Linking China's Standards of English Language Ability (Cse) to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Cefr): Level Correspondence in Reading Skill
36 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2022
Abstract
There are few empirical studies on the linkage of language proficiency scales from different areas in the field of second language assessment. This study studies the level correspondence of China’s Standards of English Language Ability (CSE) and the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) in terms of reading skill. 63 CEFR reading descriptors and 104 CSE descriptors make up 15 questionnaires following the common-item-non-equivalent design. This study collected 5,441 teachers’ responses and 23,460 students’ responses. Data analysis includes Rasch analysis, equating analysis, and statistical comparison. Semi-structured interviews were made to explore the findings in the large-scale questionnaires. The results show, in terms of reading skill, CSE level 1 is mainly linked to the CEFR A1 level below, level 2 to A2, level 3 to A2 and B1, level 4 to B1, level 5 to B1 and B2, level 6 to B2, level 7 and level 8 to C1, and level 9 to C1 and C2. This study is contributory to connecting the Chinese assessment system with the foreign system and provides references for the level correspondence between different language proficiency scales and the use of the CEFR in China.
Keywords: CSE;CEFR, linkage, descriptors, level correspondence, reading skill
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