Assessing Level And CEFR - TeachingEnglish

Assessing level and CEFRA toolkit for teacher development

Assessing level and CEFR These materials provide an overview of issues relating toassessing level. We explore why this issue mightbe challenging and offer a practicalapproach to devising assessmentsat a particular level.Copyright: Matt Wright2

Assessing level and CEFRThis module is aimed at: teachers of English as a foreign language in-service teachers3

OverviewThis module provides an introduction to issuessurrounding level and how to createassessment tasks at a particular level. Level isdiscussed in the context of the CommonEuropean Framework of Reference forLanguages (CEFR).Copyright: Matt Wright4

Learning outcomesBy the end of this module you will have developed: an awareness of the CEFR an understanding of an approach to creating assessment tasks an appreciation of the challenges of establishing level.5

Problems of ready-made assessments When developing these materials, we asked teachers what kind ofmaterials would be of most use to them. They all mentioned thedifficulties they had experienced in creating assessment tasks at aparticular level. The request was made for ready-made assessments which theteachers could take into the classroom that evening. Unfortunately,we cannot provide this as one-size fits all solutions do not reallyexist.6

Problems of ready-made assessments Happily, we can provide an approachwhich will help you with the difficulttask of creating assessments. This approach will be outlined in laterslides.Copyright: Matt Wright7

The CEFR The CEFR describes foreign languageproficiency at six levels: A1 and A2, B1 andB2, C1 and C2. The scale starts at A1 and finishes at C2. More information about the CEFR can befound here. A good introductory video to the CEFR canbe found here.Copyright: Matt Wright8

The CEFR Level and the CEFR are not synonymous.The CEFR is not without critics (seeFulcher, 2004, for further discussion of thedebate around the CEFR). The teachers we spoke to all referred tothe CEFR and discussed its impact ontheir assessment practices.Copyright: Matt Wright For this reason we are discussing theCEFR and level in the same module.9

The CEFRThink about the following questions.If possible discuss them with anotherteacher. Is the CEFR used in your school?If yes, how? What are the positive and negativeaspects of working with the CEFR?Copyright: Matt Wright10

Commentary We would expect that most teachers have comeacross the CEFR in some form. Perhaps the coursebook you are using is labelledwith a CEFR level, such as A2. Or maybe your students are working towards a testwhich has been benchmarked at a particular CEFRlevel. The teachers we spoke to for the project wereaware of some aspects of the CEFR.11

The CEFRListen to Claire talk about the CEFR. As you listen make notes about theaims of the CEFR and ways in which ithas been used and perhaps misused. Listen here. Do you agree with her?Copyright: Matt Wright12

The CEFR Here are some descriptors from the CEFR. Orderthem by level of language proficiency with A1 at thebottom and C1 at the top. As you complete the task think about how youmade the decisions when ordering the statements.13

The CEFR Here is the full scale on page 24. Were you correct? Did you find that a straightforward task?Copyright: Matt Wright14

The CEFR Now that we have considered the origins ofthe CEFR, it is time to turn our attention tothe CEFR and classroom assessment. The CEFR is complex and multi-faceted. It can be a challenge to relate the CEFR toclassroom practice. Over the next few slides we will show yousome resources which will help you to dothis.Copyright: Matt Wright15

Classroom posters Look at these classroom posters which were created as part ofproject which aimed to support teachers.a The posters contain ‘can do’ statements for each of the 4 languageskills. Furthermore, they contain grammar and vocabulary objectives. The posters also contain examples of the type of language neededto achieve the ‘can do’ statements in the language work sections. The posters cover levels A1 to C1 of the CEFR.16

Reflective task Review the posters and considerhow they could be used in theclasses you teach.Copyright: Matt Wright17

Commentary The posters can be used for self, peer or teacher assessment. They can be used to discuss learning goals. They can guide materials selection.18

Beyond the posters Having reviewed the posters you may bethinking that you need something whichcontains more detail. This book contains more detail about thelanguage points which are relevant at levelsA1 to C1 of the CEFR. We will be using thisbook for activities in later slides so werecommend you keep it accessible.Copyright: Matt Wright19

Core Inventory of general English Watch the authors of the Core Inventory talkabout its creation and how it can supportteacher assessment of classroom learning Make notes to answer the following questions:ooooWhat are the main aims of the project?How can the Core Inventory be used?What are the ‘Core Language points’?What is a scenario?Copyright: Matt Wright20

Commentary The Core Inventory was developed to make the CEFR tangible andto provide support and guidance for teachers, syllabus designersand language learners. It can be used as reference of a minimum core content to whichother materials can be added. The ‘Core Language Points’ is a list of language points placed atthe CEFR level which is considered of most relevance to theclassroom. A scenario is a framework for developing teaching and assessmentacttivities base on real life language use.21

Core Inventory of general English The Core Inventory contains anapproach to creating classroom-basedassessments. On page 13 you will find adefinition of a scenario and how it can beused to create an assessment task. On the following two pages there is anexample scenario. In the appendicesthere are example scenarios for the 5CEFR levels covered in the CoreInventory.Copyright: Matt Wright22

Core Inventory of general English A scenario starts with a language use situation. In the case of theexample, a business meeting. The relevant ‘Can Do’ statementsare added to the scenario with the required competences. Guidance on how scenarios can be used to create assessmentactivities continues on pages 16 and 17 of the Core Inventory. Using the example scenarios as a guide, think of a language usesituation which is relevant for your learners and develop anassessment task for it.23

The Word Family Framework You may want to think about the relationship between lexis andlevel. The Word Family Framework Tool can help you to consider thedifficulty of vocabulary and ensureyou choose words for vocabularytests with your class which areappropriate to their level. The tool is very easy to use –simply enter a word into the searchbox and it will tell you its CEFRlevel.Copyright: Matt Wright24

CEFR and level A project in Finland created thistraining resource for teachers. There is information about theCEFR and example tasks for eachlevel.Copyright: Matt Wright25

Other ways to think of level The CEFR is not the only way to consider level. The difficulty of the task and the amount of text weexpect our students to process in a particular amount oftime all contribute to the level of difficulty of a task. Therefore we need to control a number of differentfactors when creating our classroom assessments.26

Reading and difficultyStephen Bax (2013) created this table to illustrate how differentfactors interact to create difficulty.27

Reading and difficulty The table appears on page 5 of thisreport. Though we are only focussing onpage 5 here, the rest of the report is wellworth reading. The table shows that the type of task weask our students to complete affects thelevel of difficulty of our assessment tasks.Copyright: Matt Wright28

Task Analyse a reading assessment taskyou have used with students, usingthe framework outlined by Bax. What kind of processes does the taskrequire?Copyright: Matt Wright How difficult is the task?29

Level and difficulty We have provided a way of determining difficulty forreading tasks. Other authors have written aboutsimilar issues relating to the other skills. In essence, it is important to remember the task andthe text length combine to create task difficulty.30

Assessing level It is difficult to discuss assessing level inisolation. We would recommend you work withcolleagues to discuss your ideas of level andto consider ways of coming to agreementabout level. This type of agreement can be referred to asstandardisation.Copyright: Matt Wright31

Standardisation The term standardisationcan be controversial inEFL. Some argue thatstandards can bereductive (see Hulstijn,2007). If you decide you want toengage in astandardisation process,there follows some stepswhich you may considerundertaking.Copyright: Matt Wright32

Standardisation Gather colleagues together in oneroom for a day.Copyright: Matt Wright Discuss and agree the standard tobe used for the session. This couldbe the CEFR or it could be anotherframework (such as the Canadianbenchmarks )33

Standardisation Look at the level descriptors of theframework you have chosen. Discusswith your colleagues the range oflevels and completeness of thedescriptors.Copyright: Matt Wright Use the descriptors to self-assessyour levels of language proficiency inany languages which you know.34

Standardisation For example, using the CEFR, I wouldassess my spoken Italian as C1 butwritten Italian is a B2 level. My readinglevel in French is A2 but my spoken levelis A1. Self-assessing is a good way to developyour understanding of levels. In groups compare your self-assessments.Copyright: Matt Wright35

Standardisation Look at a range of assessment tasks used in your school. Discusstogether the difficulty level of the task and evaluate if it isappropriate for your teaching context. Look at a range of student texts and discuss the level of each.Discuss the factors which helped you to come to your decisions. Look at your organisation’s curriculum documents. With colleagueswork together to create test specifications for level tests. Watch thisvideo if you are not familiar with the term. With the specifications you will be able to write tests whilst workingto a common standard.36

Conclusions In this module we have discussed level andthe CEFR. We have seen that level is not astraightforward issue. We have providedpractical suggestions and resources to helpguide you through the minefield.Copyright: Matt Wright37

What next?You have now finished these materials onassessing level. We hope you have found themuseful and enjoyable. If you are interested inlearning more about assessment, please lookat our other materials on: Assessment for LearningAssessing Young LearnersLanguage Assessment for TeachersAssessment ResourcesCopyright: Matt Wright38

References Council for Cultural Co-operation. Education Committee, & Council ofEurope. (2001). Common european framework of reference for languages:Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bax, S.(2013) Readers’ cognitive processes during IELTS reading tasks:evidence from eye tracking. London: British Council Fulcher, G. (2004). Deluded by artifices? The Common EuropeanFramework and harmonization. Language Assessment Quarterly 1.4, 253–266. Hulstijn, J. H. (2007). The shaky ground beneath the CEFR: Quantitativeand qualitative dimensions of language proficiency. The Modern LanguageJournal, 91(4), 663-667. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00627 5.x39

The ‘Core Language Points’ is a list of language points placed at the CEFR level which is considered of most relevance to the classroom. A scenario is a framework for developing teaching and assessment acttivities base on real life language use. 21