Carlsen, Cecilie Hamnes

Deygers, Bart

Saville, Nick

Van Gorp, Koen

Language Assessment Quarterly

English

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttps://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=hlaq20Language Assessment QuarterlyISSN: 1543-4303 (Print) 1543-4311 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hlaq20The Use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A BriefIntroduction to This Special IssueBart Deygers, Cecilie Hamnes Carlsen, Nick Saville & Koen Van GorpTo cite this article: Bart Deygers, Cecilie Hamnes Carlsen, Nick Saville & Koen Van Gorp (2018)The Use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A Brief Introduction to This Special Issue, LanguageAssessment Quarterly, 15:1, 1-2, DOI: 10.1080/15434303.2017.1421957To link to this article:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2017.1421957Published online: 18 Jan 2018.Submit your article to this journal Article views: 730View related articles View Crossmark dataThe Use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A Brief Introduction toThis Special IssueBart Deygersa, Cecilie Hamnes Carlsenb, Nick Savillec, and Koen Van GorpdaKU Leuven; bWestern Norway University of Applied Sciences; cUniversity of Cambridge; dMichigan State UniversityOne of the intended purposes of The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is toprovide a common basis for language textbooks, curricula, and examinations across Europe. Itis probably fair to say that no single document has been more influential on the learning,teaching, and assessment of languages in Europe to date. The CEFR has become a referencepoint not only for language teachers and test developers but is to an increasing degree usedby policy makers when setting language requirements in relation to a range of distinct areasof society. Higher education is one such domain. In dozens of European countries andhundreds of European institutions, proof of B2 or C1 language ability is a prerequisite foruniversity entry. To date, little research has been conducted on the justification of the B2 andthe C1 level as university entrance requirements. Consequently, a goal of this special issue isto scrutinize the use of the CEFR in the context of university entrance tests. Even though theeducated language user and the academic context are central to the higher levels of the CEFR,and even though the B2 level is often regarded as the threshold level for academic enrolment,it remains unclear whether the CEFR fully captures what it means to be academicallyproficient in a language and whether the interpretation of the B2 level is homogenous acrossthe European continent.With this special issue we wish to achieve three goals:(1) To offer a state of the art appraisal of the position of the CEFR in European higher education:The study by Deygers, Zeidler, Vîlcu, and Hamnes Carlsen offers the first overview of theapplications of the CEFR in European higher education and shows the impact the CEFR hashad on language testing in Europe, 15 years after its publication(2) To determine the usability of the CEFR as a gatekeeper to academia: Set in a context ofNorwegian higher education, the study by Cecilie Hamnes Carlsen explores whetherthe B2 level is sufficient for L2 students to master academic tasks and succeed inhigher education. Deygers, Van Gorp, and Demeester investigate the extent to whichthe CEFR can actually be seen as a common point of reference and to what extent itis fair to treat two university entrance tests as equally demanding because the ratingcriteria refer to the same CEFR level. The study by Johanna Fleckenstein et al. verifieswhether upper secondary school teachers of English as a foreign language in Germanyare accurate judges to make high-stakes CEFR decisions that lead to universityentrance(3) To critically reflect on the applicability of the CEFR in an academic context: Green’s studyanalyses the linking claims made for four internationally recognised tests of English widelyemployed in university admissions. His findings raise questions about the capacity of theCEFR to reconcile competing views of a test construct within a coherent overarchingstructure. McNamara et al. examine and challenge the CEFR B2 descriptors for writing inan academic context. They advocate for alternative level descriptors that represent thecognitive demands and complexity of academic writing more realistically. Magali Paquot’sCONTACT Bart Deygers bart.deygers@arts.kuleuven.be© 2018 Taylor & FrancisLANGUAGE ASSESSMENT QUARTERLY2018, VOL. 15, NO. 1, 1–2https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2017.1421957corpus-based research is innovative in turning to phraseology to show how collocations canbe used to discriminate B2 users from users higher up the CEFR scale. Finally, the discus-sion paper by Claudia Harsch brings the research in this special issue together to reflect onthe current uses of the CEFR in the context of university education. Harsch shows where theCEFR has brought language testing in the 21st century and where it may take us, researchersand practitioners, in the future.2 B. DEYGERS ET AL.

The use of the CEFR in higher education : a brief introduction to this special issue

Bart Deygers

Cecilie Hamnes Carlsen

Nick Saville

Koen Van Gorp

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The Use of the CEFR in Higher Education: A Brief Introduction to This Special Issue

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The use of the CEFR in higher education : a brief introduction to this special issue

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