International certification in business english

1. Theme 1

INTERNATIONAL
CERTIFICATION
IN BUSINESS ENGLISH

2. Lecture 5

INTERNATIONAL
CERTIFICATION
IN BUSINESS ENGLISH:
BULATS

3.

BULATS stands for Business Language
Testing Service. It is a service for companies designed
to help them find out the level of language skills
among their staff, trainees or job applicants. It assesses
language skills which are needed for the workplace,
and for students and employees on language courses
or on professional/business courses where foreignlanguage ability is an important element of the course.
BULATS provides tests for all learners of a
foreign language. There is no ‘pass mark’. BULATS
candidates are placed in one of six levels. These levels
are expressed as ALTE (Association of Language
Testers in Europe) levels which are linked to the
Council of Europe Framework (CEF) levels. This is
explained in the table below.

4.

ALTE
levels
Council of
Europe (CEF)
Level
BULATS
scores
Level
description
Cambridge
ESOL
certificated
examinations at
these levels
Level 5
C2
90-100
UpperAdvanced
CPE
Level 4
C1
75-89
Advanced
Level 3
B2
60-74
UpperIntermediate
CAE,
BEC Higher
FCE,
BEC Vantage
Level 2
B1
40-59
Intermediate
PET,
BEC Preliminary
Level 1
A2
20-39
Elementary
KET
Level 0
Al
0-19
Beginner
-

5.

The test is carefully designed to be suitable
for a wide range of people at work – technicians,
secretaries or managers, in banking, in education
or in manufacturing, in administration, research
or marketing. It does not require any previous
business experience, and so it is also suitable for
students who may need to use the foreign
language in the future.
At the moment, four different types of test
are offered: the BULATS Computer Test, the
BULATS Standard Test, the BULATS Writing
Test and the BULATS Speaking Test. Each test
can be used independently of the others, or they
can be used in various combinations.

6.

All the tests aim to be relevant to people
using the language at work. They cover areas such
as descriptions of jobs, companies and products,
travel, management and marketing, customer
service planning, reports, phone messages, business
correspondence and presentations. The tasks in the
test are generally practical ones, e.g. taking a phone
message, checking a letter, giving a presentation,
understanding an article, writing a report.
The BULATS Computer Test assesses your
ability to use the foreign language by presenting
questions via a computer. The computer test is
adaptive. This means that according to your
answers, the computer program chooses each new
question for you.

7. Test Lengths

The Standard Test lasts 110 minutes and
tests listening and reading skills, and
knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. The
Computer Test is shorter than the Standard
Test because it chooses material at a suitable
level for the candidate. The Computer Test
usually lasts around 60 minutes.

8. The standard test

Skill
Listening
Reading and
language
knowledge
Part or
section
1
2
3
4
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
Type of task
Understanding short conversations or monologues
Taking down phone messages, orders, notes, etc.
Listening for gist: identifying topic, context or function
Listening to extended speech for detail and inference
Understanding notices, messages, timetables, adverts,
graphs, etc.
Gapped sentences
Reading passage with multiple-choice questions
Short reading passage; gap filling
Four short reading passages: sentence matching
Short reading passage; multiple-choice gap filling
Short reading passage; gap filling
Gapped sentences
Long reading passage with multiple-choice questions
Error correction
Number
of
questions
10
12
10
18
7
6
6
5
7
5
5
6
6
7

9. The writing test

Part or
section
Type of task
Time
(approx.)
1
Short message/letter (50-60 words)
15 minutes
2
Report or letter (180-200 words)
30 minutes

10. The speaking test

Part or
section
Type of task
Time
(approx.)
1
Interview
4 minutes
2
Presentation
4 minutes
3
Information exchange and
discussion
4 minutes

11. Lecture 6

INTERNATIONAL
CERTIFICATION
IN BUSINESS ENGLISH:
BUSINESS ENGLISH
CERTIFICATES

12.

Cambridge
English:
Business
Certificates, also known as Business
English
Certificates
(BEC),
are
recognised by employers, ministries,
government bodies and professional
organisations throughout the world.
This
valuable
suite
of
three
qualifications provides clear proof that
you have the English skills to succeed
in international business.

13. Leading international companies that recognise Cambridge English: Business Certificates include:

Adidas
Bahrain Petroleum Co. B.S.C.
(BAPCO)
Banco do Brasil
BMW
BP
Citibank
Coca-Cola Company
Credit Suisse
Deloitte & Touche
Deutsche Bank
DHL
Ernst & Young
GlaxoSmithKline
HCL Technologies Ltd
Hewlett Packard
HSBC
IBM
Johnson & Johnson
Kodak
KPMG
L’Oreal
Microsoft
Motorola
Nestle
Nokia
Philips
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Procter & Gamble
Reuters
Roche
Shell
Siemens
Sony Ericsson
Vodafone
World Bank
World Health Organization (WHO)

14.

Universities and colleges all
over the world also accept Cambridge
English: Business Certificates as proof
of ability to study business related
courses. To search the full list of
organisations that accept Cambridge
English: Business Certificates, please
visit
www.CambridgeESOL.org/recognition

15.

In today’s challenging business
environment, companies are seeking
employees with English language
skills to help their organisation
compete at the international level.
You can give yourself a vital
advantage by making sure you have
the language skills that employers
are looking for.

16.

Cambridge
English:
Business
Certificates are developed in accordance
with the Common European Framework
of Reference (CEFR) – the internationally
recognised
system
for
describing
language ability.
Cambridge English: Business Certificates
feature three certificates that provide a
progressive way to develop and improve
Business English ability, and make it easy
to prove to employers the exact level of
your English skills.

17.

Cambridge English: Business Higher–CEFR
Level C1
BEC Higher
Cambridge English: Business: Vantage–
CEFR Level B2
BEC Vantage
Cambridge English: Business Preliminary–
CEFR Level B1
BEC Preliminary

18.

BEC
BEC Higher
BEC Vantage
Equivalent Main Suite
Exam
ALTE
Level
Council of
Europe (CEF)
Level
Certificate of Proficiency in
English (CPE)
Level 5
C2
Certificate in Advanced English Level 4
(CAE)
C1
First Certificate in English
(FCE)
BEC Preliminary Preliminary English Test (PET)
Key English Test (KET)
Level 3
B2
Level 2
B1
Level 1
A2

19.

Proving you can use Business English to
communicate effectively can open the door to career
opportunities with a new employer, or can make your
ambitions for promotion or career development within
your current organisation a reality.
Employers value and rely on Cambridge English:
Business Certificates because they are a thorough test of
all four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and
listening) in a business context.
There is a choice of paper-based or computerbased exam formats and you can choose the format that
works best for you. Computer-based exams offer
shorter registration times and more exam dates
throughout the year.

20.

The content in Cambridge English: Business Certificates
reflects everyday work and business tasks. Preparing for your
exam will give you skills that will make you an asset to your
employer. Once you have earned a Cambridge English
certificate, you hold one of the most valuable English
qualifications in the world.
They carry out detailed research and analysis to ensure all
the exams are accurate, relevant and fair to the people that
take them. The systems and processes meet the
internationally recognised ISO 9001:2008 quality management
standard.
They offer an extensive range of support and practice
materials both online and in print to help you prepare for
your exam.
www.candidates.CambridgeESOL.org

21.

At all three levels, the ‘business’
aspect of this examination affects the
vocabulary, the types of texts selected
and the situations presented in the
tasks. In addition, as in the Cambridge
ESOL Main Suite exams, other skills,
such as understanding the gist of text
and guessing unfamiliar words in a
listening situation are tested.

22.

BEC Preliminary
Reading
7 parts / 45 items
Writing
Listening
Speaking
BEC Vantage
BEC Higher
5 parts / 45 items
1 hour
6 parts / 52 items
1 hour
2 tasks
1 hour 30 minutes
Reading
and
writing
2 tasks
45 minutes
2 tasks
1 hour 10 minutes
4 parts / 30 items
about 40 minutes,
including transfer
time
3 parts / 30 items
about 40 minutes,
including
transfer
time
3 parts
12 minutes
2:2 format*
3 parts
14 minutes
2:2 format*
3 parts / 30 items
about 40 minutes,
including
transfer
time
3 parts
16 minutes
2:2 format*

23. Lecture 3

LEVELS OF BUSINESS
ENGLISH CERTIFICATES

24. Business Preliminary CEFR Level B1

Cambridge English: Business Preliminary is an intermediate
level qualification for people who need to show employers that
they have a knowledge of Business English sufficient for practical
everyday use in a business environment.
It tests your ability to use English to carry out basic office
skills such as:
• reading short messages
• understanding the general meaning of non-routine letters
within own work area
• interpreting charts
• writing short emails
• writing straightforward, routine letters of a factual nature
• following short telephone conversations and discussions
• talking about business-related matters
• offering advice to clients within own job area on simple
matters.
For more information about the three levels of Cambridge English:
Business Certificates, go to www.CambridgeESOL.org/BEC

25. Business Vantage CEFR Level B2

Cambridge English: Business Vantage is an upper-intermediate
level qualification in Business English.
Having Cambridge English: Business Vantage shows that you
can:
• write short pieces of business correspondence, reports or
proposals
• write a simple report of a factual nature and begin to evaluate,
advise, etc.
• write a non-routine letter where this is restricted to matters of fact
• understand the general meaning of non-routine letters
• read extracts from business publications
• understand the general meaning of a report even if the topic isn’t
predictable
• listen to, understand and contribute to discussions in meetings
• ask for factual information and understand the answer
• take and pass on most messages during a normal working day
• express own opinion, and present arguments to a limited extent
• give a simple, prepared presentation on a familiar topic.

26.

For BEC Vantage, there are three
passing grades, A, B, and C. Candidates
who have achieved a Grade A have
demonstrated ability at Council of
Europe Level C1. Candidates who have
not achieved a BEC Vantage passing
grade (Council of Europe Level B2) but
have demonstrated ability at the level
below this, are awarded a certificate
starting Council of Europe Level B1.

27.

Cambridge English: Business Higher is taken
all over the world by people who need to prove
that they have a high level of English for
business purposes. This is the certificate which
can unlock your potential for success:
in the international workplace
with job applications
when applying for promotion or transfers to
overseas offices
when applying to study business at
undergraduate level.

28.

What level is Cambridge English: Business
Higher?
Cambridge English: Business Higher is set at Level C1 –
the second highest on the CEFR scale. C1 is the level of
English required for demanding professional and academic
settings.
Cambridge English: Business Higher shows employers
you can:
• understand correspondence expressed in non-standard
language
• deal with all routine requests for goods or services
• communicate effectively at managerial and professional
level
• participate with confidence in workplace meeting,
presentations and seminars
• express yourself with a high level of fluency
• react appropriately in different cultural and social
situations.

29.

If you have not yet entered the job
market, it can be used to show universities
and colleges that you can:
follow any academic business course at
university level
carry out complex and challenging research.
Cambridge English: Business Higher
demonstrates to employers that you have the
drive and motivation to achieve an advanced
level of Business English, and can use your
skills to function effectively in most
international business situations.

30.

Test your level – take the free online test at
www.CambridgeESOL.org/testyourenglish
and see which of the three certificates is the right
one for you.
www.CambridgeESOL.org/centres
www.CambridgeESOL.org

31.

Thank you
for attention!