ABA ENGLISH, FIRST ONLINE SCHOOL AUTHORIZED BY CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH TO BE A BULATS TESTING CENTER
Barcelona, May 10th, 2016. – ABA English, the Barcelona-based English online school with over 8 million students, has signed an agreement with CambridgeEnglish Language Assessment, Cambridge University’s department for English proficiency evaluation, to offer the Business Language Testing Service (BULATS) exam and certification. ABA English is the first entirely digital academy to become a testing center which is authorized to issue official Cambridge English certificates.
The BULATS exam is administered online and is designed to evaluate the level of English in the workplace and qualify the language skills of professionals. BULATS is widely used internationally for business recruitment, admission to business courses and assessment of language training effectiveness. It is an official evaluation system that certifies the level of English according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Most companies require a B2 level and BULATS is among the most requested certifications. The test is adaptive and adjusts to the candidate’s knowledge and, once finished, shows the achieved English level, which varies from A2 to C2 according to the CEFR.
BULATS, designed for English in the work environment, evaluates the four linguistic skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading, and consists of practical exercises and tasks based on real-life work situations.
For this reason it fits especially well with ABA’s teaching methodology, a 6-level course (equivalent to A1-C1 of the CEFR) which teaches English with a situational and contextual focus, aimed, like BULATS, for use in real life. ABA’s Natural Method, a proprietary learning system inspired on the principles of the Direct Method, was designed to offer an intuitive and practical English course available on the web or your mobile device.
ABA’s teaching is based on high quality short films that immerse students into everyday situations of American and British life, focusing student attention more on the content than the form. This way, the language is learned through a natural progression: understand first, then speak, and finally learn grammar and writing skills.
“We’re delighted to incorporate ABA English into our network of centers offering the BULATS,” said Robin Gravina, director of Development at Cambridge English Language Assessment for Spain and Portugal and signatory of the agreement. “BULATS is an exam that offers an exact X-ray of candidates’ business English skills. The ABA English methodology is particularly appropriate for BULATS given its situational focus and emphasis on developing the four skills evaluated by BULATS.”
The agreement was signed by ABA English CEO, Javier Figarola, who said: “We are delighted to partner with an institution like Cambridge English Language Assessment to become the first online center to offer the BULATS exam. It’s highly demanded by our clients all over the world, so we’re very happy to offer them this important service.”
About Cambridge English Language Assessment:
Cambridge English Language Assessment, department of the University of Cambridge, issues yearly over 5 million certificates in 135 countries. The certificates are recognized by 20,000 government departments, universities and employers worldwide.
An extensive pilot and validation program assures that the questions and tasks given in the exams precisely determine the real knowledge of the tested persons. Cambridge English Language Assessment’s commitment to excellence is sustained by a permanent team of 300 people and over 10,000 examiner specialists.
Cambridge English Language Assessment is a member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) and Works closely with other examination agencies, schools and academies worldwide to support language exams, both in theory and practice as a tool to ensure the correct knowledge and certification of foreign languages. For more information: www.cambridgeenglish.org
Cambridge English TV: https://www.youtube.com/user/cambridgeenglishtv
About BULATS
BULATS forms an integral part of Cambridge English Language Assessment’s educational mission, supporting effective language learning for and in business contexts as a key tool for economic, social and personal development. To support this ethos, Cambridge English provides extensive support to help learners to prepare for the BULATS tests, and participates in numerous international projects where BULATS is used as a tool for benchmarking and monitoring language skills in the commercial, educational and public sectors. This provides a basis for programmes designed to raise standards of language and communication skills. Through its link to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language: learning, teaching and assessment, BULATS also provides support for the Council of Europe’s work in implementing consistent levels for language learning.
About ABA English
ABA English –American & British Academy- is an e-learning English language academy with over 8 million students who follow the course using both mobile devices and computers. Its app won the Best Educational App Award 2015 granted by the Reimagine Education organization, a prestigious award considered the “Oscar of education”. Also, Apple featured it among the Best New Apps in dozens of countries. Based on the principles of the natural method, the ABA English teaching methodology transfers to the online environment the intuitive and natural way mother tongues are learned, using short films specifically developed for learning English, thus enhancing students’ experience on any platform.
Headquartered in Barcelona, the Academy is highly multinational and multidisciplinary. Today, 90% of its students are from all around the world and the company team is made up of people from 20 nationalities –UK, USA, China, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Spain, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, among others- with expertise in various fields: English philology, linguists, English teachers, e-learning, m-learning, IT, developers, social networks, e-commerce and management.
