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To Whom It May Concern,

Re: Examination in Languages for International Communication (ELIC)

Our ELIC examinations were offered by the Institute between 1990 and 2004. The lower levels of

ELIC namely, the Preliminary Certificate, the General Certificate, and the Advanced Certificate were

discontinued in 2000. The Final Diploma was now called Diploma.

As the examinations were phased out altogether in 2004; they were not submitted to the government

regulator, Ofqual, for accreditation. Had this been the case, we are confident that accreditation would

have been granted at Level 6, i.e. University first degree level, in the Qualifications Credit Framework

(QCF) for the highest level, the Diploma.

The ELIC qualification originally consisted of five parts:

Preliminary Certificate General Certificate Advanced Certificate Intermediate Diploma Final Diploma or Diploma since 2000

Candidates completed Modules in order to gain credits to advance through the levels of the

examination until they gained the Final Diploma.

The levels of the ELIC were as follows:

ELIC Grading Level

Preliminary Certificate Basic

General Certificate GCSE

Advanced Certificate ‘A’ Level

Intermediate Diploma 2 years part-time post ‘A’ Level study or one full

year of Undergraduate study

Final Diploma or Diploma University First Degree

Final Diploma or Diploma

The Final Diploma has been recognised as a degree-level qualification by a large number of

universities and has also been accepted as an entry level qualification for courses leading to higher

degrees in this, and other, countries.

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QCF, SCQF, CEFR, ALTE Levels & IoLET Qualifications

QCF SCQF CEFR ALTE IoLET

8 12

C2

7 11

6 10 5 Diploma in Translation (DipTrans)

6 9 C1 4 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI)

Final Diploma in English

Chinese/International Diploma in Bilingual Communication (FDEC/IDBC)

Examinations in Languages for International Communication (ELIC) Final Diploma or Diploma

5 8 Examinations in Languages for International Communication (ELIC) Intermediate Diploma

4 7

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3 5 B2 3 Certificate in Bilingual Skills (CBS)

Advanced Certificate

2 4 B1 2 Examinations in Languages for International Communication (ELIC) General Certificate

Examinations in Languages for International

Communication (ELIC) Preliminary Certificate

1 3 A2 1

Entry 2

1

A1 Break

through

QCF : Qualifications Credit Framework (Ofqual)

CEFR: Common European Framework (of Reference)-Strasbourg

ALTE: Association of Language Testers in Europe

I hope this helps to clarify the level of the ELIC qualification. Please do not hesitate to contact us

should you require any further clarification.

Yours sincerely,

Christina Sidery-Parkes

Quality Assurance Manager

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