EXCERPTS AND WEBLINKS

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Do you speak English? The Hindu 8-May-04

In the 1880s when a child was to take its music exams in Australia, an examiner from the Trinity Exam Board would set sail from Southampton in England to Australia to examine the child in the nuances of music. Today Trinity, the International Examination Board flies its examiners across and has moved beyond the field of music and provides examinations also in the fields of Drama and Speech, Dance, and especially in English for Speakers of Other Languages and Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages. Trinity offers two types of exams: The Graded examination in Spoken English and The Integrated Skills in English.

In the Graded Examinations in Spoken English, there are 12 grades — here grades mean assessment. The examiner (as in the 1880s) would fly in from the U.K. to test the student on a one to one basis. This ensures that a student has the same examiner wherever he is. Open to anyone above seven years of age, Grades 1 to 3 is the initial stage, while 4 to 7 is the elementary stage, 7 to 9 the intermediate stage and 10 to 12 the advanced stage. The test, which is in the form of a conversation between the examiner and the examinee, is an informal experience. The student is free to prepare his topic from any subject under the sun — so long that he finds it easy and enjoyable to talk about it. It can be from his field of interest, some aspect in his normal routine life, his workplace, anything. The integrated Skills in English Examination on the other hand test the student's skill in listening, speaking, reading and writing. And there are three levels of examination in this category. Three parts constitute the exam, which includes a portfolio of work the student has done, a written exam and a one to one interview.

Today, a partnership between Orient Longman and Trinity College, London, has brought these exams to India. So the mantra for the moment is, Mind your language.

For further details contact: exams@orientlongman.com

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