According to Ofqual NQF Level Entry 1 is equivalent to CEFR Level A1 and so on, therefore UKBA following Ofqual equivalency.
------------------------------
On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 1:15 AM PDT Cooke, Melanie wrote:
>It is no doubt true that the UKBA don't care about the equivalences of E3 on the CEFR or any other framework (or indeed about the welfare of most immigrants but that is another debate) but the fact remains that most people in the Home Office, or anywhere else in the Govt have no idea what 'E3' means.
>
>Putting aside the ideological question of whether we should be testing anyone in order to decide their suitability for residence or nationality, some of us still believe that E3 is too high and that the impending removal of the ESOL classes route to citizenship is highly regrettable. I for one take every opportunity to repeat this belief when in the presence of someone from UKBA, or other govt departments. Therefore, descriptors are in fact very important. It sounds distinctly different to say 'E3 speakers should be able to do in English what an 8 year-old can do' (which I heard recently - I don't know which source was being quoted but it was somewhat unhelpful) or to say that 'E3 is the equivalent of an AS level in a modern foreign language' (the latter makes FAR more sense to an MP or civil servant who probably struggles to speak any language above phrasebook level when they go on holiday).
>
>I would say, therefore, for rhetorical purposes definitions and descriptors are of the essence in the ongoing debate about the relationship between language tests and passports.
>
>V best, Mel Cooke.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
>Melanie Cooke
>Room 4.12
>Department of Education and Professional Studies
>King's College, London
>Franklin Wilkins Building
>Waterloo Road
>London SE1 9NH
>Tel: 020 7848 3122
>[log in to unmask]<https://kclmail.kcl.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=ace5259e143b4e949756e6a13b1da23f&URL=mailto%3amelanie.cooke%40kcl.ac.uk>
>http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/staff/mcooke.html<https://kclmail.kcl.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=ace5259e143b4e949756e6a13b1da23f&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.kcl.ac.uk%2fschools%2fsspp%2feducation%2fstaff%2fmcooke.html>
>
>________________________________
>From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of celine castelino <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: 09 September 2013 18:16
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: ESOL and the CEFR
>
>The UKBA/Home Office won't be bothered about the differences in descriptors or equivalences - any English qualification that is either at B1 or E3 and is validated by a bona fide exam board would be acceptable. They will just want a certificate to show that applicants can speak English to a level they consider acceptable.
>
>Celine
>
>________________________________
>Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2013 15:47:26 +0000
>From: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: ESOL and the CEFR
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>I was surprised to find that the Cambridge ESOL website https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/exams was a little less definite on this than I had thought, though it still looks as if E3=B1
>
>
>
>Mary Osmaston
>
>
>
>From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of James Simpson
>Sent: 09 September 2013 16:14
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: ESOL and the CEFR
>
>
>
>Hello all
>
>A question that has arisen a couple of times recently is where the ESOL qualifications sit on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). I’m particularly interested in how this relates to ESOL Entry Level 3. As we know, and to quote the Home Office:
>
>“From 28 October 2013, unless they are exempt, all applicants for settlement or naturalisation as a British citizen will need to meet the knowledge of language and life requirement by:
>
>• passing the life in the UK test; and
>
>• having a speaking and listening qualification in English at B1 CEFR or higher, or its equivalent.”
>
>The ESOL qualifications that will be acceptable are – again according to the UKBA site – at Entry level 3, Level 1 or Level 2, (the relevant document that states this is buried on the UKBA/Home Office website – I found it linked from here:
>
>http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/84-nigeria-settlement1 )
>
>
>
>I have a number of questions, which some of you might be able to help with:
>
>• Where are the current ESOL qualifications located on the CEFR? I’m trying to find a document that confirms that E3 ESOL = B1 CEFR.
>
>• How was this calibration of ESOL quals and the CEFR determined?
>
>• Is it accurate – i.e. in people’s experience, is it fair to say that the performance in listening and speaking expected at E3 matches the CEFR descriptors at B1?
>
>• Is it at all possible (or valid) to compare levels of ESOL quals with MFL quals (e.g. GCSE/AS/A Level French, Spanish etc.) and EFL quals (E.g. FCE)? That is, is it fair to compare ESOL E3 with an AS Level MFL qualification, for instance, since they are both benchmarked onto the CEFR at B1?
>
>
>
>I suspect there might be a few rather fundamental problems here, not least:
>
>• CEFR developed as a descriptive framework for describing the foreign language performance of educated Europeans rather than language learning and use in migration contexts.
>
>• any attempt to describe language use in terms of levels sits very uneasily with the lived experience of language (English in this case) as part of a multilingual repertoire.
>
>
>
>Answers and comments and on all of this are welcome.
>
>
>
>James
>
>
>
>Dr James Simpson
>
>Senior Lecturer (Language Education)
>
>School of Education
>
>University of Leeds
>
>Leeds LS2 9JT
>
>T: +44 (0)113 343 4687
>
>E: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>W: www.education.leeds.ac.uk/people/staff/academic/simpson<http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/people/staff/academic/simpson>
>
>
>
>*********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>*********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
>*********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
>
>***********************************
>ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
>To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
>A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at:
>http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm
>To contact the list owner, send an email to
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at:
http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm
To contact the list owner, send an email to
[log in to unmask]
|