Creating task-based oral foreign language exams linked to the CEFR in higher education
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Sandra Reisenleutner
Sandra Reisenleutner is a teaching associate at the University of Nottingham, where she teaches German in the Language Centre. Previously, she worked as an Austrian lector at the Universities of Sheffield and St Andrews. Her research interest lies in the application of the CEFR to language teaching, learning and assessment, task- and project-based learning, and the use of new learning technologies in the foreign language classroom.
Abstract
Oral language exams at university often consist of an individual or group conversation with the examiner about topics dealt with during the semester. A question-and-answer format is applied and vocabulary and structures tested. As a consequence, the oral exam does not reflect action-oriented approaches that often form part of classroom activities and are also fostered by the CEFR. This article describes the process and outcomes to date of action research carried out at the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham since 2014. The starting point is that many courses are linked to CEFR levels, which I wanted to include in oral language exams by working with descriptors. The article illustrates ways of making oral language exams more task-based, while still ensuring that topics, structures and vocabulary dealt with during the semester are incorporated. The process of changing the exam is described and examples are given. I also pose the question of how level descriptors of the CEFR might be linked to marking schemes and grading systems of British universities.
About the author
Sandra Reisenleutner is a teaching associate at the University of Nottingham, where she teaches German in the Language Centre. Previously, she worked as an Austrian lector at the Universities of Sheffield and St Andrews. Her research interest lies in the application of the CEFR to language teaching, learning and assessment, task- and project-based learning, and the use of new learning technologies in the foreign language classroom.
References
EAQUALS/ALTE. 2008. Portfolio Descriptor Revision Project. https://www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio/overview-of-cefr-related-scales (accessed 29 July 2016).Search in Google Scholar
Council of Europe. 2001. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/elp-reg/Source/Key_reference/CEFR_EN.pdf (accessed 30 September 2015).Search in Google Scholar
Glaboniat, Manuela, Martin Müller, Paul Rusch, Helen Schmitz & Lukas Wertenschlag. 2005. Profile deutsch. Berlin & München: Langenscheidt.Search in Google Scholar
van Lier, Leo. 2007. Action-based teaching, autonomy and identity. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 1(1). 46–65.10.2167/illt42.0Search in Google Scholar
©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Fostering engagement with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio: Learning from good practice in university language centres
- The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the European Language Portfolio, and language teaching/learning at university: An argument and some proposals
- Aligning ESP courses with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
- Implementing CEFR principles in introductory Norwegian language courses for international students: Opportunities and challenges
- EPOS – the European e-portfolio of languages
- Translating language policy into practice: Language and culture policy at a Dutch university
- The ELP through time: Background motivation, growing experience, current beliefs
- Using the ELP as a basis for self- and peer assessment when selecting “best” work in modern-language degree programmes
- Biografische Methoden der Kompetenzanalyse für die Reflexion von Sprachkompetenz–Portfolioarbeit in der Praxis
- Creating task-based oral foreign language exams linked to the CEFR in higher education
- From the learning diary to the ELP: An e-portfolio for autonomous language learning
- The classroom and beyond: Creating a learning environment to support learners of Japanese at CEFR levels A2.2 towards B1
- Access granted: Modern languages and issues of accessibility at university – a case study from Australia
- The role of second language in higher education: A case study of German students at a Dutch university
- Plurilingual proficiency as a learning objective for a multilingual curriculum in the study of business in Finland
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Fostering engagement with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio: Learning from good practice in university language centres
- The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the European Language Portfolio, and language teaching/learning at university: An argument and some proposals
- Aligning ESP courses with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
- Implementing CEFR principles in introductory Norwegian language courses for international students: Opportunities and challenges
- EPOS – the European e-portfolio of languages
- Translating language policy into practice: Language and culture policy at a Dutch university
- The ELP through time: Background motivation, growing experience, current beliefs
- Using the ELP as a basis for self- and peer assessment when selecting “best” work in modern-language degree programmes
- Biografische Methoden der Kompetenzanalyse für die Reflexion von Sprachkompetenz–Portfolioarbeit in der Praxis
- Creating task-based oral foreign language exams linked to the CEFR in higher education
- From the learning diary to the ELP: An e-portfolio for autonomous language learning
- The classroom and beyond: Creating a learning environment to support learners of Japanese at CEFR levels A2.2 towards B1
- Access granted: Modern languages and issues of accessibility at university – a case study from Australia
- The role of second language in higher education: A case study of German students at a Dutch university
- Plurilingual proficiency as a learning objective for a multilingual curriculum in the study of business in Finland
