About this blog and explanation of terms

This blog aims to help candidates for the English Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) at the United Nations.


You must work in the United Nations system to qualify to take this exam or have come through our classes.

It is held annually in September

LPE Guide 2010

MAIN STUDY METHODS

Virtual Resource Centre

If you are a UN staff member or enrolled in our courses, then you can access the materials on our Moodle site in the Virtual Resource Centre (VRC).
Contact Kristina Weder on her email: kweder@unog.ch

All the materials referred to in this brochure can be found on this site.
You can work in three ways with the VRC:
- Autonomously as you wish
- Following the Advanced course autonomously
- Following a Directed Self Study course with the aid of a teacher (see below)

Resource Centre
If you have access to the United Nations premises with a valid badge, you are welcome to visit our Resource Centre in Annex Bocage 2 Room 109. The materials mentioned can be found here. It is open 11am—3pm Monday to Friday and someone can help you.

Join a class

You can join a class in SDLS. Go to http://learning.unog.ch/ for further information. After successfully completing the last course (level 8) you are entitled to apply for the next LPE.

Find the most suitable programme for you by answering a few questions.

Which category of candidate are you?
Take the practice exam first to see how well you do to decide which category of student you fall into.
Practice exam: http://www.un.org/exam/lpe/preparation/main.asp
Remember that 65% is the pass mark (about 62/95). The exam takes 1 hour 40 minutes to do and consists of a listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary test.
Strong candidate

Student with 75% + wishing to gain confidence and feel prepared.
  • Do the practice tests in the Virtual Resource Centre (VRC) or Language Resource Centre (LRC)
  • Regularly read the Guardian weekly http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/ focussing on articles of international interest.
  • Read a modern novel http://www.amazon.com/ without a dictionary or borrow one from our Resource Centre
  • Listen to the international news http://news.bbc.co.uk/
  • Regularly watch current affairs programmes online with a transcript http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/archives.htm
Medium candidate

Student with 68% + wishing to do a little study and revision. Do the above to become a strong candidate AND
  • Regularly watch current affairs programmes online with a transcript http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/archives.htm
  • Regularly do the CALL for English exercises or do the Guardian Weekly reading comprehension exercises in the VRC
  • Buy the book Destination C1 & C2 Grammar and Vocabulary with Answer Key MacMillan ISBN 978-0-230-03540-9
  • Optional: Follow the advanced level programme on Moodle’s VRC
Weak candidate

Student with 60-65% wishing to do a more complete programme of study. Do the above as for the medium and strong candidate AND
OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE LPE
English Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) official website with sample exam
http://www.un.org/exam/lpe/welcome/main.asp
This website has the following information:
  • About the exam
  • Registration dates
  • Testing sites
  • How to register
  • How to prepare
  • FAQs
Study Guide for the ELPE