbeenbombed,whilstshewasatschool,withfatalities.Suchwerethecircumstancesofwartimeexamtakersandadministrators. ExamswerealsomaintainedclandestinelyincontinentalEuropeanexamcentres,whichfrequentlymeantunusualmeasures,includingactsofdeterminationandcourage.However,UCLESwasunabletofundandsupportthegrowinginternationalnetworkofEnglishlanguageexaminationcentresaroundtheworld.Meanwhile,theBritishCouncilhadabrieftodisseminateBritishcultureandeducationallinks.InMarch1941aformal‘JointAgreement’wassignedbetweenthetwoorganisationstocollaborateonthedistributionofUCLESexamsaroundtheworld.Thisstartedalong-lastingrelationship,whichcontinuestothisday.[51] Post-war[edit] By1947,therewereover6,000UCLEScandidates,withLCEdoublethesizeofCPE.ExamcentreshadbeensetupinEurope(17),LatinAmerica(9),theMiddleEast(8),Africa(4)andtheUSA(1).Candidatenumberscontinuedtogrow,reachingover20,000by1955,44,000by1965,andover66,000by1975. However,bythe1970sdemandwasgrowingforexamsatmoreclearlydefinedlevelsofproficiency.ThissetthescenefortheCouncilofEuropeandthedevelopmentoftheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferenceforLanguages(CEFR),whichwasinitiatedin1971. Qualificationatdifferentlevels[edit] UCLEShadafewattemptsatdevelopinglanguageassessmentatdifferentlevels.DuringtheSecondWorldWar,therewasathree-levelsystem:thePreliminaryEnglishTest,LCEandCPE.Afterthewar,anewthree-levelsystemwasintroduced:LCE,CPEandDES(TheDiplomaofEnglishStudies).However,asanextremelyadvancedexam,DEScandidatureneverrosebeyondafewhundredandwaslaterdiscontinued. Inthe1980sand1990sthelevelsstabilisedandthesuiteofexamswerecognisetodaybecameestablished.Afive-levelsystemwasdeveloped,whichcharacterisesCambridgeEnglish’sgeneralEnglishexamstothepresentdayandlaidthefoundationsforthelevelsintheCEFR.[60][61] Level1:theKeyEnglishTest(KET)waslaunchedin1994.ItisnowknownasA2Key. Level2:thePreliminaryEnglishTest(PET)wasoriginallyusedduringtheSecondWorldWaryears.Itreappearedin1980underclosemonitoring,andwasfullylaunchedinthe1990s.ItisnowknownasB1Preliminary. Level3:LCE,operationalsincetheSecondWorldWar,continuedunderanewname:theFirstCertificateinEnglish.ItisnowknownasB2First. Level4:theCertificateinAdvancedEnglish(CAE)waslaunchedin1991.ItisnowknownasC1Advanced. Level5:CPE,operationalsince1913,becameCambridgeEnglish'shighestlevelqualification.ItisnowknownasC2Proficiency. Duringthisperiodtherewerealsosubstantialrevisionstotheexistingexams:B2FirstandC2Proficiency.Theserevisionsincludedimprovingtheauthenticityoftextsandtasks;increasingtheweightonListeningandSpeaking;improvingthebalancebetweengrammarandvocabularyitemsintheReadingpaper;andaddingabroaderrangeoftextsintheCompositionandUseofEnglishpapers,(e.g.letter-writing,dialogues,speeches,note-taking,anddiscursiveanddescriptivecompositions). WithincreasedweightonListeningandSpeaking,UCLESjoinedforceswiththeBBC.However,intheBBCrecordingbooths,therewastensionbetweentheBBC’sapproach,whichfocusedondramaticpotential,andUCLES’needforclarityofspeech.Forexample,amanabseilingdownamountainwashighlyentertainingbutunacceptablefortestpurposes.Itwasfinallyagreedthatatleast35%oflisteningtestswouldcompriseanoriginalBBCrecording,largelymadeupofprogrammesfromWorldServiceandWoman’sHourbroadcasts.[51] IELTS[edit] WithlearnersincreasinglyrequiringEnglishlanguagecertificationfortheirstudies,UCLES,alongwiththeBritishCouncilandtheAustralianInternationalDevelopmentProgramme(IDP),developedatestinthe1980swhichfocusedspecificallyonEnglishforacademicpurposes. AnEnglishLanguageTestingService(ELTS)testwasfirstlaunchedin1980withtasksbasedonlanguageuseinacademicandoccupationalcontextsinthe‘realworld’.However,theELTStestwasverycomplextoadministerandonlytwofullversionswereeverproduced. In1989,asimplifiedandshortenedtestbecameoperationalunderanewname:theInternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem(IELTS).[62] Itwasclearthatdifferentformsofthetestwouldneedtobeequated.AllIELTSmaterialswerethereforepretestedandcalibratedtoacommonscaleonthebasisoftheRaschmodel.ThiswasthefirsttimethatUCLEShadusedtheRaschmodel,whichnowformsthecornerstoneoftheleveltestingsystem.[63] RSAandteachingqualifications[edit] In1988,theEFLexamsdevelopedbyTheRoyalSocietyofArts(RSA)ExaminationBoardweremergedwiththoseofUCLES.TheRSAExaminationBoardhadbeenestablishedin1754,longbeforeUCLES,andbytakingovertheRSATEFLschemesUCLESbecameresponsiblefor"therunningoftheworld’smostrespectedandwidelyrecognisedschemesforvalidatingtrainingcoursesforteachersofEnglishasaForeignLanguage."[64] ThetwosetsofqualificationswereintegratedandsyllabusesfortherevisedqualificationsweredevelopedinconsultationwiththeESLsector,inordertore-integratetheESLandEFLteachercommunities.In1999theRSACertificateinTeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguagetoAdults(CTEFLA)andtheRSADiplomainTeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguagetoAdultsofficiallybecameknownastheCELTAandDeltaqualifications.Thesequalificationswerejoinedin2004byICELT(arevisedversionofitspredecessor,COTE)–whichisapurelyin-serviceprofessionalqualification. Atthestartofthe21stcenturytherewasgrowingdemandfromgovernmentministriesandschoolsforaprofessionalqualificationwithoutanyin-service(teachingpractice)component.ThisledtotheintroductionoftheTeachingKnowledgeTest(TKT),whichfocusessolelyoncoreprofessionalknowledge.Followingconsultationswithworldwideteachertraininginstitutionsandtrialswith1,500EnglishlanguageteachersinEurope,LatinAmericaandAsia,TKTwentlivein2005.Inthefirstsixmonthsthousandsofcandidatessatthetestin36differentcountries.Itwasalsoincorporatedintogovernmentplans,e.g.plansinChiletoretrainallin-serviceteachers,andwasincorporatedintostateuniversityteachertrainingprogrammes.[65] ChinaandbusinessEnglish[edit] Theearly1990ssawChinadevelopingitsmarketeconomyveryrapidly.RecognisingtheimportanceofEnglishasalanguageofinternationalbusinessandtrade,theChinesegovernmentaskedCambridgeAssessmentEnglishtodevelopasuiteofBusinessEnglishCertificates(BEC). BECPreliminary(nowknownasB1BusinessPreliminary)examinationswerefirsttakenin1993by5,000candidatesfromsevencitiesacrossChina.BECVantage(nowknownasB2BusinessVantage)waslaunchedin1994andBECHigher(nowknownasC1BusinessHigher)in1996.Thiswasfollowedin1997bythelaunchoftheBusinessLanguageTestingService(BULATS)forcompanies.[66] Younglearners[edit] Inthe1990s,therewasgrowingdemandfromCambridgeEnglishcentresintheFarEast,LatinAmericaandEuropeforassessmentdesignedspecificallyforyoungerlearners.Atthetime,relativelylittleresearchhadbeencarriedoutintotheassessmentofsecondlanguagelearninginchildren. UCLESworkedwithHomertonCollege(ateachertrainingcollegewithintheUniversityofCambridge)totrialtestquestionswithover3,000childreninEurope,SouthAmericaandSouthEastAsia.ThefeedbackwasusedtoconstructthefirstYoungLearnersEnglish(YLE)tests,targetedatlearnersaged6–12,whichwentlivein1997. TheYLEtestsintroducedanewlevel.Theadditionofthe‘breakthrough’levelcreatedasix-levelsystemthatwasmirroredbytheCEFR,publishedin2001.[67] Candidates[edit] In1988,withjusttwoestablishedexams(B2FirstandC2Proficiency),examcandidaturewasaround180,000.By2002,withamorecomprehensiverangeofexams,theexamcandidaturewasover1million;by2007,itwasover2million,by2013,itwasover4million;andby2017,itwasover5.5million.[68] TheCambridgeEnglishScale[edit] InJanuary2015,anewwayofreportingresultswasintroduced–theCambridgeEnglishScale.Thescaleaimstoprovideexamuserswithmoreinformationabouttheirexamperformance. Candidatesgetmoredetailedresults–receivinganoverallscoreandascoreforeachskill/paper.Inaddition,theCambridgeEnglishScalemakesiteasiertoseeprogressionandcompareperformanceacrossdifferentCambridgeEnglishexams.[69] B2First,C1AdvancedandC2ProficiencyhavereportedresultsontheCambridgeEnglishScalesinceJanuary2015.A2KeyandKeyforSchools,B1PreliminaryandPreliminaryforSchoolsandBusinessCertificateshavereportedresultsonthescalesinceFebruary2016.[70] Timeline1209–2017[edit] 1209-UniversityofCambridgefounded 1534-CambridgeUniversityPressfounded 1858-UniversityofCambridgeLocalExaminationsSyndicate(UCLES)founded. 1913-CertificateofProficiencyinEnglish(CPE)introduced.NowknownasC2Proficiency. 1939-LowerCertificateinEnglish(LCE)introduced.RenamedFirstCertificateinEnglish(FCE)in1975andnowknownasB2First. 1941-JointagreementwiththeBritishCouncil–BritishCouncilcentresestablished 1943–47-PreliminaryEnglishTest(PET)introduced.Itwasreintroducedin1980andisnowknownasB1Preliminary. 1971-CommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferenceforLanguages(CEFR)initiated 1988-TheRoyalSocietyofArts(RSA)ExaminationBoardbecomespartofUCLES 1989-SpecialistEFLresearchandevaluationunitestablished 1989-IELTSlaunched.AsimplifiedandshortenedversionofELTSlaunchedin1980. 1990-AssociationofLanguageTestersinEurope(ALTE)founded 1991-CertificateinAdvancedEnglish(CAE)introduced.NowknownasC1Advanced. 1993-BusinessEnglishCertificates(BEC)launched. 1994-KeyEnglishTest(KET)introduced.NowknownasA2Key. 1995-UniversityofOxfordDelegacyofLocalExaminations(UODLE)becomespartofUCLES 1997-YoungLearnerEnglishTests(YLE)introduced.NowknownasPre-A1Starter,A1Movers,andA2Flyers. 1997-BULATSlaunched. 2001-CEFRpublished. 2002-UCLESEFLrenamedUniversityofCambridgeESOLExaminations(CambridgeESOL). 2002-OnemillionCambridgeESOLexamcandidates. 2010-CaMLAestablished(CambridgeMichiganLanguageAssessments). 2011-CambridgeExamsPublishingjointventurewithCambridgeUniversityPressestablished. 2013-CambridgeESOLrenamedCambridgeEnglishLanguageAssessment. 2015-CambridgeEnglishScaleintroduced. 2016-LinguaskillReadingandListeningintroduced. 2016-LinguaskillWritingintroduced. 2017-CambridgeEnglishLanguageAssessmentrenamedCambridgeAssessmentEnglish. Seealso[edit] CaMLA IELTS,InternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem StudiesinLanguageTesting(SiLT) TeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguage References[edit] ^"Cambridgecelebrates100yearsofEnglishlanguageexams".www.gov.uk.Retrieved23April2018. ^"5reasonstochooseaCambridgeEnglishQualification-BellEnglish".www.bellenglish.com.Retrieved23April2018. ^"AboutThe"CambridgeEnglishLanguageAssessment"–LinkEducation".www.linkeducationinc.com.Archivedfromtheoriginalon30January2018.Retrieved23April2018. ^"TheCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferenceforLanguages(CEFR)andthedevelopmentoflanguagepolicies:challengesandresponsibilities-CouncilofEurope".www.coe.int/en.Retrieved14May2018. ^"CambridgehavemodifiedtheirCEFRversusexamschart".teachersmadrid.es.Retrieved14May2018. ^"EnglishLanguageExamsAGuideforParents-BritishCouncil"(PDF).www.britishcouncil.cz.Retrieved14May2018. ^"TakeaCambridgeEnglishexamwithBritishCouncilGreece".www.britishcouncil.gr.Retrieved23April2018. 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^http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/23119-research-notes-07.pdf ^"CambridgeAssessmentEnglish-CambridgeAssessment".www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk.Retrieved23April2018. ^"CambridgeEnglishScaleresultsreporting-CambridgeEnglish".www.cambridgeenglish.org.Retrieved23April2018. ^http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167506-cambridge-english-scale-factsheet.pdf Externallinks[edit] CambridgeAssessmentEnglish CambridgeEnglishCandidateSupportSite CambridgeEnglishTeacherSupportSite StudiesinLanguageTesting(SiLT) CambridgeAssessmentAdmissionsTesting vteLanguageproficiencytestsEnglish InternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem(IELTS) TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL) TestofEnglishforInternationalCommunication(TOEIC) CambridgeEnglishLanguageAssessment CaMLAEnglishPlacementTest EFSET ECCE ECPE MELAB MichiganEnglishTest MTELPSeries PTE TrinityCollegeLondonESOL YoungLearnersTestsofEnglish STEPEiken TrackTest CollegeEnglishTest(CET)andTestforEnglishMajors(TEM) GeneralEnglishProficiencyTest 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