Bulats
University of Cambridge - ESOL ExaminationsCursosGoethe-InstitutAlliance FrancaiseALTE

BULATS educational mission

 

BULATS Mission

BULATS forms an integral part of Cambridge ESOL's educational mission, supporting effective language learning for and in business contexts as a key tool for economic, social and personal development. To support this ethos, Cambridge ESOL provides extensive free-of-charge support to help learners to prepare for the BULATS tests, and participates in numerous international projects where BULATS is used as a tool for benchmarking and monitoring language skills in the commercial, educational and public sectors, providing a basis for programmes designed to raise standards of language and communication skills.

Through its link to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language: learning, teaching and assessment, BULATS also provides support for the Council of Europe's work in implementing consistent levels for language learning.

BULATS is a valid and reliable tool that is used and recognised by companies, labour ministries, education authorities and the tertiary sector globally for recruitment, promotion, developing internal language training programmes and assessing vocational language competencies. It is used by a range of stakeholders who are looking to improve the language quality of the workplace sector for public good. It provides an efficient and effective measurement of language competency, measuring listening, reading and language knowledge for business communication. BULATS is available as a paper-based test and also as an adaptive online version, on CD-ROM. There is also a Writing test and a Speaking test available.

BULATS is used for a range of purposes including:

  • testing job applicants as part of the recruitment process
  • identifying language training requirements
  • evaluating the effectiveness of language training programmes
  • testing language abilities to assess staff suitability for work or training placements overseas
  • benchmarking levels of language ability across a company
  • vocational placements
  • vocational training
  • civil service jobs for public good

Although the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) applies to European languages it is coming to be accepted as the standard benchmark of language abilities worldwide. It has been adopted by curriculum developers, publishers, examination providers and Ministries of Education around the world. BULATS which is aligned to the CEFR is used as a global benchmark for public good. Below are examples of how BULATS has helped economic, social and personal development.

Hong Kong Workplace Engish Campaign

The Hong Kong Workplace English Campaign was launched by the Hong Kong government to heighten public awareness of the importance of having a good command of English in a workplace environment and to improve the knowledge of English among the working population in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Workplace English Campaign developed a set of benchmarks describing the English language abilities required for various types of jobs and these benchmarks are mapped to the CEFR. A number of Business English qualifications linked to the CEFR, including BULATS and the Cambridge ESOL Business English Certificates (BEC), are recognised by the campaign as evidence of suitable English language abilities.

State Government of Gujarat, India

In response to a need for improved English language skills in the Indian workforce, the state government in Gujarat has established an initiative to raise the level of English among students and the existing workforce and to align standards of English to the CEFR. Working with the Society for the Creation of Opportunities through Proficiency in English (SCOPE) – a specially formed body for this initiative – Cambridge ESOL developed a new test called the Gujarat English Language Test, to assess ability related to the lower range of levels set out in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Tests are being subsidised by the Gujarat state government and are available to all members of the public. The opportunity to take BULATS will also be available for candidates demonstrating higher level language abilities than tested by the Gujarat English Language Test.

State of Andhra Pradesh, India

AP government through its commission for collegiate education manages all the Arts & Science colleges in the state. To enhance rates of employability among graduates, the CCE runs a finishing School (Jawahar Knowledge Centres) in all the government colleges in the state. These finishing schools focus on Communication Skills, Aptitude and IT skills. To add value to the students who take up the programme, CCE has now introduced BULATS as a benchmark certification for these students. BULATS score helps a student in rural Andhra Pradesh to demonstrate his language skills and enable employment opportunities through placement services offered by the CCE. Thousands of rural students are to benefit from this benchmarking exercise as BULATS enjoys significant corporate recognition among BPO and IT companies in India. The first tests are to be administered in November 2008.

Civil Services Dubai

The Civil Services Department use BULATS for recruitment, training selection and internal promotion.

ASEP Greece

ASEP the body responsible for recruiting jobs for the state sector in Greece has officially recognised BULATS as an assessment qualification that can be used for recruitment to the state sector.

Taiwan - Civil Servants Project

To improve civil servants’ English level, the Executive Yuan in Taiwan has been encouraging civil servants under 40 to obtain a certificate in English language ability as criteria for promotion. The civil servants promotion criteria specify that reaching A2 and onwards in BULATS would gain them credits which they will need for promotion. The government would also reimburse civil servants for the test fee and language course tuition fee once they have obtained a required certificate.

The Cambridge Approach

Cambridge Assessment was established to promote educational excellence and high quality learning through the use of Assessment. In order to achieve this it is committed to ensuring that all its assessments are fair, have a sound ethical underpinning and operate according to the highest technical standards.

Cambridge ESOL as part of Cambridge Assessment fully supports the Cambridge Approach and adheres to the principles involved in all of its exams including BULATS.

To read the full paper: cambridge_approach.pdf