Common European Framework Research Articles

Online Learning is a City without Police: Influence of Proficiency on Libyan EFL Learners’ Perceptions

With the spread of COVID-19 and the replacement of face-to-face classes with emergency online learning, many studies have investigated English as a Foreign Language learners’ perceptions regarding their experiences of emergency online learning. However, the influence of EFL learners’ proficiency levels on their perceptions is still a neglected area. Conducting in-depth interviews with a group of Libyan EFL learners (n=18) by employing the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, this study investigated their metaphorical perceptions regarding emergency online learning across the three proficiency levels of Basic, Independent, and Proficient Users according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Considering the large number of EFL learners around the world and the felt literature gap, this study investigated the relationship between EFL learners’ proficiency levels and perceptions. The three main features of online learning reflected in the participants’ metaphors were (i) lack of the teacher’s physical presence, (ii) lack of peers’ physical presence and (iii) lack of nonverbal communication cues. Furthermore, this study reveals a significant relationship between the learners’ language proficiency levels and perceptions. For instance, Basic Users perceived the lack of a teacher’s presence by metaphors of ‘unsafety’ and ‘fear’, while Independent and Proficient Users respectively perceived it by metaphors of ‘freedom’ and ‘power’. Accordingly, the learners reported different class behaviors and learning strategies in response to these features

Mapping The Readiness Of Students In Learning English Phase F Of The Independent Curriculum

The Independent Curriculum gives teachers the freedom to choose material but focuses on strengthening the ability to use English in six language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, viewing, writing, and presenting in an integrated manner, in various types of texts. The minimum learning outcomes for these six English skills refer to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) and equivalent to level B1. The material for giving sympathy and appreciation is one of the materials given in class 11 semester 3. Even though the context of giving sympathy and appreciation is a common thing that happens in everyday contexts, for students to express it in English is quite a high difficulty. This case study occurred in learning English in class 11 Software Engineering 2. 30 participants involved in this study. Only 3 students were able to make sentences expressing sympathy after being given instructions by the teacher, the rest experienced quite high difficulties and needed intensive guidance to be able to complete the task. The main obstacles are lack of vocabulary, lack of grammatical knowledge and low motivation in learning English.

Training the trainer

Abstract Audio description (AD) is a mode of audiovisual translation (AVT) used for making video content accessible to blind and visually impaired viewers. Didactic AD refers to an active practice where the language learner inserts a narration into the original soundtrack of a clip to describe information transmitted visually, thus converting images into words. AD is often portrayed as an artistic practice due to the creative nature of translating visual elements into a linguistic code whilst the learner becomes a social agent that mediates between the clip and others, using aural discourse to interpret what can be seen including semiotic signs and images. This article will explore key professional guidelines for audio describing, the type of language used, and what areas need to be considered when planning an AD lesson. Taking into consideration the new descriptors of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and how communicative approaches have evolved over the last couple of decades, this article will also discuss methodological approaches for an AD effective usage. A sample AD lesson taken from the TRADILEX project will be commented on whilst providing practical recommendations to new users of this AVT mode.

Rompiendo barreras, el inglés como herramienta para los profesionales de la salud

One of the objectives of the UNAM School of Medicine is to offer its students the tools and preparation to advance in the command of the English language, which empowers them and allows them to interact in a greater number of contexts, besides covering the characteristics established in the profile of graduates of the Medical Doctor Degree. Due to this, the School of Medicine, through its General Secretariat, SUAyED and the English Program evaluated the existing programs for teaching English used until 2016. Based on these results, a plan was established in which new courses were designed following the level structure of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which would allow the students to advance from level 0 to B2, that is, an upper intermediate level. The results of these proposals demonstrate a significant advance in the command of the English language, as well as students with greater autonomy and self-confidence. Keywords: English reading comprehension; medical texts; CEFR, Common European Framework of Reference; B2 level; english courses; Medicine.

MEDIATION AS A SKILL IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

Although the importance of mediation tasks was introduced in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) in 2001, the development of mediation skills was finally legitimized in the recent edition of CEFR (Council of Europe, 2020). However, the development of this “fifth” language skill during the language classes remains a problematic issue: contrary to the other four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening), teachers often face the dilemma of how and when to introduce mediation activities and to what extent mediation should be applied in the process of foreign language teaching and learning. The aim of the research is to survey language teaching policies in Lithuania, Latvia and other EU countries from the aspect of the development of mediation skills in language classes in secondary education. Teaching programs of the English language in senior classes of the secondary school are surveyed from the aspect of mediation skills as defined in the newest edition of CEFR. The research results show that mediation activities are still not adequately included in foreign language classes: first of all, language syllabuses must be adjusted to the revised edition of CEFR. The research has proved the necessity of mediation skills to be included in the secondary education programs of foreign languages. Therefore, the selection of textbooks used in senior classes of foreign languages in secondary education must follow the recommendations outlined in CEFR, where the development of mediation skills is especially emphasized due to the present needs. It has been determined that mediation activities can develop students’ multilingual and plurilingual skills and raise students’ awareness of the peculiarities of both the native language and the foreign one.

The Application of Language Proficiency Scales in Education Context: A Systematic Literature Review

The application of the language proficiency scales (LPS) in education validates its function, as it can explore the value in-depth. However, little systematic research on applying LPS has been conducted due to the complex intertwining of stakeholders and a lack of theoretical framework and practical approaches. Adopting the framework proposed by Y. Jin and Jie (2020), this study explored how the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and China’s Standards of English (CSE) were used and impacted various stakeholders in the education context. The literature search was taken from WoSCC, Scopus, and CNKI from 2018 to 2022. Qualitative content analysis was used for systematic review. Results showed that policymakers used LPS in education policy guidance; teachers applied them as the benchmark of diagnostic assessment to get accurate language profiles of students and create new approaches to teaching; students used them as goal-setting guidance and self- or peer assessment criteria to track progress; test developers aligned them with tests to obtain reliable results; curriculum designers tailored descriptors and scales from CEFR to develop new curricula, align, or revise the existing ones; researchers used LPS as references to develop new rubrics, frameworks and assessing models. This study could provide insight in scientific application of LPS. However, it focused mainly on the CEFR and CSE with a framework for exploring the impact of language testing. Studies containing more scales and theorizing the framework of aftereffects of LPS should be encouraged.

Perceptions of Non-English Major Students on English Proficiency Standards and CEFR-V in Tertiary Education in Vietnam

Vietnam’s education system has made significant efforts to enhance foreign language proficiency, particularly in English, across all levels of training. In recent years, although many educational policies and projects, typically National Foreign Language Project have been promulgated and widely applied, there are still gaps and limitations. One of them is the lack of research on the beliefs and understanding of students who are most deeply affected by the English graduation standard policies. This paper aims to examine non-English major undergraduates’ understanding of the CEFR-V (a Vietnamese version of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and their beliefs about the current implementation of the English proficiency standards to university students in Vietnam. The study collected data from 122 students from a large university in Vietnam. Descriptive statistics indicate that while the participants possess sufficiently positive beliefs about the implementation of the national proficiency standards for undergraduate students, there are still concerns about standardization and differentiation. Additionally, the students are found to have limited knowledge and low usage of the CEFR-V. Thereby, some suggestions were made to improve the foreign language policy and optimize students' learning outcomes.

İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRETMEN ADAYLARININ SORU SORMA STRATEJİLERİNİN İNCELENMESİ

Promoting learners' higher-order thinking, which is also called critical thinking. requires using instructional strategies beyond merely recalling information but analyzing, evaluating, and creating information, as suggested in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (2001). As an indispensable vehicle for instructional practice and assessment, questioning is both an end to be achieved and a valuable means to attaining higher-order thinking levels. Bearing in mind that a teacher who can incorporate the so-called skills may transfer those to future language practitioners, teacher educators are on the lookout for designing courses that foster critical thinking. In this study, one of the core courses entitled 'Literature in ELT' was chosen to explore the questioning levels of pre-service ELT learners (henceforth PTEs) at a university to uncover their knowledge of higher-order thinking levels using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy as a framework. Randomly selected short stories which were classified according to Common European Framework of References (CEFR) levels were distributed to the learners. Afterwards, they were asked to generate questions imagining that they would assign these stories to their future learners to check their reading comprehension. The questions were gathered to determine what levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy the questions correspond to and examine the frequency and distribution of the questions at each level. The findings revealed that questions created by PTEs, addressing lower-level thinking skills in the taxonomy, outweighed the higher-order thinking skills for each level of stories.

Features of the formation of aviation discourse of the future teachers of a foreign language

This article discusses the ways and possibilities of preparing aviation students to study an industry-specific foreign language according to the ICAO language proficiency level scale, which stands for International Civil Aviation Organization and represents a clearly described international set of requirements for knowledge of a foreign language. To improve the real safety of aviation around the world, it is important to develop the international standard for language proficiency requirements. Training on the ICAO language level scale was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2019, after this study was undertaken. This level scale is designed to determine the content in terms of proficiency in aviation terminology and phraseology in English at the so-called levels. The ICAO language level scale identifies six levels that correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which defines six levels of foreign language proficiency: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 (ascending). In this regard, the authors of the article identified the tasks of solving the selection of language materials and structuring them into modules. These tasks and cases are professionally content-oriented and communicative, which could give the opportunity to practise and improve students’ skills and competences.

FEATURES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING IN TECHNICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

The purpose of the study is to characterize peculiarities of foreign language training in technical higher education institutions in the conditions of modernization of higher education in Ukraine based on the analysis of modern research.
 The relevance of the raised problem is determined by the fact that the modernization of higher education of Ukraine, its entry into the European and world educational space is not possible without a significant increase in the quality of students’ foreign language training, in particular, technical higher education institutions.
 The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the role of "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment" in the restructuring of national standards of foreign language training has been indicated. It is underlined that integrated learning major and foreign language, which is based on the study of professional disciplines in inseparable unity with mastering a foreign language and involving intra- and interdisciplinary connections, is a necessity and a significantly new step to improve and modernize students’ foreign language training in technical higher education institutions. It is highlighted that the implementation of integrated learning major and foreign language in the educational space of technical higher education institutions strengthens the practical component of foreign language training. It is stated that modern realities of foreign language training are focused on attracting innovative methods and approaches to learning, based on students’ interaction and modelling of their future professional activity. Attention is paid to the need to reorient the educational process to the future specialist’s personality, student-centeredness.
 Conclusions. As a result of the research, features of foreign language training in technical higher education institutions of Ukraine in the conditions of modernization of higher education have been identified. It is noted such new features as consistency and synchronization of requirements for foreign language training through the implementation of "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment"; integrated learning major and foreign language; strengthening the practical component of students’ foreign language training; reorienting the educational process to the future specialist’s personality, student-centeredness and others. It is revealed that further scientific research can be devoted to the study of innovative methods and approaches to learning, which are based on students’ interaction and contribute to the modelling of future professional activity.

Use of Mobile Applications for Foreign Language Learning Among University Students: Needs and Functions

Currently, mobile learning is an inseparable part of education since students use their mobile devices ubiquitously on a daily basis. This is also true for foreign language learning where smartphones and their applications are used for practicing all four language skills and language structures. The purpose of this article is to survey the needs of university students as far as the functions and content of a mobile app for foreign language learning are concerned. The methodology was based on an online questionnaire survey, which was conducted among 103 students of the University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, in the period between 30 October 2020 and 24 January 2021. The findings reveal that the potential mobile applications for foreign language learning should be tailored to the language needs of students at the University of Hradec Králové; be targeted at their foreign language level between B1 and B2 of the Common European Reference Framework for Languages; be used at smartphones with Android operating system in particular; offer the possibility of repeating exercises and the combination of different teaching approaches; be free of charge and provide the possibility to choose a corresponding language level; be aimed at practicing specific language skills and knowledge; provide gamification features, offline version, online interaction, notifications; and serve as support to the face-to-face classes

The Gap Analysis of Peace Education Components in English Language Classroom: A Case Study

Creating a harmonious and amenable atmosphere in the language classroom is an essential step for peaceful learning. Plurilingual and pluricultural language education was put forward in CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) was developed by the Council of Europe and officially launched in 2001. The purpose of this study is to examine the discrepancies between the curriculum and peace education components in English teaching classrooms in Turkey. Document analysis was made with the curriculum including activities and coursebook for 7th graders to examine the peace education components. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the English language teacher as a key informant and ten 7th gradestudents as a chosen case to get additional data to the document analysis. As a result of the content analysis of the interviews, there are three main themes that emerged which are knowledge, motivation, and culture/context. According to the results, a peace education model for EFL classrooms was proposed. Keywords: CEFR; Content analysis; English language classroom; Peace education; Qualitative research.

Competences in Specialised German and in The Profession

The article addresses the problem of how competences in a working environment in foreign language learning are combined in the concept of professional communication. It is distinguished from the notions of specialized and professional language by describing the linguistic and extra-linguistic skills needed for a specific work situation. For this purpose, a sample work situation is described by means of GeR descriptors defined for each level. Attention is drawn to the updating of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the extension of the concepts of 'speaking' 'writing' 'reading' and 'listening' to 'skills and strategies' for these four skills. Finally, mention is made of the most important trends in professional communication according to some well-known researchers: dynamisation, differentiation and decentralization in language learning processes in work environments.

An Analysis of Cultural Elements in Count Me In: A Sociocultural Knowledge Criteria of CEFR and Kachru’s Three Circles Model

As a result of globalization, technological advances, travelling facilities and internet, more communities from diverse cultures begin to interact and share their daily lives. Today, English is utilized for communication prevalently occurred in the encounters among the people whose native languages are not English. For this reason, main goal of instructing English is being competent enough in intercultural interactions. With the emergence of “globalization” paradigm and its effects on social, economic and ethical fields, the necessity of interaction between different cultures, the importance of mutual tolerance and respect becomes more essential in the progress of time. Being able to interact in English necessitates being able to appreciate different traditions, daily lives, values and beliefs. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages also emphasizes the necessity of teaching culture. Consequently, this research analyses the content and seeks to evaluate the presence of the culture oriented contexts and visuals related to Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles regarding the sociocultural knowledge elements of CEFR in 10th grade Count Me In English course book. This study reveals that the course book employs most of the sociocultural knowledge elements of CEFR moreover it predominantly reflects the culture related contexts and images of Inner Circle and Expanding Circles regarding the sociocultural knowledge elements of CEFR. Especially, Sociocultural knowledge elements of CEFR related to source country Turkey and USA cover very large proportion of the course book. The analyzed course book involves a small percentage of the sociocultural knowledge elements of CEFR related to Outer Circle countries.

SCALING OLYMPUS: EXPLORING OFFICIAL LANGUAGE CERTIFICATIONS AT THE CEFR C2 LEVEL

For many foreign language learners, passing an examination at the C2 level – the sixth and highest level of the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) – can seem like a lofty goal. For educators, preparation requirements at this level can also be challenging, especially given common misconceptions about the degree of linguistic skill and knowledge required for candidates to complete the relevant qualification successfully. Accordingly, in first outlining the rationale and requirements for the CEFR C2 level according to the Council of Europe’s guidelines, this contribution aims to explore the official language qualifications available at this level of proficiency. As such, the range of accredited C2-level language certifications offered by institutional full members of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) will be investigated, primarily through analysis of the relevant websites for each individual C2 qualification. In comparing and contrasting these advanced-level examinations, which are offered across a range of European languages, it is intended to offer greater insights into the varying formats, structures, and requirements of official language certifications at the C2 level. Thus, it is intended to provide practical benefits not only for educators, but also for foreign language learners and examination candidates seeking to prepare for these qualifications.

METHODS OF FORMING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The article is devoted to the development of intercultural competence as one of the main competencies of students’ language training in higher education. The authors defined the concept of intercultural competence. The authors consider the theoretical foundations of intercultural competence in the educational environment, which are outlined in the basic document in the field of language education «Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment». M. Byram’s model of intercultural competence development and its components (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and education) are considered in the article. The analysis of scientific-methodical and pedagogical literature on the formation of intercultural competence is outlined; the survey among students at Dnipro Humanitarian University was made, as well as statistical analysis and generalizing of the obtained results for the future didactic approaches for the development of intercultural competence in a higher education institution. The article presents the results of the survey among students at Dnipro Humanitarian University regarding the educational conditions for intercultural competence development at the university. To identify effective methods of intercultural competence development, as well as to determine methods of developing intercultural competence within the framework of teaching the disciplines «English for Specific Purposes», «Business English» and extracurricular work with students, a survey of students was conducted. Based on the analysis of the results of the survey, students consider intercultural competence development to be the priority in the educational environment proposed. Universities should contribute to students’ intercultural competence development by offering various student mobility programs, and opening opportunities for student exchanges. Such programs and activities help students to understand the differences between cultures and establish effective interaction with colleagues from different countries.

Visualizing Linguistic Complexity and Proficiency in Learner English Writings

In this article, we focus on the design of a second language (L2) formative feedback system that provides linguistic complexity graph reports on the writings of English for special purposes students at the university level. The system is evaluated in light of formative instruction features pointed out in the literature. The significance of complexity metrics is also evaluated. A learner corpus of English classified according to the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) was processed using a pipeline that computes 83 complexity metrics. By way of analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing, multinomial logistic regression, and clustering methods, we identified and validated a set of nine significant metrics in terms of proficiency levels. Validation with classification gave 67.51% (A level), 60.16% (B level), and 60.47% (C level) balanced accuracy. Clustering showed between 53.10% and 67.37% homogeneity, depending on the level. As a result, these metrics were used to create graphical reports about the linguistic complexity of learner writing. These reports are designed to help language teachers diagnose their students’ writings in comparison with prerecorded cohorts of different proficiencies.

Assessing (also) Linguistic Competence for Distance Learning Designing and Piloting an Entry Test for an Online Course

The article reports on the design and piloting of the MobIta proficiency test. MobIta was designed as an entry test for a course of Italian for Business Purposes to assess reading and writing skills in the occupational and public domains of the Common European Framework. However, since the course was entirely online, we included in our test a part devoted to assessing language proficiency for online learning. After contextualising linguistic competence for online education, the paper illustrates the development of the test, focusing on the piloting stage. We conclude that language proficiency is an important asset for distance education and, since it can hinder the learners’ participation, must therefore be carefully considered.

Description and requirements for teaching Georgian as a foreign language A1 level

   Modernity defines our life, novelty rules everything. Language, as a living system, reacts significantly to each innovation. Each generation leaves its mark in the language, sorts, replaces and assigns a special place to some combinations of words. The Common European Framework Reference (CEFR) is a guide for marking language levels. Some instruments produced within the framework of the Council of Europe played a decisive role in the so-called teaching "foreign" languages. A communicative approach has been specially developed through the promotion of methodological innovations and training programs. They have promoted a new approach to communication with these teaching methods - for easy and quick acquisition of unknown languages ​​- in a convenient way. So, by identifying the language need, they were able to accurately determine the knowledge, that is, the knowledge needed to achieve this or that level of communication threshold. Until now, the grading system has always been divided into six levels. It is possible and permissible to divide each level into two or subdivide according to the needs of the local context. Levels are defined by the "can" descriptor. This approach was described in 2001, but it was preceded by some period of work. The first specification of the "threshold level" was established for the English language in 1975 (Threshold level). In general, Great Britain has the largest and best experience in teaching English as a foreign language. Undoubtedly, it is not surprising that they started thinking about this issue from the beginning. The formation of the specificity of the English language was soon followed by French (Un Niveau Seuil, 1976). These two tools are used as the basis for reference tools of the same type that were subsequently developed for other languages. Of course, the peculiar characteristics of each language were taken into account. The CEFR is based on and integrates all these achievements and has developed a description of foreign language acquisition according to the types of competence and sub-competency. The created descriptors are general, that is, they are not adapted to a specific language. However, for textbook writers, teachers, and other professionals, the CEFR specifications may be too general because individual languages ​​are not considered. Therefore, their field of application is wide. Descriptors track the progressive mastery of each skill, which is rated on a six-level scale. It is interesting to see how these features appear in A1 level textbooks

Foreign Language Teaching in Secondary Schools in Germany and Turkey: A Comparative Study

It is known that foreign language teaching has become an increasingly important element with the globalizing world. While some countries have reached a higher level in foreign language teaching, some cannot reach the level of success they want. Understanding the foreign language teaching quality of countries is possible by knowing how they shape their education systems. In this study, the secondary school foreign language education systems of Germany and Turkey were examined comparatively. In doing so, education policy, foreign languages taught, curriculum, weekly foreign language course hours, teaching methods and teaching materials were discussed. In this study, the secondary school foreign language education systems of Germany and Turkey were examined comparatively. While doing this, education policy, foreign languages taught, curriculum, weekly foreign language course hours, teaching methods and teaching materials were discussed. The aim is to reveal differences and similarities by comparing education systems and to determine which factors make these schools successful in foreign language education. The aim is to reveal differences and similarities by comparing education systems and to determine which factors make these schools successful in foreign language education. Document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Literature review, documentation and text analysis were used to collect data. According to the findings of the study, both Germany and Turkey have adopted the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, English as the first foreign language has an important place in the curriculum and the lessons consist of current issues about life. When it comes to differences, it was determined that the curriculum in Germany changed from state to state, more time was allocated to foreign language course hours than in Turkey, and it is richer than the curriculum in Turkey in terms of teaching materials. In addition, with both countries emphasis on communicative approach and communicative skills, it has been determined that the grammar translation method is still applied in schools in Turkey, while Germany has made more progress in foreign language teaching by adopting an action-oriented approach and communicative skills.