ESOL Initial Assessment

ESOL Initial Assessment

Click "submit" at the bottom when you finish.
Beginner (Entry 1)Intermediate (Entry 2 - Entry 3)Advanced (Level 1 - Level 2)Don't know
You do not have to answer all the questions.

Spend up to 30 minutes on the writing questions and 30 minutes on the reading questions.

The questions start easy and get harder. Choose the questions which are right for your level.

IMPORTANT:

YOU MUST DO THIS ASSESSMENT YOURSELF.
Do not ask for help or help others with it. You cannot fail this assessment.

YOU CANNOT COMPLETE THIS ASSESSMENT TWICE.
We will only look at your first attempt.
Write your name

First NameLast Name
Your address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

City

Postcode
Your phone number
WARNING: YOU CANNOT COMPLETE THIS FORM TWICE WITH THE SAME PHONE NUMBER

Writing
You must answer at least one question on this page.
Pre-entry

Write the missing letters
a b c g h i j k q r s y z
E F G H I N O P Q W X Y Z
Entry 1

Write about yourself and your family.
Write 2 - 5 sentences.
Entry 2

What did you do yesterday?
Write 5 - 8 sentences using the past tense. Use and, but and because.
Entry 3 - Level 2

What do you want to do in the future? Write about your future plans.
Write 8 - 10 sentences. Use a range of tenses.

Section B: Reading
Pre-entry

Choose the correct answer.
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Entry 1a

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.
My name is Saima.

I come from Pakistan.

I am 16 years old.

I live in London.
YesNo
YesNo
YesNo
YesNo
Entry 1b

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.

I was born in Pakistan but ten years ago my family came to London. I didn't speak English then. I learnt it at school here. At home we speak English and Urdu with my mother because she doesn't know much English. She wants to go to an English class but she doesn't have time.

I like speaking English with my brothers. The older one, Rasheed, is in sixth form. He’s studying for four A levels now. Next year he’s going to Bristol University. He wants to be a vet.
2000201020152025
PakistanLondonBristolUrdu
EnglishUrduArabicBengali
She doesn't know much EnglishShe wants to be a vetShe wants to go to universityShe is too busy
LondonHer brothersHer motherRasheed
SchoolSixth formA LevelsUniversity
Entry 2

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.
My father thinks that doctors are more important than vets. He says that doctors cure people but vets only cure animals. Maybe he feels this way because he grew up in a small village in Pakistan. When he was thirty he moved to London and it may be that he thinks animals belong in country areas and aren’t for city people.

When I was a child I wanted to have a cat but Dad said we couldn’t keep an animal in the house. So he’s a bit annoyed because my older brother Rasheed is leaving home and going to study to be a vet at Bristol. Dad would like him to stay with us but Bristol has very good courses for vets. I don’t think that Rasheed’s too upset about this because he told me that he wants to get away from home for a while.
DoctorTeacherStudentVet
10 years20 years30 years40 years
CatDogAnimalCity
SaimaSaima's mumSaima's dadRasheed
LondonBristolVetPakistan
Very happyQuite happyA little unhappyExtremely unhappy
YesNoNot sureHe hasn't thought about it yet
Entry 3

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.
It all started twelve years ago, when we were living happily in Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. I was four years old at the time and my dad was a chef in an international hotel. One day a letter arrived from my uncle Asif – he’s married to one of Dad’s sisters. He said he was running a restaurant in Hackney and wondered if Dad might be interested in coming to be a chef there. Asif knew that Dad was a first rate cook so it made sense for both of them. He decided to go, and after a couple of years the rest of the family joined him.

It was quite tough at first. I don’t remember much because I was only six at the time, but I thought it was very cold. Now I’ve lived here for most of my life and things are different. I think of this as my home, but I’m still Pakistani in some ways.
124616
LahoreHackneyKarachiLondon
LahoreHackneyBristolPakistan
He wanted to help out his brother-in-lawHe's married to one of her dad's sistersHe was looking for someone to work in his restaurant kitchenHe was lonely in London
12 years4 years2 years6 years
She was very youngIt was very coldIt was only a couple of yearsDad was a first rate chef
One day a letter arrived from Uncle AsifIt was very coldIt made sense for both of themThings are different
YesNo
YesNo
Level 1

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.
I sometimes wonder where I really belong. I used to live in Pakistan but I’ve been in London for ten years now, and in many ways I feel British. If you heard me speak, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between me and anybody else around here. But, of course, my culture is different. When I’m at home with my family I’m a Pakistani girl – but maybe not completely.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. You see, last year we all went back to Pakistan. It was my first time back since we left ten years ago, and it was strange. For a start, I was just about knocked over by the heat when we got off the plane. Then, after some time I began to notice other differences. I had some long conversations with my cousins, and their ideas and attitudes were not quite the same as mine. That’s what you’d expect, of course, but I was still surprised by it. I suppose I’d always thought of myself as a Pakistani, but living in the UK, it isn’t as simple as that. If you asked me if I would move back to Pakistan now, I’m really not sure what I’d say.
I sometimes wonderin many waysBut, of course,maybe not completely
She has a London accentShe doesn't feel completely PakistaniShe's been in London for ten yearsShe understands British culture
When she got off the planeIn her houseAt Pakistani cultural eventsWhen she goes to Pakistan
She was happy about itShe was sad about itIt was what she expectedIt was not what she expected
I was just about knocked overwhen we got off the planeI was still surprised by itIt was strange
She was knocked overIt was what she expectedShe was surprisedShe thought it was quite simple
YesNo
She would like to move backShe wouldn't like to move backShe doesn't know
SupposeWonderExpectNotice
Her familyHer cultural identityLiving in the UKHer trip to Pakistan
Level 2

Read the text about Saima and answer the questions.
My name is Saima Ali and I’m a 16-year-old girl. I come from Pakistan but I’ve lived in London for ten years now. If you’d asked me a couple of months ago about connections between South Asia and London, I’d probably have said that it all started with the wave of immigration into Britain in the 1950s. However, we’ve been doing a project at school recently about the multicultural history of the capital and I’ve discovered that there’s considerably more to it than that.

It turns out that the first migrants arrived in London from what is now Pakistan long before my country became independent in 1947. Muslim sailors employed by the East India Company landed in the docks during the 17th Century. From the very beginning, Asian migrant workers faced institutional discrimination – the 1660 Navigation Act required three quarters of seamen to be British. Yet Britain needed to recruit migrant workers. Because of the high sickness and death rates of European sailors on India-bound ships, their frequent desertions in India, and high rates of conscription to the British army, many ships were short of crewmen for the return voyage to London, so local sailors came on board.

When these ships arrived in the capital, it was the first time that Londoners had ever seen people who looked like me. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for these early migrants. Nevertheless many stayed and married local white British women, as there were so few South Asian women in Britain at the time.

During the colonial era, Asians continued coming to Britain as seamen, traders, students, domestic workers, cricketers, political officials and visitors, and some of them settled. Notable scholars such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, came to study in the UK. Jinnah first completed an apprenticeship and then, at the age of 19, became the youngest person from South Asia to be called to the bar in Britain.

So how does all this affect me? Well, I find it interesting and reassuring that although I’ve only been here for ten years, the connections between my native country and this city go back a lot further into history.
connectionswaveimmigrationconsiderably
what is nowindependentAsianfrom the very beginning
racism perpetrated by individuals against a group of peoplethree quarters of sailors were required to be Britishunfair treatment of a group of people by institutions in a societythe legacy of imperialism in modern day Britain
3%25%75%100%
Sailors get sick and diedSailors were poorly paidSailors stayed in India rather than returning homeSailors joined the British armySailors married local womenBeing a sailor was an unattractive career
It was the first time that Londoners had ever seen people that looked like meI can only imagine how hard it must have beenNevertheless many stayedthere were so few South Asian women in Britain at the time
Notable scholars came to study in the UKMigrant workers faced institutional discriminationAsians continued to come to Britain during the colonial eraMigrant sailors started families with local women
LawyerScientistPoliticanEngineer
He became a famous cricketerHe became the first leader of independent PakistanHe was a notable scholarHe died in Karachi
She is interested in history in generalShe is considering a career in politicsShe is comforted by the long historical connections between the UK and PakistanShe is not sure whether to move back to Pakistan
Total Marks for Multiple-Choice Questions
Should be Empty:

ESOL Initial Assessment

Writing

Section B: Reading