OLS Language testing

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The European Commission makes it possible to test the language skills of those who go on the Erasmus exchange program before and after the exchange period. We recommend that you take a language test and language courses. The idea is for the student to see how his language skills have improved during the exchange. The name of the current online language support (OLS) language test system is EU Academy.

The OLS language tests were conducted independently and under open conditions. The result of the test serves primarily as a tool to evaluate your own language skills, and it cannot be used as an official language skills tool. The OLS language tests were conducted independently under open conditions. The result is mainly aimed at helping you evaluate your language skills and it is not used as an official language.

Registering to the OLS-system and problem situations
OLS language testing

Registering to the OLS-system and problem situations

OLS website of the European Union

Registering to the OLS-system

  • You can access the language test on the website of European Union.
  • You should start by creating EU login credentials.
  • Search for "Placement test" according to your exchange language, e.g. German placement test, English placement test.
  • The result of the test remains visible on your own Dashboard when you are logged into the system, and can be found there whenever needed.

Registration problems

Try different browsers. Contact International Exchange Services: studentexchange@helsinki.fi if that does not help.

OLS language testing

Taking the OLS language test before an Erasmus exchange or traineeship is recommended for students studying or working language in one of the following languages:

Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish or Swedish

Your studying or working language is determined by the language you have indicated on your Mobility Online account under Language of instruction at the host university (1st choice). 

Facts about the OLS language test

  • The test covers grammar and phrases as well as listening and reading comprehension.
  • The assessment is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).  
  • The test can be completed in about 40–60 minutes.
  • The test results are provided in writing and encompass the four areas of language skills on the CEFR scale.
  • If your test language is German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch or Portuguese and your test result is B1 or lower, you should do a language course in the same language. 
  • If your test language is Bulgarian, Danish, Estonian, Greek, Croatian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian or Swedish and your test result is A1, you should do a language course in the same language.
  • If your test language is Czech and your test result is A2 or lower, you should do a language course in the Czech language. 
  • If your test language is Maltese or Irish, there is no language course yet in those languages.
  • If your language test result is higher that B1 in any of the languages available, you can choose if you take part in a language course in the study language, the local language (if available) or both. There are courses available on different levels for each language. 

Language tests available and levels of the courses