Learner autonomy

COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES – WHAT IS BEHIND IT?

SESSION OUTLINE

• The need for a change
• Basics of CEFR e
• Background
• The new approach
• Competence as the Key Term
• Scales and Subscales
• Self-assessment and CEFR
• Projects within CEFR
• Issues and Critique
• CEFR and IELTS

Hands up!

• • Who owns a copy of the CEFR – the Blue
• Book?
• • Who has read it?
• • Who is familiar with its contents?
• • Who has already heard of the CEFR?

Some Issues: synonymy

• Operations at A2
• Understand
• Take
• Get
• Follow
• Identify
• Infer

• Operations at B2
• Understand
• Scan
• Monitor
• Obtain
• Select
• Evaluate
• Locate
• Identify

Some issues - FAQ

• 1. How can we ensure that we elicit target
• language features?
• 2. How can we check both what the learners are
• able to do and also what they freely choose to
• do?
• 3. How can we ensure that tasks at a given CEFR
• level are parallel? Is my B1 your B1?
• 4. We need banks of validated reading and
• listening tasks to illustrate CEFR levels

Limitations of the CEFR

• Not enough information for test development
• – DIALANG experience
• Lack of specificity as to how language
• proficiency develops
• No reference to specific languages - but see
• reference level descriptions:
• www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/DNR_EN.asp

CEFR and IELTS

• “As we grow in our understanding of the relationship between IELTS and the CEFR levels, so the frame of reference may need to be revised accordingly.”
• Taylor, L (2004a) 'Issues of test comparability', Research Notes, 15, 2-5.

CEFR vs IELTS - FAQ

• *Has the IELTS changed?
• No,it hasn’t.
• *Some IELTS band scores are shown as borderline (e.g. it is not clear whether band 6,5 is B2 or C1). How should institutions and organisations interpret this?
• Our research shows that a C1 minimum threshold would fall between the 6.5 and 7 bands on the IELTS scale. Therefore, whilst many 6.5 candidates would be at C1, a number will be marginally below.
• *Does IELTS differentiate at C2 level?
• Band scores of 8.5 and higher are recognised as C2. Band 8 is borderline.

References

• A Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Learning, Teaching, Assessment. — Strasbourg, 1986.
• Common European Framework of reference for languages //Council of Europe: http://www.coe.int/ and http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/ManualRevision-proofread-FINAL_en.pdf
• IELTS (official site) http://www.ielts.org
• Общеевропейские компетенции владения иностранным языком: изучение, преподавание, оценка / Департамент современных языков Директората по образованию, культуре и спорту Совета Европы; Перевод выполнен на кафедре стилистики английского языка МГЛУ под общ. ред. проф. К. М. Ирисхановой. — М.: Изд-во МГЛУ, 2003

• Thank you very much

• Council of Europe and…
• Elena Golubovskaya,
• Associate Professor,
• English Language Department
• Higher School of Economics