Extending the Global Scale of English (GSE) to the Global Scale of Languages (GSL): aligning Spanish learning objectives to the GSL

Zheng, Ying, Doyle, Catherine, Booth, David and Mayor, Mike (2023) Extending the Global Scale of English (GSE) to the Global Scale of Languages (GSL): aligning Spanish learning objectives to the GSL Pearson 28pp.

Abstract

The Global Scale of English (GSE) offers a more detailed means of describing and assessing the progress and performance of English language learners. Pearson has conducted extensive research (Pearson) in using the GSE Learning Objectives as the reference scale to extend the 2001 set of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Can-do statements to address the needs of more learners.
This study compared the rank order of GSE Learning Objectives translated into Spanish to establish if the existing GSE values are applicable to adult learners of Spanish-as-a-Foreign-Language (SFL). 320 Learning Objectives were translated into Spanish. A panel of 20 qualified raters drawn from a pool of SFL teachers were invited to conduct 25 Comparative Judgement comparisons per Learning Objective resulting in 16,000 data points. A series of analyses, including rater and item fit statistics, were performed to gauge the difficulty of existing English Learning Objectives in Rasch logits and compare them with Comparative Judgement estimates of both English and Spanish versions across four language skills. Transformation equations were derived from these comparisons to align the outcomes of Spanish Learning Objectives with the existing GSE, ultimately leading to the creation of a new Global Scale of Spanish.

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Contributors

Author: Ying Zheng

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