This course is for anyone who wants to be able to act as a Language Modifier in examinations for General Qualifications

The JCQ regulations state:

The centre must remember that acting as a Language Modifier requires significantly more skills than most other arrangements.

A Language Modifier must have:

• successfully completed accredited training; (A JCQ Centre Inspector will ask to see evidence of successfully completed accredited training.)
• knowledge of the subject being examined in order to recognise subject-specific vocabulary and technical terms;
• a good working knowledge of English Language grammatical structures;
• an understanding of the impact of command words and an examiner’s expectations of a candidate’s answer.

The role of a Language Modifier is a complex one, potentially fraught with difficulties and training is therefore essential.

This course will equip delegates to:

• understand the issues involved
• support candidates appropriately without either advantaging or disadvantaging them
• ensure that the demands of the question are not compromised in terms of subject and technical knowledge.

​The course tutors are Caroline Read and Derek Heppenstall.

Caroline Read

Caroline is a Specialist Teacher who has practical experience in all areas of the Access Arrangements process and trains for LAs, Universities and SEN Services. Caroline contributed to the PATOSS/JCQ publication ‘Dyslexia: Assessing the need for Access Arrangements’, has been published in academic journals and has worked with various publishers to develop tests. She was part of the working party which set up ‘Access Arrangements Online’ and has been involved with other DfE and Ofqual training and policy projects.

Derek Heppenstall

Derek is a Teacher of the Deaf who has worked for many years modifying examination language for Awarding Bodies. He has represented the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf in liaising with the ABs and compiled the BATOD ‘Language of Examinations’ booklet. He has also acted as an external adviser for Ofqual’s research into language modification. He prepares and presents the courses on Language Modification for both CIEA and Communicate-ed.

This course is available any time as an online video presentation. Please click ‘Book Pre-recorded Online Course’ below for this option.

A version of the training with subtitles is available. Please email us (online at communicate-ed dot org dot uk) if you are interested in the subtitled version, or if you would like to explore the possibility of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors running a face to face course at your centre.

For over a decade we have been running courses across the country, aiming to provide high quality, value for money training for education professionals working in the area of special needs. Many of our delegates are telling us that it is increasingly difficult for busy professionals to take the opportunity to attend courses ‘off-site’. In response to this, we now offer a number of online training courses, focusing on Examination Access Arrangements, Assessment, and Supporting SEN Students.

With the internet now so accessible, the advantages of online courses are clear:

• They can be accessed at the delegate’s convenience, in the workplace or home
• Delegates don’t need to travel, saving time and transport costs
• Running costs are lower, allowing us to pass savings on to our delegates
• Courses can be viewed at any time, and in any venue where there is a good internet reception.

For the OLM course you will have 20 days from the start date you choose to login and view the online videos. You can run the course as many times as you want to within this 20 day period. You must complete an online assessment after accessing the online videos within your 20 days. You will have 30 days after accessing the videos to complete the assessment tasks which are clearly described in the videos.

N.B. Delegates will need a good broadband connection to access our online courses.

Delegates will be required to carry out an online assessment and individual tasks after accessing the Language Modifier training. These must be passed in order to gain accreditation to act as a Language Modifier in examinations.

Please email for information about face to face LM courses (admin at communicate-ed dot org dot uk) run by the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors, and tailor made LM courses for your centre.

In response to a number of requests we have arranged an update for our accredited Language Modifiers. Our online video training session has been updated each year in the light of changes to the JCQ regulations. You will have access to the current LM training session and materials, with the opportunity to complete modification tasks which will be marked, with suggestions for improvement, by our experienced LM course tutors. Please email online at communicate-ed dot org dot uk for more information.

There is no expiry date on the Language Modifier Accredited Training (LM).

However, it is essential that you continue to practice your modification skills as much as possible.

We do offer a refresher, including access to the training videos and the option to submit questions that you have modified, to our course tutor for comments, at a reduced price of £85.

Please let me know if this is of interest online at communicate-ed dot org dot uk