BEC BULATS by Angel Phu Zita

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? üinternational recognition for work and study ü certificated exams ü wide business context ü value for study and business career

Why take BEC exams? ü Used by hundreds of employers - as staff development programme - as a qualification when recruiting staff ü Used by many universities - as a entry requirement to business related courses in English

Levels Cambridge ESOL Levels Council of Europe Levels CPE C 2 Mastery BEC Higher CAE C 1 Effective Proficiency BEC Vantage FCE B 2 Vantage BEC Preliminary PET B 1 Threshold KET A 2 Waystage

Papers Preliminary Reading Writing 1 hr 30 mins* Vantage Higher 1 hr 45 mins 1 hr 10 mins Listening 40 mins Speaking 12 mins** 14 mins** 16 mins** * combined Reading and Writing Test ** (2 candidates)

Reading • variety of ‘input’ and ‘output’ • tests different types of reading

Writing 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)

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 & Results BEC 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 & Results BEC 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

Statement of Results Downloadable from our website approx 6 weeks after the exam Business English Certificates ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE Statement of results Session March 2002 Candidate Name Reference No To be quoted on all correspondence Place of entry Qualification Business English Certificate - Vantage PAPER PROFILE Result Exceptional Good Borderline Weak B Pass Listening Reading Writing Speaking

Grade Statistics (International)

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 flexible tests • quick results ü available in 7 working days after the test ü instant 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 ? Yes Yes No. . 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 *ALTE Levels BEC levels BULATS Scores (100) CEF ** Ability 5 C 2 Mastery Very Advanced 4 C 1 Effective proficiency Advanced BEC Higher 75 -89 3 B 2 Vantage Upper Intermediate BEC Vantage 60 -74 2 B 1 Threshold Lower Intermediate BEC Preliminary 40 -59 1 A 2 Waystage Elementary 0 A 1 Breakthrough Beginner 90 -100 20 -39 0 -19 • ALTE level system of 0 – 5 with finer distinctions of +, - and = • Score 0 -100 is only available in standard test and computer test * ALTE – Association of Language Testers in Europe ** CEF – Common European Framework

Any practice materials? FREE Sample papers available on British Council website: www. britishcouncil. org. hk www. bulats. org www. Cambridge. ESOL. org/BEC

Specified examination – BULATS & BEC • Funding Scheme for Workplace English Training • Continuing Education Fund

Further Information British Council Examinations Services Tel: 2913 5170 Fax: 2913 5172 E-mail: examinations@britishcouncil. org. hk Address: 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong Cambridge ESOL BEC: www. Cambridge. ESOL. org/BEC BULATS: www. bulats. org Keep up to date with what's new via the British Council website www. britishcouncil. org. hk