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Language Skills Certificate

What is the Language Skills Certificate? 

The Language Skills Certificate provides evidence of the level of your Welsh-language skills, and of your ability to use Welsh in the workplace. Gaining the Certificate will help you when applying for jobs in the future, by giving solid evidence to show your employer of your ability to work in Welsh.

In order to achieve the Certificate, candidates must successfully complete two elements:

  • Oral presentation
  • Written test

At universities, the Certificate is available to undergraduates, postgraduates and staff.

It is offered through all the universities in Wales, as well as a range of partner organisations e.g. Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, Welsh Government, the National Centre for Learning Welsh.     

How do you register?

The application window for 2024/25 is now closed.

Further information for applicants

Certificate Grades

There are four possible outcomes for the Certificate:

  • Distinction
  • Merit
  • Pass
  • Fail

Normally, the pass threshold will be 50% in each part (the oral presentation and the written test). The exact thresholds for the different grades may change as the assessments are awarded. You must pass both element in order to be awarded the Certificate.

Learning Sessions

You will have the opportunity to attend sessions with a tutor in preparation for the Oral Presentation and Written Test. The sessions are not compulsory, but evidence from the past strongly suggests that attending the sessions is a great help to candidates as they prepare for the assessments.

Each institution has a language tutor for the Certificate. Once you have registered, your tutor will contact you by email with further information and to confirm arrangements.

Contents of the Sessions – these may vary between different organisations.

  1. INITIAL SESSION
    A session for all who have registered to explain the arrangements of the assessments, and go over the supportive learning materials available online.
  2. IMPROVING YOUR WELSH
    A general session on developing language skills, dealing with common errors.
  3. FREE WRITING
    A session on the importance of language accuracy in free writing. Particular attention will be paid to the type of errors that Cysill does not identify, such as English attributes in Welsh etc.
  4. EDITING TEXT
    An introduction on how to successfully use Cysill/Cysgeir (and Microsoft Word correction tools if available).
  5. ORAL PRESENTATIONS
    A session covering good presentation skills and the importance of accuracy and proper tone. You will also be able to discuss your presentation with the tutor if you wish prior to the assessment.
  6. TRANSLANGUAGING SKILLS
    A session on cross-language, with an emphasis on accuracy, using Typesetting to correct, sentence, and present clearly.
  7. REVISION SESSION
    A session to prepare for the written test. The exact title and content of the sessions may vary as required.
The assessments

The Oral Presentation

Applicants will be expected to complete their oral presentations online before mid-March. All applicants must complete an oral presentation lasting 7-8 minutes relating to any aspect of his/her field of study. The presentation should be suitable for an audience of non-experts in that field; that is, the content should be made understandable to someone unfamiliar with the subject matter.

The Written Test

The written test will be conducted on a computer in May on your university campus. The duration of the test will be an hour and a half. There will be three tasks to complete in the written test.

 

The Oral Presentation The Written Test
Moderation and results

WJEC will ensure that an external examiner watches all oral presentations live online, along with the language tutor, and all presentations will be recorded for moderation purposes. The Chief Examiner will moderate a sample of all submissions.

The test papers will be marked anonymously by qualified examiners appointed by WJEC.

Applicants will receive their results by email from the Coleg Cymraeg.

Queries

Each university has a dedicated language skills tutor to support applicants. After the registration period has closed, your tutor will contact you by email with further information and to confirm arrangements.

You can also contact your university branch officer if you have any queries relating to the certificate.