Nick Saville

Using observation checklists to validate speaking-test tasks

Test-task validation has been an important strand in recent revision projects for University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) examinations. This article addresses the relatively neglected area of validating the match between intended and actual test-taker language with respect to a blueprint of language functions representing the construct of spoken language ability. An observation checklist designed for both a priori and a posteriori analysis of speaking task output has been developed. This checklist enables language samples elicited by the task to be scanned for these functions in real time, without resorting to the laborious and somewhat limited analysis of transcripts. The process and results of its development, implications and further applications are discussed.

EUROPEAN LANGUAGE POLICY: ASSESSMENT, LEARNING, AND THE CEFR

This article describes how language policy is formed at a European level, focusing on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). The CEFRs prominent role in assessment has led to criticisms of its adequacy as a model for learning and fears that it is being used as an instrument of centralization and harmonization. First, we argue for studying the CEFRs effect on language policy as a case of impact, as this concept is understood within language assessment. We refer to experience with Asset Languages, developed as part of the United Kingdoms national languages strategy. Second, we agree with many commentators who insist on the frameworks “flexible and context-amenable” nature. If use of the CEFR is made prescriptive and closed, it indeed becomes a straitjacket. What is needed is engagement with the complexity of specific contexts. We introduce the European Survey on Language Competences, a European Union (EU) initiative scheduled for 2011, which will further raise the profile of the CEFR as an assessment framework. This project should contribute to achieving comparability of measures and standards across languages. At the same time it underlines the need to develop contextualized, practical ways of realizing the CEFRs potential as a framework for teaching and learning.

Language Assessment in the Management of International Migration: A Framework for Considering the Issues

Given the scope and importance of migration in the 21st century, a comprehensive and cooperative approach to the management of international migration is required to provide benefits for both individuals and societies alike; to be successful this cannot be undertaken unilaterally or by governments alone. In this article, the need for applied linguists and language testers to contribute to this approach is discussed, and a case is made for the relevant linguistic and assessment considerations to be addressed within an agreed frame of reference. The case is made for a clearer understanding of “the migrants journey” and more precise identification of the various participants who need to be brought together so that the issues involving language assessment in the context of migration and citizenship can be addressed more effectively. The current trends are illustrated by describing the changing nature of migration in the United Kingdom over the past 20 years. Ways forward are suggested by looking at some recent examples of successful collaboration of the kind envisaged.

The English Profile Programme – the first three years

The English Profile Programme is a major inter-disciplinary, research-based collaborative project to develop detailed reference level descriptions (RLDs) of the English of L2 language learners, linked to the general principles and approaches of the Council of Europe. The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) provides language proficiency bands against which the profile is categorised. Large samples of writing and speech are required for the Programme, with the Cambridge Learner Corpus providing data for the initial phase.

A Code of Practice and Quality Management System for International Language Examinations

The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) was formed in 1990, and there are now 27 institutional members and associates representing 24 European languages. A key objective of the association is to establish professional standards for all stages of the language-testing process to provide language learners with access to high-quality examinations, and in 1994 a code of practice was published. This article discusses the ways in which ALTE members have attempted to put their code into practice, and in particular how quality management systems can help to bridge the gap between theoretical issues and practical reality. A number of key issues have arisen in carrying out this work: The first covers self-assessment as part of an ongoing process of quality improvement; the second covers the question of minimum standards and how these should be arrived at. In both cases the question of how to achieve a reconciliation between diversity and standards arises, especially in relation to the many different organizations that now make up the ALTE membership.

The Use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A Brief Introduction to This Special Issue

One of the intended purposes of The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is to provide a common basis for language textbooks, curricula, and examinations across Europe. It is probably fair...