Abstract:

Learning languages is a life-long process that can be facilitated by exposing learners to the target language as frequently as possible with quality input. The paper presents the results of a longitudinal study carried out in the years 2011-2016 at the Faculty of Education of Trnava University, Slovakia. The research sample comprises English Major students whose language competence was measured at the beginning of their university studies and then compared with their achievements after four years of intensive training. Their training included both academic courses as well as general English courses focused on the enhancement of their communicative language competence. Based on a comparative analysis, the study explores the data achieved from testing communicative language skills and language use after the second and the fourth year of their university education. The test construction was based on the syllabus (summative assessment) and met the criteria of communicative language testing. The achievements of the students will be analysed and commented on, providing some practical recommendations for teachers of target languages.

Keywords:

Communicative language competence, summative assessment.