Location: Spain
In 2004, the Community of Madrid introduced an internal assessment element to its existing bilingual initiative. Trinity College London facilitated this for the Madrid government, administering Graded Exams in Spoken English (GESE) to a broad spectrum of learners.
GESE grades facilitate various abilities
The Madrid education system is recognised for its dedication to foreign language skills. Trinity College London was asked to support the Madrid Bilingual Community initiative when the government felt external assessments would be helpful to measure and monitor learners’ English communication abilities.
The GESE was chosen as the annual assessment method due to its relevance and flexibility. As it stands, there are multiple GESE options at different grades available for learners of differing proficiency.
The more experienced GESE Grade 5, for instance, is equivalent to a level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Expanding the Madrid Bilingual Community
By 2016, with the support of Trinity College London, the Madrid Bilingual Community initiative included almost 400 public and over 70 subsidised private bilingual teaching centres. Over 33,000 learners were enrolled in external English assessments during years four and six of primary school.
Of 256 surveyed teachers involved with the initiative, nearly 90% were specifically preparing learners for a GESE exam.
Research study reveals project impact
In the survey mentioned above, 89% of teachers agreed that integrating exam prep with the curriculum and using exam-like exercises in class positively impacted overall English communication skills. 33% called this impact ‘a big improvement’.
The survey also evidenced Trinity’s exam materials as distinctly valuable to Madrid teachers in three core contexts:
- For general English classes and class planning purposes
- For improving real-life independent communication
- For monitoring and measuring English language learner progress