Glossary
Are you confused about terminology or jargon used on the site? Then take a look at our useful glossary of commonly used terms and abbreviations, if there is something that we haven't covered please let us know.
A
Application for approval: refers to the process or the decision of an educational institution (e.g. a school, university) to become authorized by City & Guilds to run its (English language) examinations.
Assessment: a technical term used in testing that refers to marking and grading exam papers or spoken exam recordings.
Awarding Body: an educational organization, specifically in the UK, responsible for the development, distribution, quality assurance and social/political recognition of its qualifications /examinations.
C
Candidate: a student sitting or preparing to sit for an exam.
CEFR descriptors: the set of criteria that define language competencies for each of the six levels (from A1 to C2) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR); the aspects of language knowledge that will indicate the level a particular learner has achieved in language learning.
Centre (approved): an educational institution authorized by City & Guilds to run its examinations / deliver its qualifications.
E
ESOL: stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages, an English examination for non-native speakers of English, who would like to demonstrate a valid proof of their language competencies at a certain level on order to achieve advantages in their careers and academic study. The examination tests language skills in Reading, Writing and Listening and is commonly referred to as the Written Exam.
I
Interlocutor: usually an English teacher at an approved City & Guilds centre, who acts as professional interviewer during the Spoken exams; essentially an interlocutor is an examiner without the right to assess performance during the exam.Interlocutor training: the training provided by City & Guilds to the teaching staff of its English language centres; the training is meant to ensure that interlocutors administering the Spoken exams at centres can confidently assist their candidates in performing at their maximum levels without compromise to objectivity.
Invigilation/invigilator: the person, appointed by the centre, and responsible for supervising compliance with City & Guilds exam regulations during the Written Exam
L
Local exam secretary (LES): a person appointed by an approved centre, who is responsible for performing administrative tasks associated with City & Guilds exams (e.g. exam-ordering, appointing invigilators, etc.).
M
Mapped to the CEFR: said of international language examinations, when they have a proven record of aligning examination-content to the standards laid out in the CEFR.
O
On-demand: refers to the fact that City & Guilds English exams can be taken at any time and the examinations do not have predetermined examination dates like in the case of other examination boards.
P
Performance codes: a City & Guilds specific code usually made up of two capital letters that denotes the candidate's performance in a particular exams task of the written or spoken exam.
Practice Papers: a collection of language tasks simulating the real examination and usually used as valuable preparation tool for the exam.
Q
Qualification: a recognised certificate, achieved as a result of a program of study, that entitles the certificate holder to a set of advantages (e.g. career promotion, academic progression, etc.) associated with a particular certificate through recognitions.
Qualification Handbook: a comprehensive document about examination content that also serves as support for the exam preparation process. It contains level-specific information about assessment, the syllabus, a description of topics and linguistic categories tested during the exam.
Quality inspector: a person trained and appointed by City & Guilds, whose role is a) to approve a centre to deliver City & Guilds exams b) to perform random checks on centres during an examinatio.
R
Recognition: refers to the fact of the examination being accepted by a particular institution/employer for a particular purpose in study/work that provides advantages for the certificate-holder.
S
Sample writing tasks: examples of marked compositions for each level that provide teachers/learners with an idea of an acceptable composition with a PASS or an unacceptable one with a FAIL.
SESOL: stands for Spoken English for Speakers of Other Languages, an English examination for non-native speakers of English, who would like to demonstrate a valid proof of their language competencies at a certain level on order to achieve advantages in their careers and academic study. The examination tests language skills in Speaking only and is commonly referred to as the Spoken Exam.
T
The Four Skills: refers to the skills areas of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking - necessary for successful communication in everyday life and tested by standard language exams.