EXAMINATIONS IN ENGLISH

AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The British Organization “The Marlowe Examinations Organization Ltd.” has been administering examinations in English as a foreign language since 1965. The examinations are open to those whose mother tongue is not English. Everyone can sit these examinations irrespective whether one has learned English in public or privately owned schools, or in private lessons. There are not age limits for participants.

These examinations are quite incontestable, as they are supervised by public-school teachers. Provided that the evaluation and marking of the examination papers is done by expert personnel with the aid of advanced computer programmes, the probability of mistakes is eliminated, so the results are quite impartial and objectice. They are final and consequently they are in no case reconsidered.

The examinations cover all the stages of knowledge, as follows:

Examination & Certificate	Stage of knowledge required
Preliminary	A' Junior
Junior	B' Junior
Primary	1^st year of studies
Elementary	2^nd year of studies
Basic	3^rd year of studies
Intermediate	4^th year of studies
Lower	5^th year of studies
Advanced	6^th year of studies
Proficiency	Proficiency class

Applications for the examinations can be accepted at least three months before the date of written examinations.

Regulations.

Candidates for the levels “Lower” , “Advanced” and “Proficiency” must bear their official ID cards or Passports throughout their examinations.

Assessment.

In General, successful (pass) score for levels Primary through Proficiency is 50% for each written paper or oral exam.

Preliminary – Junior.
Successful average score: 30%

Primary through Lower.
Grading of the final results is as lollows:

Grade A: When the average score is 95% or more.
Grade B: When the average score is between 80% and 94%.
Grade C: When the average score is between 50% and 79%
Grade D: When the average score is 50% or higher, but one paper only falls below 50% (but not below 30%).

Advanced – Proficiency.
Each paper should score at least 50%, otherwise the candidate will have to resit the exams in the papers he/she has failed, until they attain a minimum score 50% for each parer.

Re-Entries.

A candidate will have to resit for one or more papers when:

1.    The average score of all the papers is below 50%. Then he/she should take exam in the paper in which the score was less than 50%

2.    The score of a paper is between 0 and 29%, irrespectice whether he/she has an average score 50% or higher in all the papers.

3.   Candidates are credited with the “pass” scores of each exam till they achieve an averall pass average score.

Registering for the exams.

No registration can be accepted by phone. There ate special Entry forms which can be submitted:

A}by post,

B}by FAX

C}directly to the authorised Administration office of

“The Marlowe Examinations Organizations Ltd.”

® Candidates are advised to enter for the level they have prepared adequately.

Candidates cannot enter for two different levels during the same examination period.

After an examination entry has been placed with “The Marlowe Examinations Organization Ltd.” and filed no refund of fees can be made.

A candidate should pay special attention to the correct spelling of his/her name when filling the entry form, as this is how it will appear on the certificate. If, however, for one reason or other, the candidate’s name should be misspelled on the examination entry form, it can be corrected up to the time of the written examination. After the written exams are over, no correction of the name whatsoever can be made.

Discipline.

If during the written examination a candidate tries to cheat, or, intentionally, leaves his/her paper uncovered in sush a way that it can be copied by others, the paper is accordingly marked by the invigilator, who furthermore, makes a mention of the fact in a special Report. If the candidate repeats that action, he/she is expelled from the examination room after the Supervisor of the Examination Centre has been duly notified and consented.

A candidate who causes disturbance is expelled from the examination room and is not eligible for refund of his examination fees. This holds in the case of the previous paragraph also.

Issue of results. Dispatch of certificates.

Results are issued after the 10^th September. They are not announced directly to candidates, but only through the schools or teachers they were proposed by. The same holds in the case of certificates as well.

Certificates are dispatched after 10^th October.

“The Marlowe Examinations Organization Ltd.” , retains the priviledge to postpone or cancel partly or wholly an examination session, without prior notice, if, in the Directors’ judgement, there are important reasons for this decision.

Special information

1.     Oral Exams.

The oral examination consists of the following three parts:

a) Passage Reading
     The candidate is given a passage to read to the examiner. At this stage the following are tested and marked:
       a) Correct pronunciation of words.
       b) Intonation
       c) Meaning of certain words and expressions. For this purpose, the examiner asks the candidate to give the meaning, in English, of certain words and expressions occurring in the reading passage.

b) Picture description
          The candidate is given a picture to describe. In this case the candidate is expected, besides describing content of a picture, to comment on the topic and express his/her own feelings and impressions concerning the picture, using the proper vocabulaty and expressions. A conversation can be held on a picture.

c) Conversation.
           The candidate should be prepared on ten (10) topics. The examiner will choose one of them, on which they are going to hold a discussion, exchanging their views on it. Furthermore, there is a free conversation (personal information, future plans, likes and dislikes, etc.).

2. Composition.

a) Intermediate (100-130 words).

The candidate is expected to use simple but correct sentenses. No need to use difficult and pompous adjectives and adverbs. The candidate should focus on the correct use of verb tenses, punctuation and capitalization. The candidates are strongly andviced to avoid repetition of words and expressions for the purpose of attaining the required number of words.

b) Lower (200-230 words).

The candidate should avoid personalizing the topic, unless asked to do so. Idioms or similar difficult expressions should be avoided, unless the writer is sure that they are in accord with the context. The candidate is adviced to use the following constuction: Introduction – Development – Conclusion.

c) Advanced and Proficiency.

The demands in these two levels increace. The aim is a full argunentative development of the topic along with the use more sophisticated vocabulaty and structures.

® ® ® ® ® ® One of the commonest mistakes made by the candidate is to wonder in the composition from one idea to another, which very often bears no relation to the subject itself that has been set for the composition. This leads to loss of marks.

3.   Letter writing.

     Everything concerning a composition should be applied to Letter-writing. Furthermore, the candidate should write the sender’s name and address in their proper places, not forgetting to count the words contained in the body of the letter and writing them in the proper box.

4.   Instructions.

    Candidates are expected to understand fully the instructions given in the examination papers as they are (the instructions) part of the examination. Failing to understand the instructions they may lose marks.