Self-Assessment Descriptors for Second Language

The poster presents pilot study in which an illustrative bank of self-assessment descriptors for Czech as a second language was evaluated. The project is related to Common European Framework for Language teaching and learning and was implement by National Institute for Education in Prague. The descriptors define at an ascending series of levels (from A1 to 82 level) and in four age categories (under 11 years, 11-15 years, 15-19 years and 19+ years) various aspects of language proficiency. In pilot study was evaluated the methodology to establish the difficulty level of descriptors and the ability level of learners. The subject of the study were 753 descriptors evaluated by 50 teachers and 640 students. They are analyzed with questionnaires and controlled interviews. The analysis shows that many teachers are not sufficiently informed on second language acquisition. Another finding is the inexperience of many teachers with the language levels following the CEFR; they label words or grammatical elements as an inappropriate level, but their estimate is very often incorrect. The teachers mark sayings, proverbs and idioms as the most problematic. The students are often able to express the given meaning, but they are shy to speak in a foreign language.