Evaluation standards for language proficiency are used in different settings, ranging from educational up to professional contexts. In getting access to universities for example, it is quite common in the European context to refer to the levels of the CEFR (Deygers et al. 2018; Harsch 2018). In entering the labour market after having finished education, however, these levels play only a marginal role. Employers do not really draw on them in recruitment processes (Cernicova-Buca 2020). The little use of these formal classifications in these gatekeeping encounters can be explained by the effort needed for HR managers to understand and effectively apply those standards (Beadle et al. 2015). It is not clear though which standards and forms of assessment really count for recruiters as gatekeepers in their decision-making processes. This is particularly true when it comes to plurilingual assessment and assessing linguistic competence of plurilingual individuals, an aspect that has been put forward though in the CEFR Companion Volume (Council of Europe 2020).
The study to be presented within this symposium addresses the following questions:
Do recruiters in Austria and France refer to official assessment standards like the CEFR (or other frameworks) when they need to evaluate linguistic skills in recruitment processes? Do they take certification or test results following these standards into consideration when making their decisions? Do they find frameworks like the CEFR helpful in their decision-making processes?
The study draws on survey data asking recruiters in France and Austria about their views of the CEFR and its role in language assessment for professional purposes. It is part of a PhD-project dealing with attitudes, representations, and conceptualizations of recruiters towards and concerning linguistic competence, or even more precisely, plurilingual competence. Therefore, the presentation also aims to shed light on the potential and the challenges of using evaluation standards for assessing language proficiency in professional settings in Europe.
Beadle, Shane, Patricia Vale, Martin Humburg, and Richard Smith. 2015. Study on foreign language proficiency and employability. Final report.
Cernicova-Buca, Mariana. 2020. 'Communication and Linguistic Competences for Middle Management'. Buletinul Stiintific al Universitatii Politehnica Din Timisoara, Seria Limbi Moderne 19, 5–14.
Council of Europe, ed. 2020. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment ; Companion Volume. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
Deygers, Bart, Beate Zeidler, Dina Vilcu, and Cecilie Hamnes Carlsen. 2018. 'One Framework to Unite Them All? Use of the CEFR in European University Entrance Policies'. Language Assessment Quarterly 15 (1): 3–15.
Harsch, Claudia. 2018. 'How Suitable Is the CEFR for Setting University Entrance Standards?' Language Assessment Quarterly 15 (1): 102–8.
