International education is always evolving, and universities and colleges in the UK and beyond are looking again at how they help students succeed across borders. While English language tests remain essential for admissions and placement, it is important to question what sits behind admission scores and what it means for a learner to feel genuinely ready for further study and work.
This question is especially important for students whose education has been disrupted by conflict or displacement. In the Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) Global English Language (GEL) program, supported by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, English is not treated as a one-off hurdle.
Assessments are woven with language learning and local facilitation to help learners move gradually towards their goals. Here, tests form part of an access strategy rather than a simple filter. This reinforces a point I have made previously: access is about how students move through systems, not just how they enter them.
When scores and lived experience do not meet
For many students at the margins, there can be a clear gap between how well they do on a test and ‘lived readiness’ – how well language skills translate to real life. A learner can secure a university place and still feel hesitant in seminars, struggle with academic texts, or feel uncertain about using English in study and work situations. For someone who has already faced interrupted schooling or forced migration, that gap can be particularly hard to bridge.
The GEL evaluation, carried out by Cambridge’s Impact Evaluation team, helps to show what this looks like in practice. In refugee camps in Kenya and in post-conflict communities in Iraq, learners described a sharp contrast between earlier exam-driven English classes and the communicative approach used in GEL. In GEL classrooms, learners spoke more, interacted more and linked English to goals and real-life situations. Many said that they had become less afraid of making mistakes and more willing to contribute ideas in English, both in class and in their wider lives.
What the classroom contributes
Teaching-learning materials and pedagogy play a major role in this. In GEL, our Unlimited series supports foundational levels, while Unlock is used at higher levels to build academic English and critical thinking alongside language skills.
This mix gives learners regular practice in the types of communication they need. They ask questions, explain ideas, work with texts and collaborate with others. In the evaluation, learners and facilitators pointed to features that support this.
Group work, pair discussions and tasks tied to real world scenarios made it easier to see how English connected to daily life and future plans. For students who had rarely been invited to speak freely in a language classroom, this felt like a significant change.
How assessment supports access
Assessment still sits at the heart of this picture, and in a positive way. In GEL, Cambridge English Placement Tests help place learners at an appropriate starting level, which matters when groups include people with very different educational histories. Later, the English Skills Test and Linguaskill are used to evidence progress and to support entry to JWL’s higher courses.
Here, tests empower access. Learners know that a recognised result can help them move into a higher course or a better job. At the same time, the surrounding program design means they are not preparing for the test in isolation. They are building broader skills and confidence that give the score practical meaning.
Minimum English scores help manage admissions and demonstrate standards, while teaching and support help students turn those scores into successful participation. Seeing tests and learning design as mutually complementary can make conversations about readiness and quality feel more constructive.
Shared questions for the wider sector
Although GEL operates in some of the most challenging settings in the world, including refugee camps and regions affected by conflict, the questions it raises are familiar across international education. What does it mean for students to feel genuinely ready for a new academic culture? How can providers combine robust assessment with learning experiences that build confidence and life competencies? How can English be a gateway to opportunity rather than an added source of anxiety?
International education will keep changing, and expectations around access, quality and student experience are likely to change with it
Different organisations will answer these questions differently. Some may place extra emphasis on communicative classroom time. Others may revisit how they use placement and progress testing, or explore additional support in academic skills. The GEL experience offers one concrete example of how teaching materials, assessment and local partnerships can be aligned so that learners, even in very constrained circumstances, continue to find ways forward.
International education will keep changing, and expectations around access, quality and student experience are likely to change with it. In this context, it may help to think of English not only as a requirement to be met, but as a capability that can be nurtured over time, with tests, classrooms and communities each making a contribution.
For those creating pathways to higher education, it is important to consider how programmes explicitly build confidence for participation, not just language accuracy, and how to evidence readiness beyond entry. Retention, progression and outcomes are all powerful indicators.
Through this lens, the score marks the beginning of the story, not the end.
About the author: Francesca Woodward is global managing director for English at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
