Does progress in English slow as you get more advanced?

Ian Wood
A young woman sat in a library with headphones around her neck reading a book
Reading time: 4 minutes

Why does progression seem to slow down as an English learner moves from beginner to more advanced skills?

The journey of learning English

When presenting at ELT conferences, I often ask the audience – typically teachers and school administrators – “When you left home today, to start your journey here, did you know where you were going?” The audience invariably responds with a laugh and says yes, of course. I then ask, “Did you know roughly when you would arrive at your destination?” Again the answer is, of course, yes. “But what about your students on their English learning journey? Can they say the same?” At this point, the laughter stops.

All too often English learners find themselves without a clear picture of the journey they are embarking on and the steps they will need to take to achieve their goals. We all share a fundamental need for orientation, and in a world of mobile phone GPS we take it for granted. Questions such as: Where am I? Where am I going? When will I get there? are answered instantly at the touch of a screen. If you’re driving along a motorway, you get a mileage sign every three miles.

When they stop appearing regularly we soon feel uneasy. How often do English language learners see mileage signs counting down to their learning goal? Do they even have a specific goal?

Am I there yet?

The key thing about GPS is that it’s very precise. You can see your start point, where you are heading and tell, to the mile or kilometer, how long your journey will be. You can also get an estimated time of arrival to the minute. As Mike Mayor mentioned in his post about what it means to be fluent, the same can’t be said for understanding and measuring English proficiency. For several decades, the ELL industry got by with the terms ‘beginner’, ‘elementary’, ‘pre-intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ – even though there was no definition of what they meant, where they started and where they ended.

The CEFR has become widely accepted as a measure of English proficiency, bringing an element of shared understanding of what it means to be at a particular level in English. However, the wide bands that make up the CEFR can result in a situation where learners start a course of study as B1 and, when they end the course, they are still within the B1 band. That doesn’t necessarily mean that their English skills haven’t improved – they might have developed substantially – but it’s just that the measurement system isn’t granular enough to pick up these improvements in proficiency.

So here’s the first weakness in our English language GPS and one that’s well on the way to being remedied with the Global Scale of English (GSE). Because the GSE measures proficiency on a 10-90 scale across each of the four skills, students using assessment tools reporting on the GSE are able to see incremental progress in their skills even within a CEFR level. So we have the map for an English language GPS to be able to track location and plot the journey to the end goal.

‘The intermediate plateau’

When it comes to pinpointing how long it’s going to take to reach that goal, we need to factor in the fact that the amount of effort it takes to improve your English increases as you become more proficient. Although the bands in the CEFR are approximately the same width, the law of diminishing returns means that the better your English is to begin with, the harder it is to make further progress – and the harder it is to feel that progress is being made.

That’s why many an English language-learning journey gets abandoned on the intermediate plateau. With no sense of progression or a tangible, achievable goal on the horizon, the learner can become disoriented and demoralised.

To draw another travel analogy, when you climb 100 meters up a mountain at 5,000 meters above sea level the effort required is greater than when you climb 100 meters of gentle slope down in the foothills. It’s exactly the same 100 meter distance, it’s just that those hundred 100 meters require progressively more effort the higher up you are, and the steeper the slope. So, how do we keep learners motivated as they pass through the intermediate plateau?

Education, effort and motivation

We have a number of tools available to keep learners on track as they start to experience the law of diminishing returns. We can show every bit of progress they are making using tools that capture incremental improvements in ability. We can also provide new content that challenges the learner in a way that’s realistic.

Setting unrealistic expectations and promising outcomes that aren’t deliverable is hugely demotivating for the learner. It also has a negative impact on teachers – it’s hard to feel job satisfaction when your students are feeling increasingly frustrated by their apparent lack of progress.

Big data is providing a growing bank of information. In the long term this will deliver a much more precise estimate of effort required to reach higher levels of proficiency, even down to a recommendation of the hours required to go from A to B and how those hours are best invested. That way, learners and teachers alike would be able to see where they are now, where they want to be and a path to get there. It’s a fully functioning English language learning GPS system, if you like.

Learn about the Global Scale of English learning objectives

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    Computer-based language assessment: the future is here

    Por David Booth

    Many people are surprised at the idea of a computer program marking an exam paper. However, computer-based testing already exists in many different formats and many different areas. Many tests or exams that form part of our daily life are taken on computers. If you’ve ever learned to drive, sat a citizenship test, done a training course at work, or completed a placement test for a language course, the odds are that you’ve already taken an automated test.

    Yet despite it being so common, there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to computer-based language assessment and how a computer can evaluate productive skills like speaking and writing.

    Computer-based testing: a closer look

    A common issue is that people have different ideas of what these tests entail. Computers can fulfill several essential roles in the testing process, but these often go unacknowledged. For example, a variety of test questions are needed to administer an exam, along with relevant data, and computers are used to store both the questions and the data. When it comes to creating randomized exams, computer software is used to select the exam questions, based on this data.

    Computers can make complex calculations far more quickly and accurately than humans. This means that processes that previously took a long time are completed in days, rather than weeks.

    Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is now capable of grading exam papers, for example. This means a shorter wait for exam results. In , candidates receive their results in an average of two days rather than waiting weeks for an examiner to mark their paper by hand.

    The benefits for students and teachers

    People take exams to prove their skills and abilities. Depending on their goals, the right result can open the door to many new opportunities, whether that is simply moving on to the next stage of a course, or something as life-changing as allowing you to take up your place on a university course in another country.

    A qualification can act as a passport to a better career or an enhanced education, and for that reason, it’s important that both students and teachers can have faith in their results.

    Computer programs have no inherent bias, which means that candidates can be confident that they will all be treated the same, regardless of their background, appearance or accent. , just one of app’s computer-based exams, offers students the chance to score additional points on the exam with innovative integrated test items.

    This integration means that the results are a far more accurate depiction of the candidate’s abilities and provide a truer reflection of their linguistic prowess.

    More than questions on a screen

    It’s not as easy as simply transferring the questions onto a computer screen. All that does is remove the need for pen and paper; this is a missed opportunity to harness the precision and speed of a computer, as well as its learning potential.

    Tests that have been fully digitized, such as PTE Academic, benefit from that automation; eliminating examiner bias, making the test fairer and calculating the results more quickly. Automated testing builds on the technological tradition of opening doors for the future – not closing them.

    How technology enhances language testing

    The development of automated testing technologies doesn’t merely make the examination process quicker and more accurate – it also gives us the chance to innovate. Speaking assessments are an excellent example of this.

    Previously, this part of a language exam involved an interview, led by an examiner, who asked questions and elicited answers. But now that we have the technological capability, using a computer offers students the chance to be tested on a much wider range of speaking skills, without worrying about the inherent bias of the examiner.

    Indeed, the use of a computer-based system facilitates integrated skills testing. Traditionally, language exams had separate papers focusing on the four skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. But the more modern concept of language testing aims to assess these linguistic skills used together, just as they are in real-life situations.

    Afterwards, the various scores are categorized to allow learners an insight into their strengths and weaknesses, which helps both students and teachers identify areas which need improvement. This useful feedback is only possible because of the accuracy and detail of automated exam grading.

    The space race on paper

    Back in the 1960s, during the space race, computers were still a relatively new concept. Kathleen Johnson, one of the first African-American women to work for NASA as a scientist, was a mathematician with a reputation for doing incredibly complex manual calculations. Although computers had made the orbital calculations, the astronauts on the first space flight refused to fly until Kathleen had checked those calculations three times.

    This anecdote reminds us that - although computer technology is an inherent part of everyday life - now and then, we still need to check that their systems are working as they should. Human error still comes into play – after all, humans program these systems.

    PTE Academic – a fully digitized exam

    Every stage of PTE Academic, from registration to practice tests to results (both receiving and sharing them with institutions) happens online. It may come as a surprise to learn that the test itself is not taken online. Instead, students attend one of over 295 test centers to take the exam, which comes with the highest levels of data security.

    This means that each student can sit the exam in an environment designed for that purpose. It also allows the receiving institutions, such as universities and colleges, to be assured of the validity of the PTE Academic result.

    The future is here

    We created computers, but they have surpassed us in many areas – exam grading being a case in point. Computers can score more accurately and consistently than humans, and they don’t get tired late in the day, or become distracted by a candidate’s accent.

    The use of AI technology to grade student responses represents a giant leap forward in language testing, leading to fairer and more accurate student results. It also means more consistency in grading which benefits the institutions, such as universities, which rely on these scores to accurately reflect ability.

    And here at app, we are invested in staying at the cutting edge of assessment. Our test developers are incorporating AI solutions now, using its learning capacity to create algorithms and build programs that can assess speaking and writing skills accurately and quickly. We’re expanding the horizons of English language assessment for students, teachers and all the other professionals involved in each stage of the language learning journey.

  • A group of young people looking at results and papers in a hallway, laughing and smiling

    Motivating your students through assessment

    Por David Booth

    Motivating students can be difficult, especially where exams are concerned. The prospect of preparing learners for them seems like a mammoth task. But assessment can also be a way of encouraging motivation. The clue is in the word ‘test’. Whether externally or internally driven, students wish to test their knowledge and their learning; they want to see how they are developing and progressing.

    In this article, David Booth explores what makes students want to push themselves and how you can encourage them with assessment.

    What motivates students?

    Students are incentivized in different ways, through internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic) motivation. Internal motivation is when someone takes an exam for their own satisfaction or interest; without immediate external reward. External motivation is driven by other factors such as the need to graduate or get to a particular level for career advancement. External motivation may also come from others, such as parents and teachers, encouraging students to attain a particular level in a subject or a qualification.

    The important thing to recognize is that students should identify their intention for learning English. This will then enable them to determine short- and long-term goals that will drive both internal and external motivation. For example, a student might say; ‘I like learning English because I love reading books about Harry Potter and also English will be useful in my future life so I can meet and learn from people from different countries’. Recognizing and acknowledging reasons for learning with help reinforce the motivations for learning.

    How can we promote an environment that is engaging and motivating?

    Students’ self-belief is important but teachers also have a significant role to play. Teachers can help give students the confidence to build on their own skills. One way to do this is by promoting a growth mindset. This is the theory that ability and performance can be developed through fostering a positive environment, and is the opposite of a fixed mindset which is the idea that a person’s talents are already fixed from birth.

    Developing a growth mindset is important because it encourages us to see new challenges as a positive thing. It involves praising effort rather than just focusing on outcomes.

    With all the above in mind, here are five things teachers can do in class to help keep up student motivation levels:

    5 ways you can motivate your students

    1. One of the best things that teachers and educators can do to support their students is to help them identify their motivation. Ask them why they are learning English. Is it for themselves? Their parents? Or a job opportunity? This will help teachers and learners decide on the best course of action for learning and also help students find satisfaction within the task, whether in an exam or taking a conversation class.

    2. It’s important to teach courses that are focused on developing communicative ability and knowledge, not just passing a exam. As education evolves, assessment must too, so it’s crucial to foster the practical linguistic skills of your students, not just aim for a good final grade.

    3. Teachers can help students develop their dominant learning styles. Do they learn by writing new words or reading things aloud? In doing so, you and your students can tailor their exam preparation towards how they work best and ensure they feel motivated to learn by themselves.

    4. You can give students the best understanding about the type of tasks they will face. Looking at past papers or using a wealth of exam resources will give them confidence and familiarity when facing any final assessment.

    5. Teachers must talk the talk! We must say the right things to keep our students motivated. This involves talking about what they have done in a positive way. Praising students just for their intelligence is not productive, because that refers to a quality rather than their behavior. Instead, we want to encourage student development through hard work and application.

    Here are some growth mindset statements to inspire your students:

    • You worked really hard on that.
    • I’m so proud of your progress.
    • You kept going even when it was hard.
    • You have a tenacious attitude; I’m so proud that you never quit.
    • You really did … well because …

    Motivating students with the app English International Certificate (PEIC)

    PEIC is designed to help motivate students, offering them the opportunity to identify their strengths, and track improvement and success over time. It is widely used by learners who are looking for a general English test that allows them to build a portfolio of their communicative language ability for travel, to improve their employment prospects or for further education. It’s also valid for life.

    Graded progression

    PEIC offers a pathway for graded progression from level to level and explicit opportunities to evaluate and accredit learning outcomes at each of the CEFR levels. There are six English proficiency levels, from very low (A1) to very high (C2). There are no hidden surprises, false starts, or sudden jumps in difficulty from one test to the other.

    This makes it easy for teachers and students to track progress. Showing students they have progressed in their studies is very motivating and encourages further study.

    Assessment of communicative ability

    The exams assess learners’ ability to communicate and use English effectively rather than their test-taking skills. The emphasis is on communicative skills; the level of ability that the student has in using the language for practical purposes. This is very motivating both in the short and long term.

    A positive testing experience for the student

    PEIC delivers a relaxed and enjoyable English testing experience that is a natural continuation of what happens in the classroom. It’s perfect for those educators who are interested in using assessment as a way of building students’ confidence and motivation, as well as raising school standards.

    Easily integrated into a general English curriculum

    Fitting PEIC around a general English program could not be easier. This is because the types of tasks that students will find in the English exams are similar to those found in most modern communicative course books. Therefore, there is no need to do a specific PEIC course before taking the test.

    A wealth of learning resources

    There are lots of resources out there offering something for everyone, including test guides for each level, test tutorials, practice tests, test tips and many more, so students will feel supported throughout the preparation process.