Students’ Speaking Proficiency and Perceptions of the British Council EnglishScore Application

Abstract

This study investigated the speaking proficiency and perceptions of eighth-semester students in the English Language Education Study Programme at Universitas Negeri Gorontalo toward the British Council EnglishScore application as a speaking assessment tool. Employing a descriptive mixed-methods design, this study involved 36 students from the 2021 cohort. Data were collected through the EnglishScore speaking test, a structured questionnaire with 15 items, and semi-structured interviews with 8 selected participants. Data were analysed using score distribution, percentage calculation, and thematic analysis. Findings revealed that 58.3% of students reached the B1 CEFR level, while 22.2% remained at A1 or A2. Among speaking sub-skills, pronunciation emerged as the dominant strength (61.1% in the 400–599 score range), fluency showed moderate performance (50% in the 300–399 range), and communication was identified as the critical weakness (25% scoring below 300). Student perceptions were largely positive: 94% valued the sub-skill score breakdown, 89% reported increased motivation to practice speaking, and 86% found the test relevant to academic speaking preparation. These findings suggest that while students have acquired foundational language skills, a significant gap persists between structural knowledge and real-time communicative competence. The EnglishScore application demonstrates considerable pedagogical value as a diagnostic and formative assessment instrument that promotes self-awareness and supports self-regulated speaking practice in EFL contexts

Keywords: Speaking Proficiency, CEFR, British Council EnglishScore, Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), EFL, students' perceptions