English Language Test

[keithAngel]

All depends if your buying or selling

[Howerd]

“Originally Posted by posthome

We have been authorised to offer the ELSA A1 English test for UK visa applicants for some weeks now and are listed as such on the UKBA website at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...s-partners.pdf


There are 20 pages on this .pdf which one states

Theodolite Training Group UK Incorporated ?"

Posthome - reference my reply #35 above from 2 weeks ago. I know you’ve probably been busy with Energy Advisor training but have you had a chance yet to find which page number on the UKBA .pdf we should all be looking at ??

'Professor' posthome seems as unsure about running home energy advisor courses in the UK as he is about running English language courses in the Philippines. He is also unsure whether he is 'visiting the Philippines', 'spending half the year in the Philippines', 'spending most of his time in the Philippines', or if he has 'moved to the Philippines'.

I am not sure how he can be in two places at once, but he claims that his centre is part of an 'international expansion' and that the English language course in the Philippines are all taught by him and the energy advisor courses at his 'well-established' centre on the 'south coast of England' are also all taught by him!

He does still have a home in the UK - but it is a retirement property in Reading and his 'well established' centre on the 'South Coast of England' was actually his home (before he moved to Reading a few years ago)

[Dedworth]

'Professor' posthome seems as unsure about running home energy advisor courses in the UK as he is about running English language courses in the Philippines. He is also unsure whether he is 'visiting the Philippines', 'spending half the year in the Philippines', 'spending most of his time in the Philippines', or if he has 'moved to the Philippines'.

I am not sure how he can be in two places at once, but he claims that his centre is part of an 'international expansion' and that the English language course in the Philippines are all taught by him and the energy advisor courses at his 'well-established' centre on the 'south coast of England' are also all taught by him!

He does still have a home in the UK - but it is a retirement property in Reading and his 'well established' centre on the 'South Coast of England' was actually his home (before he moved to Reading a few years ago)

Have we heard from the "Prof" lately or is he lying low ?

[Arthur Little]

Have we heard from the "Prof" lately ?

... not since you responded to his last post a few days ago ...

or is he lying low ?

... probably prefers to bide his time before proffering his services elsewhere.

[Howerd]

Have we heard from the "Prof" lately or is he lying low ?

Remove 'low' from the end of the sentence and the answer is YES!

[Howerd]

http://www.facebook.com/theodolitetraining
http://www.facebook.com/#!/theodolite

Those are two Facebbok pages promoting Theodolite Training in Cebu. Note the picture - it is a picture of 'Tom' apparently teaching some Asian students. Posthome copied the picture from the EDI website for use on his own website.

Posthom has recently deleted all the information he posted on the 'walls' of his two Theodolite pages on Facebook, probably because of the numerous false claims made; pity he did not remove the picture as well - taken long before Theodolite Training had a single student.

[Mindanao Mal]

Beware!

After a month's wait, my wife in the Philippines has received the result of an assessment from UK NARIC, in order to find out whether her degree was acceptable as equivalence to the level A1 of CEFR. A1 of CEFR is the new English Language level requirement for a settlement visa to the UK.

VFS and indeed, NARIC need to revise and/or make clear their advice - UK NARIC do not at this time assess a Batchelor's degree taught in English to the A1 level, only specific equivalence to CEFR level C1, a much higher requirement than A1. Although my wife specified our A1 requirement to NARIC, and we paid our fee, they informed me about this fact only when I 'phoned them following their C1 equivalence result.

[joebloggs]

i thought the minimum was A1 so anything above is acceptable , as with ielts
the only problem with degrees from the phils naric state many are not equivalent to as UK degree.

Degrees taught in English

If you have an academic qualification which is deemed by UK NARIC to meet the recognised standard of a Bachelor's degree, we will accept this as evidence that you can speak and understand English to level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference. Therefore you do not need to take a test.

We will not accept Master's degrees and PhDs as evidence, because UK NARIC can only assess whether Bachelor's degrees (and not Master's degrees or PhDs) were taught in English.

This is different from the points-based system, where Master's degrees and PHDs are currently accepted as evidence of English language skills. We intend to align the English language requirement for the points-based system with the new requirement for partners, and we will amend the Immigration Rules in due course.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...guage-partners

[Mindanao Mal]

i thought the minimum was A1 so anything above is acceptable , as with ielts
the only problem with degrees from the phils naric state many are not equivalent to as UK degree.

Thanks joebloggs

What's not made clear is that NARIC only assess exclusively to the second (C2) level, not A1 (sixth level). Boring, annoying, costly and time consuming when VFS recommend NARIC for A1 equivalence assessment.

[Howerd]

Thanks joebloggs

What's not made clear is that NARIC only assess exclusively to the second (C2) level, not A1 (sixth level). Boring, annoying, costly and time consuming when VFS recommend NARIC for A1 equivalence assessment.

Can NARIC not even determine if the course was taught in English (irrespective of the level of English)? I think that is all that is necessary.

[jazz]

Hi folks! just to be clear on the process of this english requirement.
There are 2 Accredited English language exams in the Philippines. 1st one is called 'Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)' this is provided by Hopkins International in Baguio City and Makati. The 2nd one is EMD International English Language Assessment by StudyConnect they also have offices in Baguio City and Makati.

Now, we asked both companies for the fees:
Hopkins' TOEIC Exam: Listening & Reading = 2000 Pesos, Speaking & Writing = 4200 pesos
StudyConnect's EMD: 7200pesos for the entire exam

My hubby took the TOEIC exam.
First, since he lives in Baguio City, he took the Listening & Reading exam there. The exam was for 1hour and 30 minutes. The required grade by the UK embassy is total of 120points for Listening& Reading. According to my hubby the exam was really easy, like elementary english.

Hopkins International Baguio do not offer Speaking & Writing Exam, therefore, my hubby had to go to Makati to take the exam. Take note, you must schedule via phone as their online scheduling is not reliable, I booked online and when I called them they haven't received anything from us SO BETTER SCHEDULE BY PHONE.
The exam was also for 2 hours. I heard some of the examinees complaining to the admin people because according to them the exam was really hard. Something like, you have to look at a certain picture on the computer screen and you must type sentences that describe what you see on the picture. As if you were writing an essay. You must also answer some questions in English for the Speaking part.
Someone said, 'what if i didn't go to school, and don't know any english but love my wife so much and want to be with her, what happens to us then?' It was really sad. But the administrator did tell them that the UK only requires 80points for UK visa applicants and the exam's highest possible score is 900points.
Well, my husband did say it was harder than the Listening & Reading exam he took in Baguio but he still passed it with flying colours! Haha.

I think I read on the UK visa site that you could be excused from this test if the applicant has a degree in English, or degree taught in English. So although my husband and I have a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication, we didn't opt for this option, as he wanted to make sure we fulfill the English Requirement entirely.
I guess, if your spouse/partner has a Bachelor's Degree majoring in English, then that would probably be okay.

If you have any other questions about the process, please do not hesitate to contact me here.

We already submitted his visa application last Friday, and we're sincerely hoping and praying earnestly to God that he will be granted a visa. We are a newly married couple so we are risking our everything to be together again.

[jazz]

I have inquired at a testing center about this test and they only require a testing fee of only 7,500, it's much cheaper than what has been posted recently, although they do not have a review for that since they are a testing center as i was told when i inquired, although they heard that there are review centers who offers enhancements for this test at a fee, as for the cost, they do not know exactly but said that it doesn't cost more that 2,000 for the enhancement, that's not bad compared to others who charges review for 12,000 or 5,000 right????

and another thing, they have a branch in Mindanao (where I am located) so i do not need to travel and spend more on airfare & such! YIPEEEEE!

My husband took the TOEIC exam by Hopkins International, it's listed on the accredited testing centres given by the UK embassy.
We paid 2000pesos for Listening & Reading, and 4200pesos for the Speaking & Writing.
If you have any questions, let me know! Ciao!

[prythee]

Seems stil a little confusing to exactly what is required and what level is needed. Anyway Since I opted to get wed in the phils after my lady was in the uk on a fiance visa we now have to apply for the settlement visa. For the study we opted for a company called "Protech" based in san fernando it cost nearly 6000 peso to register but you can go 6 days a week from 9 till 5 to study the IELTS. you can go as often as you like and the materials and tuition are very very good IMO. They arranged for the test to be taken on your chosen date, there are 2 a month, but the test is in Manila. The fee for the test was 8600, they do all the registration and provide the required forms etc. All the paperwork has the ukba stamp on it so It looks cosha. The thing I liked about protech was the flexibility and if the test is not passed first time there is no additional fee to continue the classes for as long as you want, I sat in on a few and was very impressed how the different skill level of the students was handled, often 1 to 1 tuition is given. I have no attachment or interest in Protech just an observation from a grateful asawa! Any 1 clear on what grade is required and what parts of the test need to be submitted? Thanks.