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 the admiration of others. How to determine how well you have done in learning languages? Of course, there are many ways to evaluate your knowledge, but the best way 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 variety of language proficiency tests, but most people take IELTS or TOEFL. These are the two most famous international English language proficiency assessment systems for people whose first language is not English. In addition to them, there are several other testing groups that are conducted by the University of Cambridge. FCE, CAE and BEC are exams aimed at assessing knowledge of business English. They are very different from each other, so you should carefully study the formateach to decide on the choice of exam.
IELTS Description
One of the most popular 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 language proficiency of those for whom English is not their native language.
It appeared 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 English exam, its format is much more complicated. It consists of several modules that test your theoretical knowledge and practical communication experience.
Exam format
The exam lasts three hours in total, including technical breaks (to drink water, eat or go to the toilet). The test format is as follows:
- Listening (Listening) - for 40 plus minutes you have to listen to the recording and mark the correct answers in a special booklet. The audio recording is listened to only once, so you should be very careful about the task. This part of the exam measures your English listening skills.
- Reading - literally translated as "reading". Exactly one hour (60 minutes) is given 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 (written part) determines knowledge of grammar. It is necessary to write two tasks 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 (speaking) - this part of the English exam is usually held the next day after passing the first three modules. Speaking is a 15-minute interview with an expert who will evaluate your communication skills. Usually, the examiner gives one card with a picture or other task, and the examiner must prepare for one minute and then describe the picture in detail or answer the questions of the task.
In this exam, the scoring system starts from 0 to 9 points, 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 that allows you to assess the level of English proficiency. The Test of English as foreign is taken by absolutely everyone who goes to study at universities in the United States or Canada. Unlike its rival, the IELTS English exam, this test is also administered online, that is, via the Internet. In TOEFL, the tasks are slightly different from the tasks of the first exam, but the duration of both is the same - 3 hours and a little.
If you look at the format of the American TOEFL, you can see that it is very similar to IELTS developed in the UK. So, here are the modules that "Toifl" consists of:
| Module | Quests | Duration |
| Reading | 4 text, ineach of which has 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 - summary; 2 - essay on the proposed topic | 50 minutes |
| Speaking | you need to answer 6 questions from the examiner (if the exam is conducted online, you should speak your answers into the microphone; the experts will evaluate your audio recording) |
no more than 20 minutes |
Main differences
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two tests is the English version. If British English is used in IELTS, 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 even move abroad for permanent residence. It is depending on your goals that you should choose a test.
The IELTS certificate is required for admission to universities in the UK, Canada, Australia and 130 other countries, and TOEFL results are recognized in the US, Europe and Asia. When immigrating, most often people pass tests from IELTS, since this exam has two versions: GENERAL (just for permanent residence) and ACADEMIC(for people who want to go to university). Teufl, on the other hand, has only one "academic" structure, but it can be submitted in electronic format. The maximum score for the IELTS and TOEFL exams is also different - 9 and 120 points respectively.
Where to take 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 prepare for the English exam, but also get an international standard certificate by passing IELTS or TOEFL. When choosing a centre, there are several things to consider: firstly, the test center must be accredited by the British Council, and secondly, it must have a good reputation.
The best metropolitan centers for passing written and oral exams in English are BKS IELTS CENTER and Students International. The first one is located on Myasnitskaya Street (d. 24/7) and is one of the most famous centers where not only exams are held, but they also help to prepare for them. Depending on the current level of the language, an individual training course is selected. The cost of lessons varies from 1,200 to 2,000 rubles, and you will have to pay 14,000 rubles for registering for the IELTS exam itself.
After passing the test, a certificate with points is issued: from 7 points and above means that the user has successfully passed the exam (intermediate level and above). Typically, the certificate is valid for 2 years, after which you will have to retake the exam.
Exams in Russia
If you need to pass international tests to immigrate or study in another country, then in Russia you need to pass the Unified State Exam to enter universities. For 15 years now, thousands of schoolchildren have been taking the unified state exam in a variety of subjects every year. After standard translation exams (testing in English is included in the list of optional ones) - mathematics and the Russian language - future applicants must write the Unified State Examination in other selected disciplines. In each university in different areas and speci alties, different results of a single exam are accepted. For example, the Faculty of Philology almost always requires USE results for the Russian language, literature and social studies. According to the results of a single exam, admission to any state university in the country is carried out, so the place and city of passing the exam do not play absolutely any role in enrolling in 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 compulsory subjects for passing exams are mathematics, Russian and English. An exam (auditing can be held 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 Unified State Examination for graduates, and the third is the GVE for children with disabilities. Pupils of 9 classes, in addition to the basic compulsoryGIA subjects (mathematics and the Russian language), can voluntarily pass other subjects.
OGE exam: English
One of the most popular subjects for the state exam, which students choose, is a foreign language. The OGE in English includes 25 tasks, for the solution of which 90 minutes are given. Students after grade 9 can either go to college or stay to study until grade 11. 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 OGE in disciplines that are profile in the chosen speci alty.
Many students still in the 10th grade decide on the choice of their future profession and begin preparing for exams. In English and Russian - in these subjects, most of those who successfully passed the USE, only 1.5% of the total number of graduates did not overcome the threshold (the minimum limit in the USE in a foreign language is 23 points).
What does the demo look like?
In 2018, more than 65,000 graduates chose a foreign language as one of the USE subjects. Pupils choose this discipline depending on what particular language was studied at school - German, French, Spanish or English. If we talk about the features of a foreign language exam, then first of all, 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,includes 4 blocks of tasks. In total, you need to solve 40 test questions in 180 minutes. Since 2014, another module has been added to the exam for 11th graders - speaking. It is an oral exam in English. The OGE (for grade 9 students) also has this part of the exam, which tests students' communication and constructive dialogue skills.
So, here are 4 types of USE assignments in English:
- Reading takes half an hour and includes 9 full-fledged tasks that are aimed at testing the student's ability to work with English text. It is necessary to read short excerpts from fiction or journalistic literature, and then choose one or more correct answers from the options provided.
- Grammar - this section is considered one of the most difficult, because it contains tasks that require the student to have at least an Intermediate level of language proficiency. It takes 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 suggested options.
- Writing - this part of the exam takes the most time (80 minutes), consists of two essays, the first of which is an assignment of the epistolary genre. The second task is an essay on the proposed topic. Usually, statements of famous people are given on popular topics: sports, politics, culture and art.
- Listening (English exam always has this part) - lasts 30 minutes and consists of three tasks,which test the student's ability to understand speech by ear. It is necessary to listen to the audio recording, and then choose the correct answer from the suggested ones. In the first task, you need to correlate the statement with the correct version of the statement from the audio recording
Oral English exam
The exam process only takes 15 minutes, but a lot of time is spent waiting in line. The fact is that "speaking" takes place the day after the main exam and involves working at a computer. Due to the fact that it is impossible to provide everyone with a personal laptop and headset, students have to wait in line. The oral part of the exam consists of four tasks, to which students give answers in audio recording format. In total, you can get a maximum of 20 points for this module, which, in total with 80 points for the main exam, gives 100 points.
Exam preparation
You need to prepare for any test, no matter if you are going to take the IELTS or the USE in English. The audition exam requires even more knowledge and skills, therefore it is recommended to start intensive preparation a year before passing the exam. In addition to tutors, there are a lot of courses that purposefully teach students English in exactly the format that is required for the exam. If you decide to prepare for the exams on your own, excellent online platforms designed specifically for those taking the exam will come to the rescue. Here are the most popular ones:
- FIPI - exactly on their webOn the site 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 an app for smartphones. With its help, thousands of students annually pass the exam with excellent scores. The site has a huge bank of tasks for each subject, you can choose any type of difficulty and work to perfection.
- "I pass the exam" is another effective assistant for preparing for any exam.
Exam results don't always show true language proficiency, so don't be discouraged if your expectations aren't met. In any case, knowledge of foreign languages is already an indicator of high intelligence. We wish you good luck!
