Rethinking English Language Certification

Abstract

The premise for this volume is that the time has come to rethink English language certification to reflect the needs and profiles of users of English as a lingua franca, in which the dynamics of interaction are rather different from that of communication with native speakers. After an analysis of existing certifications, their scope and limitations, we describe an experiment in co-certification in which an international examining board and a higher education institution joined forces to produce a local version of an international exam, within a framework of English as a lingua franca