Analisi dell’Interlingua e CEFR nell’Apprendimento della Lingua Inglese in studenti di scuole secondarie di secondo grado di Sassari

The present study aims to identify, classify and explain features of interlanguage (IL) of learners of English as Foreign Language (FL), in samples of written language, against the CEFR levels of language competence. Some relevant questions we have tried to address are the following:how can we investigate the relationship between the Interlanguage development and the CEFR? Is it possible to integrate Interlanguage analysis into formative and summative assessment? Which benefits can teachers and learners in EFL classroom obtain?The study was carried out in two different phases and 156 students were involved, 52 in the first phase and 108 in the second one, subdivided into 10 different classes of three different schools in Sassari.The students were asked to fill in a personal information questionnaire and to complete a writing test according to the CEFR levels of proficiency and “can do statements”. The manual correction of the written samples took into consideration the number of words used, the number and different types of error, using both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The results show that: not always there is correspondence between CEFR levels and learners’ IL; the IL analysis can be integrated into formative assessment; family context has a fundamental role in the language learning process; teachers’ training in interlanguage analysis would be of great benefit for teaching and assessment practices.