Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR): A Review on Teachers’ Perception &amp;amp; Plurilingualism

Nadrah Zainal Abidin,Harwati Hashim

doi:10.4236/ce.2021.124051

Abstract

Common Framework of Reference (CEFR) is a document produced by the council of Europe (CoE) to set a standard for teaching and learning English as the Second Language (ESL). Propelled by the need to situate Malaysia English language parallel to the standard of the European countries, the Ministry of Education Malaysia rushed the adaptation of CEFR framework into Malaysia education system. Teachers’ lack of training and understanding onCEFR as well as unsuitable content used in the textbook are among the main challenges faced by teachers to name a few. Nonetheless, the key concept of Plurilingualism which served as the principle in CEFR has been given very minimal focus in the syllabus. Considering Malaysia as a multilingual and multicultural country, there is a potential of English Second Language learners to benefit from the concept of plurilingualism given appropriate training and exposure given to the teachers as the gatekeeper of knowledge and information. In fact, plurilingualism could also be the missing piece that could help aid teachers’ understanding of the framework better.

Highlights

Due to globalization and competitiveness in the job market, there is a need for individuals to be able to communicate fluently in English as it is the lingua franca (Yamat et al, 2014)
Common Framework of Reference (CEFR) is a document produced by the council of Europe (CoE) to set a standard for teaching and learning English as the Second Language (ESL)
Benefit of plurilingualism is further illustrated in Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) as a concept which 1) learners are capable of developing learners’ sociolinguistics and pragmatics competences 2) able to perceive the complexity of the language positively and 3) offers learners the liberty to strategize their learning in regards to the new context (Council of Europe, 2001)

Summary

Introduction

Due to globalization and competitiveness in the job market, there is a need for individuals to be able to communicate fluently in English as it is the lingua franca (Yamat et al, 2014). Mohamad Uri and Adb Aziz (2018) conducted a study on the teachers’ awareness and the challenges on the implementation of CEFR in Malaysia found that teachers believed they needed more knowledge to implement CEFR in the classroom. This happened as many teachers focused on aligning the assessment based on CEFR more with minimal attention on plurilingualism and plural culturalism Another notable aspect worth to note is teachers’ perception on the importance of CEFR in the classroom. Findings on English Teachers’ Concern on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) based on the application of CBAM in 20 secondary schools in Negeri Sembilan Malaysia indicated that teachers were more receptive to the changes and displayed willingness to understand CEFR. The findings can be extrapolated in Malaysia CEFR context as many teachers are not very well verse with CEFR framework

Potential Benefits of Embedding Plurilingualism in Malaysia CEFR

Conclusion & Implication