ScoreFluentOne sitting. Four skills. A CEFR level out the other end.
LanguageCert Academic is a four-skill English exam from PeopleCert, taken at a test centre or online with a proctor. It is a multi-level test: you do not book a level, you sit once and are reported against CEFR B1 to C2 on a 0–100 scale. This is the format, the marking and the traps, in full.
Practice for this exam is not live yet. ScoreFluent scores PTE Academic today — speaking, writing, reading and listening, scored in minutes. LanguageCert Academic is in build and not open to students; this page is a reference guide, and you can join the waitlist to hear when it opens. We are not naming a date we cannot keep.
How it is scored →
The 0–100 Global Scale, the fixed CEFR cut-scores, per-part marks, and what a 0–8 criterion score actually means.
IELTS equivalent →
The official concordance table with the sample size behind every row — and where the published equivalences stop being reliable.
Practice tests →
Where the official practice material lives, and exactly how the computer-based test behaves when it runs.
UK visas (SELT) →
Which LanguageCert tests are SELT-approved, how Academic relates to Academic SELT, and the timelines a visa turns on.
Australian visas →
The Home Affairs score minimums for every English level, the 7 August 2025 change, and the secure-test-centre rule.
vs IELTS →
Which to take: format, delivery, turnaround and retakes compared, with the official concordance as the anchor.
vs PTE Academic →
Machine scoring against examiner judgment, a microphone against a person — compared by a team that runs PTE practice.
Speaking guide →
Four parts, 14 minutes, a live interlocutor: what each part asks and how the five 0–8 criteria are anchored.
Writing guide →
Both tasks on one 50-minute clock, the four criteria per task, and where marks are actually lost.
Listening guide →
Four parts and 30 marks, every recording played twice, and a plan for the note-taking part most people meet unprepared.
Reading guide →
Five parts, 30 marks, one 50-minute clock — the pacing plan matters as much as the reading.
Two bookings, four skills, ~154 minutes.
LanguageCert Academic is booked as two components: LRW — Listening, Reading and Writing — and Speaking. You can sit them on the same day or up to 14 days apart. Results arrive within five working days.
| Skill | Time | Shape | What is different about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | ~40 min | 4 parts, 30 items | Every recording plays twice. Marked by computer. |
| Reading | 50 min | 5 parts, 30 items | One section clock, no per-part timers — you pace yourself. |
| Writing | 50 min | 2 tasks | One self-managed block across both tasks. Human-marked. |
| Speaking | ~14 min | 4 parts | Live interview with an interlocutor, in person or remote. |
Computer-based by default · online-proctored option · paper-based also exists
Everything plays twice.
All audio is academic or socio-academic in register. The double play is the single biggest structural difference from most other four-skill exams — plan for it rather than being surprised by it.
| Part | What you hear | What you do | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 7 short unfinished conversations | One 3-option multiple choice per conversation — pick the appropriate continuation | 7 |
| Part 2 | 5 conversations in an academic setting | 2 × 3-option multiple choice per conversation (topic, purpose, gist, relationship, attitude) | 10 |
| Part 3 | One monologue — lecture, podcast or presentation | Note pad with 7 gaps; type the missing information, up to 3 words per gap | 7 |
| Part 4 | One discussion between three speakers | 6 × 3-option multiple choice (gist, fact vs opinion, contrast, purpose, cause and effect) | 6 |
Five formats, one clock.
There are no per-part timers in Reading. The 50 minutes are yours to allocate across all five parts, which makes pacing a scored skill in its own right.
| Part | Stimulus | Task | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1a | 6 standalone academic sentences of 20–30 words, one word highlighted | 4-option multiple choice: the word that replaces the highlighted word with no change in meaning | 6 |
| Part 1b | Academic text of up to 180 words with 5 words removed | 3-option choice per gap | 5 |
| Part 2 | Academic text of 450–500 words with 6 sentences removed | Choose 6 sentences from 8 candidates — two are extras you will not need | 6 |
| Part 3 | 4 short linked texts of 140–170 words each | 7 multiple-matching questions: in which text does the writer…? | 7 |
| Part 4 | One continuous academic text of 650–750 words | 6 × 4-option multiple choice, at least one testing inferred meaning | 6 |
The two halves a human still marks.
Writing is two tasks inside a single self-managed 50-minute block. Speaking is a live interview with an interlocutor — four parts, around 14 minutes, recorded throughout.
| Task | What you produce | Length / time |
|---|---|---|
| Writing 1 | Report, argument or article for a public audience, built from a graphic or visual input plus a short written excerpt. The prompt sets three required bullets. | 150–200 words |
| Writing 2 | Formal discursive piece for a specified reader — compare and contrast, persuade, hypothesise, evaluate, propose solutions. | About 250 words |
| Speaking 1 | Give and spell your name and country, then up to five questions, one per general topic area. | 3 min |
| Speaking 2 | Two role-play situations of around two turns each side. In the first the interlocutor opens; in the second you initiate. | 2 min |
| Speaking 3 | Read an academic passage of about 90 words aloud after 30 seconds to preview it, then answer follow-up questions on it. | 4 min |
| Speaking 4 | Presentation from a chart or graph. One minute to prepare with notes allowed, then talk for up to two minutes, then 2–3 follow-up questions. | 5 min |
0–100 per skill, averaged flat.
Each skill is reported 0–100 on the LanguageCert Global Scale, and your overall score is the plain average of the four — no skill is weighted more heavily than another. Fixed cut-scores turn that number into a CEFR level.
| Global Scale | CEFR | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | C2 | Mastery |
| 75–89 | C1 | Advanced |
| 60–74 | B2 | Upper intermediate — the level most UK visa and university routes ask for |
| 40–59 | B1 | Intermediate |
Writing: 4 criteria, 0–8 each
Task Achievement, Accuracy & Range of Grammar, Accuracy & Range of Vocabulary (which includes spelling) and Organisation (which includes punctuation) — 32 marks per task. Task 1 is worth 40% of the Writing skill score and Task 2 is worth 60%. An off-topic response receives no credit at all.
Speaking: 5 criteria, 0–8 each
Task Fulfilment & Communicative Effect — double-weighted — plus Coherence, Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation, Intonation & Fluency, for 48 marks. All four parts carry equal importance. The interlocutor marks task fulfilment live; a second examiner marks the rest from the recording.
Two raters, one arbiter
Writing and Speaking are marked by two independent raters who cannot see each other's marks, with a senior examiner arbitrating any discrepancy. Listening and Reading are marked by computer. Reported 2025 reliability: Listening .88, Reading .90, Writing .86, Speaking .92.
What your score would be in IELTS bands.
LanguageCert published an equipercentile concordance study in October 2024 based on 1,008 test takers who sat both exams, with an overall correlation of .87. These are the published overall equivalences — useful if you already know your IELTS band and want a target.
| IELTS Academic | LanguageCert Academic |
|---|---|
| 4.5 | 38–45 |
| 5.0 | 46–53 |
| 5.5 | 54–60 |
| 6.0 | 61–66 |
| 6.5 | 67–72 |
| 7.0 | 73–80 |
| 7.5 | 81–87 |
| 8.0 | 88–94 |
| 8.5 | 95+ |
The report notes that LanguageCert Listening and Reading are somewhat more demanding at the top end than their IELTS counterparts, so do not assume a flat swap at band 8 and above.
Regulated, and on the visa lists.
UK — UKVI SELT
LanguageCert is a PeopleCert Qualifications brand. The Academic qualification is Ofqual-regulated and approved as a UKVI Secure English Language Test, delivered under SELT conditions where the visa route requires it.
Australia — Home Affairs accepted
The Department of Home Affairs accepts LanguageCert Academic for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, with score thresholds published per visa English level — Competent English, for example, asks for at least 57 Listening, 60 Reading, 64 Writing and 70 Speaking.
Universities
Widely used for university admission, typically expressed as a Global Scale or CEFR requirement — B2 (60–74) for most undergraduate and taught postgraduate routes. Individual institutions set their own minimums, including per-skill ones, so check the course page rather than assuming.
Where candidates actually lose marks.
Treat the two listening plays as different jobs
Because every recording plays twice, the efficient pattern is gist and structure on the first play, targeted detail on the second. Candidates who try to answer everything on the first pass tend to miss the note-completion gaps in Part 3, where you must type the missing information in three words or fewer.
Part 2 of Reading has two decoy sentences
Eight candidate sentences fill six gaps, so two never get used and each one is used once. That means it is solvable by elimination and by discourse reasoning — reference chains, connectors, topic and summary sentences — not by reading each gap in isolation.
Multiple matching rewards two passes, not one
Reading Part 3 gives you four linked texts with different purposes and seven questions. Skim first to map what each text is doing, then scan for each question's target. Reading all four texts closely before looking at the questions is the classic way to burn ten minutes you needed elsewhere.
Budget Writing 20 / 30, not 25 / 25
Both tasks sit in one 50-minute block with no forced split, and Task 2 is worth 60% of the Writing score against Task 1's 40%. Weight your time the way the marks are weighted. And answer the prompt you were given — an off-topic response receives no credit regardless of how good the English is.
Writing Task 1 has three required bullets
The Task 1 prompt gives you a chart or graph plus a short written excerpt, and asks for three things — typically describe the main trends, suggest reasons for them, then evaluate or predict. Missing one of the three is a Task Achievement penalty even if the prose is strong.
Speaking Part 2 asks you to start the conversation
The role-plays run in two sets: in one the interlocutor opens and you respond; in the other you initiate. Practising only reactive answers leaves you flat-footed on the set where you have to open, and Task Fulfilment is the double-weighted criterion.
Speaking Part 4 lets you take notes
You get a minute to prepare a presentation from a chart or graph, and notes are allowed. Use the minute to fix a structure — overview, two supported points, a close — because you then talk for up to two minutes and take 2–3 follow-up questions on it.
Where these facts come from.
ScoreFluent is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to LanguageCert or PeopleCert. Everything on this page comes from their published documents:
- LanguageCert Academic — official exam page — the exam as the awarding body describes it, including booking and results timelines.
- Qualification Handbook (PDF) — the full format, timings, marks and criteria behind every table above.
Exam details change — the awarding body revises its documents during the year. If a decision hangs on a detail here, check it against the official pages above first; they outrank this page.
LanguageCert Academic, answered.
How long is LanguageCert Academic and how is it booked?
Roughly 154 minutes of testing: Listening around 40 minutes, Reading 50 minutes, Writing 50 minutes and Speaking around 14 minutes. It is booked as two components — LRW (Listening, Reading and Writing) and Speaking — taken on the same day or within 14 days of each other.
What score do I need, and how does the scale work?
Each skill is reported 0–100 on the LanguageCert Global Scale and your overall score is the plain average of the four skills — every skill carries equal weight. The CEFR cut-scores are fixed: 40–59 is B1, 60–74 is B2, 75–89 is C1 and 90–100 is C2. Academic reports B1 to C2, so there is no level to book — one sitting places you.
Is LanguageCert Academic accepted for UK and Australian visas?
It is an Ofqual-regulated qualification and a UKVI-approved Secure English Language Test (see the gov.uk approved SELT list), and it is approved by the Australian Department of Home Affairs for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, with score thresholds published per visa English level. Always check the specific score your university or visa stream requires before booking.
How does a LanguageCert score compare to IELTS?
LanguageCert publishes an official concordance study (October 2024, 1,008 test takers who sat both exams, overall correlation .87). At overall level it maps IELTS 6.0 to 61–66, IELTS 6.5 to 67–72, IELTS 7.0 to 73–80 and IELTS 7.5 to 81–87. The report notes that LanguageCert Listening and Reading are somewhat more demanding at the top end than IELTS.
Does the listening audio really play twice?
Yes. Every recording in the Listening paper is played twice, which changes how you should work: use the first play for gist and structure, and the second for the specific detail each question asks about. Part 3 also gives you 30 seconds to preview the note pad and Part 4 gives you a minute to read its questions.
How are Writing and Speaking marked?
Listening and Reading are marked by computer. Writing and Speaking are marked by humans against published criteria — two independent raters who cannot see each other's marks, with discrepancies arbitrated by a senior examiner. Writing has four criteria scored 0–8 per task; Speaking has five criteria scored 0–8, with Task Fulfilment and Communicative Effect double-weighted.
Can I practise LanguageCert Academic on ScoreFluent today?
Not yet. ScoreFluent scores PTE Academic today — speaking, writing, reading and listening. LanguageCert Academic support is in build and not open to students; join the waitlist and we will email you when it opens. We are not publishing a launch date until it is real.
Be told the day LanguageCert practice opens.
Scored LanguageCert Academic practice is in build, not live. Leave your email and we will send one message when it opens — no date promised until we have one.
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