Teachers’ Evaluation of The Suitability of Reading Syllabus Specifications to The CEFR

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to determine the suitability of reading syllabus specifications against CEFR reading scale and to find out if the CEFR levels of reading syllabus specifications suggested by teachers match the CEFR level set by Ministry of Education. 331 secondary school English teachers took part in this study through distribution of syllabus checklist. The teachers were required to determine if the current reading syllabus specifications are suitable and still relevant to be used against CEFR global scale. The teachers also recommended suitable CEFR levels for reading syllabus specifications. Data was analysed using Winstep since it measures suitability of an item. It was found that there are syllabus specifications which are still relevant and suitable to be used with CEFR global scale. Findings also reveal that reading syllabus specifications are aligned and matched the target CEFR level of B2 since CEFR level B1/B2 are the target level set by Ministry of Education for Form 5 English. Most of the reading skills syllabus specifications were placed at CEFR level B2 by the teachers. In conclusion, reading syllabus specifications which are found to be suitable and relevant to the CEFR should be retained so that these syllabus specifications could be used with the new CEFR aligned English syllabus.