Language Proficiency Scale Research Articles

Developing a reading proficiency scale for Chinese as a second language: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

There is a long history of operationalizing theoretical constructs of language proficiency by developing language proficiency scales. However, existing scales are not directly applicable in teaching and assessing Chinese as a second language (CSL) reading in US higher education contexts. Teachers need guidance regarding what component reading skills/knowledge should be taught and measured. This study developed a CSL Reading Proficiency Scale aligning to Koda’s (2005) theoretical framework that models L2 reading as a three-factor construct. The scale development began with modeling the construct of CSL reading ability on the basis of literature review. Drawing on this process, an operational descriptive scheme and a descriptor pool were established and subjected to expert review of content validity. Descriptors that survived expert review were then compiled into a Likert-scale questionnaire. This instrument was tested through teachers’ evaluations (N = 179) of whether CSL learners ‘can do’ what were denoted by descriptors. Confirmatory factor analysis exhibits solid goodness of fit between descriptors and the hypothesized three-factor model. The total score and the three subscale scores show high reliability. Evidence of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity indicates that the Scale measures CSL reading ability as intended.

The Application of Language Proficiency Scales in Education Context: A Systematic Literature Review

The application of the language proficiency scales (LPS) in education validates its function, as it can explore the value in-depth. However, little systematic research on applying LPS has been conducted due to the complex intertwining of stakeholders and a lack of theoretical framework and practical approaches. Adopting the framework proposed by Y. Jin and Jie (2020), this study explored how the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and China’s Standards of English (CSE) were used and impacted various stakeholders in the education context. The literature search was taken from WoSCC, Scopus, and CNKI from 2018 to 2022. Qualitative content analysis was used for systematic review. Results showed that policymakers used LPS in education policy guidance; teachers applied them as the benchmark of diagnostic assessment to get accurate language profiles of students and create new approaches to teaching; students used them as goal-setting guidance and self- or peer assessment criteria to track progress; test developers aligned them with tests to obtain reliable results; curriculum designers tailored descriptors and scales from CEFR to develop new curricula, align, or revise the existing ones; researchers used LPS as references to develop new rubrics, frameworks and assessing models. This study could provide insight in scientific application of LPS. However, it focused mainly on the CEFR and CSE with a framework for exploring the impact of language testing. Studies containing more scales and theorizing the framework of aftereffects of LPS should be encouraged.

The Effect of Goal Setting Based on China’s Standard of English Proficiency Scales on Reading Achievement

Language proficiency scales (LPS) are widely used in testing and assessment. Research on how to apply LPS in guiding learning, especially in terms of goal setting, is limited. Goals based on LPS can guide students’ learning, diagnose their problems, and provide a benchmark for achievement assessment. Mixed methods were used to investigate the effect of goal setting on reading achievement and students’ experience of the new approach. China’s Standard of English Proficiency Scales (CSE)-based goals were used to guide students’ reading. The quasi-experiment revealed that students’ test scores were significantly improved; the interview proved that students were generally positive about this way of learning. This study is significant in tapping the more profound value of LPS and has some enlightenment in language learning. The small sample size is one limitation of this study. Students’ achievements and engagement should be examined in future research.

Comparative Study Between International and Domestic English Proficiency Standards From a Diachronic Perspective

This paper intends to explore the relationship between international English-language proficiency scales and the English teaching syllabus for domestic universities by comparing their objectives, standards and definitions of proficiency. The results show that the development of English proficiency standards in China is always accompanied by the evolution of international language proficiency theory, and combined with its practical application in various countries. It is suggested that the college-level standard of English proficiency in China should be set based on the research of domestic and international scholars and organizations on language proficiency scales. At the same time, by drawing lessons from proficiency scales and adapting them to the English language scales used in China, a standard, comprehensive language proficiency system for teaching English can be established.

Research on the Application of Language Proficiency Scale in College English Interpretation Teaching

In the current teaching of English interpreting in colleges and universities, teachers need to combine the specific content specified in the language proficiency scale included in the CSE as much as possible to implement targeted teaching and training for students, so that students can maximize after completing their studies. Invest in the relevant professional work management process to the limit. This article briefly analyzes and discusses the application of the language proficiency scale in oral English teaching in colleges and universities, and gives corresponding insights.

Class design and evaluation that promotes learners' thinking, judgment, expression and ability to learn

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the European Language Portfolio (ELP) are effective in facilitating the learning of foreign languages. Professor Emiko Izumi, Graduate School of Education, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan, is seeking to enhance motivation for foreign language learning among children and students using language activities and a can-do evaluation scale that facilitates self-efficacy and autonomy. The plan is for the effectiveness of the evaluation scale to be quantitatively and qualitatively verified. The can-do evaluation scale was developed by a team of 14 researchers and teachers with various specialities, including Professor Naoyuki Naganuma, an expert in language learning motivation and language testing theory, and Professor Mitsue Allen-Tamai, who has extensive experience in English education as a university teacher and has also taught English to toddlers and children. The evaluation scale is designed to be user orientated and help develop a set of performance-related scales. The team has developed can-do lists primarily concerned with a language proficiency scale for use in elementary school English. The researchers want individuals to conceptualise their personal goals in order that they can be motivated and their progress can be visualised. Classroom activities and evaluation are designed to encourage children's learning, support the learning process, foster autonomy, and promotes learners' ability to think, judge, express and learn.

Personality Traits and Foreign Language Proficiency in Russian Linguistics and Non-Linguistics Students

The search for factors and determinants of effective foreign (second) language acquisition (FLA/SLA) is an interdisciplinary problem that is becoming more and more practically important in the modern globalising world. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the correlation between personality traits and the foreign language proficiency (FLP) level among students of various university specialties. The total sample includes 241 first- and second-year undergraduate students (74% females), of which 128 students (82.5% females) study at the Linguistics Department and 113 students (64% females) belong to other departments. All the students learn English as a primary foreign language (FL). The Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness) were measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Russian adaptation by S. Biryukov and M. Bodunov). In testing the foreign language proficiency levels, we used the traditional Academic Performance Index (semester Final Grades in English) and assessments of the foreign language proficiency levels made by English teachers in relation to their students according to the Foreign Language Proficiency Scale (10 indices and the total score) developed by the authors. To process the data in the R software environment, version 3.5.2, the methods of descriptive statistics, Cronbachs alpha and Macdonalds omega coefficients, Spearmans rank correlation analysis and Wilcoxons T -test were used. The findings of our research showed that FLP is most closely related to Openness in linguistics students and to Conscientiousness in non-linguistics students. These facts should be taken into account by the developers of programmes for psychological and pedagogical support of the FL learning process in Russian universities.

Going Global: The Successful Link of IELTS and Aptis to China’s Standards of English Language Ability (CSE)

The development of a common language proficiency scale is essential to language teaching, learning, and assessment. While some general English proficiency scales already exist, no such scale is available in an Asian context. China’s Standards of English Language Ability (CSE), as the first scale of its kind, promises to address this deficiency with a clear focus on the student population, grounded in the well-established framework of communicative language ability. As such, it not only illuminates the learning patterns of English language learners at different stages, but also provides a benchmark for curriculum design, student evaluation, and the improvement of educational programs. More importantly, its recent link with such international tests as Aptis and IELTS marks a significant step towards the internationalization of this scale, making student grades on different tests more comparable. The official mapping of CSE to the international examination system opens China’s education further to the rest of the world, and would facilitate student exchanges and deepen educational ties between countries in the future.

Teacher Views on the Implementation of English Language Proficiency Scales for Young Indigenous Learners of Standard English

ABSTRACT Young Indigenous students with a language background of emergent, unrecognised, and/or non-prestigious contact languages are commonly by-passed as English language learners (ELLs). Consequently, they are taught and assessed via undifferentiated mainstream pedagogy and testing, generally characterised by reported underachievement. Long-term social and linguistic minoritisation has effectively created this inequitable situation, excluding this cohort from standard school ELL processes such as on-entry identification, and specialist ELL services of assessment and needs-based support. In these challenging social-educational contexts, where, furthermore, knowledge about the varieties resulting from language contact and shift is still developing, initiating language assessment for these young Language Minority ELLs pivots on the discernment of non-specialist classroom teachers. This is clearly a high stakes assessment exercise for this otherwise invisible ELL cohort, as this evidence makes the case for language-informed responses, such as differentiated delivery of classroom curriculum. Prioritising the social context in language assessment use and drawing on exploratory practice principles, the study investigates teachers’ views on their use of the state mandated classroom-based proficiency tool (adapted to be inclusive of this Indigenous ELL sub-group). This serves to illuminate the kind of support teachers need to conduct identification and assessment for these Indigenous ELLs and to highlight the broad gaps in basic research. An analysis of the interviews elicits the “puzzles” facing classroom teachers. Findings include that direct elucidation of tool puzzles for L2 pathways in contact language contexts would be most useful, not a proliferation of extra tools nor a complexification of the current tool.

Assessing Business English writing: The development and validation of a proficiency scale

Abstract Despite the profusion of language proficiency scales being implemented worldwide, few attempts have been made to develop such instruments of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Situated in the context of English language education at the tertiary level in China, this paper reports a study to develop and validate a writing proficiency scale of Business English (BE) to facilitate the teaching, learning, and assessment of BE writing in Chinese universities. Employing a multi-phase mixed-methods design, this study set out to determine the descriptive categories of the BE writing scale drawing on the model of Genre Knowledge ( Tardy, 2009 ). Workshops were then organized in which 15 experienced teachers of BE writing examined the descriptive categories as well as a pool of descriptors profiling BE writing proficiency in order to determine their relevance to BE education in China’s tertiary context. Next, a questionnaire was administered to elicit views from university students (n = 572) about the difficulty of the descriptors. The Rasch measurement model was utilized to calibrate students’ difficulty ratings. Finally, one-on-one interviews were conducted to elicit teaching and domain experts’ perceptions of the scale. The findings of this study shed light on the complexity and intricacies of ESP proficiency scale development.

Creativity and Personality Traits as Foreign Language Acquisition Predictors in University Linguistics Students.

Foreign (second) language (FL/SL) proficiency is one of the most important competencies for a modern person, and is necessary for both professional and personal fulfillment. The purpose of this study is to consider and compare personality traits and creativity as predictors of success in foreign language acquisition (FLA). The sample includes 128 (105 female and 23 male) first- and second-year university linguistics students. Creativity is measured by the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA). The FFM personality traits are measured by the Russian NEO Five-Factor Inventory adaptation by S. Biryukov and M. Bodunov. To assess the level of FL proficiency, we used a traditional academic achievement indicator (the semester’s final grades in English), as well as the English teachers’ assessment of the level of language proficiency of their students according to the “Foreign Language Proficiency Scale” (10 indicators and total score). Descriptive statistics methods and a multiple regression analysis were used to process the data in the R software environment, version 3.5.2. The findings of our research showed that creativity indicators have a stronger but contradictory impact on the level of FL proficiency compared to personality traits. We suggest that teachers, most likely, lack knowledge on the manifestations of student creativity in the process of FL learning.

EFL teacher burnout and self-assessed language proficiency: exploring possible relationships

Although teacher burnout has drawn the attention of many researchers, there is little empirical evidence for the contribution of non-native English language teachers’ language proficiency level to their experience of burnout. To address this significant gap, the present study examined the relationship between English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ self-assessed language proficiency and their experience of burnout. Research has indicated that personal resources of teachers can function as protectors against their experience of burnout. Thus, it was assumed that investigating how EFL teachers’ level of burnout can be reduced through language proficiency as a personal resource can cast a new light on the role of personal resources in reducing teachers’ experience of burnout. To this end, data were collected from 110 Iranian EFL teachers who were teaching in private language institutes through the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educator Survey and Iranian EFL Teacher Self-Reported Language Proficiency Scale. The correlational analysis revealed that language proficiency had a significant negative relationship with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions and a significant positive relationship with the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout. The results of regression analysis also indicated that, except for the reading subskill, all the other proficiency subskills were the best predictors of the different dimensions of burnout. Based on the findings of the current study, some pedagogical implications and research suggestions were also proposed.

Designing the Radiotelephony Plain English Corpus (RTPEC): A specialized spoken English language corpus towards a description of aeronautical communications in non-routine situations

Pilots and air traffic controllers need to undergo a specific English test in order to be granted a license for international operations. A language proficiency scale was developed to serve as a parameter to all aviation regulatory agencies throughout the world by targeting the language produced specifically by air traffic controllers and pilots in radio communications when non-routine situations (such as technical problems, bird strike, changes in weather, health problems on board, etc.) occur (ICAO 2010). However, there is a lack of empirical investigation which could shed light upon this particular register helping the users of the scale with its understanding. In an attempt to fill this gap, this paper outlines a compilation of the Radiotelephony Plain English Corpus (RPTEC), a spoken corpus of aeronautical communication consisting of transcriptions of exchanges between pilots and air traffic controllers in non-routine situations for research and pedagogical purposes. By presenting steps taken during the process, we intend to provide fellow researchers with data which may suit other purposes and yield further analyses, as well as enlighten similar investigations in the field of English for Specific Purposes.

Evaluating Medical Spanish Proficiency: A Comparison of Physician Assistant Student Self-Assessment to Standardized Patient and Expert Faculty Member Ratings.

Whether physician assistant (PA) students' self-assessment or standardized patient (SP) evaluations of students' medical Spanish proficiency accurately reflect their language proficiency is unclear. This study compares PA student and SP ratings with an expert faculty member's rating to determine whether student or SP ratings can be used to evaluate language proficiency. Fifty-eight students participated in a single-station Spanish Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at the midpoint of a medical Spanish curriculum. Using the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR)-a 6-point, single-item language proficiency scale previously validated among physicians-PA students and SPs evaluated students' medical Spanish proficiency. Their scores were then compared with the scores derived by an expert faculty rater who had viewed a video of each student-SP encounter. The faculty's score was considered the gold standard. Correlation between scores was calculated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Mean student scores were highest when rated by SPs (M = 3.8, SD = 0.9), followed by self (M = 3.0, SD = 0.9), and then faculty (M = 2.5, SD = 1.2). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient showed a strong positive correlation between students and the expert faculty rater (rs = 0.67, P < .001) and between SPs and the expert faculty rater (rs = 0.72, P < .001). The correlation was stronger for high- than for low-proficiency students. Students' self-rated scores showed significant improvement from baseline to the OSCE. PA students participating in a medical Spanish curriculum and SPs show good correlation with an expert faculty rater in assessing Spanish proficiency during an OSCE. Standardized patients demonstrate scoring leniency. The ILR has potential for tracking aggregate student progress and curriculum effectiveness. With training, student self-rating could be used for interval assessment of medical Spanish communication.

Read from Local to Global: A Culture-based Reading Material

Chinese language has risen to become the world popular language among the foreign language learners. According to the recent data, 516 Confucius Institutes and 1076 Confucius Classroom established all over the world, with more than 100 million foreign students enrolled, especially 48 Confucius Institutes are distributing in 33 Africa countries, to provide the scope for people to learn Chinese language and culture. This paper is based on the previous experts’ call that teaching language in 21 st century needs to be involved with cultural awareness in concerning both regional and global societies, in order to enhance learners’ the fifth skill of the language learning. This paper aims to use the local culture to facilitate a reading content to promote students’ Chinese communication skills. The use of local culture contents is one of the effective ways to stimulate students’ motivation in language class. Under the guidance of Chinese Language Proficiency Scales for Speakers of Other Language and International Curriculum for Chinese Language Education , 12 units of Ethiopian cultures, landscapes, beliefs, customs, arts and festivals that were incorporated in the reading materials are identified. The demonstration samples of the model units will be shown so as to culturally value reading materials to any other Chinese language learners. This new orchestrated material will undoubtedly can encourage learners to gain a deeper understanding of their own culture and to share these insights in Chinese to any others as well as more effectively in learning a global language. Moreover, this material also can enlighten an idea to apply to some other reading contexts for Africa countries.

The B2 Level and the Dream of a Common Standard

ABSTRACTIn Flanders, Belgium, university admission of undergraduate international L2 students requires a certificate of an accredited test of Dutch. The two main university entrance tests used for certification share highly comparable oral components and CEFR-based oral rating criteria. This article discusses to what extent ratings on the oral components of these tests can be compared. The data used are the ratings of the oral performances of the same 82 candidates on both oral test components, which were administered within the same week. The correlation on the overall scores is high, but lower on the oral test component. Further analyses, including linear regression and multifaceted Rasch analysis, indicate that the B2 level was interpreted differently in the two tests. The results show that using the same language proficiency scales as the basis for rating scale criteria may lead to superficial correspondences or a perceived equivalence but does not necessarily lead to greater comparability of shared criteria. The findings of this study are especially useful for contexts in which different tests use similar criteria that are based on the same descriptors, and comparability is only assumed.

On The Development Strategy Features and Trends of East Asian Foreign Language Education Policy

In the 21st century, economic globalization and educational internationalization have driven the whole world develop foreign language education urgently. East Asian countries, including South Korea, China, and Japan, are also confronted with a severe task to initiate appropriate and sound foreign language education policy in order to catch up with the globalization pace through building up Asian Economic Community. This paper firstly reviews the history of foreign language education policy making in East Asian countries – Korea, China, and Japan. It then analyzes the strategy features of foreign language education policy and predicts future orientation of foreign language education strategy in East Asia. At last, it further puts forward the assumption of establishing Asian Common Framework of Foreign Language Proficiency Scales.

Concepts underpinning innovations to second language proficiency scales inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners: a dynamic process in progress

This paper discusses the concepts underlying two proficiency scale innovations which include and describe the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners of Standard Australian English (SAE). Both scales, developed in Queensland, are adaptations of the National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia (NLLIA) ESL Bandscales (McKay, Hudson, &amp; Sapuppo, 1994). The revisions attempt to describe very complex terrain: the development of SAE by cohorts of Indigenous students, whose first languages are for the most part generated by language contact (English-lexified creoles or related varieties) in a range of language ecologies (second or foreign language or dialect learning situations), and who are undertaking their schooling in whole-class, mainstream curriculum contexts with SAE as the medium of instruction (Angelo, 2013). This work is of both national and international significance due to the growing awareness of the need for more valid language assessment of the diverse cohorts of students who have complex language backgrounds in relation to a standard language of education, such as non-standard dialects, contact languages, or ‘long-term’ language learners from indigenous or ethnic communities undergoing language shift. The concepts discussed suggest ways to capture students’ learning trajectories which are otherwise not visible in standardised L1 (literacy) assessments nor in typical L2 proficiency tools.

Development and Validation of the Spanish–English Language Proficiency Scale (SELPS)

This study examined the development and validation of a criterion-referenced Spanish-English Language Proficiency Scale (SELPS) that was designed to assess the oral language skills of sequential bilingual children ages 4-8. This article reports results for the English proficiency portion of the scale. The SELPS assesses syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, verbal fluency, and lexical diversity based on 2 story retell tasks. In Study 1, 40 children were given 2 story retell tasks to evaluate the reliability of parallel forms. In Study 2, 76 children participated in the validation of the scale against language sample measures and teacher ratings of language proficiency. Study 1 indicated no significant differences between the SELPS scores on the 2 stories. Study 2 indicated that the SELPS scores correlated significantly with their counterpart language sample measures. Correlations between the SELPS and teacher ratings were moderate. The 2 story retells elicited comparable SELPS scores, providing a valuable tool for test-retest conditions in the assessment of language proficiency. Correlations between the SELPS scores and external variables indicated that these measures assessed the same language skills. Results provided empirical evidence regarding the validity of inferences about language proficiency based on the SELPS score.

Linguistic and Socio-Cultural Outcomes of the Au Pair Experience in the United Kingdom

It is a widely accepted belief that the best way to master a new language is to live in the country where the language is spoken. For young people, one of the most popular ways of immersing themselves in the host environment is to become an au pair: move in with a family and look after their children to get first-hand experience of the culture and become a proficient user of their language. The present study explores 10 Hungarian undergraduates’ socio-cultural and linguistic experiences and their perceptions of their au pair experiences in the UK as au pairs. Data were collected by a structured interview and a self-assessment language proficiency scale. Participants reported that after their experience, they overwhelmingly felt that they had achieved their goals: (1) they improved their proficiency, especially their oral production skills by becoming ‘more fluent’ in English; (2) they became independent and this experience helped them ‘grow up’. It has also emerged from their narratives that despite living with native speakers and having positive attitudes towards them and their culture, they found it difficult to establish closer contact with them. A kvalitatív kutatás tíz magyar gyermekfelügyelo nyelvi és szocio-kulturális tapasztalatát tárja fel Angliában. Az adatokat strukturált interjú és önértékelési skála segítségével gyujtöttük. A résztvevok szerint beszédkészségük és kiejtésük javult, attitudjük az anyanyelvu beszélokhöz kedvezoen alakult, bár interakciójuk korlátozott volt velük, valamint sikerült felnotté válniuk.