An Introduction to two currently popular English proficiency assessment systems: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the Global Scale of English

Abstract

After taking the English test, candidates will receive the results in the form of scores. Usually, candidates will also receive some descriptions of what the score means, expressed as a level or an English label, for example, “beginner” or “advanced”. There are many different English language assessment systems used around the world, of which the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the Global Scale of English are two quite popular tools. This article gives an overview of these two language description systems so that readers can understand the relationship and the reason for the parallel existence of these two language proficiency assessment systems.