Consultancy
In addition to providing the world’s leading range of qualifications for learners and teachers of English, Cambridge ESOL offers consultancy services to a wide variety of institutions around the world, including ministries, regional education authorities, universities and commercial organisations.
We offer a broad range of services, which can be tailored to meet your specific needs, including:
- specific assessment services for both learners and teachers
- diagnostic assessment services and placement testing
- evaluation of test materials
- syllabus mapping
- benchmarking learners’ achievements to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
- assessment of other languages (Asset Languages)
- impact studies
- audit of test development and administration systems
- development of materials for blended learning (where classroom teaching is supported with computer-based material) and other learning materials, in conjunction with major publishers
- advice on the delivery of Cambridge ESOL examinations.
As part of the Cambridge Assessment group, Cambridge ESOL can access a vast resource of research and expertise in delivering educational assessment services to the state sector. Sister organisations OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) and CIE (Cambridge International Examinations) provide school and vocational examinations in many countries, and have been involved in the development of many national qualification systems.
Not just English
Cambridge ESOL is a founder member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), and together with other ALTE partners, we can offer consultancy services for benchmarking other languages.
Case studies
Below are some examples of consultancy projects we have carried out around the world.
Benchmarking and standards project for Colombia’s tourism and hospitality sector
Cambridge ESOL carried out a survey for Colombia’s Ministry of Tourism to determine English proficiency within Colombia’s tourism and hospitality sector, and create new standards for English within the country’s vocational training sector.
Read more about the benchmarking and standards project for Colombia’s tourism and hospitality sector
More about the BULATS benchmarking process used in Colombia
Benchmarking service for teachers for the Chilean Ministry of Education
Cambridge ESOL worked with the Chilean Ministry of Education on their high-profile ‘English Opens Doors’ strategy to improve levels of English in Chile. One of the aims of this project is that all state school students reach a level equivalent to KET (Key English Test) by the end of primary school and a level equivalent to PET (Preliminary English Test) by the end of high school.
Read more about benchmarking service for teachers for the Chilean Ministry of Education
Blended learning project for Italian universities
The Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI), the major body representing Italian universities, determined to improve students’ skills in English, approached Cambridge ESOL to design a language course specifically tailored to the needs of Italian university students.
Working closely with the CRUI Foundation, Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge University Press provided Italian universities with a tailor-made and cost-effective blended learning approach to improving the English language skills of their students.
Read more about blended learning and the CRUI project
A customised assessment for the French Ministry of Education
Following a successful pilot project with German as a foreign language, the French Ministry of Education decided to extend this process to English and Spanish in 2008. Cambridge ESOL was chosen in a competitive tender to provide a test of English.
Read more about customised assessment for the French Ministry of Education
Asset Languages for the UK government
Cambridge ESOL and its sister organisation OCR have provided assessment expertise for the UK Government’s National Languages Strategy, a uniquely ambitious project to encourage language learning in the UK.
Read more about Asset Languages for the UK government
Find out more
If you would like further information on what we can do to meet your specific needs, please contact us by using the online enquiry form.
