La valutazione linguistica in contesto plurilingue: quali scenari per la valutazione certificatoria?

Aisha Nasimi, Giulia Peri, Adriano Gelo, Sabrina Machetti, Paola Masillo, Università per Stranieri di Siena

Abstract: The contribution explores the possibilities and challenges of an approach to language assessment that is attentive to the multilingual condition of the different target groups. In particular, the contribution discusses the role of certifying bodies, with reference to the case of L2 Italian (Ambroso et al. 2010), which were required to redefine their tests according to the proficiency model adopted (CoE 2018a), and in relation to the implementation of tests for specific target groups (ALTE 2018).

The assumption at the basis of this study is that tests are real instruments of language policy (Shohamy 2001), capable of orienting the response to educational, social and in many cases also political needs (Vedovelli 2005).

The constantly changing linguistic dynamics within today's societies is due to an exponential increase in the occasions and modes of contact between different languages, which produce a push towards language variation in sociolinguistic terms (Vedovelli 2010). The plurilingual status of individuals and societies is linked both to the possibility of referring to a wide range of linguistic competences (Machetti e Siebetcheu 2017), and to the ability to use skills that have already been acquired, such as the ability to combine competences and skills in one or more languages in order to be able to act and respond effectively to needs arising in a plurilingual context (CoE 2009). These dynamics must necessarily be reflected in language assessment as well.

The second part of the contribution focuses on the characteristics of two tests addressing a specific audience, CILS A2 Integrazione and B1 Cittadinanza, relating them to the most recurrent profiles of the candidates taking them.