It is designed to give competent teachers of English, who may or may not have any other English teaching qualifications, a chance to obtain international recognition for their language skills, knowledge and experience.
C.I.T.E. works on the same principle as any other test of English for special purposes: the special purpose in this case is the teaching of English.

Who is C.I.T.E for?
There are no entry qualifications for the C.I.T.E test. Although you may well have previous qualifications in English, none are compulsory requirements. The C.I.T.E. test is not in itself a teaching qualification, but recognition of your competence in the relevant English language skills needed for teaching. It can, therefore, equally be taken by teachers who are currently teaching English, or students who are planning to, and have gained knowledge of classroom language and practice through study. It may, for example, be taken by High School mathematics teachers who find themselves timetabled with two lessons of English a week, by Primary school teachers who have been co-opted into teaching English under a government initiative, or English teachers who want to have a focus for updating their classroom language skills.

The C.I.T.E. test recognises that teaching young learners and teaching higher level, older learners, may require different language levels, theory and practice. For this reason, candidates are offered two versions of the test: C.I.T.E (Young Learners) and C.I.T.E (General Training). An examination of the sample papers should help a candidate or their Local Representative decide which is the most appropriate. Primary school teachers are not obliged to take the Young Learner version but the opportunity is available.

What level of English do you need?
You need the level of English required to be a competent teacher. If you think you have this, it is likely that you are at the right level for the C.I.T.E. test.
For the C.I.T.E. (YL) it is likely that your level of English will be at least at B2 on the Common European Framework for languages. For C.I.T.E. (GT) your level is likely to be at C1. In the Anglia Examination Syndicate suite of the General English examinations, this means you will be at Advanced or Proficiency level.

It isn’t easy to relate the level required to any general English test, however, the English required in the C.I.T.E. test is also related to knowledge of grammatical terms and functions in English, together with classroom language in English.

What preparation is necessary for the examination?
To a certain extent you must make your own judgement on this by looking at the overview of the test, test specifications and sample papers. Although your Local Representative may be able to indicate where you can find a suitable local course or study group, there is no set course either in English or in teaching which leads to the C.I.T.E. test.

However, below is a list of books which would help you to prepare for the test and which, if you do not know them already, we recommend you read for your own professional development as an English teacher.
• Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Prentice Hall Regents. • Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Prentice Hall Regents.
• Harmer, Jeremy. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman.
• Hewings, Martin. 2005. Advanced Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Ioannou-Georgiou, Sophie and Pavlos Pavlou. 2003. Assessing Young Learners. Oxford: Oxford University.
• Slattery, Mary and Jane Willis. 2001. English for Primary Teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Vale, D. and A. Feunteun. 1995. Teaching Children English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

When and how can you take the C.I.T.E test?
The C.I.T.E. test was launched in December 2005. There are two opportunities or more per year to take the test. If you would like more information about this, contact your Local Representative, who will tell you how to register, and give you the time and place of the next test session most local to you.

How and where is the test marked?
Your test paper will be sent to Anglia Examination Syndicate at Chichester College in the U.K. It will be marked and moderated there by the syndicate’s most senior examiners, all of whom are highly qualified and experienced teachers of English as well as examiners.
A few months after each test session, the papers for that session with full keys and mark schemes will be available on the website for you to study.
The final mark of your paper will be converted to a grade: referred, pass, credit or distinction. For the C.I.T.E. test, the grading system is as follows: