Tougher new immigration rules mean spouses coming to settle in the UK now have to pass an English test.

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Examiners will struggle too, to produce a single test that measures the same level of ability in children of different ages. (In music tests all candidates for a given grade play the same pieces: in an English test, quite different reading texts and writing topics would suit an eight-year-old than an 11-year-old.) The changes might even have the perverse effect of making children sit more tests.

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It added several hundred agents to North America, requiring an English fluency test for its hires.

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Has there ever been a case of an English batsman making his Test debut, collecting two ducks and keeping his place for the next match?

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Their parents likely had no inkling that their future female offspring would be sitting at a computer taking an English-language standardized test in hopes of embarking on a career in business.

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He improved that record with a 50 in the second innings but he is still unproven in English conditions and facing Darren Gough in a Test match is an entirely different proposition.

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The 52-year-old who, in 17 years in management has always wanted the chance to test himself amongst the English top flight, described his first shot at an English trophy as a "dream come true".

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The concerns centre on a section of the English test, where pupils are asked to produce a piece of creative writing - an area which has attracted complaints in recent years.

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