Taking Care of Business

Hugh Bateman introduces Business English Certificates.

What is BEC?
The Business English Certificates (BEC) are a set of English language tests at three levels. At each level, the test focuses on the application of language in dealing with real-world business situations, requiring familiarity with the contexts of business rather than specialized business knowledge. The international business context of the tests affects the vocabulary used, the types of texts and the situations presented in the tasks. BEC tests Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Just as students do not need a specific knowledge of business to be successful in BEC, teachers do not necessarily need specific knowledge or experience of Business English in order to prepare candidates.

Last year BEC was taken by approximately 35,000 candidates in 45 countries. The tests are taken both by people already in work and people preparing for the world of work; most candidates take the tests because they wish to improve their employment prospects, and do so at the end of a preparation course.

Who produces BEC?
BEC was developed by and is administered by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).
UCLES was established in 1858, began testing English as a Foreign Language in 1913, and is a department of the University of Cambridge. Today, UCLES is a world-leader in educational assessment, offering a wide range of examinations and assessment services throughout the world.

Cambridge Examinations in English as a Foreign Language
BEC forms part of the range of Cambridge Examinations in English as a Foreign Language, taken by more than 600,000 candidates every year, in more than 135 countries. The range is particularly well known for its internationally recognized 5-level set of examinations in General English, which includes First Certificate in English (FCE) and Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

Like other Cambridge EFL tests, the model of communicative language ability on which BEC is broadly based is that of Bachman, in which the learner’s ability to communicate effectively through language is determined by his or her schema and strategies as well as language knowledge, the latter including organizational (grammatical and textual) and pragmatic (logical, functional, and sociolinguistic) knowledge.

The task-types are similar to those used in the Cambridge General English examinations at corresponding levels. The modes of assessment are also similar, with objective computer marking for the Reading and Listening components, examiner assessment for the Writing component, and a face-to-face Speaking Test.
Also in common with other Cambridge EFL examinations, BEC undergoes a constant monitoring process of validation and reliability studies that assure high levels of comparability at different administrations.
BEC is particularly attractive to students, teachers and ‘user’ organizations because it is a coherent set of exams covering a language level that ranges from elementary/lower-intermediate up to advanced. BEC and most other Cambridge EFL examinations are linked to the 5-level scale for language assessment established by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), of which UCLES is a founder member. The 18 ALTE members, which include the Aliance Francaise and the Goethe-Institut as well as major universities, are all providers of language examinations in countries within the European Union.

BEC and the UCLES General English examinations map onto the ALTE framework of levels as follows:
BEC General English examinations

Level 5 : CPE
BEC 3 Level 4 : CAE
BEC 2 Level 3 : FCE
BEC 1 Level 2 : PET
Level 1 : KET
BEC 2 and 3 correspond to the levels of FCE and CAE, respectively; BEC 1 corresponds to the levels covered by KET and PET, awarding a wider range of passing grades to reflect this.

What is tested in BEC?
BEC assesses candidates’ ability to use English for a wide range of work-related functions:

• asking for and giving personal details;
  
• arranging appointments and meetings;
  
• understanding office communications (reports, letters, memos, etc.);
  
• welcoming foreign visitors;
  
• making enquiries / reservations / orders / bookings;
  
• taking phone messages;
  
• understanding and explaining a company’s production / ordering / delivery systems;
  
• asking for and giving information about a product or service, etc.
  Topics covered in BEC include:
  
• personal identification;
  
• the office, general business environment and routine;
  
• entertainment of clients, free time, relationships with colleagues and clients;
  
• travel and meetings; using the telephone; health and safety;
  
• buying and selling; company structures, systems, processes;
  
• products and services;
  
• results and achievements; business issues.
  

What types of tasks are included in BEC?
The Reading component uses a range of business-related texts to test a variety of skills; text-types range from small excerpts, e.g. notices, tables and advertisements, to longer informative pieces e.g. articles and letters. Texts are authentic in nature, but edited to facilitate the tasks, particularly for BEC 1; the reading load increases at each BEC level, as does the range of discourse types and genres and the complexity of the skills tested. At BEC 1, the focus is generally on extracting factual detail, while BEC 2 and BEC 3 also focus on text structure and discursive meaning. At each BEC level, there are tasks focusing on vocabulary and grammar as well as actual reading skills. Some tasks have obvious real-world applications, e.g. proof-reading for BEC 2; other tasks are ‘enabling’ rather than ‘real-world’, testing real-world skills indirectly, e.g. multiple-choice and matching questions.

For Writing, at each BEC level the amount of information and language provided in the task decreases from the first to the last task, while, conversely, the amount of information and language to be provided by the candidate increases. At all levels, the ability to produce concise and extended writing is assessed; the context for writing is given through rubrics, content guides and input texts and candidates will know the target reader, their own standpoint, their purpose for writing, the amount to write and the text-type to write. The accuracy and appropriateness of the candidate’s language is assessed, as is the degree of task achievement.

For the Listening component, at each level the speed of input and the complexity of processing required increase from the first to the last task with a balance of monologues and conversations as input. The rubrics set the context by identifying the speakers, the setting and the overall topic; the different parts of the Listening test focus on particular aspects of language ability, e.g. extracting factual information, identifying purpose, listening for gist and detail, recognizing opinion.

The Speaking tests at all levels involve different interaction patterns e.g. interlocutor-to-candidate, candidate-to-candidate; candidates have the opportunity to initiate exchanges and to respond, and to engage in short turns and long turns. By these means, a range of language can be elicited in terms of register and appropriateness; at BEC 3 the final part of the Speaking test (a short presentation) has three options. The first is a general business topic suitable for candidates with no work experience; the second and third topics are more likely to be of interest to candidates with some work experience. Pairs of candidates are assessed by pairs of examiners: the interlocutor interacts with the candidates and gives a global mark, while the assessor gives an analytical mark based on detailed criteria, e.g. accuracy and appropriateness of the grammar and vocabulary used, management of discourse, pronunciation, and interactive communication including the degree of autonomy and task achievement.

What results do BEC candidates receive?
Two grades are given on the BEC certificate, one for the candidate’s combined Reading, Writing and Listening skills and, to satisfy specific requests from employers for information about the candidate’s proficiency in this skill, a separate grade for Speaking.

Candidates are also informed if they performed particularly well or poorly in one particular skill (Reading, Writing or Listening), although this information does not appear on certificates.

When is BEC available?
The BEC tests can be taken on six fixed dates each year and are available through approved UCLES centers. BEC will be available in the US. Check with the many language schools that are UCLES centers, many of which will soon begin to run BEC preparation courses.

What kinds of professional advice are available for BEC teachers/candidates?
UCLES values professional contacts with teachers; further information about BEC, as well as sample material and details of how to order past tests, are available from efl@ucles.org.uk

Hugh Bateman, UCLES, Cambridge, England.