HELA for university professors

HELA (Higher Education Learning Accreditation) is an exam designed at the Universidade de Vigo to determine whether university professors have the linguistic skills necessary to teach their classes in English.  It consists of two parts in which candidates must perform tasks related to their teaching activities at the university.

• PART 1: This is a written test in which the candidate writes a 200 to 300 word text related to their teaching and research tasks at the university.
• PART 2: This is an oral test that consists of a presentation lasting approximately seven minutes in which the professor expounds a topic from a university course. Because the objective of this part of the test is to evaluate the candidate’s ability to explain a concept, presentations related to course organization—such as those typically given on the first day of a course—are considered unacceptable. Following the presentation, the members of the tribunal will ask questions designed to determine the candidate’s level of comprehension and expression. After the question and answer period, the candidate will be asked to wait outside of the exam room while members of the tribunal deliberate. The candidate may be called back into the room if the members of the tribunal decide they would like to ask more questions. It is recommended that candidates use visual aids to illustrate their presentations.