The newspaper English has already described UCLES examinations, which stands for University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate exams, where one can find KET (Key English Test), PET (Preliminary English Test), FCE (First Certificate in English), CAE (Certificate in Advanced English), as well as IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

TOEFL, or the Test of English as a Foreign Language, one of the most popular international tests, was thoroughly considered by I. Korotkina in No. 46 (1998) of this newspaper. She quite rightly underlined there that TOEFL is the American test for academic purposes, though it is now used widely throughout the world, whereas in international businesses another American test, or TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), is used.

UCLES offers BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) exams specifically designed for companies and organisations, and is believed in Britain to be ideal for organisations which need a practical and reliable method of testing the foreign language skills of their employees, job applicants or trainees in a way which is relevant to their work.

GMAT (General Management Administration Test), as well as GRE (Graduate Record Examination) besides testing language skills also test mathematical and analytical abilities required of candidates for admission to many graduate or professional schools and fellowship competitions.

In many schools of Russia, in my experience, KET, PET and FCE are more or less well-known, provided both language learners and teachers understand that according to the nine standard levels system, accepted internationally, KET corresponds to the level of a very limited or minimal user, PET – to the level of a threshold or limited user, and FCE – to the level of an adequate or independent user (for more details see English, No. 34, 1998).

Whatever ability or skill is tested during any of the above mentioned international exams, the parts devoted to grammar (or structure), reading and listening are entirely composed of multiple-choice questions, with four possible answers, which means that a learner’s knowledge is assessed on the results achieved after marking the appropriate answers. It is very important for an English language teacher to know that many universities and business schools in Moscow are introducing the same approach in entrance examinations (see “Moscow Pedagogical State University 1998 Entrance Examination in English” in English, No. 1, 1999, “Entrance Exams at HSE: Requirements, Tests and Texts” in English, No. 3, 1999 and “PГГУ: Варианты вступительных экзаменов” in English, No. 8, 1999).

Marina Balakireva has published a number of articles on UCLES exams where she described the aims and objectives of these examinations and task types. (See ELT NEWS & VIEWS, dated September, 1997, June, 1998 and November, 1998, published by ДИНТЕРНАЛ.)

My task today is to introduce our readers to Pitman Institute Examinations as, I believe, they are the most democratic ones in their objectives and task types and, though not as widely known in Russia and in Moscow as UCLES examinations, they are worth considering and putting into practice in schools and colleges.

Firstly, while all of the above described British international examinations test reading, writing, listening and speaking at different levels, Pitman exams do not require the candidates to demonstrate their speaking abilities, which means that if your learner is not very good at speaking, he/she is allowed to take a test and eventually get an internationally valid certificate.

Secondly, in the listening section candidates listen to teachers reading a script, thus analysing a live presentation in class, and they do not listen to a cassette.

Fourthly, Pitman examinations are based on the sort of tasks that candidates may meet in real-life situations and, therefore, differ from some exams in that they do not focus on grammatical accuracy at the expense of authenticity. That is probably why, employers, official organisations, and professional bodies worldwide recognise Pitman Qualifications as a guarantee of high quality communicative language skills.

Fifthly, candidates are allowed to use English-English dictionaries if they wish. (This is not the case with TOEFL!) That is why, in my view, teachers have to tell their learners that if they do not understand something in the rubric, they should certainly look the words up in their dictionary since often a candidates’ main problem is not reading the rubric carefully. Dictionaries are also very good for the English usage section, especially when one has a problem with prepositions.

Sixthly, Pitman examinations are relatively cheap and, finally, since these examinations are available “on demand” – you can take the exam when you are ready, and choose the date for the examination. Language teachers can bring their learners to the exam any time they feel the class in prepared for it. Fast return of certificates is garanteed (it usually takes slightly more than 6–7 weeks) and unsuccessful candidates automatically receive a short feedback report which enables them to work on the mistakes and weak points more thoroughly and take an exam again later.

Let me now brief you on some facts about the history of these tests.

Pitman examinations are prepared by Pitman Examination Institute (PEI) which traces it origin to the decision of Isaac Pitman to examine shorthand at the Pitman Institute, Bath, in 1885. The Institute grew first as the examination unit of Pitman group of companies and, in the 1920s, was housed in London before moving in 1953, as the Pitman Examinations Institute, to Catteshall Manor, Godalming. In 1945, PEI administered some 80,000 examinations; this grew to some 650,000 examinations in 1980.

In 1985 PEI was bought by the Longman Group, and in 1990 PEI was acquired by the City and Guilds of London Institute.

PEI examinations are used in some 70 countries throughout the world. In 1990, 50% of PEI work was in the UK and 50% overseas.

PEI administration has developed to support the worldwide network of examination centres. PEI has five branch offices managed by PEI employees in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malaysia and New Zealand. There is agency representation in many other countries, including Jamaica, Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria. Agents may be Ministers of Education, local examination authorities, or private companies.

Since students are able to choose the date for the exams it is often agent who fixes date systems. In Russia, Moscow, the examinations were first held three years ago; it was a project of a London college (Brooklands) and a Moscow college (Moscow Technical College). Later, other Moscow schools and colleges joined the project, and in 1996 it was RELOD Examination Centre, which, besides the British Council, became the recognised and certified centre responsible for monitoring and coordinating Pitman Examinations activities not only in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Kazan and other Russian cities.

In 1997 more than 2000 English language learners took the exam – with 90% of them being a success.

The exam has five levels. The names of the exams at each level suggest fairly clearly what the level of each particular exam is. Table one below is based on the study by Brendan Carroll and Richard West (Longman, 1989) and shows the relationship between the Pitman examinations and some other well-known tests. (You may also compare it with Fig. 1 in “English” № 34, 1998.)

At the Intermediate level candidates are supposed to be able to use the language independently and efficiently, coping with overall meaning in unfamiliar situations.

Rather frequent lapses in accuracy, fluency, style or comprehension cause some misunderstanding and communication blocks. Candidates at this level are independent users of English and succeed in communicating and/or understanding the general message.

Higher Intermediate level candidates are already proficient users of the language, according to international standards terminology, and are expected to have a generally effective command of the language though they may have noticeable lapses in accuracy, appropriacy, or comprehension, with some lack of fluency.

Advanced level candidates are called highly-proficient or good users, in terms of international standards, and use the language fully, effectively and confidently in most situations. Communication is effective and consistent.

As to the format of the exams, it should be stressed that at each level it is the same. Table 2 summarises that format.

Intermediate: 2 hours 10 minutes

Higher Intermediate and Advanced: 2 hours 40 minutes

A candidate needs to obtain 60% of the possible marks in order to pass a Pitman examination. The papers of all candidates who get 57% to 59% are automatically reassessed by the examiner.

Candidates at Intermediate, Higher Intermediate and Advanced levels will be awarded a First Class pass if they achieve a score of 75% or more. A higher mark in Reading may compensate for a lower one in Listening.

As it has already been said above, candidates who fail the examination are given an indication of what their weaknesses were.

You can get a lot of further information about the Pitman exams, and how a teacher can best prepare his/her learners for it if you buy Pitman Exams Practice Tests Teacher’s Guide (Felicity O’Dell, Longman) at ДИНТЕРНАЛ or RELOD bookshops. Books with sample practice tests in all levels are also available.

Before starting one’s work, a careful teacher is strongly recommended to read the Introduction in the Teacher’s Guide, while candidates are advised to read the Introduction in their books, and pages devoted to “Exam Help” that are sometimes even more important than doing practice tests themselves. Teachers and candidates wishing to know further information about the examinations should apply to RELOD Examination Centre (Tel: 247-9138; 287-8304) in Prospect Mira, 104.

There one can also ask for a brochure about the exams in Russian, where information about course- and textbooks preparing for it can be found. For example, to be able to pass Elementary Level one can cover Hotline (Pre-Int), Streetwise (Int), Streamline (Destinations), Headway (Pre-Int), Oxford Elementary Learners Dictionary, Oxford Graded Readers, etc.