What is ISE?

Introduction to ISE* by Erika Radford - ISE Academic Manager

Trinity's Integrated Skills in English (ISE) exams assess all four language skills – Speaking, Writing, Listening and Reading – interacting with each other as they do in the real world. An ISE exam forms a natural part of any course of English language study, undertaken in a group or individually

See the ISE Syllabus page for complete academic information.

Three components

The exams include a portfolio element. By taking classroom work into account as well as tasks carried out under examination conditions, a wide and varied sample of learner work is taken fully into account.

Preparation for the examination supports the programme of work chosen by the teacher and learner, rather than interfering with it.

Please make sure you download all the documentation associated with the three components of the ISE examinations:

1. Portfolio Tasks (make sure you're using the current set for this year)
2. Controlled Written Examination
3. Spoken Interview

Learners can choose to take ISE exams on their own or combine them with the Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE) if they also need to demonstrate oral ability at levels other than those corresponding to the ISE levels.

ISE 0, ISE I, ISE II, ISE III and ISE IV correspond to Grades 4, 6, 8, 11 and 12 of the spoken exams (GESE).

The ISE FAQs contain full details of how the exams work. 

Please use the ISE Centre Handbook for complete
administrative information.

New lesson plans

Please view the new ISE Lesson Plans which provide some suggestions for lesson activities to help students prepare for the Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Examinations.

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