The role of English lingua franca in a university entrance test

This paper examines the need for a valid and reliable test of receptive skills in English for incoming European University students, in the light of the Bologna agreement, and the subsequent minimal level (B1 or B2) set by many universities. It reports on a needs analysis conducted among third year Italian university students who were asked to identify the specific English language skills required of them to complete their degree course, and a critique of existing tests aimed at university level students, concluding that these appear to be more suited to the needs of students in a native speaker English speaking environment.