The BGF linking experience
Dr. Erika Bánóczy,
Dr. Eszter Benke

The Foreign Language Examination and Training Centre of the Budapest Business School (BGF NYTK) embarked on a level-setting project in June 2004 to relate their examinations to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference. The project was motivated firstly by the challenging possibility of participating in the large-scale work of the Council of Europe Language Policy Division to provide a common framework for the external validation and referencing of the national examinations to the CEF, secondly by more immediate ‘local’ needs: the Language Examination Accreditation Committee in Hungary acknowledged the need to adjust proficiency examination levels to those of the CEF. During the last one and a half year standard setting has been carried out for reading, speaking and writing tests. The process was started by a small expert team that piloted the procedures suggested by the Manual, followed by a large-scale standard-setting workshop in which over 100 examiners of the BGF Examination Centre took part. The presentation gives an insight into the experience obtained during the harmonization work. The results appear to suggest that the various methodological approaches adopted and the expected and unexpected outcomes all contribute to a more extensively shared understanding of the CEF.