English language requirements in immigration Focus on IELTS UKNARIC Annual Conference 2009

Aims To give staff working with English language assessment an understanding of: PBS & English language requirements in Tiers 1 & 2 What makes IELTS a proven, fit-for-purpose high quality assessment of English language ability Assessing English language ability IELTS format, content and scores Test Report Form (TRF) Verification Service

The importance of language skills English language proficiency – a necessary standard Required by: Employers Professional registration bodies Education institutions Incorporated into the Points Based System (PBS)

What is IELTS? The ‘International English Language Testing System’ Jointly managed by 3 partners: Experts in language testing internationally 20th anniversary!

What does IELTS do? “Designed to assess the English language ability of people who intend to study or work where English is the language of communication” Test of communicative proficiency in English Original 4 skills test covering: Listening Reading Writing Speaking

The increasing popularity of IELTS

Candidate top destinations 2008

Proven track record Tried, tested and proven for over 20 years Over 6000 recognising organisations worldwide

Comprehensively researched Research and Validation Unit: Maintaining quality Continuity and innovation Ongoing research programmes

Successful communication involves interaction

Face-to-face speaking test

Globally accessible and convenient Tests administered at centres and venues worldwide Up to 48 test dates per year (4 per month) Results released 13 days after test TRF can be sent directly to receiving organisations

Question Paper Production 3 – 4 years to develop one item (question) - rigorous standards applied Item writers in Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and now Canada Content sourced globally Topics or language context which may introduce a bias against any group are avoided

Academic or General Training IELTS? Entry to University / College / professional registration Assesses ability to study or train at undergraduate or postgraduate level General Training: Immigration, vocational, secondary education, language training and work experience Assess survival skills in a broad social and educational context

General Training Reading General Training Writing Test Format Listening 30 minutes, 4 sections, 40 items General Training Reading 60 minutes, 3 sections, 40 items Academic Reading General Training Writing 60 minutes, 2 tasks Academic Writing Speaking 11 - 14 minutes, 3 parts

PBS Tiers 1 & 2 and English language

PBS for workers Highly skilled workers, investors, entrepreneurs – Tier 1 Sponsored skilled workers – Tier 2 Temporary workers – Tier 5 EEA & Switzerland & Other

Tier 1 – Highly Skilled Designed to allow highly skilled people to come to / remain in the UK to look for work or self-employment opportunities. General, entrepreneur, investor, post study worker 75 points for attributes (age, qualifications, previous earnings, UK experience)  10 points for English language skills  10 points for available maintenance (funds) Requirements differ for initial and extension applications

Academic or General Training How to achieve 10 points be a national of a majority English speaking country OR 2. hold a degree assessed by UK NARIC as being taught in English and is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or above OR 3. pass an English language test on UKBA approved list Minimum IELTS score 6.5 Academic or General Training

Tier 2 – Sponsored Skilled Workers Designed for workers with a job offer from a licensed sponsor, valid certificate of sponsorship and who pass the points-based assessment Categories Work permits – Bulgarian and Romanian nationals General, Minister of Religion, Sportsperson, Intra-company transfer

Points for Tier 2 General, Minister of Religion, Sportsperson: 50 points for attributes (e.g sponsorship, qualifications, future expected earnings) 10 points for English language 10 points for maintenance (funds) Intra-company transfer: English language only required if stay is longer than 3 years.

How to achieve 10 points be a national of a majority English speaking country OR 2. hold a degree assessed by UK NARIC as being taught in English and is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or above OR 3. pass an English language test on UKBA approved list Minimum IELTS score 4.0 – general, ICT, sportspeople Minimum IELTS score 5.5 - Minister of Religion Academic or General Training

Let’s discuss When assessing international applicant’s qualifications, how do you assess their English language ability? How important is English ability to their success in your profession/organisation? What would your international applicants need to be able to do in English / what activities or tasks do they need to be able to do?

How does English ability relate to an IELTS Score? 9 band scores: 9 – expert user 8 – very good user 7 – good user 6 – competent user 5 – modest user 4 – limited user 3 – extremely limited user 2 – intermittent user 1 – non user

Mini assessment! We will watch three short clips of candidates at three different IELTS levels Discuss: What impressed you in terms of their ability? What do you think limited their ability? What IELTS score do you think they are?

IELTS Band Score Quiz 6.5 5 4.5 Reveal

Your thoughts Think again about what your international applicants need to be able to do in English / what activities or tasks they need to be able to do. Discuss: What’s a realistic score to set? How do your think these candidates would cope in your profession or organisation and what role would be most suitable for them? Have the clips made you reassess your English language requirements?

Ensuring you are assessing genuine qualifications IELTS Test Report Form Verification service

On-line TRF Verification Service Log in at www.ielts.org/TRF and click on TRF Query

Enter the TRF number

A match is found

No match found

Test Report Form (TRF) What security features of a TRF are you aware of?

Contact us IELTScommunications@britishcouncil.org Carly Moulding – IELTS Stakeholder Relations Manager Chris Chivers – IELTS Client Relations Officer IELTScommunications@britishcouncil.org

Thank you!