Language assessment | British Council

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The impact of textual features in academic journals on learner engagement

Improving sentence structure and flow, not just vocabulary, can boost how well engineering students understand academic texts

Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL)

Discover the 5,000 words learners know best. The Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL) were created as part of an innovative research project sponsored by the British Council.

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Aligning language education with the CEFR: a handbook

This Handbook is for teachers, testers, and policymakers working to align language education with the CEFR, offering practical guidance and insights for real-world application.

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Exploring the potential for assessing interactional and pragmatic competence in semi-direct speaking tests

Explore how a semi-direct speaking test can capture a broader range of real-world communication skills

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Advanced speech fluency measurement: innovations and applications

This research tests a new way to measure fluency in second language speech without manual transcription, and looks at how it could support language assessment.

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How bilingual schooling affects students from different socio-economic backgrounds: the student perspective

Discover how bilingual education can help bridge socio-economic gaps in English language learning.

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The Comprehensive Learning System

For learning programmes to succeed, they should be seen as a system where curriculum, delivery and assessment work together.

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Language testing as cultural relations

Explore how the British Council’s work in testing and assessment has contributed to the organisation’s cultural relations agenda.

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Scoring second language spoken and written performance: issues, options and directions

Speaking and writing are key skills in language learning, but scoring these performances is complex and has attracted a lot of attention in both first and second language learning contexts.

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Validity: Theoretical development and integrated arguments

A deep dive into what makes a test valid, from theory to real-world practice, highlighting the evidence needed to prove test quality.