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Thomas Aeppli

Research assistant


thomas.appli@unifr.ch

Research interests

  • Assessment of foreign language competences and test validity 
  • Development of instruments for assessment of language proficiency
  • Individual multilingualism
  • Language aptitude

PhD thesis project

Language and thought in the philosophy of linguistics

Research projects (collaboration)

Title

How much longer until B2?

Linguistic and individual factors influencing the speed of learning an official language

Duration

01.2025 - 12.2028

The project “How much longer until B2?” investigates the time needed to attain a targeted level in a foreign language, for instance in organisations associated with the Swiss federal government.  To begin, a comprehensive literature...

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Title

Verification of the attainment of the Basic Competences in foreign languages at the end of compulsory schooling (ÜGK/COFO 2020)

Duration

01.2018 - 09.2024

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) planned to verify how well students are mastering the Basic Competences (educational standards) in foreign languages for the second time in spring 2020. Due to the covid-19 pandemic,...

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Title

Innovative forms of assessment

In-depth study on competence-based assessment of receptive skills

Duration

01.2016 - 12.2019

If the aim is to measure how well learners can actually use a foreign language, then competence-oriented testing with near-authentic tasks is the method of choice. There is, however, a need for renewal in the design of such test tasks, especially...

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Title

Verification of the attainment of the basic competences 2017 (ÜGK 2017) in the first language at the end of primary school: task development

Duration

04.2015 - 06.2018

Commissioned by:  Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) In the spring of 2017, the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education conducted the first ever largescale assessment to measure how well students have...

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