English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is proud to announce its participation in an upcoming anniversary event commemorating 10 years of Linguistics Research at Manchester Metropolitan University.  

ESB’s involvement in this event and its future collaborations with Manchester Metropolitan University stem from ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, taking part in a panel discussion with Dr. Khawla Badwan, Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at MMU, during a previous Oracy event held at Grove Street Primary School on the Wirral. 

This event will see ESB actively contributing to a roundtable discussion on the present and future significance of linguistics research. 

Manchester Metropolitan University’s extensive research in diverse fields and sub-fields of linguistics, combined with its collaborations with national and international stakeholders, sets the stage for an insightful dialogue at the anniversary event. The question at the forefront of discussions will be, “what does Linguistics in Action look like?”. 

ESB’s Product Development Manager, Anthea Wilson, will represent ESB in the roundtable discussion and will address pivotal topics such as: 

1. Identifying the current pressing challenges and the vital role of linguistics research in addressing them. 
2. Developing a collaborative research agenda to ensure research impact, relevance, and significance. 
3. Exploring how ESB works with research. 

The roundtable session aims to gather diverse perspectives and responses from stakeholders, not only to reflect on the event’s presentations, but also to lay the groundwork for potential future research collaborations. 

ESB is delighted to be part of this milestone event and looks forward to contributing to the substantive discussions around the significance and future direction of linguistics research at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

About English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. 

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is a specialist Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation, with over 70 years of expertise in exclusively awarding qualifications for English Language and Oracy. It creates, marks, and externally assesses accredited ESOL Skills for Life qualifications, available at five levels from Entry 1 to Level 2, as well as a non-accredited Pre-Entry offering. It also operates a successful portfolio of ESOL International qualifications from A1-C2 level, mapped to the common European framework, together with a unique suite of oracy qualifications mapped to the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4, which can add to, or enhance an ambitious curriculum. The organisation currently certificates more than 40,000 learners per year in a wide range of centres.  

ESB was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Awarding Organisation of the Year’ for 2023 by the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB). ESB is renowned for promoting the power of human connection, self-advocacy, communication, and confidence-building amongst its learners.   

Our published research 

ESB’s National Impact Report 21/22 includes research from its most disadvantaged primary and secondary schools, demonstrating an impact score of 9/10 and 8/10 respectively, and highlighting the significant impact that ESB qualifications have on the Oracy skills of their learners in the wake of the pandemic. You can read the full National Impact Report here: ESB-INFO-C70-Oracy-Assessment-Impact-Report-2021-22-v1.pdf (esbuk.org) 

Additionally, a peer-reviewed article was published in the Chartered Teaching Magazine titled: ‘A unique opportunity in the curriculum for students to have genuine agency over their choices and outcome’: A study of the impact on learners of employability-focused, externally assessed Level 1 and Level 2 speaking and listening qualifications. 

If you would like to find out more information about English Speaking Board (International) and its externally assessed qualifications, please click here.