Investigating the Applicability of the CEFR to a Placement Test for an English Language Program in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

With the increasing interest in the CEFR in various educational contexts, the current study aims to show how the CEFR can be applied in a local Korean context. More specifically, the study diagnosed the speaking proficiency levels of Korean university students set in the CEFR to explore the possibility of adopting the CEFR for placement tests and curriculum development in Korean universities. A total of 106 students, who completed one of four different courses per speaking level in university English programs, took a CEFR-based placement test. In grading the students, three instructors showed high rater reliability. Analysis of the speaking performances of students revealed that, while half of the students were identified as being at low or intermediate levels of proficiency with threshold CEFR scores of B1, there were slightly more students in the lower two CEFR levels than in the higher three levels. In comparing the test speaking performances of students with the course levels assigned to them by early placement test results, it was found that as the course levels got higher, the mean of the CEFR scores also increased. Nevertheless, the study found a considerable number of false positives in the highest two course levels, and quite a number of false negatives in the lowest level. Based on the results, suggestions for the applicability of the CEFR and directions for future studies are proposed.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Literature Review
• 3. Context of the Study
• 4. Methods
• 5. Results and Discussion
• 6. Conclusion
• References
• Appendix