ECL Language tests
The international ECL examination system provides a standardised test-system customised to the languages of the EU member states and the EU candidate countries. The test-system is based on the recommendations of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and is operated by the European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages (ECL). The ECL is an association of institutions representing European languages. The ECL examination system was developed by an international team of language testing experts, between 1983 and 1992. Since 1999 the International Centre of the ECL Exams operates at the Foreign  Language Secretariat, at the University of Pécs, Hungary. ECL examination in Hungarian as a foreign language is a full member of ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe). Levels. The ECL language exam can be taken on four levels and it measures primarily the communicative language competences of candidates. The requirements at the different levels are adapted to the recommendations of the Common European Framework: Examination components. The peculiarity of the ECL testing is that it does not include grammar tests or translation tasks. The structure of the test is the same on all four levels. The oral exam consists  of two parts in which "oral communication" and "listening" skills are assessed. As part of the written part of the examination "written communication" and "reading comprehension" skills are tested. Each skill is tested by two tasks. Oral test. a / Oral communication The "Oral communication" subtest is evaluated according to the following five criteria: b / Listening comprehension Candidates must demonstrate their ability to understand semi-authentic and authentic audio recordings that fulfil the requirements of the given level. The candidates listen to each of the two recordings twice. The listening comprehension test consists of two different types of tasks (e.g.: matching , multiple-choice questions, table filling/putting an X to where it is appropriate, sentence completion, short answers, etc.) with 10 items each. Written test. a / Written communication Candidates must write two texts of a given length. They must adhere to the given bullet points and the given number of words. A mono- or bilingual printed dictionary may be used. The subtest "Written communication" is evaluated according to the following five criteria: b / Reading comprehension Candidates must demonstrate their ability to comprehend general texts at the given exam level and their ability to solve two different types of reading comprehension tasks  without using a dictionary. The reading comprehension test consists of two different types of tasks (e.g.: matching, banked gap-filling, multiple-choice questions, short answer, table filling/putting an X to where it is appropriate, sentence completion, etc.) with 10 items each. Evaluation of the tests. At the ECL exam, a maximum of 25 points can be given for each skill. The oral part is passed if the candidate reaches a minimum of 40% in both the skills of "oral communication" and "listening" tasks and achieves an average score of 60% overall. The written part is passed if the candidate  reaches a minimum of 40% in both the skills of "written communication" and "reading comprehension" and achieves an average score of 60% overall. The complex test is successfully passed if the candidate has passed both parts of the examination as described above. When only one of the examination parts is passed the candidate gets a certificate of the passed oral or written part exam. Examination locations. The ECL exams can be taken at approximately 200 exam sites worldwide. The exam sites are located in 18 European countries, the United States and Argentina. The exam sites network will be expanded to  other countries, including Asian countries. Exam periods. ECL exams are offered five times a year. The English and German ECL exams can be taken in each of the five exam periods. Exams in the other test languages are offered twice each year.