The Common European Framework

INLINGUANovember 2004

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Plan of presentation

• The background to the Framework• The contents • Levels, descriptors, checklists• European Language Portfolios• The social and political relevance• What’s in it for teachers?

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What are these?

• The Common European Framework• The Common Reference Scale• The descriptor scales• The European Language Passport• European Language Portfolios• Dialang• The ALTE Can do statements• The Portfolio checklists

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More than thirty years work

• 1971 – 1991 The beginnings– A functional approach; Threshold levels;

Needs analysis; Learner autonomy; Communicative approaches

• 1991 – 2003 Consolidation– Coherence and transparency– Language education for democratic

citizenship, for social cohesion– The Common European Framework; the

European Language Portfolio

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Milestones

• 1997 – “Education for democratic citizenship”– Declaration of language rights– Promotion of labour mobility– Adoption of first draft of Framework– Pilot projects for European Language Portfolios

• 2000 – “Towards a plurilingual, pluricultural society”– European Year of Languages 2001– Launch of Portfolios and revised Framework

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Language learning, teaching and assessment – a common framework of

reference

• Aims– To encourage practitioners to reflect on:

• What we do when we speak (or write) to each other

• What enables us to act in this way• How much of this we need to learn when we try to

use a new language• How we set objectives and mark progress from

ignorance to mastery

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The CEF – aims

• To make it easier for practitioners to tell each other and their clientele what they wish to help learners to achieve and how they attempt to do so.

• To reflect on what we can do to help ourselves and other people to learn a language better

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The principles behind the CEF

• It’s not prescriptive:– “we do not set out to tell practitioners what

to do, or how to do it”

• It’s not neutral:– The CEF “supports methods which help

learners build up attitudes, knowledge and skills they need to:

• Become more independent in thought and action• Be more responsible and co-operative in relation

to other people”

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The contents of the CEF

• Language as action1. Common Reference Levels2. Language use and the language user3. The user / learner’s competences4. Language learning and teaching5. Tasks and their role in language teaching6. Linguistic diversification and the

curriculum7. Assessment

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Description and comparison

• “Say what you do” – description is an essential part of quality management

• Standards – setting comparable standards is a vital issue in assessment of quality

• The Common European Framework provides a coherent description of language learning, teaching and assessment

• The Common Scale of Reference provides common standards for comparison of achievement and progress in language learning

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Features of the cef

• A definition of communication– = reception / production / interaction /

mediation

• A strategic definition of communicative competence– = “being able to carry out activities and

processes for the production and reception of texts

– = being able to construct discourse to fulfil tasks in the domain of social existence”

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This means a focus on learners

• “Language learning activities are based on the needs, motivations, characteristics and resources of learners:

• What will they need to do with the language?• What will they need to learn to do what they want?”• What makes them want to learn?• What sort of people are they?• What knowledge, skill and experiences do their

teachers possess?• What access do they have to resources?• How much time can they afford to spend?”

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The Common Scale of Reference

• The Common Scale of Reference is the core of the CEF.

• It describes user competence at 6 levels– Basic user = A1 (Breakthrough) A2

(Waystage)– Independent user = B1 (Threshold) B2

(Vantage)– Proficient user = C1 (Effective proficiency)

C2 (Mastery)

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A – Basic user

A1 A2

B – independent user

C – proficient user

B1 B2 C1 C2

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Examples of descriptors 1

• A1 “Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/ herself and can ask and answer questions about personal details, such as where he/ she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.”

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Examples of descriptors 2

• C2 “Can understand with ease everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express himself / herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations”

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Global Scale  

  Proficient

C2 Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

User C1 Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

  Independent

B2 Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

User B1 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

   Basic

A2 Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

User A1 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

 

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Levels can be sub-divided

• The levels are too broad to show progress over a short period, so you can sub-divide them. The Swiss education system has six levels up to B1 (A1.1, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2, B1.1, B1.2) for compulsory schooling up to the age of 16.

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How much vocabulary do you need?

• A2• B1• B2

• Around 850 words• Around 1.500

words (Threshold level)

• Around 4.500 words

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The importance of the scale

• It’s been adopted by ALTE (UCLES, Goethe, Alliance Françoise etc.) and will be used as the level descriptor for their exams and equivalences

• A number of countries are using it / going to use it as a basis for school language certification

• The European Language Portfolio is based on it and the self-assessment scale

• It will affect the levels used in coursebooks etc., the way we talk about levels

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“Policy responses to multilingualism lie between two ends of a continuum of attitudes and approaches: on the one

hand policy for the reduction of diversity, and on the other the

promotion and maintenance of diversity. Both can be pursued in the

name of improved potential for international mobility, of

intercomprehension and of economic development.

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The Council of Europe and its member States have taken the position that it is the promotion of linguistic diversity which should be pursued in language education policy. For in addition to mobility, intercomprehension and economic development, there is the further important aim of maintaining the European cultural heritage, of which linguistic diversity is a significant constituent. This means, then, that language teaching must be seen as the development of a unique individual linguistic competence ('knowing' languages whichever they may be) and also as education for linguistic tolerance.

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Policies for language education should therefore promote the learning of several languages for all individuals in the course of their lives, so that Europeans become plurilingual and intercultural citizens, able to interact with other Europeans in all aspects of their lives.”

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Existing (19th century) model 

New model

Focus on nation-state and national language as source of identity 

Emphasis on European citizenship and linguistic diversity

Multilingualism is a problem for society 

Multilingualism enriches society

Assumes learners start from monolingual base 

Takes into account diverse language experiences outside the classroom

Bilingualism and diverse cultural backgrounds ‘silenced’ 

Bilingualism and diverse cultural backgrounds celebrated

Bilingual children’s education is seen as problematic – focus is on developing national language 

Bilingualism welcomed – focus on developing ability in mother tongue as well as other languages

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Speakers of other languages are ‘foreign’.

Speaking another language is the norm

Learning another language is difficult 

Learning another language is natural

Near-native speaker competence is the ultimate goal

Even low levels of competence are valuable and add to communicative repertoire – to be built on throughout life 

Language teaching focuses mainly on linguistic goals. Cultural element tends to be poor, or focused solely on ‘high’ culture

Language teaching has strong cultural elements and includes intercultural awareness

Language learning focuses on one language at a time

Language learning focuses on links between languages, and on language awareness in general

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Language learning tends to be élitist and problematic for the majority

Language learning can be successful for everyone