It has been developed to offer test-takers a choice and an alternative to other high-stakes admission tests. The test experience is user-friendly and ‘human’, with a live proctor and speaking test examiner.
Academic English and more
LanguageCert Academic is, first and foremost, an English language proficiency test for academic purposes. The questions and tasks in the test are designed to elicit the language skills needed for academic success. All four skills in the test focus explicitly on academic English.
However, LanguageCert Academic is also designed to account for the broader needs of international students and the challenges ahead of them. LanguageCert Academic is designed to engender and assess the real-world English language skills international students need to survive, thrive and flourish at college or university.
Survive
A high-stakes test for academic purposes does students a disservice if it does not address the linguistic repertoire and language skills they need to meet the demands of their everyday lives once they start higher education. If a test ignores these challenges, it can’t claim to focus on students’ real-world needs. LanguageCert Academic test design and content address these communicative needs.
For example, alongside discussions with tutors, lecturers and academic staff, the LanguageCert speaking test includes conversations, presentations and role plays covering topics such as the benefits of campus accommodation for first-year students, part-time work, the availability of suitable food in the college canteen, and joining a campus sports club.
Thrive
LanguageCert Academic focuses on the communicative language skills that empower students to thrive academically. There is a strong emphasis across the test on communicative language competence. The speaking test is conducted by a human examiner who facilitates the conversation to elicit the best performance from each and every candidate.
A human examiner marks the test recording according to separate and specific criteria for different parts of speech, such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and fluency. The reading and writing parts of LanguageCert Academic assess the lexical-grammatical patterns and structures students will encounter in an academic context. For example, ability to identify and use discourse markers – essential for comprehending complex texts and producing coherent academic writing.
Flourish
University or college can be a powerful space in which students realise their intellectual and personal potential. In addition to testing and promoting communicative English language ability, LanguageCert Academic can help develop extra-linguistic thinking skills students need to flourish as individuals, academically and make themselves employment-ready for the next stage of their journey.
LanguageCert Academic includes tasks and scenarios designed to encourage students to become self-reflective and self-directed learners, aware of different learning styles, and better able to set their own learning goals and manage their learning. Likewise, the Reading, Speaking and Writing papers include tasks and scenarios designed to foster critical thinking – a set of in-demand skills employers consistently cite as essential for the workplace.
