The test
About 70 minutes in one sitting, at home with your camera on. Reading and listening adapt to your answers, and each skill gets its own CEFR level on the certificate.
Format
| Section | Time | What you do | Scored on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Up to 20 min | About 4 texts, 10 to 12 questions. Texts get harder or easier as you answer. | Main idea, detail, inference, vocabulary in context |
| Listening | Up to 15 min | About 4 recordings, each played at most twice, 10 to 12 questions. Adaptive like reading. | Main idea, detail, speaker attitude and purpose |
| Writing | 25 min | Task 1: a short message of 60 to 120 words. Task 2: an opinion text of 120 to 220 words. | Task achievement, organisation, vocabulary range, grammar accuracy |
| Speaking with Kate | About 8 min | Five parts. Kate, our AI tutor, asks each question aloud and you answer for 30 to 90 seconds. | Fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, coherence |
| Total | About 70 min | Plus a few minutes for the ID and equipment check at the start. | |
Adaptive
Reading and listening are built from short sets of questions about one text or one recording. You start near B1. After each set the test updates its estimate of your level and picks the next set closest to it: a little harder if you did well, a little easier if you did not.
That way a beginner is not buried under C2 texts and an advanced speaker is not bored by A1 ones, and both finish with a precise result in fewer questions than a fixed test would need.
Speaking with Kate
Part 1, about you
A short introduction: who you are and what you do. About 30 seconds.
Part 2, daily life
A routine, a place you know, how you get around. About 45 seconds.
Part 3, an experience
Tell what happened, in order, and how you felt. About 60 seconds.
Part 4, an opinion
Take a position and give your reasons. About 60 seconds.
Part 5, a bigger question
Imagine, compare, weigh up both sides. About 90 seconds.
Samples
Written for this page to show the format. The real questions differ and change with your level.
READING · AROUND B1
The community garden on Elm Street opens every Saturday from April to October. Volunteers do not need any experience, but they are asked to bring their own gloves. Tools are kept in the shed and must be returned by 4 pm, when the gate is locked.What must volunteers bring?
Answer: B. Tools are provided in the shed; experience is not needed.
WRITING · TASK 2 · 120 TO 220 WORDS
Some people say that working from home makes people more productive. Others say that it makes teamwork harder. Write your opinion.
In your answer:
Scored on task achievement, organisation, vocabulary range and grammar accuracy.
Before you start
Rules
Questions
The sections run one after another in a single sitting. Each section has its own timer, and the next one starts when you are ready, so you can take a breath between them, but you must stay in view of the camera.
Reading and listening are adaptive. Everyone starts near B1, and each new set of questions is chosen to match how you have done so far. Harder questions are not a penalty: they are how the test measures higher levels.
Each listening recording can be played at most twice. The questions are on screen before you play it.
Kate, our AI tutor, asks each question aloud and you answer into the microphone within a set time. The questions are chosen to suit the level you showed in reading and listening. Your answers are scored from the audio.