The appropriateness of the CEFR to assess Malaysian university students’ English language proficiency

Realising the importance of English language in Education, the CEFR-aligned English language curriculum was introduced by the Malaysian Ministry of Education for the primary and secondary level English language education in 2017. With the introduction of CEFR into the nation, Malaysian higher education students’ English language proficiency are assessed based on the universally recognised standards of CEFR. Realising that the CEFR Can Do statements and standards are not prescriptive, any attempt to use and adapt them in the local contact of higher education in Malaysia, need to be done based on well informed decisions. Therefore, this study embarked on to investigate the local perspectives and views of English language teachers and practitioners in the utility of the CEFR illustrative descriptor scale to assess English language proficiency of tertiary level students. The study employed a qualitative research design where 10 experienced academics at Malaysian higher educational institutions provided their views through semi structured interviews based on a four-cyclical process of the language management theory (LMT). The findings revealed that the CEFR was met with positivity among the academics who participated in this study. Further findings provided both positive and negative insights to the utility and the teaching and learning of writing at the tertiary level of education. The findings from this study conclude that the CEFR could be used at Malaysian higher educational institutions for its English language teaching, learning and assessment. Notwithstanding, the negative perception points towards the need to locally contextualise CEFR into the Malaysian higher education system so that it mounts comfortably with the aims of academics who aspire to produce students who are proficient to function in the English language. Keyword: CEFR, higher education, assessment, reform, language management theor