Hi Lieke, Have you tried the free online placement tests from the Instituto Cervantes? https://examenes.cervantes.es/

Or you could try the Council of Europe Self-Assessment Grid (CEFR) (https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168045bb53)

Best,

Susana

Hi Susana,

thank you for your suggestions, very helpful! I think that the online placement tests from the Instituto Cervantes are the type of test that I am looking for. The only disadvantage of those, as far as I can tell, is that our participants will be performing our study online and I don't see any way that the results of the test could be automatically integrated into data collection. Which means that we would have to trust that they acutally did the test and report their results truthfully.

If anyone knows of a test that does allow for integration in online survey tools (e.g., Qualtrics), please let me know!

Best,

Lieke

Dear van Maastricht,

To choose a test, you also need to consider the specific objectives of your research. For instance, I usually conduct studies in reading, so the tests I use are related to reading skill. Depending on your study, you could use a test that focuses on grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, and even speaking. Since you want a quick online test, I recommend you choose a specific skill. Also, I do not see a problem in trusting that your participants will report their results truthfully, as long as you acknowledge that as a possible limitation of your study.

Best regards.

Dear Tatiana,

thank you for your reply! You make a good point, not all skills are relevant to our study, but we do aim to get a general estimate of their L2 proficiency. Given the online nature of the task and our need to keep the test as short as possible, oral and listening skills will probably be excluded and the focus will be on grammatical proficiency.

If anyone knows of any online tests with a focus on grammatical knowledge, I would be very interested to know more.

Best,

Lieke

Hi, Lieke!

Regarding your question about a quick Spanish placement test, I recommend that you search the following link: https://www.tiatula.com/spanish-placement-tests/

Best luck!

Dear Bendaoud,

thank you for the recommendation. These tests look very similar to those that Susana suggested. A disadvantage might be that it seems as if a participant would have to perform all of the levels until they reach the one they cannot complete succesfully. This might make the Tiatula tests more time consuming than the Cervantes ones.

Either way, it is good to see that the thing that I am looking for is not glaringly obvious, seeing as the perfect solution hasn't presented itself just yet. If anyone has further suggestions, please don't hesitate to share them!

Best,

Lieke

https://dialangweb.lancaster.ac.uk/

This is a diagnostic level test