JISCMail - ESOL-RESEARCH Archives

On the UKBA website: “ the list of English Language Tests that have been assessed as meeting the UK Border Agency’s requirements from the 13 December 2012”

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/new-approved-english-tests.pdf

i.e. as Celine suggests, not just ESOL S4L but a whole range (mostly offered by Cambridge ESOL – now called Cambridge English – who must have done very well out of ESOL and the language requirements for citizenship and settlement in the past decade).

Presumably, from the end of next month only those listed here as matching up to B1 or above will count.

James

From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Duplessis, Hardus
Sent: 10 September 2013 10:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: ESOL and the CEFR

Furthermore, as providers the new requirement to evidence E3 S/L puts us in a difficult place. We are getting many bilingual people, originally from another country, now applying for citizenship and being asked to submit an E3 Speaking/listening certificate by UKBA. In many cases it would be absurd to put these applicants on ESOL courses. Ideally, what the UKBA should be asking for, when appropriate, is an assessment, evidencing someone’s S/L ability at E3, rather than forcing these applicants to take and ESOL course in order to get a certificate.

Hardus

From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of celine castelino
Sent: 09 September 2013 18:17
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]

W: 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]

**********************************************************************

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and

intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they

are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager.

All incoming and outgoing email contents are scanned to ensure they

comply with Newcastle City Council's Email Policy.

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept

for the presence of computer viruses.

City of Newcastle website:-  http://www.newcastle.gov.uk

Newcastle Schools website:- http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools

Directgov:- http://www.directgov.gov.uk

**********************************************************************