Hello
Learn English online: free guides
The default language of work, research and the internet — and the one most often learned for a specific, dated goal like a visa, a degree or a promotion.
Find your English teacherEnglish guides
- GrammarA2–B2
Present perfect vs past simple: the difference is the time frame
“I have seen it” or “I saw it”? It depends on whether the time period is finished. The rules, examples, and why some backgrounds find it harder.
7 min read - PhrasesB1–C1
Business English email phrases that sound natural, not translated
Openings, requests, chasing, bad news and closings in professional English — with the register each one carries and the phrases to retire.
6 min read - CostAny level
How much do English lessons cost?
What platforms publish for English tutors, why “native speaker” is the least useful filter in the biggest language market, and what decides your bill.
7 min read - ExamB1
The Life in the UK test: 24 questions, 18 to pass, and £50 every time
Life in the UK test: 24 questions in 45 minutes, 75% to pass, £50 per attempt with no free retake. Booking, ID and refunds, read on GOV.UK 5 Oct 2026.
5 min read - ExamB1
The Canadian citizenship test: 20 questions, 15 to pass, three chances in 30 days
Canada's citizenship test: 20 questions, 15 to pass, online at home, three tries in 30 days, ages 18–54. What failing leads to. Read on IRCC 5 Oct 2026.
6 min read - ExamA2+
The Australian citizenship test: 15 of 20, but 5 of 5 on values
Australia's citizenship test: 20 questions, 15 to pass, and every one of the 5 values questions must be right. It also tests your English. Read 5 Oct 2026.
5 min read - ExamA2+
The US citizenship civics test: 128 published questions, 20 asked aloud, 12 to pass
The 2025 US civics test: 20 of 128 published questions, asked aloud, 12 to pass, stopped at 12 right or 9 wrong. The 2008 test, English test, retest rules.
6 min read - ExamBands 0–9
IELTS never expires. It recommends when to stop trusting it
IELTS has no pass mark and no expiry date — only a two-year recommendation. The band scale, the rounding rule that favours you, and re-marks. 1 Sep 2026.
8 min read - ExamCLB 4
Language proof for Canadian citizenship: CLB 4, speaking and listening, and old results still count
Canada asks applicants aged 18 to 54 for CLB 4 in speaking and listening. Every proof IRCC accepts, the scores, and why expired results count. Oct 2026.
7 min read - ExamCLB 3–10
PTE Core scores explained: the 10–90 scale, CLB, and what IRCC asks for
PTE Core scores run 10–90 and map to CLB per skill, but Pearson's table stops at CLB 10. Results, validity, cancel fees, and what IRCC asks. Oct 2026.
6 min read - ExamCLB 4–10
CELPIP, IELTS or PTE Core for Canada: same CLB, three different tests
IRCC converts all three to the same CLB, but the score you need differs by skill and test. IRCC's chart side by side, results, validity, price. Oct 2026.
7 min read - ExamCLB 4–12
CELPIP scores explained: levels 1 to 12, CLB, and the validity its own site gives twice
CELPIP levels map one-to-one to CLB. The raw scores behind them, results in 2–4 business days, $199 LS vs $299 General, and what IRCC needs. Oct 2026.
7 min read - ExamCAEL 10–90
CAEL scores explained: the 10–90 bands, how 62.5 becomes 60 but 65 becomes 70, and the IELTS equivalents Paragon publishes
CAEL runs 10–90. The overall averages four skills, rounded to the nearest 10: 65 becomes 70 and 62.5 becomes 60. Paragon maps CAEL 60 to IELTS 6.5.
5 min read - ExamA2–C2
The Cambridge exam you book decides the highest score you can be given
B2 First can award a C1 certificate and C1 Advanced can award a B2 one. The scale, the grade boundaries, the score ceiling, re-marks. 5 Sep 2026.
9 min read - ExamBands 1–6 (A1–C2)
TOEFL still prints a score out of 120. It is no longer your score
Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL reports a 1–6 band; the 0–120 figure is a range midpoint, not your result. Bands, CEFR, validity, fees in 212 countries.
9 min read - ExamScores 10–160 (A1–C2)
Duolingo English Test scores: what 10–160 means, and why 105 to 115 is one IELTS band
DET scores run 10–160. Duolingo's own chart puts 105, 110 and 115 all at IELTS 6, and B1 spans 60–95. The full table, read 16 Oct 2026.
6 min read - ExamScores 10–90
PTE Academic scores: Pearson's 2025 IELTS table, and why IELTS 7 in speaking takes 76 on PTE
PTE Academic overall 63–70 matches IELTS 7.0, but IELTS 7 in speaking needs PTE 76–82. Pearson's July 2025 tables, read 16 Oct 2026.
6 min read - ExamScores 10–990 (A1–C1)
TOEIC scores explained: 10–990, ETS's CEFR cut scores, and why a 40-point gain is real
TOEIC Listening and Reading runs 10–990. ETS's own CEFR cut scores, 2025 averages by country, and how big a gain must be to count. Read 16 Oct 2026.
7 min read - ExamAll levels
IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic, Duolingo or TOEIC: five scales, three ways to make an overall score
Five English tests, five scales: which average their sections, which add them, which do neither, how long each result lasts, and IELTS 7 on each.
6 min read - ExamB2–C2
OET scores: 350 is a B, and a B is what most nurses and doctors are asked for
OET reports each sub-test from 0 to 500 with a grade from A to E. What 350 means, the CEFR and IELTS tables OET publishes, re-marks and results times.
7 min read - ExamB1–C2
Linguaskill scores: the test now reports B1 to C2, and anything below B1 is "Not reported"
Linguaskill reports 140–159 as B1, 160–179 B2, 180–199 C1, 200–210 C2. Below B1 a module shows Not reported. The average, retakes, results and expiry.
5 min read - ExamA1–C2
LanguageCert SELT scores for UK visas: the Home Office's minimum for each test and level
LanguageCert's UK visa tests: 60/100 for the speaking and listening SELTs, 40, 60 and 75 per skill for B1, B2 and C1 on Academic and General. Read 29 Oct.
6 min read - ExamA1–C2
Trinity GESE and ISE explained: the grades, the CEFR levels, how a pass is worked out, and the UK SELT versions
GESE has 12 grades, and 7, 8 and 9 are all B2. ISE Paper needs a pass in all four skills; ISE Digital averages them on 0–150. Plus the UK SELT versions.
7 min read - ExamA2–C1
Michigan English Test (MET) scores: the 0–80 scale, the CEFR bands, the one-section retake, and the Australian visa scores
MET scores run 0–80: 53–63 is B2, 64–80 C1. The overall is an average. You can retake one section, but not speaking, and must order it within 3 days.
5 min read - ExamA1–C1
EIKEN grades and CSE scores explained: the fixed pass marks, why writing weighs as much as reading, and the CEFR you get even if you fail
EIKEN Grade 2 passes at CSE 1520 in the first stage and 460 in the interview. Every skill carries equal points, so writing counts as much as reading.
6 min read - ExamA1–C2
Skills for English SELT explained: taken outside the UK, pass or fail with no certificate, and an appeal that can cut both ways
Skills for English: SELT is sat outside the UK only. You get pass or fail, no certificate, a reference valid 2 years, and an appeal that can go down.
5 min read - ExamB2
Michigan ECCE results explained: the 650 average, the five score bands, why Honors is so rare, and the 2025 pass rate
ECCE passes on an average of 650 out of 1000. In 2025, 88.74% passed but only 0.18% got Honors, which needs 840 in all four sections. The writing is why.
5 min read - ExamC2
Michigan ECPE results explained: the C2 certificate on an average of 650, the Honors almost nobody gets, and the 2025 figures
The ECPE certificate needs an average of 650 out of 1000; Honors needs 840 in all four sections. In 2025, 77.63% passed and 0.03% got Honors.
5 min read - ExamA2–C1
Oxford Test of English scores: the 1–200 scale, what each test can certify, and the retake limits
Oxford Test of English: 111–140 is B2, 141–170 C1. The standard test certifies A2–B2, Advanced B2–C1. The overall is an average; retakes keep your best.
5 min read - ExamA1–C2
Aptis scores: 0 to 50 per skill, and why the same total of 169 can be B2 or C1
Aptis scores each skill 0–50, but the CEFR level is set separately: the British Council's own example gives two 169s, one B2 and one C1. Versions, results.
5 min read - ExamB1–B2
English for UK settlement and citizenship: B1 today, B2 for settlement from 26 March 2027
Settlement and British citizenship ask for B1 English in speaking and listening. HC 1691 raises settlement to B2 from 26 March 2027. Tests and exemptions.
6 min read - ExamA1–B1
PTE Home A1, A2 and B1 explained: the UK family-visa English test, its tasks, pass or fail, and why it stops at B1 when settlement moves to B2
PTE Home is Pearson's speaking-and-listening SELT for UK family visas: A1, A2 and B1, pass or fail, results in about 2 days. It has no B2 level.
5 min read - ExamA2–C1
CertAcles explained: Spain's university language certificate, the 50% in every skill, and what a B2 costs
CertAcles is the language certificate of Spain's university language centres. You need 50% overall and 50% in each of four skills. UPV B2: €88 or €113.
5 min read - ExamLevels A–E
YDS and e-YDS explained: Turkey's 80-question language exam, no penalty for wrong answers, 55 for a doctorate, and the 2026 dates and fees
YDS is ÖSYM's 80-question, 180-minute exam: no speaking, no writing, no penalty for wrong answers. 55 for a doctorate. YDS 1,200 TL, e-YDS 2,150 TL.
5 min read - ExamA2–C1
ECL exam explained: the August 2026 switch to 60% in every module, why Hungary still uses 40% and a 60% average, and what older certificates show
Outside Hungary the ECL now needs 60% in each module, combinable within a year. In Hungary it is still 40% per skill and a 60% average.
5 min read - ExamA2–C1
GEPT (全民英檢) explained: the 160 and 72 rule, the levels, the 2027 fees and the two-year window for the second stage
GEPT listening and reading need 160 of 240 with neither below 72. Writing and speaking come after, within two years. Levels and 2027 fees from LTTC.
4 min read - ExamA2–C1+
MUET explained: the 360-point score, bands 1.0 to 5+, the CEFR table, five-year validity and the fee
MUET scores four papers at 90 each, 360 in all, on bands 1.0 to 5+. Results last five years. Band, CEFR and fee tables from the Malaysian council.
4 min read - ExamB1–C1
VSTEP.3-5 explained: one exam for B1, B2 and C1, the score-to-level table, the format and what it costs at ULIS
VSTEP.3-5 is one test for B1, B2 and C1: 4.0 is level 3, 6.0 level 4 and 8.5 level 5. Format, re-mark rules and ULIS's 1,800,000 VND fee.
3 min read - ExamPre A1–A2
Cambridge Starters, Movers and Flyers explained: no pass or fail, five shields per skill, and a strict spelling rule in Listening
No child fails Cambridge's young learner exams: each skill earns up to five shields. Lengths, results, and why spelling must be right in most of Listening.
4 min read - ExamNovice–Superior
ACTFL OPIc explained: how your self-assessment limits your rating, and what differs in South Korea
The OPIc is a computer speaking test. On LTI's version your self-assessment picks one of five forms, and each form limits your rating. Korea differs.
3 min read
Reading about English is not the same as speaking it
See how long English takes, what the levels mean, and what lessons cost.