English Speaking Board (International) Ltd

Category: Uncategorised

  • ESOL International qualifications – opportunities for ESOL learners following Brexit

    Tes.com, the global education organisation supporting teachers and educational organisations around the world, recently published an article highlighting the need for a new ESOL strategy following Brexit, which could, with the support of ESB International, provide opportunities for your ESOL learners to further develop their English language skills.

    If your learners are progressing from ESOL Skills for Life qualifications at Entry 3, Level 1 or Level 2, ESB has an ESOL International qualification suitable for them.

    English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. offers four Ofqual-regulated ESOL International qualifications at B1, B2, C1 and C2 on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The CEFR is used all over Europe and internationally as a framework for learning, teaching and assessment.

    These four qualifications are suitable for learners who wish to improve their level of general English for personal, academic or professional reasons, and achieve a high-quality, internationally recognised qualification at the CEFR level appropriate to them and their educational circumstances.

    CEFR Levels B1-C2 and mini tests

    ESOL Skills for Life and ESOL International assessments differ, therefore there is not necessarily a direct progression that is the same for every learner. Please read the information below and encourage your learners to try out our mini-tests to see which test is the most appropriate level!

    I have completed:You should try:
    ESOL Skills for Life Entry 3ESOL International B1 or B2
    ESOL Skills for Life Level 1ESOL International B2 or C1
    ESOL Skills for Life Level 2ESOL International C1 or C2

    ESB Entry Level Certificate in ESOL International All Modes (Entry 3) (B1)
    B1 learners can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest; describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans*.

    If learners have achieved ESOL Skills for Life Entry 3 or Level 1 Speaking & Listening, Reading and Writing Awards, then they should try this B1 mini sample assessment here.

    ESB Level 1 Certificate in ESOL International All Modes (B2)
    B2 learners can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options*.

    If learners have achieved ESOL Skills for Life Entry 3 or Level 1 Speaking & Listening, Reading and Writing Awards, then they should try this B2 mini sample assessment here.

    ESB Level 2 Certificate in ESOL International All Modes (C1)
    C1 learners can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes, and produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.*

    If learners have achieved ESOL Skills for Life Level 1 or Level 2 Speaking & Listening, Reading and Writing Awards, then they should try this C1 mini sample assessment here.

    ESB Level 3 Certificate in ESOL International All Modes (C2)
    C2 learners can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read and express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.*

    If learners have achieved ESOL Skills for Life Level 2 Speaking & Listening, Reading and Writing Awards, then they should try this C2 mini sample assessment here.

    Features of the ESOL International qualifications

    • They are appropriate for teenagers and adults.
    • They encourage progression and measure learners’ attainment as they move through the CEFR levels on their learning journey.
    • There are five sections: Listening, Reading, Use of English and Writing are tested in one written paper, and there is a Speaking assessment taken in pairs.
    • Each section is worth 20% of the final mark, i.e. the final mark is a combination of four skills and Use of English.
    • All the sections are available online and can be completed in the learner’s home or in centre based IT facilities.
    • The Listening, Reading and Use of English sections are tested through multiple choice questions.
    • There are three Pass grades – Pass, Merit and Distinction.
    • ESB Level 3 Certificate in ESOL International All Modes (C2) carries UCAS points – 12 for a Pass, 24 for Merit and 36 for a Distinction.
    • Speaking assessments are taken in pairs, with an assessor and an interlocutor.
    • Marking and assessing is by ESB International and subject to ESB International quality assurance processes.

    *Table 1. Common Reference Levels: global scale in Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge, U.K: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, p.24.

    For more information on ESB International ESOL International qualifications please contact busdev@esbuk.org.

  • ESB continues to put its Centres and Learners first!

    English Speaking Board (International) has taken the positive step of reducing its minimum booking fee for centres wishing to enrol their learners for Primary Age Speech and Group Speaking assessments.

    In recognition of the challenges many schools and centres have been facing over the past 18 months, ESB is delighted to announce these changes which are designed to allow more learners to access its qualifications.

    The new rates are as follows:-

    £350.00 (Primary Age Speech Qualifications) 
    £250.00 (Group Speaking Qualifications only)

    Please note, the minimum booking fee for centres booking Secondary Age Speech Qualifications remains the same with a minimum fee of £450.00.

    Says ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, “We are always striving to make sure the cost does not get in the way of learners accessing our qualifications. I felt it was particularly important to recognise that some new centres, with smaller numbers, may have been dissuaded in trialling our assessments due to the minimum booking fee. I am hopeful that from September 2021, the changes to our minimum booking fees for our Speech qualifications will have a positive impact enabling more learners to access our assessments, and ultimately providing them with oracy skills that will last them a lifetime.

    “We are also aiming to support more schools to access our assessments through our 70/70 Campaign, launched to mark ESB’s achievements over the past 70 years. Our 70/70 Campaign aims to find and financially support by 2023, 70 organisations where their young people or community members face disadvantage due to socio economic factors, disability or migration status and would be supported in their aspirations if they could achieve an ESB qualification.

    “This is not the first time that ESB has provided financial support to grant learners access to its qualifications. The Christabel Burniston Fund has supported more than 40 centres over the last three academic years and the 70/70 Campaign is an expansion on the support we already offer.”

    ESB values transparency as one of its most defining characteristics and it hopes that this adjustment to its prices will deepen its working relationship with centres.

    Click here to view our Prices page. Additionally, if you would like to find out more about ESB’s 70/70 Campaign, please click here.

    ESB has been supporting learners to possess the oracy and English language skills they need in order to achieve their aspirations for nearly 70 years!

  • In Memory of ESB Ambassador, Patsy Musto

    https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/nov/05/patsy-musto-obituary

    It was with great sadness that ESB recently learnt of the passing of ESB ambassador Patsy Musto.

    Here, her great friend and colleague Shelagh Snell, remembers her.

    Patsy Musto  1946 – 2021

    ESB has always had its fair share of ‘strong characters’ and all who knew Patsy Musto would agree that she was one of them.

    Patsy and I first met at a conference in Exeter when we were both newcomers to ESB way back in the 1980s. We both ‘rose through the ranks’, as it were, to become assessors and then colleagues on what was then called ‘The Committee of Management’. Patsy served several years as a formidable Honorary Secretary and her contribution to ESB in this role was immense.

    She gave up most of her work with the organisation when she took over ‘French Encounters’, a highly successful business, originally started by her mother, offering residential courses in experiencing something of the ‘French Way of Life’, to school children. This meant that she lived in Normandy, where the business was based, for many months of the year (a wonderful bonus for her many friends who were always warmly welcomed and generously entertained in her lovely house overlooking the Seine at Villequier).

    Patsy was always a loyal and staunch member of ESB and the last time I saw her in May, when she came for lunch with friends, she expressed her delight on reading the recent up-beat newsletter.

    She will be remembered with enormous affection as an elegant and highly intelligent colleague and friend-confident and sometimes perhaps overly outspoken (although I know that this often masked inner self-doubt and vulnerability). She will be greatly missed.

    ESB Logo

    James Patrick also remembers Patsy’s tremendous contribution to ESB.

    He says:

    Patsy was a staunch, loyal member of the ESB family for many years and her work for the Board was invaluable at times when our future often looked a little doubtful.

    She will be missed by all who knew her for her brisk and decisive style, which was much appreciated. So sorry she leaves a hole in ESB.

    James Patrick

  • ESB Backs Campaign to improve Children’s Communication following Covid

    Up to 1.5 million children face being left behind in their speaking and understanding due to disruption caused by Covid, research suggests.

    Supported by ESB, Speaking Up for the Covid Generation (ican.org.uk) is produced by I CAN, a charity which aims to help children communicate.

    ESB is part of their Communication Consortium on the research, joining other groups including Afasic, Autism Early Support, Better Communication, Commtap, NAPLIC, Speech Bubbles and Talking Mats and Voice 21.

    In a BBC report last week highlighting I CAN’s research, it said that a majority of teachers are worried that children who are behind will not be able to catch up and that more help is needed for pupils starting secondary school.

    For its report, I CAN asked primary and secondary school teachers across England, Scotland, and Wales about the impact Covid 19 had had on their pupils. It found slightly over two-thirds (67%) of primary school teachers believe the children they teach are behind with their speaking and/or understanding. Almost two-thirds (60%) of secondary school teachers, who have pupils who are behind, were worried that these pupils would not be able to catch up.

    ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, says: “We fully support the findings from I CAN and believe more has to be done for children who have had their communication skills impacted by Covid. We feel it’s important to be part of this consortium. It also links into the work of the recent APPG on Oracy in which we play a significant role.

    “Here at ESB, inspiring high-quality communication in people of all ages is something we continue to recognise. We believe good communication skills lie at the heart of social mobility and we’re here to support our learners to develop them through our assessments. Oracy provides a gateway, not only to improved reading and writing, but also to learning across the whole curriculum.

    “As the report highlights, speaking and understanding language is a crucial skill which, in fact, underpins all learning. Our speech assessments give learners equal opportunities to develop these essential life skills, impacting them well beyond the classroom.”

    The research suggests the two biggest reasons why children are struggling with speaking are not being able to talk face-to-face with their friends (70%), and the overuse of tablets/phones and computers (69%).

    Jane Harris, I CAN Chief Executive says: “For 1.5 million children to be struggling to be able to speak and to understand what is being said to them should be a wake-up call to government and the education sector. Our survey shows that teachers in the classroom are not able to support the children who need their help because the support the government is offering is only for four and five-year-olds.”

    There is no central initiative targeting older children in either primary or secondary education. Government spending plans include:

    • in England, £18m for early years
    • in Scotland, summer activities with a focus on wellbeing
    • in Wales, the recruitment of 1,800 extra school staff

    A Department for Education official said: “Our national curriculum for English reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development and we are investing in targeted support for those from disadvantaged backgrounds who may be at risk of falling further behind.”

    The report emphasises the need for further support due to the negative impact Covid has had and highlights the correlation between an individual’s social interaction and the development of their key communication skills, stating that children in deprived areas are particularly at risk. ESB provides a range of qualifications for individuals with special educational needs and disabilities which help remove barriers to learning by enabling access to a wide range of curricula, building relationships and a sense of belonging, developing self-esteem and a positive self-identity. If you would like to find out more about these types of qualifications, please click here.

    Says Tina, “We are passionate to close the disadvantage gap. ESB is already supporting disadvantaged learners to acquire key oracy skills through its 70/70 Campaign. Launched to mark ESB’s achievements over the past 70 years, our exciting initiative aims to find and financially support by 2023, 70 organisations where their young people or community members face disadvantage due to socio-economic factors, disability or migration status and would be supported in their aspirations if they could achieve an ESB qualification.

    “The 70/70 Campaign is part of our purpose to stretch the most able and support the least confident and to realise the potential of all by closing the disadvantage gap. This campaign is not the first time that we have provided financial support to grant learners access to our qualifications. The 70/70 Campaign, however, provides an expansion on the support we already offer and aims to give confidence to learners providing them with a clear advantage as they progress through secondary schools, FE colleges, and employment.”

    Tina concludes, “We strongly endorse I CAN’s findings that speaking and understanding language should be a core goal for Government in deciding the next steps in the education recovery plan. ESB’s aim is to support all learners to possess the communication skills needed in order to achieve their aspirations.

    “Covid has created more need for support for children now more than ever. At ESB, we believe oracy to be at the heart of the learning experience. Our Speech assessments help learners to develop key oracy skills and are a clear path for oracy success. They build confidence in learners, something which is key to unlocking learners’ potential and raising achievement, developing their audibility of voice, choice of vocabulary and use of pace to communicate a message or information effectively. “

    If you are interested in finding out more about our 70/70 Campaign and whether your centre is eligible for funding, please email business@esbuk.org. ESB can’t wait to hear from you!

    I CAN’s Recommendations
    1. English Government must enhance the Education Recovery plan so that there is support for all children who struggle with their speaking and understanding.
    2. Governments need to make sure that speaking and understanding language is more core to our education system for years to come.
    3. To ensure that every teacher has training to understand the importance of spoken language, how to support its development and identify those at risk.
    4. Enable teaching staff to access training on how to develop children’s speaking and understanding skills.

    Please click here to read the full report.