Reviewing the suitability of English language tests for providing the GMC with evidence of doctors' English proficiency

Lynda Taylor
,
Sathena Chan

Centre for Research in English Language Learning & Assessment (CRELLA)

Research Output:

Book/Report

Commissioned report

Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

The research project described in this report set out to identify English language proficiency (ELP) test(s) which might be considered comparable to IELTS in terms of their suitability for satisfying the General Medical Council (the GMC) of the English language proficiency of doctors applying for registration and licensing in the UK. Through a process of consultation between CRELLA and the GMC, the specific aims of the IELTS Equivalence Research Project were established as follows: 1. To identify a comprehensive list of other available test(s) of English language proficiency and/or communication skills apart from IELTS, including any that are specifically used within a medical context (UK and international). 2. To consider how other professional regulatory bodies (both UK and international) check for and confirm an acceptable level of English language proficiency prior to entry into a technical, high-risk profession. 3. To compare the list of tests identified in (1) above to IELTS, with respect to their suitability on a range of essential quality criteria. IELTS was recognised, therefore, as constituting the criterion or standard of suitability against which other potentially suitable English language proficiency tests should be compared. 4. To identify, should one or more tests be considered as at least as suitable as IELTS, what would be the equivalent for these test(s) to the GMC’s current requirements for the academic version of IELTS, as well as how the equivalent scores identified on alternative tests compare to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001).