Description of Examinations

The Final Bachelor´s English Examination is in written form. It is divided into four parts: listening, grammar, vocabulary and work with a text. There are max. of 30 points to be obtained from this exam (from the overall total of 120). The time limit is 120 minutes with no break.

• Grammar and general vocabulary on B2 level (CEFR)
• Knowledge of vocabulary from the Study Texts
• Literature: Murphy, R.: English Grammar in Use

Description of individual parts

Listening

There are two texts/articles read by a native speaker. The students are asked to fill in missing information during the dictation of the first text which is on a biological theme. Students answer true /false questions according to the second text which is on a more general topic. Each text is read twice.

Grammar

Grammar part consists of 30 items in total.
All items have the following form:

You can't stop me __________ what I want.
 a) doing               
 b) do         
 c) to do               
 d) that I do

The students are asked to complete the sentence with the correct variation, and only one of the possibilities is correct.

Vocabulary

This part focuses on the testing of vocabulary from the study texts from the previous 4 semesters and is made up of three exercises. The first of these is a gap-fill exercise, ie. using the offered words to fill gaps in given  sentences. In the second exercise students are to choose the word from the four options provided which best fits the given description. The third exercise is a so called multiple-choice exercise, ie. choosing the correct answer from the given options. In this exercise the student is to choose the one word from the four given options which best fits the given sentence.

Work with texts

This part is made up of three different exercises. In the first, which is in the form of a multiple choice exercise, the student is to answer questions connected to a text. In the second, the student is to fill gaps in the sentences provided according to the context. The third is made up of two extracts from the study texts. In each of them, the student is to identify synonyms in the extracts for the words or phrases provided.

Grading

The Master’s Final Examination in English consists of three parts:

1. TOEFL ITP or TOEIC Listening and Reading
2. Essay part
3. Oral part

For an overview of courses suitable for the Master's Study Programme, please see the Language Courses Overview page.

1. Certified Examination

2. Oral part

3. Essay part

Overall Grading

All the students who intend to take the TOEFL ITP test this semestr need to register for the date on STAG by the end of November (WS) / April (SS).
Due to a change in the test ordering system we won't be able to give you the test without registration.

The TOEFL ITP exam examines the ability of the student to communicate effectively in the English-speaking academic environment.

The listening part focuses on the understanding of short and medium length dialogues from a university environment and medium length lectures.

The second part, “structure“, tests the student’s knowledge of grammar structures.

The reading part contains five short texts accompanied by questions focused on the overall understanding of the particular text and the vocabulary therein.

The pass mark is 543 points.
The points achieved can be converted to CEFR levels (A1 - C1) here.

Sample tests may be found at the ETS website:

• Section 1, TOEFL ITP, Listening Comprehension (must use Flash to view)
• Section 2, TOEFL ITP, Structure and Written Expression
• Section 3, TOEFL ITP, Reading Comprehension

To download: TOEFL ITP Test Taker Handbook (pdf, ETS website)

Before taking the Doctor's Final English Examination (OJZ 950), students are to acquire a credit for “TOEFL ITP for PhD Students” (OJZ 940) by submitting a certificate from TOEFL ITP (min. score 543), TOEFL iBT (min. score 72), or IELTS (min. score 5.5). The TOEFL ITP examination may be taken free of charge on dates provided by the Language Department (see the Calendar).
The points achieved in TOEFL ITP can be converted to CEFR levels (A1 - C1) here.

The examination tests the ability to write a scientific text in English on a topic familiar to the candidate, the ability to present findings from the candidate's field, the ability to discuss a given topic and the ability to explain grammar phenomena from a specialist text. The tasks are designed to elicit language at level C1.

The examination has the following parts:

Written part

A written essay on one of six specialist topics familiar to the candidate and of an approximate length of 400 words (minimum pass: 350 words).

• One week before the exam, a list of 6 topics must be provided by the student, including a short 1-2 sentence explanation of what each topic involves and what they plan to present. The topics need to be approved by the supervisor and the exam invigilator as being separate from each other.
• At the exam, students are assigned one of their topics by the invigilator and write an essay based on it within a maximum of 120 mins.

The essay should follow the format:

1. Problem/topic statement (introductory paragraph)
2. Exploration of the topic (structured - paragraphs)
3. Conclusion (concluding paragraph)

Oral part

An oral examination based on one of six specialist topics familiar to the candidate provided by the student and an oral analysis of an extract.

• The candidate is to provide the examiner with the specialist material at the time of the written part of the examination (A publication written by a native speaker in English, of a length of no less than 100 pages and recommended by the supervisor. A compilation of abstracts is not suitable).
• The examination panel is to consist of two teachers from the language department. The candidate's supervisor or a representative appointed by the supervisor is welcome to attend.
• The examination is to last approximately 20 minutes.
• The exam is to consist of
• a short oral overview given by the student on one of the topics from the list (other than that chosen for the written part) followed by a discussion with one of the examiners.
• an oral analysis of an extract from a specialist publication – an explanation of given grammar phenomena from the extract based on questions from one of the examiners.

The following list of topics for the examination should be delivered to the Department of Student Affairs at least one week before the date of examination:

• Download: List of topics – document to fill in and deliver to the Language Dpt. (docx)

Instead of the TOEFL® ITP examination, which is a part of the Final Master’s Examination in English and is sat on site at the faculty, the language department also recognises a TOEFL® iBT certificate as an equivalent, with the following transfer of points:

Official ETS webpage for conversion of TOEFL® ITP points to CEFR levels

 View the external web page

Official ETS correlation table for conversion of TOEIC® LR points to CEFR levels

View the pdf document