The notion of mediation has been the object of growing interest in second language education in r... more The notion of mediation has been the object of growing interest in second language education in recent years. The increasing awareness of the complex nature of the process of learning – and teaching – stretches our collective reflection towards less explored areas. In mediation, the immediate focus is on the role of language in processes like creating the space and conditions for communication and/or learning, constructing and co-constructing new meaning, and/or passing on information, whilst simplifying, elaborating, illustrating or otherwise adapting input in order to facilitate the process concerned. At a deeper level though, the notion of mediation embraces a broader spectrum of dimensions and connotations. Mediation has been defined as a ‘nomadic notion’ (Lenoir 1996) insomuch as it is at the core of a variety of scientific disciplines and the term ‘mediation’ is used in different senses in different contexts.
Linking language assessments is becoming a matter of greater concern with the advent of education... more Linking language assessments is becoming a matter of greater concern with the advent of educational frameworks used to orient curricula and pro®le attainment. Generally speaking these projects do not command the resources or know-how for fully¯edged comparability projects, but the extent to which they often appear to rely solely upon expert judgement is surprising. The measurement literature recognises ®ve classic ways of linking separate assessments with a decreasing degree of rigour: (1) equating; (2) calibrating; (3) statistical moderation; (4) predicting (or benchmarking); and (5) social moderation (or standards-oriented assessment). This article outlines practical ways in which the principles of these techniques have been employed on a modest scale to solve linking problems in a low stakes context: Eurocentres. It then goes on to argue that social moderation is potentially the strongest form of linking because it implies the development and validation of a common view of a construct. Finally, the article introduces the Common European Framework recently published by the Council of Europe, which consists of a descriptive scheme and validated pro®ciency scales, but suggests that putting a common framework into practice will be accomplished more easily if the ideas behind the classic linking methodologies are employed in the process.
Theoretical issues underlying the development of scales of language proficiency are examined. Fir... more Theoretical issues underlying the development of scales of language proficiency are examined. First, a brief classification of scale types is presented, and problems identified in them and advantages they offer are outlined. Discussion then moves to the issues of describing and measuring language proficiency. In this section, behavi. ally-based scales in work performance, the historical development of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Interagency Language Roundtable (ACTFL/ILR) proficiency guidelines, the utility of the Rasch model in rating framework development, and subjectivity in judgments and observed behavior ratings are discussed. A many-faceted version of the Rasch item-response theory model is suggested as an instrument that may aid in the mapping of behaviors onto a common metric while identifying different interpretation of the same descriptors by different types and groups of users. Contains about 250 references. (MSE)
This paper recapitulates the aims of the CEFR and highlights three aspects of good practice in ex... more This paper recapitulates the aims of the CEFR and highlights three aspects of good practice in exploiting it: firstly, taking as a starting point the real-world language ability that is the aim of all modern language learners; secondly, the exploitation of good descriptors as transparent learning objectives in order to involve and empower the learners; and thirdly, engaging with the communality of the CEFR Common Reference Levels in relating assessments to it. The second part of the paper focuses on good practice in such linking of assessments to the CEFR. It outlines the recommended procedures published by the Council of Europe for linking language examinations to the CEFR and the adaptation of those procedures for teacher assessment in language schools that has recently been undertaken by EAQUALS. The paper concludes by discussing certain aspects of criterion-referenced assessment (CR) and standard setting that are relevant to the linking process.
Council of Europe and pluricultural competence which is deliberately transitory and heterogeneous... more Council of Europe and pluricultural competence which is deliberately transitory and heterogeneous, although unified in one repertoire, but that he or she should also have been able to work using varied learning materials, have tested various learning routes and have accordingly enriched his or her own perceptions of languages, cultures and learning pathways.
North, B.(2008) Levels and Goals: Central Frameworks and Local Strategies, in The Handbook of Edu... more North, B.(2008) Levels and Goals: Central Frameworks and Local Strategies, in The Handbook of Educational Linguistics (eds B. Spolsky and FM Hult), Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9780470694138. ch16
... University of Jyväskyla, Piet Van Avermaet, Centre for Language and Migration, Catholic Unive... more ... University of Jyväskyla, Piet Van Avermaet, Centre for Language and Migration, Catholic University of Leuven and Norman Verhelst, CITO, the ... Level A2 reflects the Waystage specification with: the majority of descriptors stating social functions: greet people, ask how they are ...
Address for correspondence: Brian North, Eurocentres, Foundation for European Language and Educat... more Address for correspondence: Brian North, Eurocentres, Foundation for European Language and Educational Centres, Seestrasse 247, CH-8038 Zürich, Switzerland; email: bjnorth@ eurocentres.com ... Neus Figueras Department of Education, Generalitat de Catalunya, ...
The notion of mediation has been the object of growing interest in second language education in r... more The notion of mediation has been the object of growing interest in second language education in recent years. The increasing awareness of the complex nature of the process of learning – and teaching – stretches our collective reflection towards less explored areas. In mediation, the immediate focus is on the role of language in processes like creating the space and conditions for communication and/or learning, constructing and co-constructing new meaning, and/or passing on information, whilst simplifying, elaborating, illustrating or otherwise adapting input in order to facilitate the process concerned. At a deeper level though, the notion of mediation embraces a broader spectrum of dimensions and connotations. Mediation has been defined as a ‘nomadic notion’ (Lenoir 1996) insomuch as it is at the core of a variety of scientific disciplines and the term ‘mediation’ is used in different senses in different contexts.
Linking language assessments is becoming a matter of greater concern with the advent of education... more Linking language assessments is becoming a matter of greater concern with the advent of educational frameworks used to orient curricula and pro®le attainment. Generally speaking these projects do not command the resources or know-how for fully¯edged comparability projects, but the extent to which they often appear to rely solely upon expert judgement is surprising. The measurement literature recognises ®ve classic ways of linking separate assessments with a decreasing degree of rigour: (1) equating; (2) calibrating; (3) statistical moderation; (4) predicting (or benchmarking); and (5) social moderation (or standards-oriented assessment). This article outlines practical ways in which the principles of these techniques have been employed on a modest scale to solve linking problems in a low stakes context: Eurocentres. It then goes on to argue that social moderation is potentially the strongest form of linking because it implies the development and validation of a common view of a construct. Finally, the article introduces the Common European Framework recently published by the Council of Europe, which consists of a descriptive scheme and validated pro®ciency scales, but suggests that putting a common framework into practice will be accomplished more easily if the ideas behind the classic linking methodologies are employed in the process.
Theoretical issues underlying the development of scales of language proficiency are examined. Fir... more Theoretical issues underlying the development of scales of language proficiency are examined. First, a brief classification of scale types is presented, and problems identified in them and advantages they offer are outlined. Discussion then moves to the issues of describing and measuring language proficiency. In this section, behavi. ally-based scales in work performance, the historical development of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Interagency Language Roundtable (ACTFL/ILR) proficiency guidelines, the utility of the Rasch model in rating framework development, and subjectivity in judgments and observed behavior ratings are discussed. A many-faceted version of the Rasch item-response theory model is suggested as an instrument that may aid in the mapping of behaviors onto a common metric while identifying different interpretation of the same descriptors by different types and groups of users. Contains about 250 references. (MSE)
This paper recapitulates the aims of the CEFR and highlights three aspects of good practice in ex... more This paper recapitulates the aims of the CEFR and highlights three aspects of good practice in exploiting it: firstly, taking as a starting point the real-world language ability that is the aim of all modern language learners; secondly, the exploitation of good descriptors as transparent learning objectives in order to involve and empower the learners; and thirdly, engaging with the communality of the CEFR Common Reference Levels in relating assessments to it. The second part of the paper focuses on good practice in such linking of assessments to the CEFR. It outlines the recommended procedures published by the Council of Europe for linking language examinations to the CEFR and the adaptation of those procedures for teacher assessment in language schools that has recently been undertaken by EAQUALS. The paper concludes by discussing certain aspects of criterion-referenced assessment (CR) and standard setting that are relevant to the linking process.
Council of Europe and pluricultural competence which is deliberately transitory and heterogeneous... more Council of Europe and pluricultural competence which is deliberately transitory and heterogeneous, although unified in one repertoire, but that he or she should also have been able to work using varied learning materials, have tested various learning routes and have accordingly enriched his or her own perceptions of languages, cultures and learning pathways.
North, B.(2008) Levels and Goals: Central Frameworks and Local Strategies, in The Handbook of Edu... more North, B.(2008) Levels and Goals: Central Frameworks and Local Strategies, in The Handbook of Educational Linguistics (eds B. Spolsky and FM Hult), Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9780470694138. ch16
... University of Jyväskyla, Piet Van Avermaet, Centre for Language and Migration, Catholic Unive... more ... University of Jyväskyla, Piet Van Avermaet, Centre for Language and Migration, Catholic University of Leuven and Norman Verhelst, CITO, the ... Level A2 reflects the Waystage specification with: the majority of descriptors stating social functions: greet people, ask how they are ...
Address for correspondence: Brian North, Eurocentres, Foundation for European Language and Educat... more Address for correspondence: Brian North, Eurocentres, Foundation for European Language and Educational Centres, Seestrasse 247, CH-8038 Zürich, Switzerland; email: bjnorth@ eurocentres.com ... Neus Figueras Department of Education, Generalitat de Catalunya, ...
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