Why the CEPA Test?
CEPA is the only criterion-referenced English communicative proficiency assessment that uses situationally and interactionally authentic tasks to elicit test takers’ use of English in real-life workplace contexts.
- Accurate knowledge of a language (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation etc.) is not sufficient by itself to use that language for real-life functions as a communication tool. That is, the knowledge of a language is meaningful when it is used for real-life communication functions accurately and appropriately in the context it is being used.
- To use a language as a means communication, it should be used in context (i.e. not in a discrete-point fashion) in an integrated fashion appropriate for the real-life communicative functions.
- Language use consists of not only linguistics competence; but also encompasses the socio-linguistic, pragmatic and intercultural communication competencies.
- Proficiency tests results should reflect candidates’ general language use ability in the target language use domain in relationship to established proficiency guidelines (as criteria) independent from other candidates’ performance in the test (as a norm).
- Finally, proficiency tests results should go beyond a simple abstract number and should be able to provide the candidates with individualized feedback in terms of what they can and cannot do with the language and this should lead to a methodology to improve their language proficiency.
