The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is an association of language exam providers. The concept was formed in 1989 by the Universities of Cambridge and Salamanca and the following year, 1990, saw the holding of the first meeting of the association by eight founder members. In education, certification, counselling, and many other fields, a test or exam (short for examination) is a tool or technique intended to measure students expression of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctor) in a variety of subjects. ... The University of Cambridge (often called Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Salamanca (Spanish Universidad de Salamanca), located in the town of Salamanca, west-northwest of Madrid, is the oldest university in Spain, and one of the oldest in Europe. ... This article is about the year. ...

ALTE now establishes a six-level framework of language examination standards for twenty-four languages: Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Welsh. Basque (in Basque: Euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... Catalan (Català) or Valencian (Valencià) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra and co-official in several regions of Spain. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Luxembourgish or Luxembourgian (French: Luxembourgeois, German: Luxemburgisch, Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch) is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ...

The total number of first-language speakers of all these languages comes to 1.45 billion people, which represents around 22.5% of the world population.

The principal objectives of ALTE are:

• to establish common levels of proficiency in order to promote the transnational recognition of certification in Europe.
• to establish common standards for all stages of the language-testing process: that is, for test development, task and item writing, test administration, marking and grading, reporting of test results, test analysis and reporting of findings.
• to collaborate on joint projects and in the exchange of ideas and know-how.

The following table compares the ALTE levels with the CEF levels and EFL exams: Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one. ... Procedural knowledge or know-how is the knowledge of how to perform some task. ...

The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is an association of language exam providers. ... The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, or CEF, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe. ... The University of Cambridge ESOL examinations are examinations in English language ability for non-native speakers of English. ... International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test of English language proficiency. ... Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) measures the ability of non-native English-speaking people to use English in everyday work activities. ... The Test Of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced toe-full, or sometimes just toffle) evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand Standard American English at a college level. ...

See also

• Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
• University of Cambridge ESOL examination

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, or CEF, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe. ... The University of Cambridge ESOL examinations are examinations in English language ability for non-native speakers of English. ...

External link

• The ALTE home page