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Swiss Exams is in the process of implementing Language Testing Competence Centres across Switzerland. The Pädagogische Hochschule Bern is one of them. Get an insight on how they successfully integrated BULATS and Linguaskill into their programme.
“The Berne University of Teacher Education or Pädagogische Hochschule Bern (PHBern) - Institut Vorschulstufe und Primarstufe (IVP) began its collaboration with Swiss Exams in 2007 and can now look back on more than 10 years of using BULATS to assess pre-service primary school teachers’ English and French language competence. With the change in the ‘Study Guide 2013’, BULATS is now being used for students who would like to attend the English modules at IVP but do not have a certificate such as CAE or BEC Vantage, etc. With the introduction of Linguaskill, we are considering a change from BULATS to Linguaskill and look forward to continuing our successful collaboration. Customer Service has been highly appreciated and been excellent throughout (especially in the beginning when we used dongles before switching to online tests).
The PHBern was founded in 2005 and has been training teachers from pre-primary to upper secondary school, as well as for special needs. Every year, 700 students graduate from the PHBern with a degree in teaching.
Training at the PHBern is characterised by a large amount of practical work which is facilitated by the university’s cooperation with more than 70 schools offering internships. This helps to ensure that students are well prepared for their future professional life.
The PHBern supports teachers not only during their studies but throughout their entire career – with advanced training courses, conferences and courses in advanced studies (CAS, DAS, MAS). Each year, the university provides around 300,000 hours of advanced training to a total of 25,000 participants. The core tasks of the PHBern also include research, development and evaluation aiming to link research, teaching and school practice. The findings of the research projects enhance practical application at schools and in teaching.
While a lot of students enrol immediately after having passed “Matura”, the PHBern’s students come from all walks of life and cover a broad age range. (The youngest student in 2017 was 17, the oldest well over 50 years old.) What they all have in common is their wish to become teachers, or, for those who are already teaching, to broaden their knowledge and further develop their professional skills."
Susanna Schwab, Fachbereichskoordinierende Fremdsprachen PHBern, Dozentin Englisch PHBern (IVP).