London Tests of English for Children

The London Tests of English for Children (LTEfC) are international English language exams for young children (aged from 7 to 11) who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL).

They are developed by Pearson Language Tests, a new business unit of the Pearson group which is dedicated to language testing and certification. Pearson administer the exams with Edexcel, one of the largest examining bodies of academic and vocational qualifications in the UK. Edexcel is a Pearson company. Pearson Language Tests also develops the London Tests of English.

The London Tests of English for Children exams are based around the amusing adventures of the Brown family. The exams are theme based and designed to be fun and motivating. At the lower levels they aim to test how well children can use language structures and at the higher levels how well they can use language to complete communicative tasks. For this reason, the tests use real-life scenarios rather than grammatical exercises. They test the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

There are four LTEfC levels

The oral test is based on a board game that the children play together.

History

The London Tests of English were originally developed by the University of London Schools Examination Board in 1982. The Examination Board merged with Business & Technological Council (BTEC) in 1996 to become Edexcel, the largest examining body of academic and vocational in the UK.

Theory of Schema

London Tests of English for Children andLondon Tests of English are based on a scenario, which accords with Schema Theory. This means that all exam tasks are related through a common theme which allows candidates to activate the different domains of knowledge they have acquired and thus further enhance second language acquisition. It also provides a coherent thread for candidates to guide them through the various tasks.

The tasks can be interrelated through a common topic or a scenario where the different tasks “build” a story and integrate different language skills.

Certification

The exams are prepared and marked by teams of professionals and successful candidates receive a certificate of attainment from Edexcel. The oral interview is assessed by locally trained assessors and moderated in London. There are registered Test Centres in 35 countries.

Technology

Pearson have developed an online marking system, ePEN, and a web-based test centre service system, Edexcel Online, to provide rapid feedback on the individual performance of students in the exams.

Dates

Test sessions are offered in May, June, August and November. Interested parties should visit the website for actual session dates for individual countries.

See also

*Pearson Language Tests
*Edexcel

External links

* [http://www.pearsonlanguageassessments.com/ Pearson Language Tests]
* [http://www.pearsonlanguageassessments.com/home/exams/ltefc/ LTEfC]
* [http://www.pearson.com/ Pearson PLC]
* [http://www.edexcel.org.uk/ Edexcel]