Innovation in Language Learning

The question of how long it takes to reach a usable standard of English is vitally important to teachers and learners alike. Although this question has been widely discussed in both technical and non-technical contexts and many different estimates are available, there is an absence of quantitative studies such as might support these estimates with evidence from the actual performance of English learners. The problem is substantially complicated by the huge variation in types of learners, contexts for learning, and learners’ objectives, which make any findings difficult to generalise across the whole field. The research presented here is (as far as the presenters are aware) the first to offer numerical evidence to support claims for the time taken for typical learners to pass standard milestones in English language learning. It is drawn from a study of the anonymised study records of over 50,000 adult students at Wall Street English from 27 different countries, and with 17 different native languages. The study times found are then compared with estimates provided by other highly regarded global English language assessment organisations.

Keywords: Assessment, Blended Learning, Second Language Acquisition, CEFR, Milestones, Standards;