BEC & BULATS by Angel Phu & Zita Yip Examinations Services Officer
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
BEC & BULATS
by Angel Phu & Zita Yip
Examinations Services Officer
Outline of the seminar
• About British Council
• Introduction to Cambridge ESOL and
Business English Certificate BEC
• Why take BEC exams?
• Levels and papers
• Grades and Results
Outline of the seminar
• Introduction to BUsiness LAnguage Testing Service BULATS
• Why take BULATS?
• Contents of BULATS
• Levels, grades and papers
• Support materials/questions and answers
About British Council
•Founded in 1934
•United Kingdom’s international cultural relations organisation
•Around 7,500 people in 109 countries
•Hong Kong office started in 1948
Work of British Council
•Teaching English
•Providing the latest information about
the United Kingdom
•Promoting British education and
training
Work of British Council
•Working closely with governments on
reform and good governance
•Demonstrating the innovation, creativity
and excellence of British science, arts,
literature and design
About Examinations Services
•Running examinations since 1989
•Covering academic, entrance, vocational
and professional subjects
•Offers English language examinations
from Cambridge ESOL for children
through to adults
Introduction to Cambridge ESOL
• largest testing agency for British English
• full range of examinations taken worldwide
• recognition of Cambridge ESOL
certificates
•department of the university
•exams for learners of English since 1913
Business English Certificate - BEC
• internationally recognised, certificated exams
• three levels
• tests English language in four skills
•no specialist business knowledge
Business English Certificate - BEC
•set in context of international business
•working/preparing to work in international
business
•ability to communicate for essential
business needs
Why take BEC exams?
international recognition for work and study
certificated exams
wide business context
value for study and business career
Why take BEC exams?
Used by hundreds of employers
- as staff development programme
- as a qualification when recruiting
staff
Used by many universities
- as a entry requirement to business-
related courses in English
Levels
Cambridge ESOL Levels Council of Europe Levels
VantageBEC Vantage B2
Effective ProficiencyBEC Higher C1CAE
FCE
B1 ThresholdBEC Preliminary PET
MasteryC2CPE
A2 WaystageKET
Papers
Preliminary Vantage Higher
Reading1 hr
30 mins*
1 hr 1 hr
Writing 45 mins 1 hr 10 mins
Listening 40 mins 40 mins 40 mins
Speaking 12 mins** 14 mins** 16 mins**
* combined Reading and Writing Test ** (2 candidates)
•variety of ‘input’ and ‘output’
• tests different types of reading
Reading
Part 1
• Internal company communication
Part 2
• Piece of business correspondence (Preliminary)
• Piece of business correspondence, report or proposal
(Vantage)
• Report or proposal or correspondence (Higher)
Writing
Listening
•all texts heard twice
•30 minutes listening
Speaking
•Part 1 Conversation with interlocutor
•Part 2 Mini-presentation
•Part 3 i) Two-way conversation
ii) Further prompting from
interlocutor
Grades & ResultsBEC Preliminary
Passing Grades
Pass with Merit 80% and above
Pass 65% to 79%
Failing Grades
Narrow Fail 60% to 64%
Fail 59% and below
Grades & ResultsBEC Vantage & Higher
Passing Grades Grade A 80% and above
Grade B 75% to 79%
Grade C 60% to 74%
Failing Grades Grade D 55% to 59%
Grade E 54% and below
Passing candidates will receive a certificate approximately 3 months after the exam
Reference No
To be quoted on all correspondence
Business English CertificatesENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGEStatement of results
Session March 2002
Candidate Name
Place of entry
QualificationBusiness English Certificate - Vantage PAPER PROFILE Result B Pass
Exceptional
Good
Borderline
Weak
Listening
ReadingSpeaking
Writing
Statement of Results
Downloadable from our website approx 6 weeks after the exam
Grade Statistics (International)
BEC Preliminary
Narrow Fail9%
Fail15%
Pass with Merit24%
Pass52%
Pass with Merit
Pass
Narrow Fail
Fail
Grade Statistics (International)
BEC Vantage
Grade E16%
Grade C44%
Grade D9%
Grade A10%
Grade B21%
Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Grade D
Grade E
Grade Statistics (International)
BEC Higher
Grade E18%
Grade C48%
Grade D9%
Grade A8%
Grade B17%
Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Grade D
Grade E
Exam Dates & Fees
2 times a year
- in May & November
Registration
- in March & September
BEC Preliminary HK$850
BEC Vantage HK$1,300
BEC Higher HK$1,350
BUsiness
LAnguage
Testing
Service
Why take BULATS?
• a multilingual assessment tool for companies and organisations
• rapid, reliable and cost effective
• assesses language skills of employees, trainees and job applicants
BULATS provides…
• information about language ability of staff
or job applicants
• on-demand and flexible tests
• quick results available in 7 working days after the testinstant result for the computer test
A tool for …
• assessing job applicants• reporting staff language skills against
international benchmarks• placing learners on suitable language
courses• evaluating language training
The four BULATS tests and test fees
• Standard test: HK$385
• Computer test: HK$365
• Writing test: HK$385
• Speaking test: HK$495
The Standard test
• Two parts (110 minutes)1) Listening
2) Reading & Language knowledge
• Test format: Multiple choice & Gap-fill
The Computer test• Two parts (75 minutes)
1) Listening
2) Reading & Language knowledge
• Test format: Multiple choice & Gap-fill
• Adaptive test• Installed at your premises
Computer Adaptive Testing
. .
YesYes
YesNo
NoYes
Candidate’s level
30 40 50 60 70 80
?
The Writing test
• Two parts (45 minutes)
- short message / letter (50-60 words)
- report / letter (180-200 words)
• Two examiners mark separately
The Speaking test
• Three parts (12-15 minutes)
- Interview
- Presentation
- Information exchange
• Record interview
• Two examiners mark separately
Test sessions at British Council
• Open sessions at British Council
- applications open for the public
- once a month
• Closed sessions for
companies or language schools
- in house
- on demand
BULATS levels*ALTELevels
CEF ** Ability BEC levelsBULATSScores (100)
5 C2 MasteryVery Advanced
90-100
4 C1 Effective proficiency
Advanced BEC Higher 75-89
3 B2 VantageUpper Intermediate
BEC Vantage 60-74
2 B1 ThresholdLower Intermediate
BEC Preliminary 40-59
1 A2 Waystage Elementary 20-39
0 A1 Breakthrough Beginner 0-19
* ALTE – Association of Language Testers in Europe** CEF – Common European Framework
• ALTE level system of 0 – 5 with finer distinctions of +, - and = • Score 0-100 is only available in standard test and computer test
Any practice materials?
FREE Sample papers available on
British Council website:www.britishcouncil.org.hkwww.bulats.orgwww.CambridgeESOL.org/BEC
Specified examination – BULATS & BEC
• Funding Scheme for Workplace English Training
• Continuing Education Fund
Further InformationBritish Council
Examinations ServicesTel: 2913 5170Fax: 2913 5172E-mail: [email protected]: 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Cambridge ESOL
BEC: www.CambridgeESOL.org/BECBULATS: www.bulats.org
Keep up to date with what's new via the British Council website
www.britishcouncil.org.hk
Related Documents
