Knowledge of foreign languages is a skill that not everyone can master. For this reason, a person who has learned one or more foreign languages always deserves to be admired by others. How to determine how well you have been successful in learning languages? Of course, there are many ways to assess your knowledge, but the best is to pass a special exam. English is one of the most popular languages, so it is studied almost all over the world. Let's find out what are the exams that determine the level of knowledge of foreign languages.
Most popular exams
There is a huge selection of language tests, but most often people pass IELTS or TOEFL. These are the two most famous international English language assessment systems for people whose mother tongue is not English. In addition to them, there are several testing groups that are conducted by the University of Cambridge. FCE, CAE and BEC are exams designed to assess business English proficiency. They are very different from each other, so you should carefully study the format of each in order to decide on the choice of exam.
IELTS: Description
One of the most requested exams, the popularity of which is growing every year more and more. International English Language Testing System is an international system for testing the level of knowledge of the language for those for whom English is not a native language.
It appeared back in 1960 and was called EPTB, but over the past 50 years, the exam has undergone many changes. Now IELTS is not just an oral exam in English, its format is much more complicated. It consists of several modules that test your theoretical knowledge and practical communication experience.
Exam format
In total, the exam lasts three hours, including technical breaks (drink water, have a bite or go to the toilet). The format of the test is as follows:
- Listening - for 40+ minutes you should listen to the recording and mark the correct answers in a special booklet. An audio recording is listened to only once, so you should be very attentive to the task. This part of the exam allows you to identify your English listening skills.
- Reading - literally translates as "reading." It gives exactly one hour (60 minutes) to complete 40 tasks. They look like ordinary questions, the answers to which you will find after reading the texts. All texts are written in academic language on general topics.
- Writing (writing part) defines knowledge of grammar. It is necessary to write two assignments in 60 minutes. The first is a description of the drawing, the second is an essay on some popular topic: sports, cooking, philosophy, music, etc.
- Speaking - This part of the English exam is usually held the day after passing the first three modules. Speaking is a 15-minute interview with an expert who will evaluate your communication skills. Typically, the examiner gives one card with a picture or another task, and the passing exam should prepare for one minute and then describe the picture in detail or answer the questions of the task.
In this exam, the grading system starts from 0 points to 9, the minimum step is 0.5. It is known that in 2013 the number of people who passed this exam exceeded 2 million.
TOEFL Features
Another international exam to assess your English proficiency. Test of English as foreign is taken by absolutely everyone who is going to study at universities in the USA or Canada. Unlike its rival, the English IELTS exam, this test is also conducted online, that is, via the Internet. In TOEFL, the tasks are slightly different from the tasks of the first exam, but both have the same duration - 3 hours with a little.
If you look at the American TOEFL format, you can see that it is very similar to the IELTS developed in the UK. So, here are the modules that Toifl consists of:
| Module | Tasks | Duration |
| Reading | 4 texts, each with 12-14 questions | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| Listening (listening in the English exam in the format of dialogues or monologues) | 2-3 audio recordings containing 5 questions each | 1 hour |
| Break | drink water, go to the toilet | 10 minutes |
| Writing | write 2 texts: 1 - resume; 2 - essay on the proposed topic | 50 minutes |
| Speaking | you need to answer 6 questions of the examiner (if the exam is conducted online, you should pronounce your answers into the microphone; experts will evaluate your audio recording) | no more than 20 minutes |
Main differences
Perhaps the most important difference between the two tests is the English version. If IELTS uses British English, it is also called "royal", then TOEFL is based on American English. Exams are passed for a variety of reasons: someone is going to go to study, someone needs a certificate for career growth, and many do move to permanent residence abroad. It is depending on your goals that you should choose a test.
An IELTS certificate is required for admission to universities in the UK, Canada, Australia and another 130 countries, and TOEFL results are recognized in the United States, Europe and Asia. During immigration, most often people pass tests specifically from IELTS, since this exam has two versions: GENERAL (just for permanent residence) and ACADEMIC (for people who want to go to university). Toyfl has only one "academic" structure, but it can be handed over in electronic format. The maximum score for the IELTS and TOEFL exams also varies - 9 and 120 points, respectively.
Where to pass the exam and how to get a certificate?
In every major city, there are a large number of language centers where you can not only get ready for the English exam, but also get an international standard certificate by passing IELTS or TOEFL. When choosing a center, several points should be taken into account: firstly, the test center must be accredited by the British Council, and secondly, it must have a good reputation.
The best capital centers for passing the written and oral exam in English are BKS IELTS CENTER and Students International. The first is located on Myasnitskaya Street (d. 24/7) and is one of the most famous centers in which they not only conduct exams, but also help prepare for them. Depending on the current level of the language, an individual training course is selected. The cost of the lessons varies from 1200 to 2000 rubles, and for registration for passing the IELTS exam itself you will have to pay 14000 rubles.
After passing the test, a certificate with points set is issued: from 7 points and above means that the user has successfully passed the exam (intermediate level and above). Typically, the certificate is 2 years, after which you will have to retake the exam again.
Exams in Russia
If for immigration or studying in another country, it is necessary to pass international tests, then in Russia you need to pass the exam for admission to universities. For 15 years now, thousands of schoolchildren annually pass the unified state exam in a variety of subjects. After standard translation exams (testing in English is included in the list of optional ones) - mathematics and the Russian language - future applicants must write an exam in other selected disciplines. Each university in different areas and specialties accepts different results of a single exam. For example, the Faculty of Philology almost always requires exams for the Russian language, literature and social studies. According to the results of a single exam, admission to any state university of the country is carried out, therefore the place and city of passing the exam does not play absolutely any role when crediting to the budget.
State Exams GIA
Each student annually takes tests at the end of the class, for example, when moving from grade 4 to 5, the required subjects for exams are mathematics, Russian, and English. An examination (listening can be conducted the next day) in a foreign language is also taken in grade 9.
In the modern Russian education system, there are three types of GIA (final certification): the first is the OGE, which is held in grade 9; the second is the USE for graduates, and the third is the SEE for children with disabilities. Pupils of grades 9, in addition to the basic compulsory subjects of the State Academic College (mathematics and the Russian language), can voluntarily pass other subjects.
OGE Exam: English
One of the most popular subjects for passing the state exam, which students choose, is a foreign language. OGE in English includes 25 tasks, for which 90 minutes are given. Pupils after the 9th grade can either go to college or stay to study until the 11th grade. If the choice is made in favor of the first, then you will have to pass state exams in three or more subjects, because many colleges require the results of the exam in the disciplines that are core for the chosen specialty.
Many students in the 10th grade are determined with the choice of their future profession and begin preparing for exams. In English and Russian, in these subjects the most successfully passed the exam, only 1.5% of the total number of graduates did not pass the threshold (the minimum border in the exam in foreign language is 23 points).
What does the demo look like?
In 2018, more than 65 thousand graduates chose a foreign language as one of the exam subjects. Students choose this discipline depending on what specific language was studied at school - German, French, Spanish or English. If we talk about the features of the exam in a foreign language, then in the first place, its format should be highlighted. The fact is that the exam in English is divided into two modules, one of which is optional.
The first part of the exam is written, it includes 4 blocks of tasks. In total, you need to solve 40 test questions in 180 minutes. In the exam for 11th graders since 2014, they added another module - speaking. It is an oral exam in English. In the OGE (for students in grades 9) this part of the exam is also present, which tests students' communication skills and constructive dialogue.
So, here are 4 types of exam questions in English:
- Reading takes half an hour and includes 9 full-time assignments, which are aimed at testing the student's ability to work with English text. It is necessary to read small excerpts from fiction or journalistic literature, and then select one or more correct answers from the proposed options.
- Grammar - this section is considered one of the most difficult, because it contains tasks that require the student to have a level of language knowledge not lower than Intermediate. It is necessary in 40 minutes to solve three blocks of tasks that look like ordinary passages of text with missing words, prepositions or conjunctions. The student must insert the correct answer from the list of proposed options.
- Writing - this part of the exam takes the most time (80 minutes), consists of two essays, the first of which is the task of the epistolary genre. The second task is an essay on the proposed topic. Usually, famous people give statements on popular topics: sports, politics, culture and art.
- Listening (the English exam always has this part) - lasts 30 minutes and consists of three tasks that test the student's ability to understand speech by ear. You need to listen to the audio recording, and then select the correct answer from the proposed ones. In the first task, you need to correlate the statement with the correct version of the statement from the audio recording
English Oral Exam
The exam process takes only 15 minutes, but it takes a lot of time to wait for your turn. The fact is that “speaking” takes place the day after the main exam and involves working on a computer. For the reason that it is impossible to equip everyone with a personal laptop and headset, students have to wait their turn. The oral part of the exam consists of four tasks for which students give answers in the format of audio recordings. In total, for this module you can get a maximum of 20 points, which in total with 80 points for the main exam give 100 points.
Exam preparation
It is necessary to prepare for any test, it does not matter if you intend to take IELTS or the Unified State Exam in English. The exam with listening requires even more knowledge and skills, so it is recommended that one year before the exam is completed, intensive training should begin. In addition to tutors, there are a lot of courses that purposefully teach students English in the exact format required by the exam. If you decide to prepare for the exams yourself, excellent online platforms designed specifically for those who pass the exam will come to the rescue. Here are the most popular ones:
- FIPI - it is on their website that you can find a huge number of demonstration versions of the exam, not only in foreign languages, but also in other subjects.
- Dunno is a site that even has a smartphone app. With its help, thousands of students annually pass the exam for excellent points. The site has a huge bank of tasks for each subject, you can choose any type of difficulty and work to perfection.
- "SdamEGE" is another effective assistant to prepare for any exam.
Exam results do not always show the true level of language proficiency, so do not be discouraged if your expectations are not met. In any case, knowledge of foreign languages is already an indicator of high intelligence. Good luck!