The ACERT certificate exam is composed of two parts – written and oral.
Written examination:
The duration of the written examination - 90 minutes.
Maximum score for the written part: 60 points
The written examination consists of four parts:
- listening,
- reading,
- grammar and lexis (communicative use of a language in terms of both lexis and grammatical correctness in context)
- writing a short text.
Listening - two or three short listening texts (e.g. monologues and/or mini-dialogues in the field of topics in accordance with the syllabus / CEF).
Different types of listening tasks are proposed (true/false, choice test, matching statements with dialogue participants, etc.).
A total of 15 points can be obtained for the Listening component, one point for each correct answer.
Reading - two or three short reading texts (in the subject area in accordance with the curriculum / CEF).
Different types of tasks are proposed to test global and selective reading comprehension (true/false, choice test, matching titles to text, etc.).
A total of 15 points can be obtained for the Reading section, one point for each correct answer.
Grammar and lexis - the number of tasks is arbitrary (in the area of topics in accordance with the curriculum / CEFR).
Different types of tasks are proposed to check the mastery of grammar and vocabulary.
A total of 15 points can be obtained for the "Grammar and Lexis" section, one point for each correct answer.
Writing a short functional text - the candidate has to fill in a simple form, write a short greeting card, a travel card, a short message, e.g., text message, e-mail (about what he/she is doing, where he/she is). A candidate should also be able to describe their family or a person, complete a dialogue or a form.
A total of 15 points can be obtained for the Writing section.
Oral examination:
The oral examination is taken before a committee in pairs or individually.
The oral examination (in accordance with the syllabus/CEF) comprises an individual statement based on stimulus material and a dialogue between candidatess based on a communicative task.
In assessing the oral presentation, the examination board will take into account:
- discourse management,
- linguistic communication skills (structures and lexis),
- interactive skills,
- pronunciation,
- overall impression.
A total of 40 points can be obtained for the oral examination.
Scoring of the Certificate Examination (written and oral combined)
A total of 100 points can be obtained for the written and oral parts together.
Distribution of points and scores:
Points |
Grade |
100-91 |
Very good |
90-82 |
Good plus |
81-73 |
Good |
72-64 |
Satisfactory plus |
63-55 |
Satisfactory |
Below 55 |
Unsatisfactory |
In order to pass the Acert certificate examination in a foreign language, a minimum of 55% of correct answers are required (55 points) in the whole examination and, in addition to this, the candidate must score a minimum of 50% in each examination component.
In the case of obtaining a lower number of points the examination is considered failed.