Developing, administering and validating our exams brings us into collaboration with a wide range of different individuals, groups and institutions, including:
- test takers
- teachers
- universities
- educational publishers
- major commercial organisations
- local, regional and national government bodies.
Additionally, we work closely with our own international network of centres, examiners and materials writers.
Working together with all of these groups is important to the development of our exams, but as a not-for-profit organisation we also have a responsibility to contribute to the wider world of education and assessment. A number of our key collaborations are with organisations such as the Council of Europe, ALTE, SurveyLang and English Profile that are involved in the research and further development of international standards and benchmarks for language learning, teaching and assessment.
Cambridge English is one of the key partners in the English Profile programme, which is further developing the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
English Profile will deliver the CEFR for English – detailed descriptions of what English learners can be expected to know at each CEFR level.
More about English Profile
Under the Funded Research Programme we provide funding for research projects related to our exams and teaching qualifications. For full information and instructions, see our Support Site.
Educational institutions and suitably qualified individuals are invited to apply for funding to undertake applied research projects in relation to the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Financial support for individual projects selected will in principle be limited to a maximum of UK£45,000/AUD$70,000.
Click here to find out how to apply
In Profiling English in China: The Pearl River Delta, David Graddol explores the changing status of the English language in a part of China undergoing rapid economic, social and political transformation.
Breaking new methodological ground, he demonstrates how a study of public discourse – in newspapers, blogs, signs and advertisements in the urban landscape – can be used to monitor the complex changing role that English is now playing in education, employment and evolving social identities. He argues that researchers need to distinguish between different levels of English proficiency more sensitively and illustrates how the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) can be used as a research tool by sociolinguists.
Profiling English in China: The Pearl River Delta is intended as the first of a series of books exploring the changing social, economic and educational contexts in which English is learned and used. The book presents methods of inquiry which will be useful for researchers working in other parts of the world, and will be essential reading for anyone seeking a wider understanding of the role of English in globalisation and economic development.
Download the complete book