1. Barbara E. Hanna and Alicia Toohey School of Languages and Cultures
University of Queensland
(Faire) repenser les contrôles d'une section de langues modernes: le CRCRL à l'Université du Queensland
Revitalising assessment across a School of Modern Languages: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages at the University of Queensland

2. Readability of courses and progression
Student experience
Grade distributions
Clarity of outcomes
Employability
Authentic assessment
Criterion-referenced assessment
BA reset
UQ Student Strategy
School strategies

3. School of Languages and Cultures (>2000 enrolments x year)
School of Languages and Cultures PROFILE
CHINESE
FRENCH
GERMAN
INDONESIAN
JAPANESE
KOREAN
RUSSIAN
SPANISH
APPLIED LINGUISTICS
School of Languages and Cultures (>2000 enrolments x year)
TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING
LINGUISTICS
Linguistics and Translation and Interpreting, while no less important disciplines in the School, are not directly involved in this project.

4. Students taking French were also studying
9/10/18

5. Cross-disciplinary research team
School of Languages and Cultures
the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation
Research expertise in:
Second Language Acquisition, discourse analysis, language pedagogy and curriculum design, language assessment and intercultural communication, higher education curriculum design, professional learning for higher education staff

6. Presentation The project The process
What the findings tell us about the French section
Charting a course for the future
9/10/18

7. (UQ Teaching Innovation Grant)
Revitalizing language assessment: Sustainable change through international benchmarking and knowledge transfer
(UQ Teaching Innovation Grant)
Research Project Team
Dr Kayoko Hashimoto
Lecturer
Japanese
Associate Professor Marisa Cordella
Chief Investigator
Spanish
Dr Juliana de Nooy
Senior Lecturer French
Dr Adriana Diaz
Lecturer
Spanish
Dr Deanne Gannaway
Lecturer, ITaLI
Higher Education
Dr Barbara Hanna
Senior Lecturer
French
Ms Monica Waung
Research Assistant
Dr Noriko Iwashita
Senior Lecturer
Applied Linguistics
Dr Paul Moore
Lecturer
Applied Linguistics
Ms Jasmine Miller
Research Assistant
Ms Alicia Toohey
Research Assistant
Dr Anna Mikhaylova
Lecturer
Russian

8. UQ Student Strategy, Green Paper, 2015, p. 14
Project rationale
Assessment and feedback are the least satisfying features of higher education, yet assessment is one of the most significant influences on students’ experience of higher education.
UQ Student Strategy, Green Paper, 2015, p. 14
Language students’ satisfaction on courses and teaching experiences is rated the highest at UQ, however assessment and feedback are frequently flagged as an area in need of attention.

9. CEFR self-assessment grid (pre 2017)
ANOTHER OPTION
VIDEOS:

10. What the project was An attempt to
discover, describe and revitalize approaches to assessment in the school.
recalibrate assessment practices across the School, to align with an internationally recognized standard, the CEFR.
go beyond alignment in terms of level, and to use the CEFR to interrogate assessment practices in the school and ask whether assessment items actually allow students to demonstrate the competencies at those levels.
give students a transferable way of describing their language level to employers and overseas institutions.
provide a consistent student experience regardless of language.
9/10/18

11. What the project was not
A claim that that the CEFR captures all the desirable learning outcomes of a university language course.
An imposition of a single set of proficiency standards and a roadmap to get there.
The imposition of a single assessment regime.
An attempt to use the CEFR as a list of assessment items.
A language levels framework is a series of language descriptions arranged sequentially to indicate an expected order of language progression or development over time.
A framework is NOT a test. (O’Loughlin, 2009)

12. Process Information gathering and conversation starters
Mapping the assessment regimes in all language acquisition subjects against the CEFR self-assessment grid in terms of level and weighting of skills
Student questionnaires (introductory subjects)
Student focus groups (introductory subjects)
Teacher questionnaires
Teacher focus groups
Knowledge transfer
Four staff workshops* on assessment. (*Paid participation for sessional staff)
Mail out of Mapping results to all Discipline co-ordinators
9/10/18

14. FREN1020 Message on a Chat Forum 10%
( Example of the integrated assessment of linguistic accuracy and complexity)
9/10/18

16. Responses to mapping in the French programme
A closer interrogation of the authenticity of some tasks (particularly re Spoken Interaction v Spoken Production)
Greater coherence in level within and across subjects
Each assessment task is now described in terms of the CEFR in the subject outline
Reflection on the apparent disappearance of opportunities to demonstrate receptive skills e.g. listening and reading
9/10/18

17. CEFR mentioned in task descriptions
Individual written activity (In-class test)
Type: Tutorial Exercise Learning Objectives Assessed: 2, 5, 6 Due Date:           27 Aug Aug 18     Week 6, first class Weight: 10% Task Description: In the first hour of the first class of Week 6 each student will read a short message and write a reply (110 words plus or minus 10%) in French.  The mark for a message which does not reach the minimum required length will be reduced proportionally and material beyond the maximum length will not be marked. This message will relate to Unité 7, which is about healthy living.
This task allows you to demonstrate competence at low A2 level on the CEFR scales for Written Production and Reading Comprehension. 
Permitted materials: Dictionary; verb tables. Students will also be provided either with clean photocopies of selected relevant pages from the textbook and exercise books or of a summary of useful structures studied.
Not permitted: electronic resources, notes, students' own copies of the textbook and workbook.
Each class will respond to a different prompt message.
This is an in-class test : if you need to sit it at a time other than that scheduled for your class, you will need to apply for a deferred examination through SI-net. See "Deferred Exams" in Section 5.3 of this ECP for details.
9/10/18

18. Student questionnaire
Pilot
French, Russian and Spanish
2nd semester introductory
October 2017
N=167
Main
Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish
1st semester introductory
May 2018
N=429
(Questions drew upon Normand-Marconnet & Lo Bianco, 2015)

19. French students in the survey
Highest scores for:
(1) Do you know what the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is
Yes 69.47%
(2) Do you know that the CEFR uses six levels to describe the proficiency of language learners?
Yes 89.4%
(3) French students were also the most likely to report having heard about the CEFR in class
85% of French (FREN1010) students (n=95) either agreed or strongly agreed that linking the assessment in their language course to the CEFR is or could be helpful
As a language learner 78%
In professional life after university 77%
9/10/18

20. International enrolments in introductory language subjects
26% of all enrolments in introductory language courses are international students
27% of enrolments in French introductory courses are international students
☞ We have a substantial cohort of students who are already internationally mobile.
9/10/18

21. One participant in the student focus groups commented that:
They could see the CEFR as being useful for a big-picture overview rather than at the level of individual task preparation. (FG#7 debriefing notes, September 2018)

22. Charting a course for the future
Better signposting from academic staff (re level; purpose of tasks; differences between subjects; progression across the curriculum)
Equipping students with tools to signpost for themselves where their destination is and what it might take to arrive
9/10/18