Every year, approximately 250,000 16-year-olds take GCSEs in modern foreign languages in England. Policy-makers, test-developers, and educators require a strong research-informed understanding of language proficiency, its components, and—critically—its relations with affective factors, such as motivation and attitudes towards language learning. Some such evidence exists. However, most research has focused on learners of English in universities, with few studies with languages other than English in compulsory education. 

Our ComLaP study aims to address these gaps by investigating language proficiency and its components, among GCSE learners of French and Spanish who only have 400-450 hours of instruction before sitting their GCSEs. 

In the summer of 2022 and 2023, participants completed a series of tasks assessing (a) proficiency in listening, reading, writing, and speaking, (b) different types of knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and sound–symbol correspondences, and (c) affective factors, such as motivation and attitudes towards language learning. 

We hope that these findings will contribute to policy and practice in England and beyond.

This website brings together (a) the test instruments used in this study; (b) the data and analysis scripts underpinning the findings presented in our book, 'Components of Language Proficiency: The case of adolescent second language learners in schools in England'; (c) the appendices for each part of the book; and (d) one-page summaries for each chapter of the book.

This project has received funding from the Department for Education and the Department of Education at the University of York.