CEFR Aligned Speaking Tests in Japan: Implications for the Bunkyo English Communication Center

English language testing is a major part of educational life in Japan, with a multitude of options for students and teachers to choose from. This report examines the alignment of the most widely taken of these norm-referenced tests (NRT) with the Common European Framework of reference (CEFR) and explores their speaking assessment components. Highlighting the benefits of using publicly available CEFR-aligned tests for creating speaking assessments, it reviews how we currently use them in the Bunkyo English Communication Center (BECC) to inform our own assessments within the Freshman and Sophomore General English (GE) course. It goes on to demonstrate how these tests can be adapted to assess studentsʼ speaking abilities while promoting motivation and engagement. Examples of how shorter, low-stakes speaking as-sessments can be created based on an eight-point checklist and CEFR-aligned norm-referenced tests are provided. These support the idea that smaller, more frequent speaking assessments aligned with classroom teaching and offering students positive washback, should be encouraged across all the BECCʼs English language courses.