WHY PROFEX?

PROFEX is accepted by more and more employers and Medical Universities throughout the European Union. With its significantly higher specificity, PROFEX can predict the quality of a candidate’s future communicative behavior in medical professional settings with greater accuracy and reliability compared to other general purpose language proficiency tests.

PROFEX applies texts and tasks authentic to the health care profession (see About the test for more information). It is designed to assess how learners use English to communicate in real-life situations relevant to the medical profession.

PROFEX provides a valid and accurate assessment of the four language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking. It is aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the international standard for describing language ability.

PROFEX is supported by a range of learning and teaching resources (see Exam preparation for more information).

PROFEX is recognized as being fair to all test takers irrespective of their cultural background, gender or special needs (see About the test/Test takers with special requirements for more information).

PROFEX is subject to the highest quality controls and security procedures, such as rigorous procedures for checking and verifying test takers’ identity and double marking.

The Staff ensures that the administration of the test is consistent and secure through training and continual monitoring of test sites and examiners. The PROFEX Exam Center is monitored and supervised every two years by the National Language Test Accreditation Board.

PROFEX examiners are qualified English language specialists with substantial relevant teaching experience.

Each exam paper is pre-tested and routed through the process of social moderation and validation.

PROFEX uses five-band scales to clearly identify levels of proficiency in each test task. See the table below for examples:

 

B2 Level

Writing tasks (professional letter and e-mail)

Style

  • format
  • language style
  • vocabulary

5 points
  • fully complies with the requirements of the letter format
  • its style and vocabulary are appropriate for the genre of the letter

4 points
  • there are minor errors in the format, e.g., format of the date, signature, placing of the address
  • the text deviates from the requirements of a formal letter in its style
  • its vocabulary is inappropriate in certain cases

3 points
  • there are major errors in the format, e.g., date, signature, address is partially missing
  • its style and vocabulary are inappropriate for the genre of the letter in multiple instances

2 points
  • its format is still acceptable
  • its language is poor and limited
  • there are several errors making comprehension difficult

1 points
  • nearly complete lack of the required format
  • its style and vocabulary are mostly inappropriate for the requirements of a formal letter
  • the information content of the letter is compromised because of fragmentary sentences and misleading vocabulary

0 points
  • the letter cannot be assessed

 

Grammatical accuracy

  • use of grammar
  • use of spelling and punctuation

5 points
  • 1-2 grammatical errors

4 points
  • apart from several minor errors, the letter is grammatically correct

3 points
  • 3-4 serious errors, imprecise phrasing make comprehension challenging

2 points
  • more than 4 serious errors, imprecise phrasing make comprehension challenging
  • in multiple instances the meaning can only be guessed at

1 points
  • frequent and significant grammatical errors make the sentences of the letter nearly incomprehensible completely
  • almost invariably, meaning can only be guessed at

0 points
  • the letter cannot be assessed

 

Content

  • presenting and covering the prompts in the letter
  • flow of transitioning (coherence)
  • following the specified wordage

5 points
  • all prompts are present in the text and covered at an appropriate length
  • the transition between prompts is smooth
  • clear, understandable thoughts of a high standard, which form a first-rate complete text

4 points
  • all prompts related to the main functions of the letter are present and developed appropriately
  • the transition between the prompts is not always smooth

3 points
  • 1-2 important prompts are missing
  • the majority of the thoughts are mostly clear

2 points
  • several important prompts are missing
  • the transition between the prompts is poor

1 points
  • the examiner paid minimum attention to the prompts when drafting the letter
  • there is very little transition between thoughts

0 points
  • the letter cannot be assessed