Trinity College London ESOL

A SELT is a Secure English Language Test. You need one to be able to get either a family visa, work visa, or study visa to be able to live in the UK. The test is designed for you to show your English language proficiency - you need it to be able to live in the UK for an extended period of time for either Indefinite Leave to Remain or British Citizenship.

With over 20 SELT test centres across the UK, Trinity offers tests seven days a week. You can choose from 100's of slots based on the date, time, and location that works best for you.

There are two types of SELT tests offered by Trinity College London: [2]

• Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE): Grade 2 (A1), Grade 3 (A2) and Grade 5 (B1) for applications for Further Leave to Remain, Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) and British Citizenship visas
• Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE I (B1), ISE II (B2) and ISE III (C1) for representative of an Overseas Business, Sportsperson, Skilled Worker, Health and Care worker, Scale-up Worker, Minister of Religion, Innovator and Start-up visas.

Trinity's English language exams focus on communicative and integrated language skills that people of all ages and from all walks of life need to perform in today's interconnected world.  

Trinity’s qualifications cover every stage of learning, from beginner to advanced. Trinity offers two skills oral assessments and four skills reading, writing, speaking and listening assessments as well as young learner awards.

Trinity's Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) exams are one-to-one, face-to-face assessments of English language speaking and listening skills with a Trinity examiner, who encourages the candidate to show what they can do through prompts and authentic interactive dialogue. The exam length is 5-25 minutes depending on the grade.

GESE is available at 12 levels: Grades 1-12 mapped to the CEFR* (pre-A1-C2 CEFR levels).  

Grouped by development stage, GESE exams offer a progressive framework for the development of English language skills and an assessment for every learner.

• Grades 1-3 (Initial stage) Pre-A1 - A2.1
• Grades 4-6 (Elementary stage) A2.2 - B1.2
• Grades 7-9 (Intermediate stage) B2.1 - B2.3
• Grades 10-12 (Advanced stage) C1.1 - C2

*CEFR = Common European Framework of Reference for languages

Trinity's Integrated Skills in English (ISE) is a contemporary four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) qualification recognised by governments and institutions as providing reliable evidence of English language proficiency.

There are two exam modules – Reading & Writing and Speaking & Listening. These can be taken together or separately, depending on whether you are taking the exam in a Trinity Registered Exam Centre, or in a UK Trinity SELT Centre.  

The Reading & Writing module is taken as a written exam in registered centres.  

One-to-one, face-to-face Speaking & Listening assessments can be taken in person or via live video conference in exam centres.

ISE proficiency levels are calibrated to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) and are available at five levels:  

• ISE Foundation (A2)
• lSE I (B1)
• ISE II (B2)
• ISE III (C1)
• ISE IV (C2)*  

*ISE IV has a different format to ISE at CEFR levels A2-C1

ESOL Skills for Life - UK

Trinity's ESOL Skills for Life qualifications are designed to aid progression and access into mainstream education and employment paths where English language skills are a requirement.  

These qualifications are for adults aged 16 and over living in the UK who need English language skills for everyday life, for study and for employment.

Available at five levels from Entry 1 to Level 2, each ESOL Skills for Life award is a qualification in its own right.  

Individual awards:  Reading | Writing | Speaking and Listening

Overarching certificate: Trinity ESOL Skills for Life certificate

For learners who are not yet ready to take an Entry level qualification, we also offer ESOL Step 1 and Step 2 Awards

ESOL Step 1 and Step 2 – UK

Trinity’s ESOL Step 1 and Step 2 awards are designed for adults aged 16 and over living in the UK who have started to learn English but are not yet ready to take an ESOL Skills for Life Entry level qualification.  

These speaking and listening exams provide students with the opportunity to mark learning progression while they build up the skills and confidence needed to take ESOL Skills for Life qualifications.

The format for Step 1 and Step 2 exams is a one-to-one conversation with a Trinity examiner. The examiner uses pictures, everyday objects and reference to the immediate surroundings to engage and prompt the candidate to demonstrate their English language communication skills by listening and responding to the examiner's questions verbally and through gestures and simple actions.

Trinity College London also offers TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) qualifications. Another similar term is TEFL, 'Teaching English as a Foreign Language'. TESOL and TEFL learning programmes are English language courses for students whose first language is not English. Trinity's TESOL qualifications are widely accepted internationally by state and private sector teaching institutions including British Council-accredited organisations in the UK and around the world.

TESOL or TEFL teacher training courses leading to TESOL or TEFL qualifications are for people who wish to become English language teachers. Many employers require their teachers to have internationally respected TESOL qualifications such as Trinity's CertTESOL in order to teach at their institutions.

Qualifications range from those starting out in a teaching career to senior teaching and management posts.

• Certificate in TESOL (CertTESOL)
• Teaching Young Learners English Certificate (TYLEC)
• Trinity Teach English Online
• Certificate in Online Teaching (CertOT)
• Certificate for Practising Teachers (CertPT)
• Diploma in TESOL (DipTESOL)[3]

Trinity exams are externally regulated in the UK and recognised by education authorities in many countries around the world. Read more about international Recognition of Trinity's English Language qualifications.  

Trinity’s GESE and ISE qualifications are listed on the UK’s Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and are aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). Read more about these frameworks and see how Trinity's qualifications map to the frameworks on this achievement levels table.  

Trinity's GESE and ISE exams are UK government-approved tests for settlement or visa application purposes when taken at a Trinity SELT Centre.  

Our GESE and ISE qualifications have been awarded ALTE’s Q-mark, showing they meet the highest level of quality standards.

Comparison table for Trinity ESOL[4], Cambridge English Language Assessment and IELTS examinations

Worldwide accreditation varies from country to country.

The Trinity suite of exams are linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR). This framework sets standards in foreign language learning/teaching across Europe, by categorising learners into six levels of ability.

Trinity ESOL exams fit into this framework as shown in the table

• English as an additional language
• Teaching English as a Foreign Language

• About Trinity College London
• Trinity College London English language qualifications
• Trinity College London Secure English Language Tests (SELTs)
• Trinity College London ESOL
• Trinity College London TESOL
• Trinity College London TESOL Course Search
• International Exam Recognition