Competencemunicative Competence
What is communicative competence?
The ability to use language effectively and appropriately in real-life situations.
What does CEFR stand for?
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
What is assessment?
The process of collecting and evaluating evidence of learners' knowledge and abilities.
What does validity mean?
The extent to which an assessment measures what it is intended to measure
A student introduces themselves using simple sentences. Which CEFR level might this represent?
A1
What are the four components of communicative competence in the Canale and Swain model?
Grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence.
What are the six main CEFR proficiency levels?
A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.
What is a rubric?
A scoring guide containing criteria used to evaluate performance.
What does reliability mean?
The consistency of assessment results or scoring.
A student orders food and asks simple questions in a café. Which level might this represent?
A2
Which competence involves grammar, vocabulary, and sentence formation?
Grammatical competence.
Which level describes an independent user who can understand the main ideas of complex texts?
B2
Why should teachers align assessment tasks with learning objectives?
To ensure that the assessment measures the intended learning outcomes.
What does fairness mean in assessment?
Giving learners a fair opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
A student expresses an opinion and supports it with reasons. Which level might this represent?
B1
Which competence helps speakers choose appropriate language for different social situations?
Sociolinguistic competence.
Which level describes a proficient user who can understand almost everything with ease?
C2
What are the five main steps in our assessment-design process?
Select a descriptor, contextualise the task, elicit evidence, score with criteria, and review the assessment.
Name two ways to improve scoring reliability
Use clear rubrics and train or moderate raters.
A student cannot understand a word, so they explain what they mean using different words. Which competence are they demonstrating?
Strategic competence.
Which competence helps speakers overcome communication problems through clarification or paraphrasing?
Strategic competence.
What is a CEFR "can-do" descriptor?
A statement describing what a learner can do with language at a particular proficiency level.
500Why should teachers pilot an assessment before using it with a whole class?To identify unclear instructions, practical problems, and weaknesses in the task or scoring criteria.
To identify unclear instructions, practical problems, and weaknesses in the task or scoring criteria.
A speaking test gives students marks mainly for grammar but does not assess interaction. What could be the problem?
The assessment may lack validity if interaction is an intended learning outcome.
Two students plan an outing, compare options, negotiate, and agree on a final choice. Name two communicative abilities the teacher could assess.
Interaction and coherence. Other suitable answers include giving reasons, clarification, and pragmatic appropriateness.