The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is an association of

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

providers in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe) "Can Do" project developed a simplified set of 400+ descriptors for language examinations which relate to the Common Reference Levels. These descriptors are in the form of "can-do statements", each saying more simply what a learner can do at every level. There are four sections: general, social/ tourist, work and study. The ALTE project also gave its own names to the

CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated in English as CEFR or CEF or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasing ...

levels from the "Breakthrough level" to "Level 5". The ALTE was founded by the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in conjunction with the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...

so the first exams to be related to their "Can-Do" statements were the Cambridge EFL exams. However, today many more examining boards link their exams to the system. Below is a table of some examinations as an example. ALTE now establishes a six-level framework of language examination standards. The following table compares the ALTE levels with the CEFR levels and EFL exams:

Levels

The Common European Framework divides learners into three broad divisions which can be divided into six levels: : A Basic User :: A1 Breakthrough :: A2 Waystage : B Independent User :: B1 Threshold :: B2 Vantage : C Proficient User :: C1 Effective Operational Proficiency :: C2 Mastery The CEFR describes what a learner is supposed to be able to do in reading, listening, speaking and writing at each level, in details:

Conferences

ALTE aims to improve language assessment through sharing best practice and providing thought leadership through international conferences. International conference themes have included supporting the European Year of Languages (2001), the impact of multilingualism (2005), the wider social and educational impact of assessment (2008) and the role of language frameworks (2011). Selected conference papers are published through the

Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) is a series of academic books containing papers in the fields of education and applied linguistics related to language testing and assessment. It has been published by Cambridge English Language Assessment an ...

volumes.

References

External links

The ALTE home page
{{Authority control Language tests

Levels

Conferences

See also

References

External links