De l’évaluation au CECR et retour : le professionnel des langues entre

contraintes et libertés

From assessment to the CEFR and backwards: language professionals between constraints and freedoms

1

De l’évaluation au CECR et retour : le professionnel des langues entre

contraintes et libertés

From assessment to the CEFR and backwards: language professionals between constraints and freedoms

2

Notre point de départ

• Partial knowledge of the CEFR (grids)• Difficulty in integrating the CEFR into everyday

practice (CEFR: an extra burden? ou : refus ; limitation aux examens)

• Lack of targeted training • Lack of support/resources for training

3

Teachers’ voices• Data collections in 4 countries (France, Italy, Germany,

Poland):– Phase 1: survey (at least four teachers per country

- three women/one man; experienced/less experienced teachers) followed by oral exchanges : 1 synthèse sur le site (FR / ENGL)

– phase 2 : lire les écrits des professeurs (mémoires de fin d'études) : 1 synthèse sur le site (FR / ENGL)

– Phase 3: focus groups

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Impact of the CEFR on assessmentbefore1. Different components hidden,

“unconscious”2. Assessing not very differentiated

from grading3. Oral > generic4. A global grade > frustrating 5. Sense of constraint from the

curriculum 6. Assessment: exclusive responsibility

of the teacher - caricature7. Error was seen as very negative !

(But constructive with Pit Corder, 1979)

after1. Awareness complexity/assessment of components

2. Assessing different from grading

1. Oral: production/interaction2. Specific grades: sense of

achievement ; 3. Sense of freedom, performing

tasks in the L24. Assessment: awareness, shared

responsibility, self-assessment5. New vision of errors: risk taking,

“erreur contructive

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1. of

Many new perspectives and ideas

• Assessment is complex and multidimensional

• Assessment can support and foster learning

• Responsibility can be shared• Error is a natural process• Profiles are dynamic• Learning the language not

about the language• Freedom of adapting

Many doubts and insecurities

• Disconnect, “schizophrénie” – between institutional

constraints and CEFR freedom/flexibility

– between types of testing, required and ideal (written vs oral)

• Time management issues– oral testing, grids preparation

and usage

• Need for training– How? But also why? And

what for?

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Our aims

• build self-confidence (teachers’ image/mission suffering from social, technological and political changes)

• develop a free and autonomous attitude (beyond debates "for or against”)

• reinforce status, foster professionalism through– Awareness – Understanding– Appropriation– Implementation

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A practical and theoretical double tool for

• facilitating observation of and feedback on practice;

• training to the reflective approach;• training to the principles and backgrounds of

the Framework and the freedom it allows;• training to an integrated and contextualized

approach to evaluation.

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Assessment tools and ressources

• Global scales of levels• Descriptors of communicative activities• Descriptors of competences• Grids with combined (selected) criteria• Checklists• …and also:

– Descriptors of strategies– Empty grids to visualise profiles

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• Achievement assessment • Norm-referencing (NR)• Mastery learning CR • Continuous assessment• Formative assessment• Direct assessment • Performance assessment • Subjective assessment• Checking rating• Impression • Holistic assessment• Series assessment• Assessment by others

• Proficiency assessment• Criterion-referencing (CR)• Continuum CR• Fixed point assessment• Summative assessment• Indirect assessment• Knowledge assessment• Objective assessment• Performance rating• Guided judgment• Analytic assessment• Category assessment• Self-assessment

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Pathways / Parcours through Assessing, Learning and Teaching in the CEFR

• Part A: A Guide• Part B: A Kit

– Index of the Guide• 0. Setting the context • I. Reflexivity: an attitude leading to autonomy• II. Living (with) languages• III. Becoming more competent• IV. Assessment • V. Conclusion

– A tool for teacher educators (and for teachers…and learners)

– Informed by the expertise coming from several European contexts

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Uses of the ECEP materialsA Swedish example

Context•A centralized and decentralized system•National curricula and syllabi defining goals and providing criteria for assessment

but •Teachers responsible for assigning final grades; Grades commonly used for selection for higher education•No exams; an extensive system of national assessment – formative and summative – aimed to advise; Results to be combined with teachers’ continuous assessments•No central marking; Teachers mark their own students’ tests

Very high demands on teachers’ assessment literacy

Language education in Sweden•English from primary school; A second FL offered from 12 years of age (c. 4/5 start, and of those 2/3 complete their studies at the end of compulsory school/age 16); FL 2 mandatory for academically oriented upper-secondary school students

•A communicative and functional approach in the national language syllabi since the early 1980s

•This approach more implemented in English than in FL 2

•The previous (2000) syllabi distinctly influenced by the CEFR; The current, 2011 versions more clearly aligned – however, not totally

•An action-oriented approach reasonably well established – at least in theory; The CEFR scales, however, quite a novelty to most language teachers.

Great need for dissemination of the CEFR in Sweden13

Dissemination of the ECEP concept

•Discussions with language teacher students

•Large scale presentations to language teachers; Discussions with groups of teachers

•Presentation for, and discussions with, language teacher educators from a substantial number of Swedish universities at a seminar about the ECML medium term programmes, arranged by the Swedish National Agency for Education

•Discussions with experienced national test developers at the University of Gothenburg.

Input from four categories of stakeholders14

And…? – Reactions•It seems much more doable to start with the Guide; Pathways into the CEFR are really needed! Concretization is very useful.

•A very good idea with the A and B worksheets, i.e. the theoretically oriented worksheets together with those describing situations that you recognize and can relate to, and that help you operationalize theory.

•The Guide and the Kit contribute to deeper understanding of the CEFR and to professional confidence, in that it enhances the development of the professional language needed to teach about the CEFR.

•The ECEP materials support a broad and pedagogically conscious way of interpreting and using the CEFR

•The abundance of worksheets offers great flexibility; However, certain guidance needed to avoid drowning..!

The ECEP materials have a variety of pedagogical functions to15

Conclusions (I)•The ECEP project has generated a wealth of materials with a positive pedagogical potential for a broad group of users

•The nature of the materials reflects and implements respect for the diversity of situations and uses of the CEFR

•The materials demonstrate a sound attitude to assessment as a component of the pedagogical process, not as something separate, leading its own life.

•Some practical guidance and examples may be needed regarding ways of using the materials, in particular the worksheets ; An open website forum may be one way of meeting this need.

This is not the end, but the beginning…! 16

Conclusions (II) - Perspectives

How? Comment ?

Faire le lien avec les autres projets CELV -ECML

et essayer !

Make a link and try it ! ...

29/09/11

Nous vous proposons des outils

• Expérimentaux• Adaptables• Modifiables

Pour une finalité : développer la confiance mutuelle par l’harmonisation

des manières d’évaluer, et la contextualisation du CECR

Par exemple : fiche A l'apprenant et ses stratégies

Si vous constatez que les tâches proposées peuvent être enrichies, faites-le !

Tâche A : réfléchir à la définition de « stratégie » (in CECR),

Tâche B : classer les exemples suivants de stratégies d'apprentissage (essayer, demander, reformuler, etc.)Mais : et les stratégies non-verbales ? Vous pouvez les

ajouter et les proposer

Autre exemple : Le porfolio européen des langues (Little – Perclova)

+ KIT ► fiche Apprendre à apprendre

• « Je ne pense pas être une bonne

apprenante de langue car... • « J'ai besoin de listes de mots...  »

• INTERÊT : impliquer les élèves aussiavec la question « comment je fais pour

apprendre ? »

Et pourquoi pas ? Proposer de nouvelles fiches !

• à discuter avec les collègues• à tester avec les professeurs en formation • et aussi les élèves• à placer sur le website du projet ECEP Merci de votre attention