SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) LanguageCert International ESOL

LanguageCert International ESOL SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking)
LanguageCert International ESOL SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking) is a four-skills exam in English, aligned to C1 CEFR level.

About LanguageCert International ESOL SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking) exam

  • The exam consists of two components:
    • The Written component (Listening, Reading, Writing) is taken on a computer
    • The Spoken component (Speaking) is an online interview with a live interlocutor
  • The two components can be taken on the same day or within 14 days of each other

After completing both components of your exam, you will receive a Test Report that shows your score and your unique reference number (URN). If you have met the score required for your UK visa, your need to include your URN in your visa application.

Listening, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking competence at level C1 in English is not an immediate requirement of the UK Visa and Immigration authority for any UK visa type. However, sponsoring educational institutions in UK may require a higher-level competence in English, mostly for degree level and above. The LanguageCert International ESOL SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking) exam is available to fulfil such requirement, while it is also accepted as proof of language competence for your UK visa.

 

This exam is accepted for the following UK visa application type 

Application type CEFR level accepted for UK visa Skills required LanguageCert SELT exam
Tier 4 (General) Student visa — degree level and above
Although UKVI requires a B2 test, some institutions require C1 — please check with your sponsor
C1 Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking LanguageCert International ESOL SELT C1 (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking)

 

Tips:

  • Before you register for your exam, we suggest you contact your sponsor to confirm which CEFR level they require.
  • If your language competence is higher, you can also choose to take a LanguageCert International ESOL C2 (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking) exam, which will also cover your UK visa application requirement.

This list is accurate as of the last update by LanguageCert. However, the information is subject to change, so you should also check the UK government guidance on English language tests for UK visas for latest information. Please note that UK visa applicants are responsible for ensuring that they take the correct exam.

Key features

EXAM LEVEL

C1

FORMAT

Written Component
Computer-based

Spoken Component
Online interview with a live interlocutor

PASS MARKS

Listening 33/50
Reading 33/50
Writing 33/50
Speaking 33/50

TEST REPORT

Issued 5 business days after completing both components

EXAMS

COMPUTER BASED 3 hours & 10 minutes
Listening 30 minutes
Reading & Writing 2 hours & 40 minutes uninterrupted

Listening

Answer Type

Task

Part 1

6 questions

One three-option multiple choice for each conversation to choose the appropriate completion or continuation of the conversation

Listen twice to six unfinished conversations between two speakers. Idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms, register shifts and use of stress and intonation to indicate attitude included

Part 2

6 questions

Two three-option multiple choice questions for each of the three conversations

Listen twice to three conversations each with two speakers to identify: topic, purpose, context, speakers, gist, relationship between speakers, roles, functions, attitudes, feeling and opinions

Part 3

7 questions

A message pad with a heading and seven prompts and space to write the correct information for each prompt. Answers are one to five

words

Listen twice to a lecture, radio broadcast, narrative, presentation, etc to identify specific information. Listening text contains dense, factual information

Part 4

7 questions

Seven three-option multiple choice questions

Listen twice to a discussion to identify gist, examples, fact, opinion, contrast, purpose, key ideas, attitude, cause and effect

 Total: 26 questions

 

Reading

Answer Type

Task

Part 1

5 questions

Five sentences to identify true and false statements about the text

One text including idiomatic language, narrative or academic ideas, arguments and opinions

Part 2

6 questions

Choice of eight sentences to choose from to complete the six gaps, two of them being distractors

One text with six sentences removed, eg topic sentence, summarising sentence, developing idea, emphasising a point, opinion, contrast, sequence, forward and back reference, transition to new idea

Part 3

7 questions

Seven questions to indicate which text provides the answer to each question

Four texts, eg email, article, advert, brochure, etc with a linked theme, but with a different purpose

Part 4

8 questions

Eight open-ended ‘wh-‘ questions requiring short answers of up to five words

A continuous text: narrative, descriptive, explanatory, expository, biographical, instructive

Total: 26 questions

 

Writing

Answer Type

Task

Part 1

150 - 200 words

Respond appropriately to a given input to produce a formal response for an intended public audience

Instruction to write a letter, report, argument or article using a written, graphic or visual input and the intended reader specified expressing stance, opinion, justification, argumentation

Part 2

250-300 words

Produce a personal letter, a narrative composition/ story or a descriptive composition

Instruction to write an informal piece of writing for a specified reader. Instructions elicit functions: persuasion, argument, hypothesis; expressing mood, opinion, justifying, evaluating etc.

 

Download Official Material 

Preparation Books 

We work with the most prominent publishing houses to ensure that our partners and candidates have access to top quality learning materials for LanguageCert International ESOL exams. You can find a list of available books below, with links to the publishers’ websites.    

Online interview with a live interlocutor 15 minutes
Speaking 15 minutes

 

Speaking

Task

Part 1

  • Give and spell name
  • Give country of origin
  • Answer five questions

Part 2

  • Two or three situations are presented by the interlocutor and candidates respond to and initiate interactions

Part 3

  • Hold a short discussion to make a plan, arrange or decide something using written text as the prompt 

Part 4

  • 30 seconds of preparation time 
  • Talk about a topic provided by the interlocutor for 2 minutes
  • Answer follow-up questions
 

Download Official Material 

Preparation Books 

We work with the most prominent publishing houses to ensure that our partners and candidates have access to top quality learning materials for LanguageCert International ESOL exams. You can find a list of available books below, with links to the publishers’ websites.   

Get added value from LanguageCert

If you achieve an average score of 50% or more in the Written component and/or 50% or more in the Spoken component, you will be awarded the respective LanguageCert International ESOL C1 Expert certificate(s) in Listening, Reading and Writing and/or in Speaking.

LanguageCert International ESOL certificates are are recognised internationally and remain valid indefinitely.