• Unique features of our English exams
• Who are our ESOL qualifications intended for?
• International ESOL Diploma  
• Recognitions
• City & Guilds in the professional ELT arena 
• Assessment  
• International ESOL levels mapped to CEFR 
• Europass
• Recommended Methodology Tips

Unique features of City & Guilds General English exams

City & Guilds International English examinations are on-demand with flexible exam dates.

The examination system allows learners to sit for the examination with their own teachers and at their school, which results in decreased examination anxiety and
increased success in performance

City & Guilds International English Qualifications have been developed on the basis of genuine needs of employment contexts and real-life situations with true emphasis
on learners' communicative skills

Written and spoken examinations can be taken independently of each other at the candidates' and/or the centre's convenience

Candidates sitting for the examination are allowed to use monolingual dictionaries during the test

Written and Spoken exams are two separate tests that allows learners to prepare and sit for one or the other examination (at any time) focusing on specific skills-areas

The exams are very student and teacher friendly, with little exam-specific preparation required for the tests and an average exam length of about 2.5 hours for the written
exam and 15 minutes for the Spoken exam

Who are the City & Guilds International ESOL qualifications intended for

• Non-native speakers of English worldwide wanting to provide documented evidence of their knowledge of English, for study or employment
• Students aspiring to enter or exit institutions of higher education, where proof of knowledge of English is a requirement
• People needing English for their everyday or working life
• Learners who require externally recognised certification of their levels in English
• Those who are attending courses over a period and require a series of graded examinations which provide steps up in the ladder of proficiency

International ESOL Diploma

It’s a combination of City & Guilds International ESOL and International Spoken ESOL tests and as such gives testimony of students’ communicative competencies in all
four skill-areas of writing, reading, listening and speaking. Due to the comprehensive range of skills covered by the International ESOL Diploma, it is recognised by
governments and universities in many parts of the world.

Recognitions

Recognitions refer to the acceptance of City & Guilds International English Qualifications as true and valid measures of language performance for a particular academic or
employment purpose.

City & Guilds International ESOL is recognised, among others, by:
Professional Associations, for example:

• (UCAS - a UK organisation coordinating the academic progression of foreign students at UK institutions of higher education)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

Governments,
examples from Europe:

• Poland (as a required qualification for Civil Servants and teachers of English at primary and secondary school)
• Czech Republic (as a required qualification for Civil Servants and government officials)
• Italy (as a qualification entitling learners for crediti formativi)
• Slovakia (as a substitute for school-leaving examinations in English)
• Greece

UK Home Regulators:

• City & Guilds IEQs are accredited by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and are therefore part of the National Qualifications Framework of England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Home Office Border and Immigration Agency (for purposes of obtaining work and settlement permits in the UK, by non-EU citizens)

Universities

• By many high-profile institutions of higher education in the UK, across Europe and other Continents (For example, University of Malta)

Employers

• Many companies use City & Guilds International ESOL as a required qualification for funding corporate language training courses, across Erope, Asia and Africa

For further details on recognitions please consult our Recognition List here.

City & Guilds in the professional ELT arena

• EAQUALS: associate membership
• English UK: corporate membership
• EALTA: institutional membership
• ALTE: observer membership

Assessment

Assessment of International ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)- the Written exam (writing, reading and listening)

The City & Guilds International ESOL suite of examinations is closely allied to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference produced by the Council of
Europe, details of which are available on www.coe.int/lang

International ESOL examinations are stringently assessed against the criteria as detailed in the syllabus. The grades awarded will be either First Class Pass, Pass or Fail.

A First Class Pass is awarded when the candidate achieves First Class Passes in the Listening, Reading and Writing sections.

A Pass is awarded when the candidate achieves at least 2 Passes and a Narrow Fail in the Listening, Reading and Writing sections.

A Fail is given when the candidate achieves 1 + Fail grades

Listening, Reading and Writing

• marks are awarded for the Listening and Reading Sections; the breakdown of these is shown for each level, together with the minimum requirements for First Class and Pass
• the Listening and Reading questions are marked against paper-specific marking schemes
• the free-writing sections are marked against performance criteria aligned to the descriptors of the CEFR. The candidate is judged on how well the performance in the test meets these criteria, while ask Fulfilment, Mechanics, Language, Range and Organisation are used to confirm the overall assessment.

For more detailed information on the marking scheme for the writing tasks, as well as on the assessment marks for each task type at a particular level, please download City & Guilds Qualification Handbook for International ESOL Assessment of International

Spoken ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)

Spoken ESOL examinations are assessed against the criteria as detailed in the syllabus, where the speaking skills expected at each level can also be found. The grades awarded will be either First Class Pass, Pass or Fail.

Two scales will be used to mark the Spoken ESOL tests at all levels. They are:

1) A global communication scale

2) An ARPF scale which covers:

• accuracy
• range
• pronunciation
• fluency

Each part of the test is given equal importance. Each part is given a global communication grade, while overall performance is assessed and confirmed using the ARPF
scale. The speaking skills expected at each level are found in the syllabus.

All Examiners are approved by City & Guilds and undergo rigorous and frequent training and moderation, to ensure that grades are awarded strictly in accordance with
CEFR levels and City & Guilds examination requirements.

City & Guilds Levels for International ESOL and SESOL, as mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference

Europass

As barriers to workforce mobility break down around the world, more and more learners are using their City & Guilds certificates to find work outside their own country. Employers and learners are both looking for a tool to make the widening range of qualifications easily understood across national systems and the Europass Certificate Supplement will help them achieve just that.

City & Guilds issues certificate supplements for its English language qualifications as well. This helps employers and the wider general public understand the language competencies a holder of a City & Guilds English language qualification would possesses at a particular level of the Common European Framework.
Please download Europass Certificate Supplements for International ESOL and International Spoken ESOL.
City & Guilds is currently the only UK awarding body authorised to issue Europass Certificate Supplements.

For more information on Europass find out more from the official Europass site

Recommended Methodology Tips for the English classroom

Although our English exams require little exam specific preparation, we recommend that English teachers use City & Guilds sample papers for both the spoken and the written exams, as part of a standard daily classroom exercise. Besides providing confidence with the examination, in-classroom activities will help develop students’ communicative skills and ability to use the language for communicative purposes.

• Practice Papers
• Examination report  
• Frequently asked questions  
• Handbook  
• Leaflets Brochures  
• Performance codes  
• Recognition list