They are developed by Pearson Language Assessments, a new business unit of the Pearson group which is dedicated to language testing and certification. Pearson administer the exams with Edexcel, one of the largest examining bodies of academic and vocational qualifications in the UK. Edexcel is a Pearson company. Pearson Language Assessments also develops the London Tests of English.
The London Tests of English for Children exams are based around the amusing adventures of the Brown family. The exams are theme based and designed to be fun and motivating. At the lower levels they aim to test how well children can use language structures and at the higher levels how well they can use language to complete communicative tasks. For this reason, the tests use real-life scenarios rather than grammatical exercises. They test the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
There are four LTEfC levels
| Level | LTEfC | Exam time |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Breakthrough | 1h15 |
| 3 | Quickmarch | 1h |
| 2 | Springboard | 2h |
| 1 | Firstwords | 1h35 |
The oral test is based on a board game that the children play
together.
History
The London Tests of English were originally developed by the University of London Schools Examination Board in 1982. The Examination Board merged with Business & Technological Council (BTEC) in 1996 to become Edexcel, the largest examining body of academic and vocational in the UK.
Theory of Schema
London Tests of English for Children andLondon Tests of English are based on a scenario, which accords with Schema Theory. This means that all exam tasks are related through a common theme which allows candidates to activate the different domains of knowledge they have acquired and thus further enhance second language acquisition. It also provides a coherent thread for candidates to guide them through the various tasks.
The tasks can be interrelated through a common topic or a scenario where the different tasks build a story and integrate different language skills.
Certification
The exams are prepared and marked by teams of professionals and successful candidates receive a certificate of attainment from Edexcel. The oral interview is assessed by locally trained assessors and moderated in London. There are registered Test Centres in 35 countries.
Technology
Pearson have developed an online marking system, ePEN, and a web-based test centre service system, Edexcel Online, to provide rapid feedback on the individual performance of students in the exams.
Dates
Test sessions are offered in May, June, August and November. Interested parties should visit the website for actual session dates for individual countries.
