Cambridge Exam Updates 2020

The Cambridge levels of A2 Key, A2 Key for Schools, B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools have undergone a thorough review to ensure that the exams continue to remain relevant to the needs of schools and learners.

Cambridge English regularly review all their exams to make sure they're continuing to reflect the latest thinking in learning and assessment and also that they are continuing to meet the needs of their learners.

Learners taking A2 Key or B1 Preliminary from January 2020 will sit the new exams. Cambridge English say it is important to revise the exams to reflect changes that are happening to the English language and also to reflect changes that are happening in the classroom.

Some of the new tasks at Key and Preliminary are deliberately similar in format to the next level. This gives learners the chance to build on skills they have developed in one level, as they move on to the next Cambridge English qualification.

One of the biggest changes made to A2 Key is in the speaking and writing components. Cambridge are trying to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their speaking and writing skills more fully, so they'll find in the writing paper they have the opportunity to write more and more freely.

In the speaking component they are given the opportunity to speak more freely so they can have the opportunity to shine.

Cambridge have provided lots of support on their website which has an overview of the changes and an abundance of free materials, sample papers, updated word lists, updated handbooks for teachers and some lesson plans that teachers can use with their learners in the classroom.

For more details, visit the website https://keyandpreliminary.cambridgeenglish.org/#introDates

Australia set to attract more overseas students than the UK

The UK has long been a favoured destination for overseas students, especially those from Hong Kong and mainland China. But according to research from University College London, Australia is overtaking the UK as the world's second biggest destination for international students. The UK is being pushed into third place behind the United States and Australia.

Australia has been rapidly expanding its international student numbers. The British Council says it shows the UK needs to "look again" at its policies towards overseas students.

Universities in the UK have warned that immigration rules after Brexit will need to be more welcoming for students.

The lead researcher warns that Canada is also catching up in taking a growing slice of the lucrative overseas student market.

Three years ago the UK was recruiting around 130,000 more overseas students than Australia but successive years of Australia having steady increases in overseas student numbers have seen it catch up and overtake the UK, which has been growing much more slowly.

Australia has been marketing itself as an English-speaking country with high-performing universities, with an attractive climate and a welcoming culture for overseas students.

This year's Best Student Cities rankings put Melbourne and Sydney in the top 10 - although London was the highest ranked of all.

Australia has succeeded in attracting students from outside Europe, particularly from China.

The research from UCL warns that the UK's future intake of international students will depend on keeping its appeal for European students.

Visit this website page to learn more:

www.bbc.com/news/education-44872808

China set to be major ‘importer’ of international students

The higher-education industry in Canada has benefited tremendously in the last decade from the boom in international students worldwide – especially students from China.

But that trend is unlikely to be sustained in the current model as colleges in traditionally non-English-speaking nations, including China, are set to take up more market share in the next decade.

According to the Canadian Bureau for International Education, 494,525 international students were studying in Canada last year, with China (28%) and India (25%) dominating the top spots in the rankings. Canada isn’t alone in benefiting from the wave of international students from Asia in the last few years; statistics show the total number of international students worldwide increased from 3.1 million in 2007 to 4.6 million in 2015, and about 75% of the group went to schools in high-income, industrialized countries like the United States, Great Britain and Australia.

But according to a Times Higher Education World University Rankings report, experts predict China will be hosting more than 500,000 international students by 2020.

In 2015, Beijing launched its Double First Class initiative for its top universities, throwing significant funds behind making Chinese universities and their intra-university disciplines into global leaders in their fields by 2050.

BCCIE executive director Randall Martin said some of that effort is already being reflected in an increasing number of students from Asia, Europe and Africa choosing China as an educational destination. China is now also the third most popular destination in the world for students to go.

Part of the attraction for international students to an up-and-coming destination like China is price. Those with low resources and ambition will be influenced by things like cheaper tuition.

The Times Higher Education school rankings report noted that groups like the China Scholarship Council have made “large pots of scholarship money available” on top of “extremely attractive” tuition costs.

Visit this website page to learn more:

https://biv.com/article/2018/07/china-seeks-change-international-school-equation