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BULATS

Cambridge English

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What is BULATS?

BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) is a Business English test developed for companies and organisations, produced and delivered by Cambridge Assessment English, department of the University of Cambridge. It is ideal for organisations which need a practical and reliable method for testing the foreign language skills of their employees, job applicants or trainees, in a way which is relevant to their work.

BULATS measures all the 4 skills (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking) from a beginner level A1 to a very advance level C2 on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The test is available online, and sold in 3 modules which can be bought separately: Reading, Listening and Language Knowledge - Speaking - Writing.

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  • Reading and Listening
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Results
  • Reading, Listening and Language Knowledge

    The BULATS Reading & Listening test is an adaptive test: depending on your answer to each question, the software decides whether to offer you an easier or a harder question of the same type or to give you a different type of question which could be easier or harder. It does this until it has enough data to decide which level you have reached. As the test is adaptive the length of the test will depend on your level of ability. The time limit is 85 minutes, but most candidates take about 60 minutes to complete the test. There are different types of tasks in the Reading and Language Knowledge section: Read and select, Gapped sentences, Multiple-choice gap-fill, Open gap-fill, Extended reading. The Listening tasks include: Listen and select, Listen and select (Graphic), Extended listening.

    For further information please download the  Guide for Candidates

  • Speaking

    The Speaking test lasts about 15 minutes and is divided in 5 different parts: Part 1 - Interview, Part 2 - Reading Aloud, Part 3 - Presentation, Part 4 - Presentation with Graphics, Part 5 Communication Activity. In Part 1, you need to be able to answer questions about your background, education, job, studies, career plans and personal interests. In Part 2, you have to read aloud eight sentences or questions which appear on the screen. In Part 3, you have to give a short presentation about a work-related topic which appears onscreen. There is no choice of topic. You have 40 seconds to read the topic and think about what you are going to say. You then have 1 minute to speak about the topic. In Part 4, you have to talk about some visual information which appears onscreen. You have 1 minute to look at the visual and think about what you are going to say. You then have 1 minute to speak about the visual. In Part 5, you read information onscreen about a situation. You have 40 seconds to think about what is described. You then hear five questions about the situation on which you have to give your opinion.

    For further information please download the  Guide for Candidates

  • Writing

    The Writing test lasts about 45 minutes and is divided in 2 different parts: Part 1 - Short message/fax/letter/email, Part 2 - Report or letter. In Part 1 of the test you have to write an email using the information given. It is important to cover all the points given in the instructions. You should write 50–60 words for your answer. In Part 2, you have to choose one of two tasks. A letter or a report format may be required for either task. Again, you need to cover all the points given in the instructions, but this time the answer should be longer (180–200 words) and needs to be written in an appropriate style.

    For further information please download the  Guide for Candidates

  • Test results

    The test results are based on the internationally recognised six-level (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2),  Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This means that BULATS users can be confident that candidates' scores across the whole range of BULATS tests are comparable and consistent, whatever the language. Results from the Reading, Listening and Language Knowledge test are available immediately after finishing the test through the back-end portal. The system produces a test report form which can be for individuals or groups. The test report form shows: an overall score on a scale of 1 to 100 converted on CEFR levels and two different scores for each language skill also converted on CEFR level scale.

    For the Speaking and Writing tests instead, candidates need to wait for the correction done by a Cambridge English approved examiner. The time to get the results may vary; we usually make the correction available in 4 business days. The results will be available also from the back-end portal. Furthermore for Speaking and Writing tests, candidates are also given (High) to show whether they are high within the CEFR band.

     For a test report sample please download the BULATS Test Results

Understanding the Common European Framework of Reference

Strong points

  • Provided by Cambridge English
  • Online and adaptive for accurate results
  • 4 skills and real-world business English

  • Recognised by 1000s of organisations globally
  • Flexibility on where and when to take test
  • Quick turnaround

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