Assessing listening skills with the GSE

Leonor Corradi
A teacher standing next to a student who is sat down, he has a pen and is gesturing to her work on the table.
Reading time: 4 minutes

In today’s interconnected world, effective communication in English is more crucial than ever. As educators and language learners seek to measure and improve English proficiency, a resource like the Global Scale of English (GSE) offers a valuable framework for assessment. This blog post will explore how the GSE can be used to assess listening skills, providing insights into how it also helps tailor instruction and support language development.

For listening skills, the GSE focuses on how well learners can understand spoken English in different contexts. It assesses comprehension at varying levels of complexity:

Understanding simple information: At lower levels, learners are expected to understand basic information, such as simple instructions or everyday topics. The GSE provides learning objectives for how well learners can grasp essential details.

Understanding main ideas: As proficiency grows, learners should be able to identify main ideas and key points in more complex spoken texts, such as conversations and broadcasts. The GSE outlines how well learners can extract important information from various sources.

Understanding detailed information: At advanced levels, learners are expected to comprehend detailed and nuanced information, including implicit meaning and speaker intent. The GSE describes the level of detail and depth of understanding required at these stages.

The GSE also shows how students engage in different operations of listening, from global comprehension, recognizing information and identifying specific information to extracting information. By taking this into account, teachers can monitor students’ progress and assess their listening skills. An example will show this in action.

Let’s consider a level, say GSE 30-35 (equivalent to low A2 on the CEFR) and focus on how students process information. When checking a listening activity, rather than simply focusing on whether the answers are correct or incorrect, we can analyze our learners using the GSE and see what progress they are making and what we need to do as teachers to help them move on. Heres how:

Learning objectives

GSE

Date 1

Date 2

Date 3

Date 4

Can understand basic information about someone when introduced to them using simple language.

28

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can recognize phrases and content words related to basic personal and family information.

30

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can identify simple information in a short video, provided that the visual supports this information and the delivery is slow and clear.

30

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can extract key factual information - prices, times and dates - from short clear, simple announcements.

30

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can identify basic factual information in short, simple dialogues or narratives on familiar everyday topics, if spoken slowly and clearly.

32

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can understand key information about arrangements in simple dialogues spoken slowly and clearly.

32

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can understand information related to people's daily routines.

32

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can understand the main information in short, simple dialogues about familiar activities, if spoken slowly and clearly.

33

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can identify key information from short audio recordings, if spoken slowly and clearly.

33

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can understand the main information in simple conversations about hobbies and interests.

34

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can extract key factual information such as prices, times and dates from a recorded phone message.

35

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can recognize some fixed expressions used to confirm information.

35

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Can identify specific information in short, simple dialogues in which speakers make arrangements to do something, if spoken slowly and clearly.

35

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý
We should analyze the items in the listening activity using the following criteria, criteria that we can find by analyzing the learning objectives
  • Should there be any support?
  • Are learners being asked to use a number of different listening modes?

Every class will include a range of different abilities: some students get all of the questions right, whereas others may not. In this case, the GSE provides teachers with an extremely valuable tool to assess learners’ performance.

We may see that students are performing well at the understanding and recognition level but still find it hard to identify and extract specific information. Will we solve this by simply giving them more listening activities? Well, no. To support them in identifying and extracting specific information, we need to help them understand and identify clues in a text. Analyzing the written audioscripts is the best way to help learners understand what they are listening to.

We can also use the same table, above, to record information each time we do a listening activity.

Students write the date and compare results to the ones they fill out in the future. This way, they can truly see progress and if they’ve mastered a particular learning objective, something hard for them to see, even if we tell them so.

Utilizing the GSE

The Global Scale of English provides a structured and detailed approach to assessing speaking and listening skills. By using theÌýGSE framework, teachers can offer precise, level-appropriate feedback and tailor their instruction to meet learners' needs. This not only enhances the learning experience but also ensures that learners effectively develop their English communication skills. Whether you're a teacher or a learner, embracing the GSE can lead to more targeted, effective, and meaningful language assessment.

Explore the teaching resources available at GSE to support learning, including tools like our .Ìý

Read our other posts 'How the GSE can help teachers personalize activities' and 'The Global Scale of English and planning'.

Learn more about the GSE

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    Tips for keeping learners studying over the holiday season

    By Nicolas Chaparro
    Reading time: 3.5 minutes

    Nicolas Chaparro is a Colombian language teacher with a bachelor's degree in basic education, specializing in humanities and languages. After spending five years working as a systems technician, he discovered the potential of technology to enhance learning, which ignited his passion for dynamic, tech-driven education. He has the privilege of working at one of Colombia's most prestigious English institutions, where he currently leads a team focused on education, creativity and motivation.Ìý

    The holiday season is a magical time and the perfect moment to spark a teacher's creativity. I've always believed that learning a language isn't just about studying—it's about living it. As a learner, I loved the resources my teachers and institutions provided, but what truly captivated me was the opportunity to engage with the world using the language skills I had acquired.

    As a teacher, I strive to give my students that same experience. I didn't expect the holiday season to become the perfect setting to turn my teaching philosophy into reality. This blog post shares a personal story of how I used a creative activity to keep my students learning and practicing English during the holidays with the support of the Global Scale of English (GSE).

    The challenge I faced: Mixed levels and ages

    The activity I designed, Christmas Carols, presented two main challenges:

    1. Diverse proficiency levels: My group included students ranging from beginners to advanced learners, all participating in the same activity. I wanted to have them all working together; that's what language means to me.Ìý
    2. Varied age groups: The students also spanned different age ranges, which required an effective approach to engage everyone. It was a Christmas gathering meeting with all the institution's students.

    Basic students worked on identifying vocabulary that is similar to their native language and then used it in a short text. Intermediate students solved riddles to guess words that could be included in the lyrics. Advanced students completed questionnaires to build sentences and find synonyms to refine the text. The carol was divided into three sections: the first paragraph was for basic students, the second for intermediate students and the third for advanced students. I also included French students in the activity, which was designed for both languages.

    After the students completed their tasks in separate groups, I mixed them so they could explain the vocabulary they had learned to one another. To facilitate communication without relying on Spanish, I used pictures and Christmas props to help them express themselves visually.

    Finally, we all came together and sang the carol as one group.

    Turning challenges into opportunities with the GSE

    For me, a successful language activity needs three essential components: clear instructions, engaging resources and opportunities for interaction. With these principles in mind, I crafted an inclusive and dynamic activity, using the GSE to guide my planning.

    Step 1: Defining the goal

    I realized that most of my students didn't know specific Christmas-related vocabulary or any traditional English carols. This activity was also an opportunity to learn by myself and then share with them. This gap was my opportunity to introduce them to the holiday spirit in English.

    Step 2: Planning with the GSE

    I identified suitable goals for each proficiency level using the GSE Learning Objectives. These objectives helped me design tasks that targeted key skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing—while considering the ages and abilities of my students.

    Step 3: Preparing a scavenger hunt

    To make the activity interactive and fun, I organized a scavenger hunt. Students had to solve riddles and follow clues to find words essential for completing a Christmas song. The GSE objectives ensured that the tasks were appropriately challenging for each level.

    Step 4: Pairing students effectively

    Knowing my students well, I paired them strategically based on their proficiency and age. This pairing encouraged collaboration and allowed them to support each other throughout the activity.

    Making language visible and memorable

    One of my priorities was to make the language come alive. I brought visual aids like cards, games, and even a Christmas tree and a nativity scene—elements that most students recognized but had never explored in English. These visuals became valuable tools for teaching vocabulary in a tangible, engaging way.

    To add another layer of interaction, I used my guitar to sing along with the students. By the end of the activity, not only were we singing, but they also understood the meaning behind every word. Watching them take pride in their learning was incredibly rewarding and I knew this vocabulary wouldn't stop there; they would take it home and make it real for them, for the season, for their life.

    Reflections and an invitation

    This experience reminded me of the power of teaching through real-life experiences. Holidays provide a unique opportunity to teach without teaching and to help students study while living the language. Tools like the GSE make it easier for us as educators to plan meaningful and impactful activities.

    My invitation to fellow teachers is twofold:

    1. Explore the GSE resources to enrich your teaching strategies.
    2. Share your ideas and activities with the teaching community. Together, we can create opportunities for our students to use the language in real and virtual contexts that inspire learning and cooperation.

    Let's make 2025 the year we bring language to life in every classroom.