QUALIFICATION DETAILS
Qualification Title
New Zealand Certificate in English Language
(General/Workplace/Academic) (Level 4)
Version
1
Qualification type
Certificate
Level
4
Credits
60
NZSCED
091506
Strategic purpose
statement
This qualification is intended for learners of English as an additional
language, attending NZQA approved programmes delivered in Aotearoa
New Zealand or off-shore.
Graduates will have the language skills required to communicate
independently and effectively in familiar and some less familiar situations
with fluency and flexibility in everyday/social/community, workplace and/or
academic English language contexts. This qualification is at a level
comparable to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) B2.
This qualification allows Aotearoa New Zealand community, employers and
educational institutions to recognise the level at which the graduate can use
English for general, workplace or academic purposes.
Outcome Statement
Graduate
profile
Graduates of this qualification will have the English language skills to:
- understand main ideas and key supporting details of complex oral texts
on familiar and sometimes unfamiliar topics
- read and understand complex texts with a large degree of independence
on familiar and sometimes unfamiliar topics
- locate, organise and summarise important information in texts
- speak with fluency and spontaneity to communicate with some degree of
elaboration in a range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts
- write coherent texts appropriate to audience and purpose, with few
linguistic errors in a range of text types, synthesising and evaluating
information and arguments from a number of sources.
General qualifier:
To achieve the New Zealand Certificate in English Language (General) (Level
4), graduates must be able to use English relevant to
everyday/social/community contexts to meet the outcomes.
Workplace qualifier:
To achieve the New Zealand Certificate in English Language (Workplace)
(Level 4), graduates must be able to use English relevant to a workplace
context to meet the outcomes.
Academic qualifier:
To achieve the New Zealand Certificate in English Language (Academic)
(Level 4), graduates must be able to use English relevant to an academic
context to meet the outcomes.
Education
pathway
This certificate builds on the New Zealand Certificate in English Language
(General/ Workplace/Academic ) (Level 3) and can lead to:
- New Zealand Certificate in English Language (Professional/Academic)
(Level 5) [Ref: 1884]
and facilitates meeting the language requirements for:
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- most vocational and undergraduate programmes/courses and specialised
fields of study requiring lower and/or New Zealand Qualifications
Framework level 5, for entrance, depending on the focus of the
programme leading to this qualification.
Employment
pathway
Qualification
Developer
Holders of this certificate will have the English language skills to work in
positions that require:
- interpersonal communication
- understanding of context-specific professional and/or technical texts
- writing context-specific records and reports
- interaction in a team.
NZQA National Qualification Services
Qualification Specification
Qualification award
This qualification will be awarded to people who have met the requirements
of the outcomes.
Credit gained for an outcome may be used only once to meet the
requirements of this qualification.
Awarding bodies for this qualification will be any education organisation
accredited under section 38 of the Education Amendment Act 2011 to
deliver a programme leading to the qualification.
The certificate will display the NZQF logo and the name and logo of the
awarding body.
Review period
3 years (36 months)
Evidence
requirements for
managing
consistency
Consistency events
Each education organisation must nominate a representative to attend a
scheduled consistency event. The consistency event will enable education
organisations to:
 share information regarding how well their graduates match the graduate
profile outcomes
 ensure that their graduates are comparable with graduates from other
education organisations.
Consistency events are scheduled by NZQA and facilitated by an
independent consistency reviewer. The schedule is available on the NZQA
website.
Education organisations must participate fully and constructively in the
consistency forum and meet the costs associated with participation, including
any time and travel costs.
Evidence for consistency
Each education organisation is responsible for deciding what evidence it will
provide to demonstrate how well its graduates meet the graduate profile
outcomes.
Portfolios of evidence are expected to be based on self-assessment
activities, for example:
 graduate destination data
 graduate surveys or evaluations of the programme
 stakeholder or ‘next-user’ surveys and feedback
 evidence of any bench-marking activities with other education
organisations (e.g. benchmarks relating to graduate employment
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


outcomes, assessment practice, other benchmarks)
graduates’ assessment evidence (e.g. completed assessment activities,
naturally occurring evidence)
national external moderation results
NZCEL programme evaluation reports, containing some or all of the
above self-assessment activities
Credit transfer and
recognition of prior
learning
arrangements
Education organisations must have policies and procedures in place for
managing credit transfer, and assessing recognition of prior learning and
recognition of current competency. These policies and procedures, and
associated fees must be available to the candidates prior to enrolment.
Where recognition of existing skills and knowledge is required by the
candidate, this will be arranged by the education organisation, delivering
the programme leading to the qualification.
To facilitate credit transfer, education organisations must clearly
demonstrate the equivalency between each of the outcomes in the graduate
profile, and the assessment components of their programmes.
Unit standards already achieved by the candidate, which are specified in this
qualification, may be credited to the qualification.
Minimum standard
of achievement and
standards for grade
endorsements
(where applicable)
The minimum standard of achievement required for the award of the
qualification will be the achievement of all the graduate outcomes in the
graduate profile.
There are no grade endorsements for this qualification.
Prerequisites to
meet regulatory
body or legislative
requirements
(where applicable)
There are no mandatory prerequisites to meet regulatory body, or legislative
requirements for this qualification.
Other conditions
for qualification
There is no required sequence of the assessment of graduate outcomes.
It is recommended that education organisations develop their own entry
criteria for this qualification, using the following guidelines:
- Achievement in New Zealand Certificate in English Language (Level 3), or
demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills.
Graduate outcomes must be assessed in tasks which may include real or
simulated situations, relevant to the context of the candidate.
Assessment of outcomes must clearly reflect the qualifier being studied.
All assessment activities, including instructions, must be conducted in
English only.
Responses may contain some minor phonological, textual or linguistic
inaccuracies, which do not obscure meaning, or interfere with fluency.
An English dictionary may be used, but not electronic devices, other than
for word processing.
Sufficiency of evidence indicators
Listening skills:
- Assessment should include at least two spoken texts on different topics,
on two separate occasions. Each occasion should include at least one
monologue and dialogue.
- Each text should be at least five minutes.
- Audio-visual materials may be used for assessment purposes, but these
must not include large amounts of text.
Speaking skills:
- Assessment should include at least two spoken texts on different topics,
on two separate occasions. Texts should include one monologue and
either one dialogue or multi-person discussion.
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- Duration: monologue should be approximately eight minutes.
Dialogue/multi person discussion should be approximately five minutes.
- Interactive strategies, both verbal and non-verbal, should be assessed.
Reading skills:
- Assessment should include at least three texts on different topics, and of
different text types. Each should be assessed on a separate occasion.
- Text length: approximately 4000 words over three texts.
- Vocabulary level: Should be authentic texts based on the General Service
and Academic Word Lists, but need not include highly-specialised
vocabulary.
- The ability to locate, organise and summarise important information in
texts should be assessed.
- Responses can be written, verbal or non-verbal.
Writing skills:
- Assessment should include at least three texts on different topics, and of
different text types. Each should be assessed on a separate occasion.
- Text length and structure: appropriate to writing purpose, but normally
each text of at least 500 words, with layout and linguistic features
appropriate to the genre.
Conditions relating to specific outcomes
Qualification Outcomes
(including indicative
credit values for each
outcome)
Conditions
Mandatory
or Optional
Understand main ideas and
key supporting details of
complex oral texts on
familiar and sometimes
unfamiliar topics.
15 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
aspects of this outcome:
Unit standard 22892: Demonstrate understanding of
spoken texts and process information in English for
academic purposes (ESOL) (Mandatory for Academic
Qualifier)
Unit standard 15011: Identify ideas expressed in
extended speech (ESOL)
Optional
unless
otherwise
specified
In place of the ESOL unit standards listed above, the
following new English Language unit standards may be
used to assess this outcome:
Unit standard 28053: Demonstrate understanding of
complex spoken texts (EL) – 5 credits
Unit standard 28054: Demonstrate understanding of
complex spoken interaction (EL) – 5 credits
Unit standard 28055: Demonstrate understanding of
complex spoken instructions (EL) – 5 credits
Speak with fluency and
spontaneity to
communicate information,
ideas and thoughts, with
some details and
examples, in a range of
familiar and unfamiliar
contexts.
15 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
aspects of this the outcome:
Unit standard 17146: Participate in a formal meeting
(ESOL)
Unit standard 22891: Deliver an oral presentation in
English for an academic purpose (Mandatory for
Academic Qualifier)
Optional
unless
otherwise
specified
In place of the ESOL unit standards listed above, the
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following new English Language unit standards may be
used to assess this outcome:
Unit standard 28065: Participate in a discussion (EL) –
5 credits
Unit standard 28066: Negotiate a complex spoken
exchange (EL) – 5 credits
Unit standard 28067: Present information for a practical
purpose (EL) – 5 credits
Read and understand
complex texts with a large
degree of independence on
familiar and sometimes
unfamiliar topics.
15 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
aspects of this outcome:
Unit standard 22751: Read and process information in
English for academic purposes (Mandatory for
Academic Qualifier)
Unit standard 25098: Read texts for practical purposes
(ESOL)
Optional
unless
otherwise
specified
In place of the ESOL unit standards listed above, the
following new English Language unit standards may be
used to assess this outcome:
Unit standard 28059: Read and understand complex
transactional texts (EL)
Unit standard 28060: Read and understand complex
texts for practical purposes (EL)
Unit standard 28061: Read and demonstrate
understanding of a range of extended written texts
independently (EL)
Write coherent texts
appropriate to audience
and purpose, with few
linguistic errors in a range
of text types, synthesising
and evaluating information
and arguments from a
number of sources.
15 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
this outcome:
Unit standard 22750: Write crafted text using
researched material in English for an academic
purpose(Mandatory for Academic Qualifier)
Unit standard 22749: Write texts under test conditions
in English for academic purposes (Mandatory for
Academic Qualifier)
Unit standard 17367: Write discussions (ESOL)
Unit standard 17369: Write reports for a specified
purpose (ESOL)
Optional
unless
otherwise
specified
In place of the two ESOL unit standards listed above,
the following English Language unit standards may be
used to assess aspects of this outcome:
Unit standard 28071: Write complex texts on familiar
topics (EL) – 5 credits
Unit standard 28072: Write formal texts for practical
purposes (EL) – 5 credits
Unit standard 28073: Write an evaluation for a
specific purpose (EL) – 5 credits
Republication information
Version 1 of this qualification was republished in December 2014 to update the Evidence requirements
for managing consistency.
Version 1 of this qualification was republished in December 2013 to include in the Conditions relating to
specific outcomes the new suite of English Language standards, which replaced the ESOL standards.
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The last date for assessments to take place for the replaced ESOL standards is 31 December 2015.
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