INTRODUCTION TO APTIS BY BRITISH COUNCIL

10th June 2021, an online meeting between CML and British Council was held via Google Meet regarding Aptis. British Council was represented by Mr Tan Dencoln (Business Development Manager, Exams), Mr Tan Chen Yong (Account Relationship Manager, Exams), and Mr Rifhan Rozlan (Programme Manager, StudyUK).

According to Mr. Tan, Aptis was an English assessment tool developed and designed by the British Council’s assessment experts to evaluate candidates’ ability to communicate in English. It provided reliable results for all four language skills, mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). There were two ways in which the test can be accessed either through offline computer (physical test centre) or online (remote-proctored).

There are two types of Aptis but both have the same testing methodology and format; Aptis General and Aptis Advanced. Aptis General is a general English proficiency test targeted at candidates over 16 years old catering A1 to C2 level. The components are; Grammar and Vocabulary (25 minutes); Reading (35 minutes); Writing (50 minutes); Listening (40 minutes) and Speaking (12 minutes). Meanwhile, Aptis Advanced is targeted for the advanced candidates with CEFR levels from A1 to C2. Though the components are similar, yet the tasks are more complex and designed to distinguish between C1 and C2 level candidates. Time for each component is different; Grammar and Vocabulary (25 minutes); Reading (60 minutes); Writing (45 minutes); Listening (30 minutes) and Speaking (10 minutes).

Prepared by Nurul Syazwani Binti Aziz