Abstract:

Based on traditional approaches to language education, it is essential to prepare a new generation of teachers who will understand that the goal of language education is not to master the language but to use it in real-life situations. An action-oriented approach aims at achieving a particular level of proficiency in four modes of communication.

Assessing production and interaction in both oral and written modes needs systematic training based on marking criteria within a particular reference level. Since Slovak student teachers still interpret reference levels in terms of their observation classes and first teaching experiences based on using primarily coursebooks, the first step in training to assess oral performances of the secondary-school students was to understand the descriptors stating what may be appropriate to expect at different levels of achievement.

To achieve this goal, it was vital to introduce the oral performances that are already calibrated. Therefore, a DVD containing spoken performances of young people at the age of 13-18 calibrated within the project of the Council of Europe Language Policy Division was used. These DVDs of illustrative samples of spoken performances were officially prepared to facilitate the familiarisation and standardisation of evaluation as described in chapters 3 and 5 of the pilot version of the Manual (Council of Europe, 2008).

A group of students attending an academic course called Assessment and Testing of Language Competence were asked to participate in the training process to judge illustrative samples of spoken performances at different proficiency levels. The performances were rated three times. The first round focused on an initial impression measured against the global oral assessment scale (Manual Table C1). In the second round, students’ assessments were more detailed as they used qualitative aspects of spoken language use such as range, accuracy, fluency, interaction and coherence (CEFR Table 3). Before the final judgements, student teachers were asked to present their previous votes, discussing the levels and justifying their decisions. The final round referred to final judgements discussed in the plenary.

The article explores the procedures and presents data related to student teachers’ judgements, analysing problematic areas and providing recommendations for those who intend to become more familiar with the expectations formulated in ‘can do’ statements at reference levels in question.

Keywords:

Reference levels, student teachers’ judgements, ‘can do’ statements, global scales, qualitative aspects of oral performances.