The challenges in testing language proficiency and academic skills

As part of the Academic English Online Conference with Cambridge, Sarah Unsworth and Sian Morgan spoke about academic English tests: What are the challenges in testing language proficiency and academic skills of high level (B2+) learners?

This talk reflected on the overlap between academic literacy and language proficiency in testing at CEFR B2 level and above. It examined two models of general language proficiency and considered how they fit into the concept of academic literacy. They then compared the constructs of high level language proficiency and academic literacy and considered the implications for testing the academic English of high level language learners.

Sarah spoke about that there is no universal agreement on what is meant by academic literacy, and understandings of AL can be placed on a continuum. At one end are skills-based approaches which conceptualiseAL asa set of skills; at the other is the academic literacies approach, which emphasises social and contextual factors related to writing.

Sian spoke about whether students can start working with texts at B1 level, only at B2 or actually at C1? And interestingly, can someone at C2 level pick up academic literacy quicker than someone at B2 level and if so, how much quicker?

Sarah summarises by saying:

“It is clear that there is both overlap and divergence between the two concepts, an observation which must have implications for language testers; the task is to identify those similarities and differences in detail, determine the consequences and use this information to guide test and course design.”