MAPPING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ READING AND LISTENING PROFICIENCY

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a quantitative research on the English reading and listening proficiency of students of English Language and Literature undergraduate degrees in a Brazilian public university. The objectives of the study were to map students’ proficiency level from beginning to mid-course semesters and to identify if there is level progression as students advance in the sequence of specific written-skills and oral-skills courses. A questionnaire about their academic profile and simulated reading and listening tests of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) were administered to a total of 385 students, of which 243 took the reading test and 198 took the listening test. Besides, out of those, 32 retook the listening test, and 15 the reading test. Data were analyzed with descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. Results reveal a progression of proficiency level both in reading and listening from the beginning of the undergraduate course to the end of the specific skills course sequences.

Keywords:
language assessment; foreign language; reading; listening; IELTS