Test evaluates English language skills of overseas medical

practitioners and students

UBELT (University of Bath English Language Testing) has been running its profession-
specific, language proficiency tests since 2003 when language specialists at the English
Language Centre of the University of Bath were first approached by employers and
recruitment companies to assess the professional English language skills of potential
employees from European countries.

Currently UBELT offers proficiency tests for 4 types of medical professional: dentists,
medical doctors, medical, nurses and pharmacists. Over 1,000 UBELT Tests are taken
annually, at present, by those seeking work with many of the United Kingdom’s largest
private and public sector healthcare employers. Candidates from sixteen EEA countries,
including Poland, Spain, Romania and Italy, have sat UBELT tests.

To date, UBELT Tests have been held once monthly at the University of Bath, or held
throughout Europe, including the UK, as part of recruitment events organised by and
according to the timetables of agents and employers.

Following approaches made to UBELT by European medical universities, the University of

Bath is pleased to announce UBELT Tests will be held in Poland and Romania in June and
September 2009. UBELT is working with other European medical universities and
WiddEnglish (Montevideo Uruguay) to increase the number of test locations in
2009/2010.

“In an ever increasing marketplace, overseas medical practitioners, medical universities

and their students are looking for an independent international test to certify their
English language levels. We have a lot of expertise in testing English language skills, and
specifically with the healthcare professions, making the UBELT Tests the logical choice”,
said Kevin Renfrew, a UBELT spokesperson.

“Certification of language competency is not just necessary for those seeking

employment abroad,” said Mr. Renfrew. “Talking to colleagues and employers overseas,
it is clear that with the growing number of international visitors and workers in every
country, medical professionals, especially front-line professionals, such as pharmacists,
nurses, medical doctors and emergency staff often need to use English as the lingua
franca. So they need an international measure of their English language skills. UBELT
helps ensure that their communications skills match their medical qualifications.”

UBELT Tests measure the communicative language level of candidates in a professional

context. They are often used to identify those candidates whose level of English is good
enough for them work in an English-speaking environment.

The tests prioritise communicative linguistic competence. While grammatical accuracy

and spelling are important factors, UBELT does not test these discretely or in isolation;
instead UBELT tests focus on the candidate’s ability to use English effectively and
appropriately for the given context. And since the real professional work situation will be
a linguistically “live” environment, the test is based on professionally authentic
information, topics, and tasks.

Details of the above test events, as well as general information, can be found on the
UBELT web site at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/ubelt