LanguageCert General SELT cheat sheet

LanguageCert General SELT Listening is a separately timed component accepted for UKVI routes; the non-SELT International ESOL version is not a substitute.

Recordings use everyday contexts such as announcements, conversations, phone messages, and short talks; tasks test gist, specific detail, and inference.

Question formats can include multiple choice, matching, note completion, and short-answer questions.

The rubric states how many times each recording is played; a replay cannot be assumed.

Key words in questions signal the information type required: names, numbers, times, places, reasons, or opinions.

If a speaker mentions an option and then corrects it, the corrected final information is the one to record.

The Listening score is combined with Reading, Writing, and Speaking to produce the overall SELT result at the booked CEFR level.

LanguageCert General SELT Reading is a separately timed component; it contributes to the overall CEFR-level result.

Texts may include notices, adverts, emails, forms, articles, and instructions; content is general rather than specialist academic.

Question formats can include multiple choice, matching, gap-fill, and true/false/not-given items.

Scanning locates specific information such as dates, prices, names, or times without reading every word.

An option that repeats a word from the text is not automatically correct; the whole meaning must match.

Gap-fill answers must fit both the grammar of the completed sentence and the word limit stated in the rubric.

Answers must be supported by the passage; outside knowledge is not a valid basis for a reading answer.

The Reading paper has a fixed time limit; unanswered items score zero.

LanguageCert General SELT Writing is a separately timed component with tasks set at the booked CEFR level.

Responses are assessed on task achievement, organization, grammatical range and accuracy, and vocabulary range and accuracy.

A typical paper has a shorter transactional task (email or message) and a longer text (article, letter, report, or review), depending on level.

Every content bullet in the task must be addressed; an omitted bullet reduces task achievement.

Each task states a word range; significantly under-length responses lose marks for insufficient evidence.

Copied language from the task rubric is not credited; original sentences are required.

Planning is inside the writing time; no separate planning time is added.

Paper answers must be legible and computer answers correctly typed; unreadable text cannot be marked.

LanguageCert General SELT Speaking is a live interview with a trained examiner, not a computer-scored test.

The interview is audio-recorded for marking and quality assurance.

Typical parts include personal information, a topic talk, a role-play, and a discussion; the mix depends on the CEFR level.

Examiners assess fluency, grammatical range and accuracy, vocabulary range, pronunciation, and interactive communication.

One-word answers provide limited evidence of language and usually reduce scores.

Pronunciation is judged on intelligibility and control of stress and intonation; accent alone is not penalized.

In role-play tasks, the candidate must initiate, respond, and negotiate meaning with the examiner.

The examiner follows a set script and cannot change the task to suit candidate preferences.