“Mediazone” announced the ban on the TOEFL exam for citizens of the Russian Federation. Later, exam organizers announced that starting August 4, citizens of Russia and Belarus will be able to take the TOEFL exam online or in other countries. “It was a shock,” commented Polina Kordik, founder and principal of Polina Kordik School of English, about the news about English exams in an interview with DW. “I saw that in the end the decision was changed, but the very fact that such news appears, very sad.”

Language certificates in Russia: vacuum and confusion

Polina Kordik’s online school has the status of Official Cambridge Preparation Centre, this is the official recognition by the University of Cambridge of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Cambridge English exam preparation program. Since February 2022, a lot has changed for Polina and her faculty.

“Events developed very slowly and ambiguously”, recalls the school principal. “There wasn’t a moment when we woke up and found out that there were no more Cambridge exams in Russia. In March, the Cambridge office in Russia issued a statement that they were temporarily suspending applications due to technical difficulties, was the softer wording. I conveyed this to our students. At that moment, I was told the decision would be, and literally, in a few weeks. We spent March waiting. But we still don’t have anything and we don’t know. There have been no reports that the Cambridge exams are going away or stopping working, it’s all hanging in the air.”

Not only teachers, but also language school students found themselves in this information vacuum. The opportunity to pass the Cambridge exam remained, but outside the Russian Federation. “Some of our students went to Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan and successfully enrolled, passed the exam and received certificates. There are cases like that, not so few,” says Polina Kordik.

According to her, there is confusion among the students. Polina is regularly contacted for information. “People are trying to do something, passing exams, looking for ways to enroll in programs, although everything has become more complicated. They don’t want to despair and they don’t want to admit that they now live without access to international education,” says the English teacher.

Polina Kordik is skeptical about the possibility of taking an exam online: “Such exams are not taken online, it is impossible to provide all the necessary conditions. The exam takes place throughout the day. Cambridge has two types of exam. paper, the other is written on a computer, but this is your computer, but the one that is in the testing center, which is specially set up for this. The tables, there are no phones, the person does not have access to dictionaries and other auxiliary materials.

In April 2022, the Polina Kordik school in St. Petersburg decided to create its own exam. As the school’s founder notes, this was a forced decision for her, and she really hopes it will be temporary. Meanwhile, her school, like many of Cambridge’s official certificate preparation centers, continues to live in an information vacuum. “No notifications were sent to me. Previously, I always received correspondence for training centers, but I don’t receive them anymore – neither from the Russian representative office, nor from Cambridge itself,” says Polina Kordik.

DW sent a request to the Russian representative office English Exams Department in Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Central Asian countries and received the following response: “At the moment, the activities of authorized centers in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus have been suspended. This is all the information that we, as a representative office, are authorized to communicate to our customers and partners.”

The situation with German language certificates

TOEFL and Cambridge certificates are required for international students applying to universities in English-speaking countries. This is a basic requirement for candidates. The situation is similar with German universities.

To enter a German university, you need a certificate proving knowledge of the German language (DSH, Test DaF or Goethe-Institut certificate). For a foreign applicant in Germany, they are required to prove knowledge of German and/or English (depending on the speciality) at least at the B2 level. To do this, you must pass a language exam. The main certificate that allows foreign students to receive higher education in Germany and carry out scientific activities is the TestDaF. The certificate issued after passing this exam is recognized in all universities in Germany.

TestDaF is the most important language exam for anyone who wants to study in Germany. Russian students can also take language exams in Russia. One of the training centers that organize German courses is the Goethe-Institut. DW has contacted the language department of the Moscow branch of the Goethe-Institut to clarify how the situation has changed since February 2022.

Ulrike Würz, deputy director of the Moscow Goethe-Institut and head of the language department, in an interview with DW, highlighted that anyone who wants to obtain a language certificate can take the exam in the usual way at the Goethe-Institut’s representative offices in Russia or in language centers that are your partners. “It is still possible, there are no restrictions in this area,” said Ulrike Würz. You can register for a language exam online on the Goethe-Institut website, as well as at more than 20 language centers. As noted in the language department of the Goethe-Institut in Moscow, after registration, the customer receives an invoice that can be paid in the Russian Federation. As far as interest in language courses and exams is concerned, the Goethe-Institut sees continuous demand at a high level.

Ulrike Würz is convinced that taking a language exam is always worth it. Even if there are no plans to study at a German university, a language certificate remains an advantage for a candidate in Russia as employers appreciate it. As for cooperation with language centers, it continues. All partners are accredited and work in accordance with the Goethe-Institut’s quality standards.

“At the moment, the Goethe-Institut in Russia does not hold public events. But we hold German courses and everyone can take the exam. We want to leave this opportunity in the future for those who study German and will take an exam for one of the Goethe Institute certificates”, says Ulrike Wurz.

Such a favorable situation, as in the case of the certificates of the Goethe-Institut, is far from being the case for everyone. DW contacted the headquarters of the TestDaF Institute. The TestDaF-Institute is a scientific institution. Its main principles are centralized test creation, assignment verification, and exam grading. We asked the question: “Can students in Russia still take exams without any problems?”

The answer was as follows: “Unfortunately, no. Due to the termination of the mail, which has become one of the sanctions measures, it is currently impossible to send documents to Russia for testing, which, due to increased security requirements, must be sent in hard copy. Regarding the current situation, we, as in the case of TOEFL, can only take our TestDaF and TestAS exams, if possible, only in digital format. There are also difficulties here. First of all, not all centers are technically equipped to provide the necessary conditions for The second problem is the limitation of payment options. Payment for the exam – TestDaF and TestAS, as a rule, occurs immediately after registration for the exam. The corresponding amount is deducted from the customer’s credit or another card banking.Russian banks are largely isolated from the international system. In this respect, most of those who want to take the language exam are no longer able to confirm the your registration upon payment. Along with our testing centers, we are looking for new ways and solutions to ensure that students and interested students can take the exam. Therefore, at the moment, the exam can only be taken in our licensed testing centers, if all the technical conditions are met and it is possible to pay for the exam. As a rule, this can be done at the Goethe-Institut and at language centres. Another option is to take the exam in another country.”

What happens next with language certificates?

The TestDaF-Institute in Bochum noted that they are in constant contact with their partner centers in Russia. The demand for language certificates in Russia is one of the highest in the world. There has not yet been any sharp decline in the current situation.

Polina Kordik is sure that, despite everything that is happening, it is very important to maintain ties in the field of education. In the meantime, she and the entire teaching team will continue to do what they love and hope for changes for the better.

At the gast/TestDaF institute in Bochum, when asked how the political situation has affected the fate of Russian students, they responded as follows: “Due to the political situation, cooperation with state institutions and organizations close to the state has largely been frozen in Russia. . We support the possibility of implementing projects and measures aimed at individuals, especially Russian students, students, teachers of the German language. in Germany, and they can continue their studies “In Russia itself, the offer to take TestDaF and TestAS is limited for the reasons already mentioned above. Students can also take TestDaF and TestAS in Germany or any other country.”