European aviation giant Airbus is working with a consortium of leading providers of language assessment to introduce a computer-based language testing service.
The BULATS Business Language Testing Service is to be introduced at Airbus' sites in France, Germany, Spain and the UK and will help the company to assess the effectiveness of its training programmes as well as testing the language skills of employees and job applicants.
BULATS provides a rapid, accurate assessment of language skills in English, French, German and Spanish and is linked to the five-level scale for language assessment established by the Council of Europe. It involves a computer-based test (also available as a paper-and-pencil test), backed up by optional tests of writing and speaking skills in a business context. It is provided by four members of the Association of Language Testers in Europe - the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, Alliance Française, Goethe-Institut and Universidad de Salamanca, and is already in use by businesses and training organisations in Europe, the Far East and Latin America.
As part of the structured language development programme, BULATS provides the ideal tool to establish an individual's starting level and track progress towards the target level. Ease of use, instantaneous results and the ability to cross reference ability in Airbus' four main languages are the key attributes that attracted the aircraft manufacturer to the BULATS system.
(With headquarters in Toulouse, France, Airbus is a joint EADS Company
with BAE SYSTEMS.)
