This document describes a certificate given for English for Speakers of Other Languages in Australia. The course leading to the certificate has four levels, grouped into two stages. Each Stage represents one semester's full time study. The certificate has four core modules: oral skills covering listening and speaking, written skills covering reading and writing, Australian Systems and Culture covering major social systems and institutions, and approaches to learning covering learning responsibility in the learning process. The modules incorporate the six aspects of language competence: procedural, technical, personal, cooperative, systems and public communication. Learner progress is measured against a set of learning outcomes for each module. The assessment criteria for the learning outcomes have as their goals breaking down language, literacy, and learning skills into small units, guiding teachers as to the salient features of each macro-skill area at each level, informing teaching methodology and teachers' construction of assessment events, and providing learners with an explicit statement of what assessment events will measure. The Certificate reflects recent developments in both educational thinking in general and language and linguistic theory in particular. Support materials for assisting teachers in implementing the Certificate are being developed. The Certificate seeks to enhance the effectiveness of language and literacy teaching. (CK)