CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 7 (March 2025)
Date: 2025
Title: Understanding the perspective of plurilingual assessment in teaching English at tertiary level in Ukraine
Page: 19 - 50
Authors: Viktoriia Osidak, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine; Karin Vogt, Heidelberg University of Education, Germany; Maryana Natsiuk, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-2
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Considering the need for improving assessment instruments that measure language proficiency of plurilingual learners in the foreign language classroom, this article investigates the potential of plurilingual assessment in language education in the Ukrainian context. For this purpose, a developmental project has been carried out engaging several universities. The CEFR and its Companion Volume (CEFR/CV) were used as foundational documents to understand goals of language education and approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. The project was implemented in three phases. During phase 1, a focus was put on the analysis of contributed samples of tests (14 tests comprising 70 assessment tasks) to identify prevailing approaches to language assessment at tertiary level in the Ukrainian context. Most of the contributed assessment tasks (87%) were in English, with a smaller portion (12.8%) both in Ukrainian and English, with 11% out of 12.8% being translation tasks. No assessment tasks were in or more (2+) languages. Phase 2 aimed at empowering the teachers (n=16) with the procedures and assessment instruments to facilitate the implementation of plurilingual assessment in teaching English. Phase 3 collected teacher feedback on proposed changes to language assessment in teaching English using a questionnaire and reflection logs. The outcome of the workshops suggested that plurilingual assessment reflects real-life and professional situations that students can find themselves in but does not seem to represent common practice in the teaching context. In addition, participating teachers indicated that plurilingual assessment is of great relevance to the learning goals of their courses.
Keywords: assessment practices, linguistic repertoire, plurilingualism, plurilingual language assessment, CEFR/CV
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CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 7 (March 2025)
Date: 2025
Title: Assessing writing proficiency in a Saudi Arabian university: Comparing students, tutors, and raters’ assessment using selected CEFR scales
Page: 69 - 99
Author: Ebtesam Abdulhaleem, King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, Riyadh, KSA; Claudia Harsch, Universität Bremen, Germany
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-4
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: This study explores the writing proficiency levels of Saudi Arabian medical track students after completing a one-year Preparatory Year Programme (PYP), as well as the applicability of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in assessing their proficiency. The standardized writing exam administered at the end of the PYP revealed a ceiling effect, with the majority of students achieving high scores, despite the fact that the PYP teaches English at three different levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). To obtain a more nuanced understanding of students’ writing skills, alternative assessment methods were explored using selected CEFR scales, including self-assessment, tutor assessment, and assessment by raters recruited from the UK (experts in using CEFR scales). The study aimed to determine if these CEFR-based assessments can reliably differentiate among the three PYP levels, and if the CEFR scales are practical and applicable in this context. The findings show that the CEFR-based scores from all three assessor groups can reliably separate students according to their PYP level. The results highlight that the CEFR can serve as a valuable tool for understanding students' writing proficiency, even in non-European settings. This study encourages further exploration in the use of CEFR scales to assess proficiency levels.
Keywords: Writing proficiency, Preparatory Year Programme (PYP), Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), self-assessment, tutors’ assessment, raters, proficiency levels, CEFR scales
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CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 7 (March 2025)
Date: 2025
Title: Responding to the CEFR Alignment Handbook: Sharing experience of alignment activities and reflecting on lessons learned
Page: 112 - 116
Authors: The Handbook Steering Group: Neus Figueras, University of Barcelona; David Little, Trinity College Dublin; Barry O’Sullivan, British Council; Nick Saville, ALTE; Lynda Taylor, University of Bedfordshire
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-6
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: In February 2020, a conference entitled “The CEFR: Towards a Road Map for Future Research and Development”, co-sponsored by EALTA, UKALTA and the British Council, was hosted by the British Council in London (O’Dwyer et al. 2020, Little and Figueras 2022). The organizing institutions recognized the need to explore ways of developing research methodologies and projects of various kinds that could help to extend and further develop the CEFR and its implementation. It was hoped that the conference would inform the development of a road map for future engagement with the CEFR, taking account of what had been learnt so far and of new developments in applied linguistics and related disciplines.
Participants in the February 2020 conference agreed on the need for a new Handbook to support the alignment of language education with the CEFR and its Companion Volume. Accordingly, the three organizations behind the conference, together with ALTE, developed Aligning Language Education with the CEFR: A Handbook, publishing it online in April 2022 (Figueras et al. 2022). In undertaking to produce the Handbook, the steering group (which emerged from the February 2020 event) recognized that alignment applies not only to language tests but to policy, curriculum guidelines, curricula, syllabuses, textbooks and other teaching/learning resources. The group also decided that the Handbook should serve to inform policy makers, teacher educators, teachers and other language education stakeholders, as well as supporting the more or less technical processes on which alignment depends. The Handbook also seeks to help users to navigate the wide range of CEFR-related reference documents.
Keywords: Conference Report; Alignment; Innovation; CEFR; Professional Associations
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CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 7 (March 2025)
Date: 2025
Title: Application of the CEFR to an Arabic Corpus: A Case Study
Page: 100 - 111
Author: Aziza Zaher, Durham University
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-5
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) was developed by the Council of Europe and first published in 2001. It has since evolved significantly and new volumes have been published; most recently, the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV) in 2020. The CEFR aims to provide the basis for L2 learning, teaching, and assessment of European languages. However, it has been widely used around the world in non-European contexts. This article presents a case study of the application of the CEFR to an Arabic corpus comprising 214 texts produced by first year students at Zayed University in the UAE, which is part of a bilingual corpus in Arabic and English. This article focuses on the application of the CEFR to the Arabic texts which posed specific challenges, including Arabic diglossia whereby there are two distinct varieties of the language used for writing and speaking. Furthermore, the complexities of Arabic grammar include that it has formal features which only appear in writing. There is also some overlap between Arabic and other languages, particularly English, as many English expressions are used in everyday life in Arab societies. These factors, among others, lead to unique issues to consider when applying the CEFR to a written Arabic corpus. However, due to the generic nature of the CEFR descriptors, they have been applied successfully to the assessment of the Arabic written corpus, which provides the basis for further applications of the CEFR to other competencies in Arabic and to other non-European languages. This article describes the process of rating the corpus, outlines the practical implications of the application of the CEFR to an Arabic written corpus and presents an overview of student performance mapped across the six CEFR levels.
Keywords: CEFR, Arabic, written Corpus, Assessment, Non-European languages, Diglossia
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CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 7 (March 2025)
Date: 2025
Title: Awareness-Raising in Training Student Teachers to Rate Written-Performances in line with the CEFR
Page: 51 - 68
Author: Jana Bérešová, Trnava University, Slovakia
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.CEFR7-3
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Language teaching in Slovakia is based on the concepts presented in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) and CEFR Companion Volume. Despite efforts to align the learning outcomes in primary and secondary education to CEFR proficiency levels in the national curricula and significant changes in approaches to language teaching and learning in previous years, teachers’ familiarity with particular level descriptors is unbalanced. Their marking of students’ written performances does not explicitly reflect the different proficiency levels. To change this situation in the country, intensive training of student teachers became necessary. Assessing written performances requires systematic training based on marking criteria related to a particular reference level. To prepare future teachers of English to be able to distinguish between particular proficiency levels, several activities were designed to ensure that student teachers acquire a detailed knowledge of a targeted set of descriptors. Among other documents, a written assessment grid (Appendix 4, CEFR/CV) was introduced to sensitise student teachers to the need to familiarise themselves with the descriptors and apply them, specifying what is appropriate to expect at different levels of achievement. A new academic course on evaluation and testing in language education has been introduced in conjunction with a pre-service training course. The aim is to ensure that student teachers receive the necessary training to apply marking criteria when assessing written and oral performances. This study explores the approach adopted using a written assessment grid from the CEFR Companion Volume. Particular activities and data that were collected and analysed during the course of the present study are furthermore presented.
Keywords: written performances, rating, pre-service teacher training, raters’ judgements, reference descriptors
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