jTELS/TELSa – Upper Intermediate Award in English as Second or Other Language (ESOL) MQF/EQF Level 4 12 ECTS – Equivalent to B2 of CEFR

This section contains the expected outcomes for the jTELS* and TELSa** B2, C1 and C2. More detailed information is provided in the various syllabi which provide a framework around which teachers can plan their lessons in order to help their students achieve the required level of competence relating to language systems (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, functional language and pronunciation) and the four language skills (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking). Teachers are encouraged to interpret, adapt and personalise content as they deem feasible, without losing sight of the importance of engaging their students and ensuring that they are empowered enough to achieve their goals and, eventually, move on to a higher level of competence.

Recommended ‘Guided Learning’ hours (i.e. class time, testing, and project work in class) is as indicated below. We also recommend that ‘instruction time’ is supplemented by active ‘Self-study’, as detailed in the ‘ESaT Framework of Progress: Recommended Total Qualification Time’. It is understood that ‘Self-study’ includes unsupervised guided work after class time, like homework, assignments, etc.: –

• jTELS/TELSa B2: 90 – 110 hours (…plus active Self-study), assuming the learner has completed the jTELS/TELSa B1.
• jTELS/TELSa C1: 100 – 120 hours (…plus active Self-study), assuming the learner has completed the jTELS/TELSa B2.
• jTELS/TELSa C2: 100 – 120 hours (…plus active Self-study), assuming the learne has completed the jTELS/TELSa C1.

In designing the examinations in the two suites of exams (jTELS and TELSa), we have looked closely at the needs of the candidates at each level so as to ensure that the examinations are as relevant as possible. To give an example : the Use of English, Reading and Writing paper (Paper 1) of each level includes a number of short texts covering topics which candidates can expect to find in ‘non-examination’ contexts (e.g. Notices, dialogues, role play situations, etc.). The tasks are meant to engage the candidates by asking them to process and manipulate the language in ways which are as close as possible to normal everyday situations. Whilst working on the tasks, the candidates will need to use appropriate strategies in order to read through the texts as efficiently as possible, and to exploit them in order to locate the necessary information as quickly as possible. The reading element in the Use of English tasks sets a context which requires the candidate to utilise his/her …

• ‘linguistic knowledge’ to understand the text (as with all Reading tasks)
• ‘textual knowledge’ to determine the logical relationship between the sentences and to determine the references made in the text, and
• ‘world knowledge’ to map his/her linguistic and textual knowledge to the context of the text.

Teachers are advised not to limit themselves to the language items listed in the syllabi, but should work, instead, around their students’ needs, ability and interests, which should also help determine the competencies and strategies to target during the course of study. (See the ‘Language Skills’ section of each of the level syllabi)

The targeted competences in the Language Skills sections of the syllabi are aligned to popular language frameworks. The main aim of frameworks is to act as a guide, providing teachers and syllabus planners with a base from which to work. They are intended to provide a concrete illustrative set of descriptors to help decision-makers design courses to suit their students’ needs. Accordingly, the common reference levels can be exploited in a number of ways and in varying degrees of detail.

Needless to say, a framework is exactly that – ‘a framework’ which needs to be adapted and extended, depending on the needs of any particular institution.

Upon looking at each of the syllabi, it is clear that they do not simply comply with any one framework, but they go beyond, thus ensuring that students are sufficiently engaged and challenged. Removing or shortening any part of each of the jTELS/TELSa syllabi to, simply, cover the Common Reference levels, could result in courses finishing well before the required time for development at any level, thereby failing to offer the student a thorough, comprehensive and communicative understanding of the English language.

(* jTELS = Junior Test of English Language Skills; **TELSa = Test of English Language Skills for Adults)