How to Prepare for the English Language (1) Test: 6-Week and 2-Week Plans

Last verified: 31 October 2026. Our sources are the test taker handbook for the English Language (1) specialized test and the Teachers' Professional License page. Dates can change, so check the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) website. This guide is independent: it is not affiliated with the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC), Qiyas (the National Center for Assessment) or any government body.

In short: the test is 88 questions in 120 minutes. Standards 6.39.6 and 6.39.2 together are 37% (32 questions), so start with them. Begin with the 10 free questions to find your weakest standards, and take a full mock exam twice before your date. The next window is expected in late January 2027, so plan around the weeks you have until then. First make sure Level (1) is what your profile shows, as explained in the registration guide.

Know what you are facing

• Format: multiple choice with four options, in English; each question measures one indicator.
• Time: 88 questions in 120 minutes, about 80 seconds per question.
• No penalty for wrong answers: never leave a question blank.
• Your target: the minimum for Practitioner Teacher is 50, which on 88 questions means about 44 correct (62 for a score of 70 and 71 for 80). The license level uses the lower of your General Educational and specialized scores.

Where the questions go

The weights are from page 7 of the handbook. The detail of each standard is in the test content and weights guide.

The six-week plan

The plan assumes 20 to 30 questions a day, with mistakes reviewed the same day. We spread the weeks by weight, so week one takes the biggest standard.

Week 1: Standard 6.39.6 (18 questions, 21%)

1. On day one, take the 10 free questions to find your starting point and your weakest standard.
2. Listening and speaking, then reading and writing, then vocabulary and grammar: two days for each pair, with its indicators.
3. End the week by reviewing the 6.39.6 questions you got wrong.

Week 2: Standards 6.39.2 and 6.39.1 (14 + 7 questions)

1. 6.39.2: varied activities for children (TPR, songs and chants, stories, role play) and sequencing the module and the lesson.
2. 6.39.2: technology and gamification, and when they serve the goal.
3. 6.39.1: writing SMART outcomes and explaining them to children in simple words.

Week 3: Standards 6.39.5 and 6.39.4 (12 + 7 questions)

1. 6.39.5: motivation and engagement, then the Arabic–English comparison and the difficulties Arabic-speaking learners face.
2. 6.39.5: individual differences and correcting errors (recast and elicitation).
3. 6.39.4: adapting to learners' proficiency (scaffolding) and to their culture and interests.

Week 4: Standards 6.39.7 and 6.39.3 (12 + 7 questions)

1. 6.39.7: sounds and phonics, morphology, syntax and semantics, one day per branch, with the terms in English.
2. The standard's 12 questions are spread across its four branches, about three each, so review all of them.
3. 6.39.3: adapting resources to the outcomes and designing resources that build learner autonomy.

Week 5: Standard 6.39.8 and your first measurement (11 questions)

1. 6.39.8: formative and summative assessment, and feedback.
2. Mid-week, take a full mock exam of 88 timed questions with your phone away. This is your first full measurement, and it needs paid access.
3. Compare your score with week one, standard by standard, and pick your three weakest.

Week 6: The weakest, then the final test

1. Spend the first two days on your three weakest standards, especially if one of them is 6.39.6 or 6.39.2.
2. Two full timed mock exams, with a day between them for reviewing mistakes only.
3. Do not start new topics. The day before the test, do a light review of no more than an hour and sleep well.

The two-week plan

If you have only two weeks, follow the weights:

1. Day 1: the 10 free questions, then read the test content and weights.
2. Days 2 to 5: standards 6.39.6 and 6.39.2 (32 questions), 30 questions a day.
3. Days 6 to 9: standards 6.39.5, 6.39.7 and 6.39.8 (35 questions).
4. Days 10 and 11: standards 6.39.1, 6.39.3 and 6.39.4 (21 questions) at a quicker pace.
5. Day 12: your two weakest standards from your results.
6. Day 13: a full timed mock exam.
7. Day 14: review only the mistakes from that exam, with no new topics.

How to use the site

• The free questions show your level now, with every option explained and sourced.
• Practice by standard in the practice area, with the mistakes notebook to redo what you got wrong.
• The full timed mock exam has the real exam's question count and time (88 questions in 120 minutes) and the same standard weights.
• Arabic translation for every question, which you can switch to when you need it; the questions themselves are in English, as in the test.

This plan is a suggestion for organizing your time and guarantees no result, and your score on the mock exams is an estimate of your readiness, not an official result. For registration and dates, see registering for the test, then start from practice by unit with standards 6.39.6 and 6.39.2 (37% together).