Reflecting on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its Companion Volume (a review)

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has been a major influence on language teaching in Europe and beyond and its Companion Volume will probably have the same significance. It is important therefore that education professionals understand the underlying concepts, including the conceptualisation of the language user/learner. This article analyses the concept of learners' identities against the background of the Council of Europe's policy of social inclusion, which became significant between the dates of publication of the two documents. It demonstrates that the CEFR has a more nuanced and detailed concept of identity than the Companion Volume, and that the suggestion in the Companion Volume that teachers do not need to know the CEFR itself is problematic. The CEFR works with a concept of social and personal identity. The Companion Volume lacks such a concept, and an analysis of pluricultural competence in search of clarification of how a ‘pluricultural person' is conceptualised proves unsuccessful. The relationship between ‘pluricultural' and ‘plurilingual’ is not fully addressed in the CEFR, nor developed further in the Companion Volume. There is still a need for a rich description of the identities of learners and of the notion of pluricultural competence.

This book discusses the impact of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its Companion Volume on curricula, teaching/learning and assessment in a wide range of educational contexts, identifies challenges posed by the Companion Volume and sheds light on areas that require further research and development.

This book discusses the impact of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its Companion Volume on curricula, teaching/learning and assessment in a wide range of educational contexts, identifies challenges posed by the Companion Volume and sheds light on areas that require further research and development.

The study conducted aimed at determining goodness of fit between lower secondary education 3rd grade Curriculum for English Language in Turkey and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages that was composed by Council of Europe to encourage other languages except for mother tongue to be spoken and to bring foreign language instruction into conformity with some standards. The study was done in light of significance Turkey attributes to foreign language education in scope of harmonization efforts with European Union and was qualitative. In research where the Document Review technique was used, Curriculum and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages were compared and contrasted in terms of objectives, content, learning and teaching process and evaluation strategies. At end of research, following results were obtained: The goals of Turkish National Education and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages had a similarity at 92 percent even though language skills were not handled on an equal basis in Curriculum. Among all language competences, Waystage (A2) Level was most referenced one in Curriculum. A1 and B1 levels were less dealt with when compared to Waystage Level. Overall Oral Production was language competence represented with most descriptors in Curriculum. All assessment tools in Curriculum were taken from European Language Portfolio.

Standards-based education has become a crucial issue with which evaluating the learning of French language in Thailand was then required to comply. Since the alignment is the core idea in systematic and standards-based reform, this study aimed to evaluate the alignment between Thailand’s Professional and Academic Aptitude Test in French language (PAT 7.1) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages by using item mapping and to study the factors affecting the misalignment between Thailand’s Professional and Academic Aptitude Test in French language (PAT 7.1) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Variables were composed of contents and cognitive demands. Populations were 100 items of PAT 7.1, 388 grade-12 students (Matthayomsuksa 6) in English-French program (academic year 2017) in 10 schools under the South 2’s Development Center of French language (Le Centre pour le Developpement du Francais, CDF Hatyai) and 3 qualified panelists. A sample of 163 students were selected using the multistage sampling method. Research tools consisted of a PAT 7.1 test, two alignment matrixes and a set of open-ended questions. Data was analyzed using the proportion, Rasch IRT model, chi-square, percentage and content analysis. The research revealed that there were 16 items of PAT 7.1 aligning with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Most of them were classified into A2 level and evaluated analysis/investigate skill. Moreover, item mapping result was coherent with that of panelists’ judgement. Three main factors affecting the misalignment were highlighted: the incoherence between item content and standard content, the unmatched levels of cognitive demands and the language usage, including the grammar, in the items that was irrelevant to standard and to students’ language proficiency levels. Keywords: French language, CEFR, alignment, item mapping

Textbooks play a crucial role in the Arabic language learning journey for non-Arabic-speaking students at the Madrasah Aliyah level. A well-structured textbook can act as a teaching aid and a roadmap for mastering language competencies that align with both national and international standards, such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. One such textbook is “اللغة العربية 2” published by Quadra in 2022 for Year 11 students. However, research on this textbook remains limited. This study aims to examine the alignment of the textbook's content with established standards while investigating indicators of speaking skill competence based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Using a descriptive qualitative approach and content analysis methods, the primary data source is “اللغة العربية 2” supplemented by relevant literature. The findings indicate that the textbook meets standards for linguistic accuracy, material presentation, and visual layout. The speaking competencies are aligned with levels A2 and B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Topics like shopping and health correspond to level A2, promoting direct communication, while travel and technology fit level B1, encouraging extended speech and structured expression of experiences and opinions. Future research should explore other language skills within the same textbook for a comprehensive evaluation.

“Yabancılara Türkçe öğretimi konusunda Türkçe yayımlanmış bilimsel çalışmaların bibliyografyası ve doktora tezlerinin Diller İçin Avrupa Ortak Başvuru Metni bağlamında analizi” adlı yüksek lisans tezinden yeniden gözden geçirilip güncellenerek üretilen bu çalışmanın amacı, yabancılara Türkçe öğretimi konusunda 2020 yılına kadarki süreçte Türkçe yayımlanmış bilimsel çalışmaları tespit edip bunların içerik alanlarını belirlemek; doktora tezlerini Ortak Başvuru Metni bağlamında analiz etmektir. Nitel bir çalışma olarak desenlenen bu çalışmada veri toplama yöntemlerinden doküman incelemesi kullanılmıştır. İki bölümden oluşan bu çalışmanın birinci bölümünde YÖK Tez, çeşitli üniversitelerin ve dergilerin veri tabanlarından 2020 yılına kadar yayımlanmış tezlere, makalelere ve bildirilere ulaşılıp bunların içerik alanları belirlenmiş, elde edilen sayısal veriler tablolarla sunulmuştur. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde alan yazınında doktora tezi çalışması sayıca fazla olduğundan yıl ve konu sınırlaması getirilmiş, 2013-2019 yılları arasında (2019 dâhil) temel dil becerileri konusunda yayımlanmış 9 doktora tezi Ortak Başvuru Metni bağlamında analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmalar sonucunda, en fazla çalışmanın makale düzeyinde yapıldığı belirlenmiştir. Tüm bilimsel çalışmalar incelendiğinde, konu bazlı en fazla çalışmanın materyal geliştirme konusunda yapıldığı belirlenmiştir. Analiz çalışması kapsamında ele alınan doktora tezlerinin Ortak Başvuru Metni’nin dil öğretim amacına, öğrenici boyutuna, öğretici boyutuna ve ölçme değerlendirme anlayışına uygun hazırlandığı tespit edilmiştir. Son olarak, alanın gelişimine katkısı olabileceği düşünülen önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

There has been a recent proliferation of studies pertaining to translanguaging. This impetus is largely driven by the increasing acknowledgement of daily communications as translingual practice. In fact, the closely related construct of plurilingualism has been incorporated into the development of the companion volume of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe. 2020. Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Available at: www.coe.int/lang-cefr). Despite the rising awareness towards translanguaging and plurilingualism in European and Northern American contexts (cf. Vallejo, Claudia & Melinda Dooly. 2020. Plurilingualism and translanguaging: Emergent approaches and shared concerns. Introduction to the special issue. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 23(1). 1–16), scepticism remains, especially in classroom settings. Through detailed analyses of extracts taken from 27 h of recordings of UK university ESL classroom interactions among Taiwanese L1 Mandarin students transcribed based on Jefferson (Jefferson, Gail. 2004. Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction. In Gene Lerner (ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation, 14–31. Philadelphia: John Benjamins) and supplemented by Matsumoto (Matsumoto, Yumi. 2019. Material moments: Teacher and student use of materials in multilingual writing classroom interactions. The Modern Language Journal 103(1). 179–204) and Zhu et al. (Zhu, Hua, Wei Li & Agnieszka Lyons. 2017b. Polish shop(ping) as translanguaging space. Social Semiotics 27(4). 411–433), we aim to demonstrate the complementarity effect of various multimodal resources in progressing classroom instructions. Our analyses reveal that the different linguistic and non-linguistic resources deployed contribute to scaffolding and the development of a layered understanding of the concept in discussion (e.g. phrasal verbs). We argue that the translanguaging space enables students to engage in deeper learning. Students are empowered to break down the rigid power structure and actively participate in knowledge co-construction. We end our paper by calling for research that bridges current understanding of translanguaging and policy and assessment strategies development.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a highly influential language policy and education guide. Officially published in 2001, it's available in over 40 languages and used by individuals, institutions, and policymakers in various contexts with different aims and degrees of rigour, laying great impact on countries within and beyond Europe. Recently, due to social mobility and change, the growing plurality in communities in a worldwide brings opportunities and challenges to language education. In response to these, the Council of Europe updated the CEFR and released its Companion Volume (CEFR-CV) in 2018 (a provisional) and 2020 (the definite version). It is the responsibility and of great significance of its member states, language education agencies and together with professionals to effectively utilize both documents. This book emerged from a two-day conference held in London, gathering expanded oral presentations from the guest speakers to kickstart the vision on "Towards a Road Map for Future Research and Development," uniting diverse perspectives and essential questions.

The key theme of the article is the study of the competence of the framework of reference for Chinese language. The history of the development of the framework of reference for Chinese language in the PRC is briefly presented. The components of the communicative competence of the Chinese language and its level structure are studied. The author has performed a comparative analysis of the component structure and content of the components of the model of the communicative competence of the Chinese language with western, domestic and European models of communicative competence, as well as comparative analysis of the levels of the framework of reference for Chinese language with the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The conclusion is made about the specificity of the Chinese model of communicative competence, reflecting the features of the isolating Chinese language, the verbal syllabic Chinese hieroglyphic writing, the autochthonous Chinese culture, and the related features of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was first published in 2001 and had a considerable impact on how we plan, test and talk about foreign language teaching and learning ...

The present study explores the correlation of mediation as the communicative activity and professional translation/interpreting activity in the context of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) (2001). Particular attention is paid to the Companion Volume to CEFR (2017), which offers a broader interpretation of “mediation”. It is claimed that the elimination of differences between mediation and translation/interpreting in CEFR fi nally created possibilities for cooperation between translation studies and foreign language didactics, as well as teaching methodology, in the fi eld of developing mediation competence in the process of foreign language teaching. However, the results appear to indicate that the authors of the Companion Volume to CEFR separated mediation and translation/interpreting. The author believes their arguments to be unconvincing, rejects the idea that mediation and translation/ interpretation are entirely different fi elds and illustrates her arguments with examples from the daily work of translators and interpreters. The analysis further reveals that the interpretation of the mediation in the Companion Volume includes three groups of competences: mediating a text, mediating concepts and mediation in communication. Taking into account this three-dimensional division, the author argues that foreign language didactics and teaching methodology can profi t from the experiences of translation studies by integrating main elements of interpreters and translators training and take advantage of forming intercultural competence which helps to avoid cultural misunderstandings. Keywords: mediation, professional translation, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the Companion Volume to CEFR, translation studies, foreign language didactics and teaching methodology.

Ever since the Grammar Translation Method has been outlawed in mainstream language education policy, translation as a tool for language learning and teaching has been ostracized for a variety of reasons other than pedagogical. However, with the currently growing multilingualism and multiculturalism, there is an ideal opportunity to engage in true cultural dialog and democratic citizenship. The translation is justifiably an essential step in the process of global identity construction. Today, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages with its Companion Volume with New Descriptors for Mediation provides a blueprint for installing mediation as a proxy for translation in the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language. In this regard, mediation is conceived of as a set of translatorial skills that are highly required by today's world citizens in day-to-day life situations. Therefore, the foreign language classroom has to provide for the development of language learners as social agents whose mission is to establish and maintain communication across linguistic and cultural barriers. Within this perspective, this paper joins the initiative to close the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological divide between translation studies and foreign language learning and teaching methodologies. In doing so, it purports to reassess the validity of translation as a pedagogical activity in the foreign language classroom in light of the mediation descriptors provided by the Council of Europe in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL).<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0056/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has had a significant impact on the learning and teaching of modern languages in Europe, but, above all, it has revolutionised the way language skills are assessed and has contributed to the development of language knowledge certification systems. However, it has oft en been the subject of criticism and controversy. Certain deficiencies, which seem to be a natural consequence of the document’s comprehensiveness and the assumed goals, have also been noticed by its authors. In 2018, The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment. Companion volume with new descriptors was published. The document aims not only to improve imperfections, but above all to adapt the description of language education to the current context of language use. Th e authors of the publication have, among other things, set up language proficiency descriptors for areas not specified in the 2001 version of the CEFR. This is how the Pre-A1 level description was developed. It refers to the level of competence at which the learner has not yet acquired a generative capacity, but relies upon a repertoire of words and formulaic expressions. The paper’s aim is a holistic presentation of this level: the process of the creation of descriptors, as well as the description of language activities and strategies of a novice language user.

Mediation is one of the four primary modes of communication defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001), alongside reception, production and interaction. It emphasises the need for learners to act as intermediaries to enable effective communication across linguistic and cultural barriers, whether within the same language or across different languages. Despite its importance, mediation remains underexplored in English language learning within the Portuguese context. This study examines the integration of mediation tasks within two English language textbooks, Harmonize Starter and Harmonize 1, using the framework provided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2020).