QUALIFICATION DETAILS
New Zealand Certificate in English Language (Foundation)
(Level 1)
Version
1
Qualification type
Certificate
Level
1
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. It is intended for learners who have no
command, or very minimal command of English.
Graduates will have the language skills required to communicate, with
support, in very basic, familiar, everyday situations in order to begin to
participate in an English Language environment. This qualification is at a
level comparable to the Common European Framework of Reference
(CEFR) low A1.
This qualification allows Aotearoa New Zealand community, employers and
educational institutions to recognise the level at which the graduate can use
English for general purposes.
Outcome Statement
Qualification Title
Graduate
profile
Graduates of this qualification will have, in a supportive environment, the
English language skills to:
- begin to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very
basic phrases to engage in clear, simple, and routine social interactions
and to meet basic routine needs
- begin to read and understand familiar words, phrases and very simple
sentences
- copy text with a degree of accuracy and legibility, and write very simple
texts.
Education
pathway
This certificate can lead to the New Zealand Certificate in English Language
(Level 1) [Ref: 1880].
Employment
pathway
Holders of this certificate will have the English language skills to work in
positions in which minimal communication is required, and instructions and
commands may be accompanied by supporting visual aids, such as gestures
and graphics.
Qualification
Developer
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.
Qualification Reference 1879
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2012
Page 1 of 4
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
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
There are no mandatory prerequisites to meet regulatory body, or legislative
requirements for this qualification.
Qualification Reference 1879
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2012
Page 2 of 4
(where applicable)
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. However, it is expected that candidates for this
qualification will have literacy skills in another language.
Graduate outcomes must be assessed in tasks, which may include real or
simulated situations, relevant to the context of the candidate.
All assessment activities must be in English. Instructions may be given in
the candidate’s first language.
Responses may contain significant phonological, textual or linguistic
inaccuracies, but must be recognisable.
Assessment must be conducted in a highly supportive environment.
A bilingual and/or an English dictionary may be used, but not an electronic
device.
Listening skills may be assessed as part of the oral exchanges, or as
separate assessments.
Sufficiency of evidence indicators
Speaking/Listening:
- Assessment should be at least three short oral exchanges, on three
separate occasions. Each occasion should include at least three turns by
the candidate.
Reading skills:
- Assessment should be at least ten items per assessment, which should
be assessed on three separate occasions.
- Text length: 3 – 10 words.
- Vocabulary Level: 90% of the text within the first 300 words (General
Service List).
- Responses can be verbal, written, or non-verbal.
Writing skills:
- Copying of at least 50 different symbols, which should be assessed over
three separate occasions.
- Text length and structure: at least five phrases or sentences of three
words or more. Each text should be assessed on three separate
occasions.
Conditions relating to specific outcomes
Qualification Outcomes
(including indicative
credit values for each
outcome)
Conditions
Mandatory
or Optional
Begin to understand and
use familiar everyday
expressions and very basic
phrases to engage in clear,
simple, and routine social
interactions and to meet
basic routine needs.
30 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
this outcome:
Unit standard 27985: Participate in very basic
everyday spoken transactions (EL Foundation)
Unit standard 27986: Participate in very basic spoken
personal exchanges (EL Foundation)
Unit standard 27987: Respond to very basic spoken
instructions (EL Foundation)
Optional
Begin to read and
understand familiar words,
phrases and very simple
The following unit standards may be used to assess
this outcome:
Unit standard 27979: Begin to read and understand
Optional
Qualification Reference 1879
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2012
Page 3 of 4
sentences.
15 credits
numbers, words and phrases in familiar everyday
contexts (EL Foundation)
Unit standard 27980: Begin to read and understand
very simple sentences (EL Foundation)
Copy text with a degree of
accuracy and legibility, and
write very simple texts.
15 credits
The following unit standards may be used to assess
this outcome:
Unit standard 27994: Copy letters and numbers (EL
Foundation)
Unit standard 27995: Write numbers, phrases and very
simple sentences (EL Foundation))
Optional
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.
Qualification Reference 1879
© New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2012
Page 4 of 4