Testing Language Skills

TESTING LANGUAGE SKILLS AND THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES

Testing Language Skills Section II.6 of the Action Plan discusses the testing of language skills. The March 2002 Barcelona meeting of Heads of State and Government noted the lack of data on citizens’ actual language skills and called for the establishment of a European Indicator of Language Competence. There is currently a great diversity of tests and certificates of language skills in Europe, which makes comparisons difficult.

Inventory of Language Certification in Europe Forthcoming Research

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in Britain has been contracted by the European Commission to undertake an inventory of the main systems that are currently available outside national education systems for certifying language competence in the European Union. They will investigate the contexts in which these certificates are used. In order to improve the transparency and portability of the assessment and certification of language skills in Europe, the research is designed to:

 present factual information from providers on the characteristics of their certificate;  investigate feedback from users (language schools and teaching organisations) on particular benefits or drawbacks of the certificates they use;  recommend measures that can further enhance the transparency, portability and quality of language certification.

A searchable on-line inventory, that can be used to find out information about language certificates, will be available on the European Commission website in early 2006, as well as the final report, discussing the overall context of language certification.

For further information about the inventory of language certification in Europe, see: http://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/pims-data/outlines/inventory-of-language- certification-in-europe.cfm

Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR)

The Action Plan cites the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). Its scales provide a basis for schemes “to describe individuals’ language skills in an objective, practical, transparent and portable manner”. The CEFR aims to provide an internationally recognised, linguistically coherent framework for every aspect of language teaching and learning. http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co- operation/education/Languages/Language_Policy/Common_Framework_of_Referenc e/default.asp The European Language Portfolio is also recognised in the Action Plan as a tool “to help people to value, and make the most of, all their language skills, howsoever acquired, and to carry on learning languages by themselves” http://culture2.coe.int/portfolio/inc.asp?L=E&M=$t/208-1- 0/main_pages/welcome.html

LOCAL EXAMPLES OF CERTIFICATION

The Languages Ladder – Steps to Success (England) (adapted from CILT Digest 2006: 52-53)

The development of a national recognition scheme for languages is one of the central objectives of the Government’s National Languages Strategy for England.

This scheme – better known as ‘the Languages Ladder’ – was officially launched in May 2005. It complements the existing national qualifications – General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), Advanced Supplementary (AS)/Advanced (A) level and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) – and provides a ‘ladder of recognition’, from Breakthrough (Entry Level) to Mastery (post-graduate level), reflecting the stages of the Common European Framework of Reference.

The scheme is not age-related and can be used with both children and adults, and offers discrete skills assessment (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing) so that learners may, for example, focus on developing their reading skills in one or more languages. The Ladder comprises six stages, from Breakthrough to Mastery (split up into smaller ‘steps’ or grades), which consist of a series of ‘can-do’ statements. An emphasis on climbing the ladder through the achievement of short-term goals is designed to motivate pupils. The statements are generic and can thus be used for any language.

It is not associated with any particular programme of study and can therefore be used informally in the classroom to support formative assessment and Assessment for Learning. The Languages Ladder scheme has three strands which can all be used independently and in any combination. The Languages Ladder statements can be used for benchmarking progress in any skill in any language; there is a formal teacher-assessed model and external tests in all four skills.

Key features of the Languages Ladder are:

 ''Cando'' statements for each grade in each skill;  Discrete assessment for each of the four skills;  Students/ learners may wish to be assessed & progress in just one skill in any one language;  External assessment at the interface between ''stages'';  Development of online & just-in-time testing for some of the assessments;  Possibilities for teacher assessment within each ''stage'' of grades; and  Equivalence to existing qualification levels Asset Languages

Cambridge Assessment (formerly UCLES) has been awarded the contract to develop the teacher-assessed model and the external tests – known as Asset Languages – which evaluate learner achievement against the Languages Ladder. Asset Languages tests are qualifications recognised within the National Qualifications Framework and attract achievement and attainment points (which contribute towards the threshold for performance tables). The external assessments were launched in September 2005, in the first three stages (Breakthrough, Preliminary and Intermediate) in eight initial languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Panjabi, Spanish and Urdu. The Breakthrough stage is an Entry Level qualification; the Preliminary and Intermediate stages are respectively Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications (i.e. the equivalent of Foundation/Higher GCSE). There are several assessment opportunities in each year with both paper and computer based tests.

From Autumn 2006, additional languages within the first three stages are likely to be: Arabic, Bengali, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Irish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Welsh and Yoruba. At the same time, the Advanced stage (a Level 3 qualification) will be available, in French, German and Spanish in the first instance. Additional languages and levels will be phased in through to Autumn 2008.

The Languages Ladder scheme does not define any particular course of study and can be used to enhance existing schemes of work. It could provide motivation during and recognition of achievement in Key Stage 3, for example, and it can support language learning in Key Stage 4 and post-16 within a wide range of learning pathways, including vocational and work-related contexts.

For further information on the Languages Ladder, see www.dfes.gov.uk/languages/DSP_languagesladder.cfm

The European Certificate for Irish CRAMLAP partners, the Language Centre and the Department of Modern Irish in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, have developed Functional/Notional syllabuses for A1 and A2 and B1 and B2 Irish, based on the CEFRR. The B and C levels are in development.

The syllabuses are designed to form the basis of course design. They do not prescribe or recommend the actual pedagogy to be employed. The authors of the Teastas syllabuses have produced the Abair Leat series for teachers of adults which provides some useful activities.

The Maynooth Language Centre is an full member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) and the Certificate will allow learners to gain a qualification which will be recognised across Europe.

NUI Maynooth will act as the national examination centre, but it is expected that a number of regional and international centres will be established over time. The Teastas examinations and certification could also be offered to motivate students in their studies and provide proof of linguistic competence.

Sample examinations are available on the website at www.nuim.ie/language/irishexams.html

The syllabuses have been devised for, among others, ab initio learners of Irish abroad. Teachers in third level institutions should find them useful in the design of their own course and assessment procedures.

An English version of syllabus A1 and A2 had been provided by CRAMLAP to allow for possible further translation into other languages.

The levels of competence laid out in the CEFR are

A B C Basic User Independent User Proficient User

A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2

In general, it is advised that candidates should complete 80 and 100 hours of contact time and personal study combined for each of Syllabus A1 and A2 (Bonnleibhéal 1 and 2) and 350-400 hours and 500-600 hours for levels B1 and B2 respectfully.

General Points The emphasis in these syllabuses is on the communicative use of the language. The syllabus lays down the minimum content areas required for Foundation Level.

The specific needs and interests of the learners should be ascertained by prior discussion or the use of simple questionnaires at the outset, keeping in mind that the course may be held abroad and the opportunities for communicative conversation will be limited, particularly for many regional and minority languages. An example of such a questionnaire can be found on page 129 of Abair Leat!: Leibhéal 1, Cuid 1 The requirements and expectations of Higher Education students should be considered, particularly those following courses where the linguistic and grammatical aspects are emphasised. In such circumstances, the skill of reading is likely to prove as equally motivating as speaking.

The grammatical structures required for the content are provided. Grammar should be taught as required in communication. However, since the context is Higher Education, students are likely to expect and prefer clear structural guidance and understanding, and so the role of grammar must be considered carefully. While some versions of Communicative Language Teaching have underplayed the role of grammar, this approach is unlikely to be successful in university, and this is reflected in the responses from CRAMLAP’s Celtic Studies questionnaires. An eclectic approach to language teaching, combining communication and structure, is more likely to prove successful than a simple exposure to transactional scenarios.

While the CEFR has less focus on mechanical grammar practice,

The Framework cannot replace reference grammars or provide a strict ordering (though scaling may involve selection and hence some ordering in global terms) but provides a framework for the decisions of practitioners to be made known. (CEFR 2001: 152)

The particular grammatical and idiomatic individuality of the language must be incorporated. So, in the Celtic languages, the pedagogy will recognise the importance for students to be able to manipulate prepositional structures and idioms such as “Tá X orm - I am X”; “Y mae X gen i – I have X”. Similarly, the mutation system, so characteristic of Celtic languages, must be explained and practised, orally and in writing. Apparently simple functions and notions such as asking where one lives and how many are in one’s family involve particular idiomatic and structural knowledge in Irish which must be factored into teaching and learning.

Reading list

Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research – the National Centre for Languages (CILT) (2006). Languages 2006: Digest of Policy, Research and Statistics London: CILT

Council of Europe. (2001a). A Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press.

Also available for download from: http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co- operation/education/Languages/Language_Policy/Common_Framework_of_Referenc e/1cadre.asp#TopOfPage

Council of Europe. (2001b). A Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – A General Guide for Users. Strasbourg:Council of Europe. (Document DGIV-EDU-LANG (2001) 1)

Heyworth, F. (2004). “Why the CEFR is important” in Morrow (ed) Oxford 12-21

Ionad na dTeangacha/Language Centre, Ollscoil na hÉireann, Má Nuad. (2005). Lámhleabhar Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge Maynooth www.nuim.ie/language/irishexams.html

Morrow, K. (2004). Insights from the Common European Framework Oxford University Press Ní Mhaonaigh, S. and Ó Dónaill. E. (1999). Abair Leat!, Leibhéal 1, Cuid 1. Béal Feirste: Iontaobhas ULTACH.

Ní Mhaonaigh, S. and Ó Dónaill. E. (1999). Abair Leat!, Leibhéal 1, Cuid 2. Belfast: Iontaobhas ULTACH