20/11/2017
95 undergraduates from the Institute of Economics and Management at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad, Russia, took part in pretesting for Linguaskill, a new test from Cambridge Assessment English.
Linguaskill is a multi-level on-line English test, covering reading, listening and writing. The test gives quick results, presented in line with the Common European Framework of Reference.
The students in Kaliningrad used the ‘Letter writing’ module which consists of two tasks. The exam was organised by the staff of the Center for International Language Testing at the university, which is already an authorised centre for the Cambridge English Qualifications.
Irina Kravchenko, Associate Professor in Department of Economics and Management, said:
"I hope that the participation of students in economics in the pretesting of materials for Linguaskill will give them an additional incentive to learn English and help them to prepare for the Cambridge English B2 First Cambridge exam, which they will be taking later this year. This will give them opportunities for academic, general cultural and professional communication, will allow for training in higher education educational programs, implemented in English and will contribute to the international academic mobility of our students ".
Semyon Medvedev, a second year student of the Institute of Economics and Management said:
"Taking this test was really useful. It reminded us of the skills for writing in English and introduced us to the new online system, which turned out to be very convenient, as it was accompanied by detailed instructions. The test consisted of two parts. In the first part, write an email, and in the second part, an essay, a letter or an article. I hope that taking the other parts of the test will be just as convenient, and that thanks to this preliminary testing we will be better prepared for the Cambridge English B2 First exam, which we are going to take in the spring."
Alexander Stremousov, also a second year student at the institute said:
"After taking the test, there were only favorable impressions. Firstly, there is no rigid formatting of the process of performing tasks, which allows you to freely demonstrate your ability to use English in a relaxed atmosphere. Secondly, detailed instructions on the procedure for completing the test, mean that you don’t have any unnecessary questions and difficulties about how the test works. Thirdly, there is enough time to think in detail about the tasks, which improves the way you tackle them and reduces the risk of typos and grammatical mistakes."
Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University uses international certification to confirm the high quality of the language training it gives to its students, and to strengthen the competitiveness of its graduates in the labour market in Russia and abroad.