Now for the fist time, a major international English test has been developed that integrates computer, telephone and pen and paper delivery to allow candidates to sit the test through one or more of channels; conducting it from many locations around the world through computers and face-to-face interactions.
The British Council is excited to officially launch its new and innovative global English assessment service, Aptis.
Aptis is the first wholly British Council developed and owned English test in recent history, and has been built on a revolutionary new interactive platform; a fully integrated test development, management, delivery, monitoring and reporting system, which offers results in as little as 24 hours.
Candidates are also able to access Aptis from remote locations around the world even with limited internet connectivity, allowing many more organisations and individuals to develop relationships with the English language.
Aptis is a business-to-business English assessment service available to organisations not individuals, and is the latest edition to the British Council's English and Examinations portfolio of products, allowing the Council to offer a complete solution for organisations' English development needs.
Mark Walker Director of Exams at the British Council, said: "The British Council has seized an opportunity to develop something that was not yet available. Aptis will allow these organisations to effectively and easily assess the English language levels that are relevant to their requirements."
Sarah Deverall Director of Exams and Customer Services South Asia said, "The British Council is a world authority in the English language. We also have decades of experience in delivering high quality exams, a position Aptis allows us to build on."
Rob Lynes, Director of the British Council in India said, "English has been at the heart of the British Council's cultural relations work since 1943. Our work in English creates opportunities for millions of people around the world through education, mobility and international engagement. We work across a wide range of English teaching, learning and assessment services, as well as with ministries of education to improve the English language teaching in education institutions around the world.
Aptis is a flexible and adaptable English test for adults, which can be used to assess ability in all four English skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). It can also be customised to test one or more specific skills, which allows organisations to test the skills relevant to their needs. The content of Aptis can be adapted to suit a specific domain, such as for teaching or travel and tourism, as well customised to suit specific cultural contexts and variants of English. Aptis can be delivered by computer, telephone, or pen and paper, and results are available in as little as 24 hours.
Leading the industry in technology, Aptis uses a revolutionary new interactive platform, which develops, manages, delivers and monitors the test simultaneously. This platform also enables organisations to administer the test themselves, at a time that suits them.
The innovative marking system of Aptis is task-based rather than test-based. This means in one task several people in different locations around the world mark different items within the test, all through the online platform.
Aptis complements existing language tests such as IELTS - the high-stakes test which the British Council jointly owns with Cambridge ESOL and IDP: IELTS Australia.
Notes to Editors:
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes.
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