I think for your situation the business English certificate by cambridge english for life would be more suitable since it is geared towards the business world.

IELTS and TOEFL are simply proofs of English proficiency and are only valid for a certain period of time. The certificates by CEFL on the other hand are qualifications which lasts a lifetime.

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Added on December 9, 2012, 2:35 pmWhen they say "Cambridge" they refer to Cambridge International Examinations which happens to be the examination board that regulates most of the A level examinations in our country. Only ignorant Malaysians would make the assumption that it refers to Cambridge University without looking any further.

This post has been edited by Intermission: Dec 9 2012, 02:35 PM

Of course not, it is just that IELTS is not deemed as a valid proof of english proficiency after 2 years. It is the qualification itself that expires, not your english proficiency. I am equally confused why is this happening, but that is the way how it works. BEC would be better as a longer lasting qualification.

There's nothing to apologize, I wasn't really referring to you since you made the distinction after all.

TS is looking for an institution that offers english language proficiency qualification for working adults. While the teaching quality provided by the British Council may be better, they are not a institution that provides a qualification like BEC. With his current english proficiency, TS may have a hard time trying to get into a CPE class, but he certainly could get into a BEC class.


The teaching is certainly not from University of Cambridge as you stated.

I think you have misunderstood the situation here. When people ask people about classes, what they are concerned is usually the teaching itself. I have never said that CEFL has nothing to do University of Cambridge, nor did I say that it is not a worthy qualification. I was merely pointing out the fact that the center itself does not conduct classes which are taught by tutors from University of Cambridge. Given the high cost of such tuition classes, some people may have such false expectations and therefore this distinction must be made.

This post has been edited by Intermission: Dec 9 2012, 10:22 PM

I was imagining the way the spokesperson from CEFL trying to talk him into the class.
The "Cambridge" I was referring to, is the name of the center. I was implying that it is one of the centers that is authorized by CIE, hence the name CEFL.


I am sorry if my statement implied that CIE has nothing to do with University of Cambridge eventhough I have no idea how that could happen. And if you wonder I am so sensitive about this issue, it is because I have seen parents of the students there complain because they thought that the tutors from CEFL are from University of Cambridge.

The bottom line is, if english proficiency is your main concern, go to British council; if the qualification is your main concern, go to CEFL. However, do note that you might not be able to take the exams for any qualifications immediately in CEFL even after you learned english at the British Council as it is not an open list exam like IELTS. Be sure to clear this thing up before you decide: proficiency or qualifications first?

This post has been edited by Intermission: Dec 9 2012, 11:36 PM