Using exemption examinations to assess Finnish business students' non-formal and informal learning of ESP: a pilot study

• Published in: Language learning in higher education (Berlin, Germany) Germany), 2014-06, Vol.4 (1), p.27-42
• Main Author: Tuomainen, Satu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Business Administration Education; business English; Economics Education; English for Special Purposes; ESP testing; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Informal Education; informal learning; Lifelong Learning; non-formal learning; Prior Learning; Questionnaires; recognition of prior learning; Required Courses; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Self Evaluation (Individuals); self-assessment; Semi Structured Interviews; Student Attitudes; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 2191-611X; 2191-6128
• DOI: 10.1515/cercles-2014-0003

In recent years Finnish university language centres have increasingly developed procedures for assessing and recognising the skills in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) that students acquire in various non-formal and informal learning environments. This article describes the procedures developed by the University of Eastern Finland Language Centre to assess business students' non-formal and informal learning of ESP language and communication skills. The examinations are held every semester for students seeking exemption from the ESP courses that form part of their undergraduate degree in business and economics. In the examinations the students' skills and abilities are tested using the same criteria and methods as in the courses from which exemption is sought. The article also describes how business students perceive the exemption examination process as a means to recognising and assessing their non-formally and informally acquired ESP language and communication skills. Applying a mixed methods research design, the data presented was elicited from business students who participated in the ESP exemption examinations at the University of Eastern Finland Language Centre in the autumn semester 2012. The results of this pilot study indicate that the students regard the exemption examination process as their preferred means of demonstrating prior learning of ESP, and consider the pre-examination guidance and information provided by the teachers and the self-assessment instructions functional and sufficient. These findings encourage the further development of the ESP exemption examination system at the University of Eastern Finland Language Centre.