Page 19 - ELG1805 May Issue 457

EU special . SPECIAL FEATURE
Testing the market All change useful for host language schools to have up

their sleeves and roll out as required. It is
good for students, too. And it benefits agents
and schools by speeding up payments, as fees
are not released until the exam results are
known.
Each Pon student attracts €3,100 of
What is the market like for English language testing in Europe? Henry Tolley looks at how the Pon programme funding with an extra €200 for the exam.
PeopleCert’s Henry Tolley offers a bird’s eye view of the current trends is evolving, and what opportunities it offers for At LanguageCert, for example, they offer a
language testing four-skill B2 exam for €50 and a speaking
exam for €25 euros. Both are recognised by
et’s start by looking at the ‘local markets’, Meanwhile in Italy, the government’s foreign teacher projects are coming back. Tenders for the Italian industry and the UK regulator
countries which take a lot of English language inspector Gisella Lange has recently projects like the Communidad of Madrid are t’s all change for this year’s Pon With the advent of older, higher-level Ofqual.
exams but don’t often buy language spoken about the need for Italian secondary still asking for external exams, and now even programmes: different agents, different students looking to meet university Pon may have changed, but offering an
Ltravel packages. teachers to have C1-level to teach Clil. the EOIs [state language schools] are looking at teachers and different students are now language requirements and improve their external exam taken in schools overseas is
Good news: Ofqual has recognised exams At the same time, the language level for offering external qualifications. Iinvolved. employability, there is a move towards four- still the best way to ensure prompt payment.
such as LanguageCert, and there is a big primary school English teachers will be moved In the English-speaking countries, courses The EU-funded English language skill exams rather than the two-skill exams Make sure you have an on-demand exam in
opportunity here for local training providers as from B1 to B2. While most of the EFL industry for Europeans are getting shorter. On-demand programme is now open to high schools of the past. Offering an on-demand exam is your arsenal. Be prepared.
well. is already aware of the Pon (see next page), the exams, whether just for speaking and listening across the whole of Italy. The language level
For example, Greece is one of our biggest Italian state pension provider now has 1,000 or for all four skills, are a way of adding value has been raised from A2/B1 on the CEFR
markets – and not only for our new language academics receiving scholarships to carry out and winning market share. LanguageCert is an to B2, reflecting the rise in the age of the
awarding organisation LanguageCert. We also research projects, who also need to do external example of how this works. students, who are 17 to 19-year-olds. And Irene Bonacchi
run an Ielts centres for (International education English exams. This is all the more important when the alongside the UK, Ireland and Malta, a new
specialists) IDP there. market is witnessing a demographic decline. For destination, Cyprus, has been added to the
What we see is a growing requirement for example, Italy will see 500,000 fewer state- list.
good service and on-demand exam delivery. school English language learners over the next Some things have not changed. Each
Government projects are boosting demand Government projects ten years. Italian high school that successfully bids for
by promoting recognition amongst companies. To put that into context, at present around the money can send one group of fifteen Italian teenagers
It’s is all about employability and getting people are boosting demand 100,000 Italian students come to the UK each students to an English-speaking country for boost their
jobs. by promoting year; 25,000 go to Malta, and a good many, a three-week, sixty-hour course. An external English with the
Another really interesting market is Poland. recognition amongst probably 20,000, go to Ireland. More needs to be exam, taken at home or abroad, must be Pon
The government has realised that the level of done to get students to travel abroad. included.
English in its schools is lagging behind much of companies. It’s is all Employability will be key. What can you
Europe. They are benchmarking the school- about employability and get on your CV that will get you a job after
leaving exam, the Matura, to the CEFR – and getting people jobs university – or even instead of going to
looking to harness international exams to university? But price is the barrier. That is where
improve results. This creates a huge opportunity we think we can help – our exams are between Find out about
for local language-school chains. 50 to 75 per cent cheaper but still recognised LanguageCert’s recognitions
Meanwhile, Belgium has announced that all This is new, but demonstrates once again how by Ofqual and by ministries across Europe. Plus languagecert.org
Clil teachers will have to pass an English test offering these exams can attract new business our tests are available both in paper format
at C1. Any international exam recognised by for schools in destination countries. The long- and on computer. We want to give everyone
Ofqual, the UK’s exam regulator, can be used for term project for the ministry is to have state the opportunity to take an exam. The UK has
this purpose. schools twinned with private language schools always had a healthy exam market, and as long English Spanish Turkish
Local agents are even predicting that local and to continue along the same lines post- as it stays in Erasmus even Brexit won’t cause • International ESOL • LanguageCert USAL esPro • LanguageCert Ankara
teachers may decide to take exam courses Brexit. As Germany explores external exams too much damage to the market. Where state- Üniversitesi Tömer türkDil
abroad. English for Clil teachers is a theme that and gets ever more excited by CEFR language funded groups go, the private sector will follow,
also comes up in the language-travel countries. levels, more interest will come from students, but price competition will be fierce, especially
In Spain, Valencia has just announced that agents and teachers about exams and how to while the pound recovers its strength.
it is sending 1,000 teachers for four weeks this improve employability. Ireland has got the message. It has seen a
summer. For us, Spain is a huge growth country – growth in exam classes, giving them added
value. They managed to maintain good student
numbers last year even while the Euro was
sharply up against the pound.
Malta is seeing how to expand on its growth
of nearly 14 per cent from last year. Once
again, exams are expanding there so they can
take advantage of more funded projects across
Europe, as well as Pon.
The real disruptor here could be Cyprus,
a country we know through our local IELTS Representing 5,000 tests
test centre. It has been accepted as an English- LanguageCert is a PeopleCert Group company
speaking country by Erasmus. It has a small but
growing market. Could it be the new Malta?
The message across the EU is that demand
for exams is rising and ‘added value’ is king.
Historically the perceived value of an exam IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council,
Some students was some €200. With LanguageCert, you can 180 24x7x365 web and reliable, secure IDP: IELTS Australia & Cambridge English
even enjoy taking offer a product with the same features and countries customer service paper-based and innovative Language Assessment.
exams
& online proctored
examination
their English accreditations that in fact costs you only €25 exams technology Germany, Greece and Cyprus
language exams (Speaking)/€50 (4 skills).
18 May 2018 editorial@elgazette.com 19