Language in Use Exam Specifications

Language in Use exams (Intermediate / Advanced) test rationale and specifications

Exam format, purpose, and test construct

The Language in Use (LiU) Intermediate and Advanced exams are traditional paper-and-pencil language tests used to assess students’ receptive and productive knowledge of the system of English—i.e. its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation—and their receptive understanding of written texts. The LiU exams do not test students’ speaking, writing, and listening skills as these are tested in other courses in the department’s Sprachpraxis section. Receptive tasks generally include reading comprehension exercises such as, but not limited to, true/false questions, short-answer questions, multiple-choice questions, and tasks that require students to supply missing chunks from a list of options. Students’ productive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is tested on the basis of a variety of tasks such as, but not limited to, gap-fill exercises, and re-writing tasks. Tasks may also test a mixture of receptive and productive knowledge of English. These include, but are not limited to, indirect pronunciation exercises, synonym/paraphrasing exercises, and tasks that require students to identify mistakes typically made by learners of English.

The Language in Use exams are primarily proficiency exams that test whether students have reached the required level of English according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The required level to pass Language in Use Intermediate is roughly equivalent to C1; for Language in Use Advanced it is roughly equivalent to C2. Please note that, although the exams are broadly aligned with the relevant CEFR levels, passing them does not constitute official certification of C1 or C2 proficiency. See here and here for the CEFR descriptors. In line with CEFR levels C1 and C2, the majority of tasks in the LiU exams are based on authentic texts and designed with a clear communicative purpose in mind. Tasks that measure students’ knowledge of vocabulary come in a variety of formats and are designed in such a way that they test both vocabulary breadth and depth.[1] The texts chosen for the tasks are taken from English-speaking sources including books, newspapers, and scientific journals. Texts are generally left unaltered but footnotes are provided where necessary.[2] No specialised knowledge is required to complete the tasks.

The grammar and vocabulary tested at LiU Intermediate level will generally not exceed CEFR level C1. The following tools are used to assess the level of test items:

• Grammar: English Grammar Profile Online
• Vocabulary: OED frequency bands and Pearson GSE Vocabulary Toolkit

Please note that, whilst every effort is made to ensure that level C1 is not exceeded in any of the tasks, aligning grammar and vocabulary with precise CEFR levels is not always possible. At LiU Advanced level, the grammar and vocabulary tested may include anything up to level C2. This means that students are expected to demonstrate a very high level of receptive and productive knowledge of the English language system, including the ability to understand complex texts and to recognise and produce precise, idiomatic distinctions in meaning in the task formats used in the exam. For further information on the relevant qualitative factors for receptive and productive knowledge of English at levels C1 and C2, please refer to this document.

Whilst the tasks outlined above require students to demonstrate their individual language proficiency as supported by and practised in the Language Courses (Intermediate I, Intermediate II, III [Language Learning and Teaching Methodology], and Advanced IV), the Language in Use exams also include achievement components that directly assess content taught in these courses (especially LC III, but also—to a lesser extent—LCs I, II, and IV). These include, but are not limited to, tasks that measure students’ knowledge of various aspects of syntax (parts of speech / word classes and grammatical functions) as well as tasks that test students' knowledge of language teaching methodology. The reason why these tasks are included in the LiU exams is that they form a vital part of any English-language programme, and it is essential that students are familiar with them in order to be successful in other sections of the department and/or their future professional lives (as, e.g., teachers of English).

Test specifications, grading, and validity

The standard versions of the Language in Use exams are up to three hours long (for LiU Advanced this includes the LC III part of the exam); the exact duration depends on the version of the exam being taken. See here (question no. 10) for more information. They are graded out of approximately 100 points, with the LC III component of the LiU Advanced exam carrying an additional 25 points. Exam papers are anonymised to prevent unconscious bias. Students are not permitted to use any resources while taking the exam. Any attempt to cheat and/or gain an unfair advantage is dealt with according to official university policy. See here for further information.

The exams are graded by members of staff of the English department and responses are assessed on the basis of correctness and idiomaticity. Multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, and “insert the missing chunk” tasks have a single correct answer. Other tasks, such as gap-fill exercises, might have a number of acceptable answers. Full points are always given to any correct and idiomatic answer. In cases where an answer may be correct but deemed to be non-idiomatic, half points are sometimes given. Final judgement on whether an answer is correct lies with the department.

The standard pass threshold for the Language in Use exams is 60%. The exams are designed to assess whether students have reached the relevant level of English: approximately C1 for Language in Use Intermediate and C2 for Language in Use Advanced.

Because the exams make extensive use of authentic materials, the difficulty of individual exam papers may vary. To maintain comparable standards across exam administrations, the department therefore reserves the right to adjust the pass threshold if there is clear evidence that a particular paper was substantially more or less difficult than intended. Any such adjustment is intended to maintain a consistent standard rather than to make an exam easier or more difficult to pass.

The Language in Use exams require test-takers to integrate grammatical, lexical, pragmatic, and contextual knowledge and to use this knowledge to produce and understand meaning in context. This type of testing allows members of staff in the department to make inferences about candidates’ proficiency in the aspects of English assessed by the exams. Every effort is made to ensure that interpretations of exam results are valid, defensible, and fair. Sample test papers are available for practice purposes, and students have the option to view their completed exam papers by requesting Akteneinsicht with the Prüfungssekretariat der Philosophischen Fakultät. Due to the high-stakes nature of the Language in Use exams, students are allowed three attempts for each of the exams and an alternative form of assessment[3] is possible for those facing their third attempt.

Mapping of exam tasks onto CEFR

The table below shows how some of the tasks typically used in the Language in Use exams are mapped onto the CEFR.

[1] Broadly speaking, breadth refers to the size of a learner’s vocabulary; depth refers to the knowledge a learner has about individual lexical items. These include, amongst other things, knowledge of use, range of meanings, and all the many collocations a word is used in.

[2] For example, if the texts contain references that require specialised knowledge (e.g. cultural or scientific).

[3] Cambridge C1 (instead of LiU Intermediate) or C2 (instead of LiU Advanced) plus a reduced version of the respective Language in Use exam. Further conditions apply. See here (BA), here (Lehramt), and here for more information.