The best way to gauge the efficiency of a product is by asking an expert to experience it. Recently, LanguageCert invited teachers from all around Russia to sit the LanguageCert International ESOL exam using the secure live, online proctoring exam technology.

The teachers were later asked to share their experiences and provide some thoughts on how LanguageCert International ESOL can help students bridge the skills gap by acquiring the English certifications they need to advance their academic progress and careers on the international stage.

A teacher’s greatest challenge

Alena Alekseevskaya, a language school owner in Russia, explains that she often gets requests from students requiring help in getting certified in English language at various proficiency levels, which is of great importance to them in extending their academic studies in the wider professional sphere.

During a period where personal health and safety were a high priority due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in-person training and exams were moving online, Alena soon realised that being able to offer English exams remotely and securely was a top priority.

She was therefore very pleased to discover that LanguageCert’s market-leading, internationally recognised IESOL exam can be delivered online, with live invigilators always on-hand to monitor candidates.

As she tells us:

“I became curious - firstly, because I learnt that candidates could get officially qualified without leaving home, and secondly, because students I consult often express a need to confirm the level of their English language skills and receive the recognition they need to move forward.”

Testing the solution

Alisa Shashkova, an Education Abroad Consultant from Moscow, describes what sitting the exam involved.

“Taking the LanguageCert International ESOL exam is an entirely online-based experience and can be completed from the comfort of your home, at any time - even at night and on weekends! All you need is a computer, headphones, and microphone and a camera (the ones built into your laptop will do)”

Alisa’s reaction substantiates how language students will find LanguageCert International ESOL exams to be a fast, flexible, and friendly way of achieving the English language certification they require, wherever they are in the world. The LanguageCert International ESOL exam is mapped to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels from A1-C2, and the candidates can choose to get assessed for just the proficiency that they need. Candidates receive their verifiable results as soon as they complete the exam, and their official certificate is delivered within three working days.

“The results arrived in the mail exactly just three days later. And that's mega cool!” said Alena Alekseevskaya.

LanguageCert actively pioneers new solutions to certifying the English language skills of students all around the world. LanguageCert’s proprietary online proctoring technology is facilitated by Examshield, a locked-down platform for online proctored exams, providing candidates with an exam experience that is as efficient as it is secure.

Marina Bocharova, a PhD and Associate Professor from the Voronezh State University in Russia, tells us about her experience with the Spoken exam:

“The proctor acts as the interlocutor. One sentence describes a communicative situation; in the first exercise, the host starts and sets the course of the dialogue through some details in the question; in the second exercise, you initiate the dialogue. The situations depicted are absolutely true to life.”

Reviewing the quality of the exam

Anastasiya Pokidova describes how, as teachers, her team constantly assesses the foreign language competencies of their students

“We constantly assess the level of foreign language communication competence of our students - in the classroom and in exams. We are talking about seldomly understandable levels of knowledge for children - A1 - C2 ...”

LanguageCert International ESOL exams are Ofqual regulated and can be taken from A1 to C2 level depending on the candidate’s proficiency in English language. The exam is curated to assess 4 skills – Written (Reading, Writing, Listening) and Spoken (Speaking). A candidate can schedule Written assessment and Spoken assessments separately if they wish to do so. LanguageCert provides complementary study material for all the exams on its website.

“The LanguageCert International ESOL Mastery C2 exam consisted of two parts: Listening/Reading/Writing and Speaking. I took Written on one day and Speaking the next.”
Alena Alekseevskaya

The option to sit for a spoken skill exam at a different date or time allows the candidate more time to be better prepared, reevaluate their preparation in accordance with the Written (Reading, Writing, Listening) skill assessment they need, and enjoy the ease of convenience provided by being able to schedule different skill exams at different times.

Looking Ahead:

To remain a pioneer the changing world of English language certifications and help develop the lives of students all around the globe, it is of immense importance for LanguageCert to attain a stamp of approval from the global network of teachers it works with.

LanguageCert’s wide range of language certifications and online exam delivery formats provide students all around the world with the opportunity to get certified from the comfort of their homes. Students can validate their Business & IT skills with the wide portfolio of professional certifications from PeopleCert, helping them further strengthen their wider skillsets, all in one place.

To summarise, here’s what Aida Rodomanchenko, a PhD and Associate Professor Higher School of Economics from Moscow, had to say about her experience with LanguageCert:

“All in all, I found this experience valuable, and I felt elated taking the exam from the security and comfort of my sofa, in the hustle- and stress-free environment of my house!”