TITLE:
Self-Assessment versus Objective Proficiency Evaluation in English as a Foreign Language among Italian First-Year University Students
AUTHORS:
Irina Stan
KEYWORDS:
EFL, Objective Proficiency Evaluation, Self-Assessment, Undergraduate, Can-Do Statements
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics,
Vol.14 No.4,
July
8,
2024
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to investigate first-year non-English-major Italian University students’ ability to assess their English proficiency at the beginning of the academic year based on comparisons to official assessments from objective tests. One thousand and ninety freshmen’s Placement Test scores were analysed against self-ratings expressed using the CEFR self-assessment scale for Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills. The objective measure was Pearson’s Versant Placement Test (VEPT), which is intended for adults and students over the age of 16 and measures facility in spoken and written English. For the self-assessment tool, we applied the table of descriptors for self-assessment from the 2020 Italian version of the Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2020: pp. 188-190) to which a Can-Do descriptors in EFL self-assessment and the findings can be applied by both EFL learners and teachers.