Combination of tests for maritime and other industries

Spot On Learning has chosen a combination of online tests and tests taken 'live' by a tutor via Skype or Zoom to test language skills of professionals in specific environments, like the maritime or offshore industries, or other environments where professionals with different nationalities and backgrounds work together.

Measuring real-world language skills

These tests demand more from the participants than many other online language tests. Participants need to improvise and have to overcome difficulties people often meet in practice when communicating with other non-native speakers in English. Especially the score for the tests that are taken by a teacher during a live conversation can be somewhat lower than other types of tests (multiple-choice tests for example, or tests that are taken under more 'ideal' circumstances). Many tests are more theoretical and therefore sometimes paint a too rosy picture of the actual language skills of a person.

Methodology

There are sound and tested methods behind the twenty minute conversation over Zoom or Skype that our partner EnglishCentral uses for what we call our 'Zoom/Skype Level Tests' and 'Zoom/Skype Level Up Tests'. The participants often have the impression that they are just having a random, informal conversation. But it is actually a very structured conversation with a clear underlying script. The teachers who take the test work with so-called 'can do statements'. These are based on the CEFR standard, which is a European standard for determining to what extent a person masters a second language. CEFR is short for Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

The CEFR describes what learners can do across these five distinct language skills:

1.  listening
2. reading
3. spoken interaction
4. spoken production
5. writing*

CEFR 'Can Do' statements

For each CEFR level here are sets of detailed 'Can Do' statements. During a Zoom/Skype Level (Up) Test a teacher will ask questions to test what the participant 'can do' at different levels, starting at the lower levels and going up if a participant does well at a certain level. When a participant makes a mistake at a certain level, the teacher will stick to can do statements matching that level to explore whether it is an incidental error or if the participant has reached the upper limit of their ability. The teacher taking the test will continuously try different approaches and ask different questions to make sure that their assessment of the level is correct.

The final score

The overall score of the Skype/Zoom Level Test is based on five components. While some skills are distinguished into separate rubrics (pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar), other language competences are measured together when a participant answers the questions asked. Since a good answer requires a participant to be able to, firstly, understand what a teacher is asking (listening), and, secondly, reply to the teacher (speaking), assessing these two components is most effective when being tested together. The teacher will pay close attention to the five metrics by looking at the following subjects:

• To what extent does the participant understand what the tutor is saying (listening)

• Does the participant answer in a few words or complete sentences? (speaking ability)

• Does the participant use complex words or only basic English words? (vocabulary)

• To what extent does the participant pronounce the words well? (pronunciation/accent)

• Are verbs conjugated perfectly, and are the sentences well-structured? (grammar)

Preparation for the test

What a participant can expect from a Zoom/Skype Level (Up) Test and other tests is explained during an online 'onboarding' program. A participant will be invited for a personalized onboarding program on my.spotonlearning.eu before they will take the test.

Spot On Learning strives to have the tests carried out as consistently as possible with the same quality. The tests we offer and the associated quality control are designed in such a way that all participants and applicants are tested in an equal manner. More about the quality control process at Spot On Learning and what you can do as a participant if you feel that a test outcome is not correct is described in another article on this my.spotonlearning.eu website.

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*writing skills are not tested during the Zoom/Skype Level (Up) Tests. In a seperate online test we do test writing skills. In the maritime and offshore industries this test is often only used to test professionals with a certain rank (officers).

More information about Spot On Learning's language tests and the CEFR standard

• More information about the CEFR levels on the Council of Europe website
• Lemma 'Common European Framework of Reference for Languages' on Wikipedia
• Spot On Learning FAQ question 'How is my Level Test score related to my CEFR level?' with a table to relate your score to your CEFR level, an estimate of you vocabulary size based on your score and our description of each CEFR level.