How to assess your learners using the GSE Assessment Frameworks

Billie Jago
Billie Jago
A teachet stood in front of a class in front of a board, smiling at his students.
Czas czytania: 4 minutes

With language learning, assessing both the quality and the quantity of language use is crucial for accurate proficiency evaluation. While evaluating quantity (for example the number of words written or the duration of spoken production) can provide insights into a learner's fluency and engagement in a task, it doesn’t show a full picture of a learner’s language competence. For this, they would also need to be evaluated on the quality of what they produce (such as the appropriateness, accuracy and complexity of language use). The quality also considers factors such as grammatical accuracy, lexical choice, coherence and the ability to convey meaning effectively.

In order to measure the quality of different language skills, you can use the Global Scale of English (GSE) assessment frameworks.

Developed in collaboration with assessment experts, the GSE Assessment Frameworks are intended to be used alongside the GSE Learning Objectives to help you assess the proficiency of your learners.

There are two GSE Assessment Frameworks: one for adults and one for young learners.

What are the GSE Assessment Frameworks?

  • The GSE Assessment Frameworks are intended to be used alongside the GSE Learning Objectives to help teachers assess their learners’ proficiency of all four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing).
  • The GSE Learning Objectives focus on the things a learner can do, while the GSE Assessment Frameworks focus on how well a learner can do these things.
  • It can help provide you with examples of what proficiencies your learners should be demonstrating.  
  • It can help teachers pinpoint students' specific areas of strength and weakness more accurately, facilitating targeted instruction and personalized learning plans.
  • It can also help to motivate your learners, as their progress is evidenced and they can see a clear path for improvement.

An example of the GSE Assessment Frameworks

This example is from the Adult Assessment Framework for speaking.

As you can see, there are sub-skills within speaking (and for the other three main overarching skills – writing, listening and reading). Within speaking, these are production and fluency, spoken interaction, language range and accuracy.

The GSE range (and corresponding CEFR level) is shown at the top of each column, and there are descriptors that students should ideally demonstrate at that level.

However, it is important to note that students may sit across different ranges, depending on the sub-skill. For example, your student may show evidence of GSE 43-50 production and fluency and spoken interaction, but they may need to improve their language range and accuracy, and therefore sit in a range of GSE 36-42 for these sub-skills.

The GSE assessment frameworks in practice – let’s try

So, how can you use these frameworks as a teacher in your lesson? Let’s look at an example.

Imagine you are teaching a class of adult learners at GSE 43-50 (B1). This week, your class has been working towards writing an essay about living in the city vs the countryside. Your class has just written their final essay and you want to assess what they have produced.

Look at the writing sub-skills in the GSE Assessment Framework for adults. Imagine these are the criteria you are using to assess your students’ writing.

You read one of your student's essays, and in their essay they demonstrate that they can:

  • Express their opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city vs the countryside
  • Make relevant points which are mostly on-topic
  • Use topic-related language
  • Connect their ideas logically and in a way that flows well
  • Write in clear paragraphs

However, you notice that:

  • They tend to repeat common words, such as city, town, countryside, nice, busy
  • They don’t use punctuation effectively, for example missing commas, long sentences, missing capitalization
  • They have some issues with grammatical structures

Compare the above notes to the GSE Assessment Frameworks. What level is your learner demonstrating in each sub-skill? How could you evidence this using the criteria?

Now, compare your answers to the ideas below.

The points marked in the GSE 43-50 column are evidence that the student is at the expected writing level for their class, based on what you observed in their essay. The points marked in the GSE 36-42 column could be shown to the student to tell them what they need to focus on to improve, based on their essay.

Customizing the GSE assessment frameworks

The GSE Assessment Frameworks are flexible and customizable, and you can use the descriptors for your specific purpose. You can choose the appropriate GSE Assessment Frameworks for your context, and build your own formative assessment based on these.

In the example above, you were only assessing an essay, so you could ignore any contexts that were not applicable to that scenario. For example, writes personal and semi-formal letters and emails relating to everyday matters, or incorporates some relevant details from external sources.

Another benefit of the frameworks is that you can personalize assessments and create tailored learning roadmaps for individual students. Of course, not all learners are the same, so the descriptors allow students to see which sub-skill they need to work on in order to bring their writing (or speaking, listening or reading) up to their expected level. It also helps you as the teacher to understand what sub-skills to focus on in lessons to improve these main skills.

Finally, don’t be afraid to introduce your students to these descriptors or translate them into the learner's first language for lower levels. It is a great way for them to pinpoint and reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement, rather than simply getting a score and not understanding how to get to the next level of confidence and ability.

By incorporating the GSE Assessment Frameworks into your course for formative assessment, you can build students’ confidence and help them better reflect on their learning.

Learn more about the GSE

More blogs from Pearson

  • Woman listening to music with headphones on while lying on sofa
    How to improve your listening skills quickly
    By Charlotte Guest
    Czas czytania: 4 minutes

    Listening is an important part of learning a language. It helps you understand conversations, follow instructions and communicate with confidence. But listening can also feel difficult, especially when people speak quickly or use words you do not know.

    The good news is that you do not need to spend hours listening every day to improve. With the right practice, you can make progress in just a few minutes. Here are some ways to improve your listening skills quickly.

    1. Listen to something you understand

    Choose audio or video that is close to your current language level. If you understand almost nothing, it can be difficult to learn from it. If you understand every word, you may not be learning much.

    Start with short conversations, learner podcasts or videos with clear speech. You can also use social media content, including memes, short videos and posts in the language you are learning. These can be a fun way to see and hear everyday language without feeling like you are doing a formal lesson.

    For example, you could look at a meme in your target language and try to understand the joke before using a translation tool. Short videos can also help you hear common expressions and the way people speak naturally.

    Try to understand the main idea before worrying about every word. If you are learning English, you could listen to a short conversation about shopping, travel or daily routines. These topics are useful because you are likely to hear similar language in real life.

  • A group of students sat together smiling outside
    5 team building activities to help break down boundaries
    By Anna Roslaniec
    Czas czytania: 4 minutes

    At the beginning of term adolescent learners are often shy, embarrassed and awkward. They are reluctant to speak English in front of their peers or show enthusiasm in class, often suffering from social pressure and lack of self-confidence. It can take weeks or months for students to get to know each other and form bonds. However, don’t despair if your teen learners are like this. There are plenty of team-building games and activities you can do to help students build relationships that will allow them to feel comfortable and relaxed in the classroom.

    Team building activities to help break down boundaries

    Why use team-building activities in the classroom?

    Team building activities can help:

    • Break down boundaries
    • Teens get to know each other
    • Build trust and teamwork
    • Bring 21st-century skills - collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills - to life

    Team-building games can also be a lot of fun. They require students to work together to reach a common goal and sometimes include a competitive element, which can encourage teenage learners to get really involved. There is a wealth of different team-building games and activities suitable for older children and teens, but here we have chosen five that we think your teenage learners will love.

    1) Human knot

    In this fun physical activity, teamwork is essential. Students form a human knot, which they have to work together to untangle. It will also give you an idea of which students show leadership qualities.

    Materials needed: none

    How to play:

    Have students stand in a circle, making sure they are close together. If you have a large class, having students play in two or more groups may be better. The larger the group, the more complicated the puzzle will be. Tell students to reach across the circle with each arm and hold the hands of two other students. They can't choose the people standing on either side of them. Make sure students hold a left hand with their left hand, and vice versa. Now the human knot is formed.

    Tell students that they have to try to untangle the knot without dropping the hands they are holding. When they have successfully untangled the knot, students will be standing in a regular circle holding hands. Students will need to bend, twist, and move under or step over other students' arms.

    Tip: If one student is reluctant to play, give them the role of "director". This student can walk around the outside of the knot, giving instructions to help the group solve the problem.

    If you are doing this in groups, have them race against each other. The team to solve the problem first - wins.

    2) Magic carpet

    In this game, teams stand on a "magic carpet" which they have to turn over while still standing on it. Teams must decide on a strategy together and carry it out — if they try to do it individually, someone will inevitably fall off.

    Materials needed: rugs, towels, or large pieces of cardboard (one per team)

    How to play:

    Give each team their magic carpet and have them stand on it. Tell students they are on a magic flying carpet high in the sky, but there's a problem — the carpet is upside down. They need to turn the carpet over without anyone falling off.

    They need to devise a strategy for turning the carpet over without anyone touching the floor. Teams can work individually, or they can collaborate to help each other.

    The activity can be set up as a race to see which team flips their carpet first.

    Tip: Encourage students to rethink their strategy if it doesn't appear to be working. Evaluating your decisions and adapting your plan is a useful 21st-century skill that students can use throughout the school year.

    3) Build it

    Teenage students love a practical challenge; in this activity, the element of competition will undoubtedly get them involved. With just basic materials, students have to work together to build the tallest freestanding tower within a time limit.

    Materials needed: balloons (one pack per team), sticky tape, a tape measure, balloon pumps (optional)

    How to play:

    Have students form teams of four and hand out the materials. Tell students to build the tallest freestanding tower using just balloons and sticky tape in ten minutes. Explain that after ten minutes, you will check and measure the structures. If it falls over, that team is eliminated from the challenge.

    Tell students how much time is left after five minutes and again two minutes before the time ends. Have teams stand back from their towers. Inspect each tower, measure it, and record the results. You may wish to give the winning team a prize.

    Tip: Increase the challenge by giving students mixed bags of different-shaped balloons, including modeling balloons.

    4) My eyes, your eyes

    Students will have lots of fun guiding each other or being guided through an obstacle course by their teammates. This activity tests communication skills and builds trust between pairs of students.

    Materials needed: blindfolds or scarves (one per pair) and obstacles, e.g., chairs and boxes.

    Preparation: Before the activity, set up the obstacle course by placing furniture and other items around the classroom. Decide where the route students take will begin and end, marking the finish line.

    How to play:

    Put students in pairs. If possible, have them work with a student they don't know very well. Have one student in each pair cover their eyes with a blindfold. This student is a blinded person and their partner will be their eyes. The guide stands behind their blind partner and places their hands on their partner's shoulders. Their job is to quietly give instructions to guide their partner towards the finish line, navigating the obstacles. The first pair to finish wins.

    Have students swap roles. Move some of the obstacles. Then repeat the activity.

    Tip: If possible, play the game in the playground or in the school gym. The larger the space, the more complex you can make the route.

    5) Scavenger hunt

    This is a longer activity that requires slightly more planning than the others. Teams will complete a set of tasks and challenges as a race. Choose a mixture of fun challenges and serious tasks to turn this activity into a fun diagnostic test to determine students' English levels.

    Materials needed: Worksheet containing a list of tasks and challenges (one per team). Tasks can be both language-related and practical.

    How to play:

    Put students into teams. This activity is ideal for students with different skills and abilities, so try to ensure teams are mixed-ability. Tell students that they are going to race to complete a series of tasks that they will find on their worksheet. The fastest team to complete all tasks correctly wins. Some tasks can be completed by one student.

    Explain that students don't need to complete the tasks in order. Point out that you will monitor them closely to ensure there is no cheating. Remind students that they must use English at all times. You can choose to penalize students by having them repeat or do an extra task if they use L1.

    Tip: If you think students might try to cheat, before you set the teams, nominate students to be team monitors (one per team). They will have the worksheet and make sure that the team fulfills each task. Alternatively, if students have mobile phones or tablets, have them take pictures and videos of their team members completing the task.

  • A woman stood at her computer smiling and raising a arm in celebration
    Do fast test results compromise accuracy and security?
    By Alice Bazzi
    Czas czytania: 2 minutes

    Speed is increasingly critical in global admissions. But with faster results comes an inevitable question: does speed compromise accuracy and security? 

    With traditional testing, long result timelines were often seen as a mark of thoroughness. Today, however, technology enables both speed and precision without any trade-offs. 

    PTE Express uses AI-powered scoring trained on large datasets of real tests responses, ensuring consistent and accurate evaluation across all candidates. Unlike manual grading, which can vary between examiners, automated scoring applies the same criteria to every response. In result, this reduces bias and increases reliability; two factors that are deemed as critical for high-stakes admissions decisions.