The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment,[1] abbreviated in English as CEFR, CEF, or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. The CEFR is also intended to make it easier for educational institutions and employers to evaluate the language qualifications of candidates for education admission or employment. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching, and assessing that applies to all languages in Europe.

The CEFR was established by the Council of Europe between 1986 and 1989 as part of the "Language Learning for European Citizenship" project. In November 2001, a European Union Council Resolution recommended using the CEFR to set up systems of validation of language ability. The six reference levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) are becoming widely accepted as the European standard for grading an individual's language proficiency.

Development

An intergovernmental symposium in 1991 titled "Transparency and Coherence in Language Learning in Europe: Objectives, Evaluation, Certification" held by the Swiss Federal Authorities in the Swiss municipality of Rüschlikon found the need for a common European framework for languages to improve the recognition of language qualifications and help teachers co-operate. A project followed to develop language-level classifications for certification to be recognised across Europe.[2]

As a result of the symposium, the Swiss National Science Foundation set up a project to develop levels of proficiency, to lead on to the creation of a "European Language Portfolio" – certification in language ability which can be used across Europe.

A preliminary version of the Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was published in 2003. This draft version was piloted in a number of projects, which included linking a single test to the CEFR, linking suites of exams at different levels and national studies by exam boards and research institutes. Practitioners and academics shared their experiences at a colloquium in Cambridge in 2007 and the pilot case studies and findings were published in Studies in Language Testing (SiLT).[3] The findings from the pilot projects then informed the Manual revision project from 2008 to 2009.

Theoretical background

The CEFR divides general competences in knowledge, skills, and existential competence with particular communicative competences in linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence and pragmatic competence. This division does not exactly match previously well-known notions of communicative competence, but correspondences among them can be made.[4]

The CEFR has three principal dimensions: language activities, the domains in which the language activities occur, and the competencies on which a person draws when they engage in them.[5]

Language activities

The CEFR distinguishes four kinds of language activities: reception (listening and reading), production (spoken and written), interaction (spoken and written) and mediation (translating and interpreting).[5]

Domains

General and particular communicative competencies are developed by producing or receiving texts in various contexts under various conditions and constraints. These contexts correspond to various sectors of social life that the CEFR calls domains. Four broad domains are distinguished: educational, occupational, public and personal. These largely correspond to register.

Competences

A language user can develop various degrees of competence in each of these domains and to help describe them, the CEFR has provided a set of six Common Reference Levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2).

Common reference levels

The Common European Framework divides learners into three broad divisions that can each be further divided into two levels; for each level, it describes what a learner is supposed to be able to do in reading, listening, speaking and writing. The following table indicates these levels. A more thorough description of each level, with criteria for listening, reading, speaking and writing, is available on the Internet.[6]

Level group Level Description
A
Basic user		 A1
Breakthrough
  • Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
  • Can introduce themselves and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where they live, people they know and things they have.
  • Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
A2
Waystage
  • 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 their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
B
Independent user		 B1
Threshold
  • 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 while travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
  • Can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.
  • Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
B2
Vantage
  • Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their 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.
C
Proficient user		 C1
Advanced
  • Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer clauses and recognise implicit meaning.
  • Can express ideas 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.
C2
Mastery
  • 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 themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.

These descriptors can apply to any of the languages spoken in Europe and there are translations in many languages.

Relationship with duration of learning process

Educational bodies for various languages have offered estimates for the amount of study needed to reach levels in the relevant language.

BodyLanguageCumulative hours of instruction to reach the level for an English speaker
A1A2B1B2C1C2
Goethe-Institut[7] German 60–150 150–260 260–490 450–600 600–750 750+
Alliance française[8] French 60–100 160–200 360–400 560–650 810–950 1,060–1,200

Certification and teaching ecosystem enabled by the CEFR

Multiple organisations have been created to serve as an umbrella for language schools and certification businesses that claim compatibility with the CEFR. For example, the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) is an initiative funded by the European Community[9] to promote the CEFR and best practices in delivering professional language training. The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) is a consortium of academic organisations that aims at standardising assessment methods.[10] Eaquals (Evaluation and Accreditation of Quality in Language Services) is an international association of institutions and organisations involved in language education, active throughout Europe and following the CEFR.[11]

In France, the Ministry for Education has created a government-mandated certificate called CLES, which formalises the use of the CEFR in language teaching programmes in French higher education institutions.[12]

In Germany, Telc, a non-profit agency, is the federal government's exclusive partner for language tests taken at the end of the integration courses for migrants, following the CEFR standards.[13]

Comparisons between CEFR and other scales

General scales

ACTFL

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has published a one-directional alignment table of levels according to its ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the CEFR levels. It is based on the work of the ACTFL-CEFR Alignment Conferences that started in 2010. Generally, the ACTFL is stricter with regard to receptive skills than productive skills, compared to the CEFR.[14] The following table may not be read as an indication of what ACTFL level follows from taking a CEFR-aligned test.

For convenience, the following abbreviations will be used for the ACTFL levels:

  • NL/NM/NH – Novice Low/Mid/High
  • IL/IM/IH – Intermediate Low/Mid/High
  • AL/AM/AH – Advanced Low/Mid/High
  • S – Superior
  • D – Distinguished
ACTFL[14] Correspondence with CEFR
0, NL, NM, NH 0
IL A1
IM, IH A2
AL B1
AM, AH B2
S C1
D C2

Similar correspondence has been proposed for the other direction (test aligned to CEFR) in a panel discussion at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies by one of the coauthors of the CEFR, Brian North. He stated that a "sensible hypothesis" would be for C2 to correspond to "Distinguished," C1 to "Superior," B2 to "Advanced-mid" and B1 to "Intermediate-high" in the ACTFL system.[15]

This agrees with a table published by the American University Center of Provence giving the following correspondences according to "estimated equivalencies by certified ACTFL administrator":[16]

CEFR ACTFL
A1 NL, NM, NH
A2 IL, IM
B1 IH
B2 AL, AM, AH
C1 S
C2 D

The following table summarises three earlier proposed equivalences between CEFR and ACTFL. Some of them only refer to one activity (e.g. speaking).

CEFR Correspondence with ACTFL
Martínez, 2008[17] Tschirner, 2005[18] Buitrago, 2006[19]
A1 NL, NM
A1 NH NH NL
A2 IL, IM IM NM
B1 IM, IH IH IL
B2 IH, AL AM IM, IH
C1 AM, AH AH AL, AM, AH
C2 AH, S S S

ILR

The French Academy Baltimore suggests the following different equivalence:[20]

CEFR ILR
A1 0–1
A2 1+
B1 2–2+
B2 3–3+
C1 4
C2 4+

A study by Buck, Papageorgiou and Platzek[21] addresses the correspondence between the difficulty of test items under the CEFR and ILR standards. The most common ILR levels for items of given CEFR difficulty were as follows:

  • Reading—A1: 1, A2: 1, B1: 1+, B2: 2+, C1: 3
  • Listening—A1: 0+/1, A2: 1, B1: 1+, B2: 2, C1: 2+ (at least)[22]

Canada

As Canada increasingly uses the CEFR, Larry Vandergrift of the University of Ottawa has proposed Canadian adoption of the CEFR in his report Proposal for a Common Framework of Reference for Languages for Canada published by Heritage Canada.[23][24] This report contains a comparison of the CEFR to other standards in use in Canada and proposes an equivalence table.

CEFR ILR ACTFL NB OPS[25] CLB PSC PSC[26]
A1 0/0+/1 Novice (Low/Mid/High) Unrated/0+/1 1/2 A
A2 1+ Intermediate (Low/Mid/High) 1+/2 3/4 B
B1 2 Advanced Low 2+ 5/6 C
B2 2+ Advanced Mid 3 7/8
C1 3/3+ Advanced High 3+ 9/10
C2 4 Superior 4 11/12
C2+ 4+/5

The resulting correspondence between the ILR and ACTFL scales disagrees with the generally accepted one.[27] The ACTFL standards were developed so that Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Superior would correspond to 0/0+, 1/1+, 2/2+ and 3/3+, respectively on the ILR scale.[28] Also, the ILR and NB OPS scales do not correspond despite the fact that the latter was modelled on the former.[24]

A 2007 document by Macdonald and Vandergrift[29] estimates the following correspondences (for oral ability) between the Public Service Commission levels and the CEFR levels:

PSC CEFR
A A2
B B1/B2
C B2/C1

Language schools may also propose their own equivalence tables. For example, the Vancouver English Centre provides a comprehensive equivalence table between the various forms of the TOEFL test, the Cambridge exam, the VEC level system, and the CEFR.[30]

Language-specific scales

Language Certificate A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
Multiple European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages. ECL exams can be taken in English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Slovak, Russian, Spanish, Croatian, Czech, and Hebrew. - A2 B1 B2 C1 -
UNIcert UNIcert I UNIcert II UNIcert III UNIcert IV
TELC A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
ALTE level Breakthrough level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
British General Qualifications[31][32] GCSE Foundation Tier GCSE Higher Tier GCE AS Level and lower grade A-Level GCE A-Level
Basque IVAP-HAEE HE 1 – IVAP-HAEE HE 2 – IVAP-HAEE HE 3 – IVAP-HAEE HE 4 – IVAP-HAEE
HABE Lehenengo maila – HABE Bigarren maila – HABE Hirugarren maila – HABE Laugarren maila – HABE
EGA Euskararen Gaitasun Agiria
Catalan Catalan Language Certificates Bàsic-A2 Elemental-B1 Intermedi-B2 Suficiència-C1 Superior-C2
Simtest A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
Mandarin Chinese Chinese Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK)[33]

(Levels according to French and German associations)

 HSK Level 1

HSK Level 2

 HSK Level 3

HSK Level 4

 HSK Level 4

HSK Level 5

 HSK Level 5

HSK Level 6

 HSK Level 6
Test of Chinese As A Foreign Language (TOCFL) (Taiwan) TOCFL Level 1 TOCFL Level 2 TOCFL Level 3 TOCFL Level 4 TOCFL Level 5 TOCFL Level 6
Czech Czech Language Certificate Exam (CCE)[34] CCE-A1 CCE-A2 CCE-B1 CCE-B2 CCE-C1 -
Danish Prøve i Dansk (Danish Language Exam)[35] Danskprøve A1 Prøve i Dansk 1 Prøve i Dansk 2 Prøve i Dansk 3 Studieprøven
Dutch CNaVT – Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal (Certificate of Dutch as Foreign Language)[36] Profile tourist and informal language proficiency (PTIT) Profile societal language proficiency (PMT) Profile professional language proficiency (PPT), Profile language proficiency higher education (PTHO) Profile academic language proficiency (PAT)
Inburgeringsexamen (Integration examination for immigrants from outside the EU) Pre-examination at the embassy of the home country Examination in the Netherlands
Staatsexamen Nederlands als tweede taal NT2 (State Examination Dutch as second language NT2)[37] NT2 programma I NT2 programma II
English Anglia Examinations Preliminary Elementary Intermediate Advanced Proficiency Masters
OET[38] 200-340 (C, C+) 350-440 (B) 450-500 (A)
TrackTest[39] A1 (Beginner) A2 (Elementary) B1 (Pre-Intermediate) B2 (Intermediate) C1 (Upper-Intermediate) C2 (Advanced)
TOELS: Wheebox Test of English Language Skills[40] 11 (Beginner) 20 (Pre-Intermediate) 25 (Intermediate) 30 (Graduate) 33 (Advanced)
iTEP[41] 0–1.9 2–2.4 2.5-3.4 3.5-4.4 4.5-5.4 5.5-6
Oxford Test of English A2 (51-80) B1 (81-110) B2 (111-140)
IELTS[42][43][44] 2.0 3.0 3.5-5.5 (3.5 is the margin) 5.5-7 (5.5 is the margin) 7-8 (7 is the margin) 8.0-9.0 (8.0 is the margin)
TOEIC Listening & Reading Test[45] 60-105 listening
60-110 reading		 110-270 (listening)
115-270 (reading)		 275-395 (listening)
275-380 (reading)		 400-485 (listening)
385-450 (reading)		 490-495 (listening)
455-495 (reading)
TOEIC Speaking & Writing Test[45] 50-80 speaking
30-60 writing		 90-110 (speaking)
70-110 (writing)		 120-150 (speaking)
120-140 (writing)		 160-170 (speaking)
150-170 (writing)		 180-200 (speaking)
180-200 (writing)
CLB Canadian Language Benchmarks 3/4 5 6/7 8/9 10-12
Versant 26-35 36-46 47-57 58-68 69-78 79-80
Speexx Language Assessment Center 10-19 20-29 30-49 50-79 80-89 90-100
Duolingo English Test[46] 10-20 25-55 60-85 90-115 120-140 145-160
Password English Tests 2.0 – 2.5 3.0 – 3.5 4.0 – 5.0 5.5 – 6.5 7.0 or above
TOEFL (IBT)[47] 10-15 (speaking)
7-12 (writing)		 42-71 (total)
4-17 (reading)
9-16 (listening)
16-19 (speaking)
13-16 (writing)		 72-94 (total)
18-23 (reading)
17-21 (listening)
20-24 (speaking)
17-23 (writing)		 95-120 (total)
24-30 (reading)
22-30 (listening)
25-30 (speaking)
24-30 (writing)
TOEFL ITP[48] 337 460 543 627
TOEFL Junior Standard[49] 225-245 (listening)
210-245 (language form)
210-240 (reading)		 250-285 (listening)
250-275 (language form)
245-275 (reading)		 290-300 (listening)
280-300 (language form)
280-300 (reading)
EF Standard English Test[50] 1-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-100
City and Guilds[51] Preliminary Access Achiever Communicator Expert Mastery
RQF (UK Only)[52] Entry Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Levels 4-6 Level 7-8
Cambridge exam[53] A1 Movers A2 Key B1 Preliminary B2 First C1 Advanced C2 Proficiency
Michigan exam[54] MET Go! Basic User (CEFR A1)[55] Michigan English Test (MET) (0 to 39)[56] / MET Go! Elementary User (CEFR A2)[55] Michigan English Test (MET) (40 to 52)[56] / MET Go! Intermediate User (CEFR B1)[55] ECCE[57] / Michigan English Test (MET) (53 to 63)[56] Michigan English Test (MET) (64 to 80)[56] ECPE[58]
LanguageCert International ESOL – Listening, Reading, Writing

LanguageCert International ESOL – Speaking

 A1 Preliminary
(Entry Level 1)		 A2 Access
(Entry Level 2)		 B1 Achiever
(Entry Level 3)		 B2 Communicator
(Level 1)		 C1 Expert
(Level 2)		 C2 Mastery
(Level 3)
LanguageCert Academic – Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking

B1 Achiever
(40 - 59) (Entry Level 3)		 B2 Communicator
(60 - 74 ) (Level 1)		 C1 Expert
(75 - 89) (Level 2)		 C2 Mastery
(90+) (Level 3)
LanguageCert General – Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking
A2 Access
(20 - 39) (Entry Level 2)		 B1 Achiever
(40 - 59) (Entry Level 3)		 B2 Communicator
(60 - 74 ) (Level 1)		 C1 Expert
(75 - 89) (Level 2)
PTE Academic 30 43 59 76 85ƒ
PTE General (formerly LTE) Level A1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE) / Graded Examinations in Spoken English (GESE)[59][60] GESE 2 ISE 0
GESE 3, 4		 ISE I
GESE 5, 6
ISE II
GESE 7, 8, 9
ISE III
GESE 10, 11
ISE IV
GESE 12
Learning Resource Network CEF A1 CEF A2 CEF B1 CEF B2 CEF C1 CEF C2
GEP English Exams[61] Dolphins Pre A1.1 Bears Pre A1.2 Lions Pre A1.3 GEP A1 (YL, Teens and Adults) GEP A2 (Kids, Teens and adults) GEP B1 GEP B2 GEP C1
Eiken (Japanese test of English)[62] 5,4,3 Pre-2 2 Pre-1 1
Esperanto Komuna Eŭropa Referenckadro por Lingvoj A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
Finnish YKI 1 2 3 4 5 6
French CIEP / Alliance française diplomas TCF A1 / DELF A1 TCF A2 / DELF A2 / CEFP 1 TCF B1 / DELF B1 / CEFP 2 TCF B2 / DELF B2 / Diplôme de Langue TCF C1 / DALF C1 / DSLCF TCF C2 / DALF C2 / DHEF
CLB/NCLC Canadian Language Benchmarks 3/4 5 6/7 8/9 10-12
Speexx Language Assessment Center 10-19 20-29 30-49 50-79 80-89 90-100
Galician Certificado de lingua galega (CELGA)[63] CELGA 1 CELGA 2 CELGA 3 CELGA 4 CELGA 5
German Goethe-Institut Goethe-Zertifikat A1
Start Deutsch 1		 Goethe-Zertifikat A2
Start Deutsch 2		 Goethe-Zertifikat B1
Zertifikat Deutsch (ZD)		 Goethe-Zertifikat B2
Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf (ZDfB)		 Goethe-Zertifikat C1
Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung		 Goethe-Zertifikat C2 – Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS)
Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung
Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom
Speexx Language Assessment Center 10-19 20-29 30-49 50-79 80-89 90-100
Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch A1 ÖSD Zertifikat A1 (ÖSD ZA1) A2 ÖSD Zertifikat A2 (ÖSD ZA2) B1 ÖSD Zertifikat Deutsch Österreich (ÖSD B1 ZDÖ); B1 ÖSD Zertifikat B1 (ZB1) B2 ÖSD Zertifikat B2 (ÖSD ZB2) C1 ÖSD Zertifikat C1 (ÖSD ZC1) C2 ÖSD Zertifikat C2 (ÖSD ZC2); C2 ÖSD Zertifikat C2 / Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch (ÖSD ZC2 / WD)
Deutsch als Fremdsprache in der Wirtschaft (WiDaF)[64] - 0-246 247-495 496-735 736-897 898-990
TestDaF[65] TDN 3—TDN 4[66] TDN 4—TDN 5
Greek Πιστοποίηση Ελληνομάθειας (Certificate of Attainment in Modern Greek)[67] Α1
(Στοιχειώδης Γνώση)		 Α2
(Βασική Γνώση)		 Β1
(Μέτρια Γνώση)		 Β2
(Καλή Γνώση)		 Γ1
(Πολύ Καλή Γνώση)		 Γ2
(Άριστη Γνώση)
Hebrew Ulpan (as codified by the Rothberg International School)[68] A1.1 Aleph Beginner

A1.2 Aleph Advanced

 A2 Bet B1 Gimel B2 Dalet C1.1 Hé

C1.2 Vav

 C2 Native Speaker
Icelandic Íslenskupróf vegna umsóknar um íslenskan ríkisborgararétt[69] Pass[70]
Irish Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) [71] A1 Bonnleibhéal 1 A2 Bonnleibhéal 2 B1 Meánleibhéal 1 B2 Meánleibhéal 2 C1 Ardleibhéal 1
Italian CELI Impatto 1 2 3 4 5
Roma Tre cert.it A1-cert.it A2-cert.it B1-cert.it B2-cert.it C1-cert.it C2-cert.it
CILS A1 A2 Uno Due Tre Quattro / DIT C2
PLIDA (Dante Alighieri Society diplomas) PLIDA A1 PLIDA A2 PLIDA B1 PLIDA B2 PLIDA C1 PLIDA C2
Japanese Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) JLPT N5 JLPT N4 JLPT N3 JLPT N2 JLPT N1
J-Test[72] F E D C Pre-B
B
Pre-A		 A
Special A
Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese (JFT-Basic)[73] Pass
Certificate of Japanese as a Foreign Language (J-cert)[74] N/A A2.1 A2.2 B1 B2 C1 C2
Korean Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK)[75] Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Luxembourgish Institut National des Langues[76] A2 B1 B2 C1
Norwegian Norskprøve[77] A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 – høyere akademisk nivå (advanced academic level)[78]
Polish Egzaminy Certyfikatowe z Języka Polskiego jako Obcego[79] B1 (podstawowy) B2 (średni ogólny) C2 (zaawansowany)
Portuguese CAPLE[80] ACESSO CIPLE DEPLE DIPLE DAPLE DUPLE
CELPE-Bras[81] Intermediate Intermediate Superior Intermediate Superior Intermediate Advanced Superior Advanced
Russian ТРКИ – Тест по русскому языку как иностранному (TORFL – Test of Russian as a Foreign Language)[82] ТЭУ Элементарный уровень ТБУ Базовый уровень ТРКИ-1 (I Cертификационный уровень) (1st Certificate level) ТРКИ-2 ТРКИ-3 ТРКИ-4
Spanish DELE[83] A1 A2 B1 (formerly "Inicial") B2 (formerly "Intermedio") C1 C2 (formerly "Superior")
Speexx Language Assessment Center 10-19 20-29 30-49 50-79 80-89 90-100
LanguageCert USAL esPro BULATS 10-19 20-39 40-59 60-74 75-89 90-100
Swedish TISUS - - - - Pass -
Swedex - A2 B1 B2 - -
YKI 1 2 3 4 5 6
Taiwanese GTPT – General Taiwanese Proficiency Test[84] 151 – 220 221 – 290 291 – 340 341 – 380 381 – 430 431 – 500
Bân-lâm-gú Gú-giân Lîng-li̍k Jīn-tsìng[85] A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2
Turkish TYS[86] A1 A2 B1 B2 (55-70%) C1 (71-88%) C2 (89-100%)
Ukrainian[87] UMI/ULF – Ukrainian as foreign language UMI 1 UMI 2 UMI 3 UMI 4 UMI 5 UMI 6
Welsh WJEC Defnyddio'r Gymraeg[88] Mynediad (Entry) Sylfaen (Foundation) Canolradd (Intermediate) Uwch (Advanced) - -

Difficulty in aligning the CEFR with teaching programmes

Language schools and certificate bodies evaluate their own equivalences against the framework. Differences in estimation have been found to exist, for example, with the same level on the PTE A, TOEFL, and IELTS, and is a cause of debate between test producers.[89]

Non-Western areas and languages

The CEFR, initially developed to ease human mobility and economic growth within the highly multilingual European Union, has since influenced and been borrowed by various other areas.

Non-Western learners

In Japan, the adoption of CEFR has been encouraged by academics, institutional actors (MEXT), politicians, business associations, and by learners themselves.[90] Adoption in Malaysia has also been documented.[91] In Vietnam, adoption of the CEFR has been connected to recent changes in English language policy, efforts to reform higher education, orientation toward economic opportunities and a tendency for administrators to look outwards for domestic solutions.[92]

Noriyuki (2009) observes the "mechanical" reuse of the European framework and concepts by Japanese teachers of mostly Western languages, missing the recontextualisation part: the need to adapt the conceptual vocabulary to the local language and to adapt the framework to the local public, its language and practices.[93]

Around 2005, the Osaka University of Foreign Studies developed a CEFR-inspired project for its 25 foreign languages, with a transparent and common evaluation approach. While major languages had long had well-defined tools for the Japanese public, able to guide teachers in teaching and performing assessments in a methodic way, this project pushed the adoption of similar practices to smaller languages, as requested by students.[93]

In late 2006–2010, the Keio University led the ambitious CEFR-inspired Action Oriented Plurilingual Language Learning Project to favour multi-campus and inter-language cooperation in creating teaching materials and assessment systems from child to university levels.[93] Since 2015, the "Research on Plurilinguistic and Pluricultural Skill Development in Integrated Foreign Language Education" has followed up.[94]

Non-European languages

The framework was translated into Chinese in 2008.[95] In 2011, French sinologist Joël Bellassen suggests the CEFR together with its metalanguage could and should be adapted to distant languages such as Chinese, with the necessity to adapt and extend it with relevant concepts proper to the new language and its learners.[96] Various efforts on adaptation to Chinese have been made.[97][98]

In Japan, East-Asian language teaching is largely ignored due to Japanese society being mainly oriented toward Western language teaching, missing a valuable opportunity for Japanese to directly reach neighbouring countries and for smaller languages to solidify their languages teaching.[93]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Council of Europe.
  2. ↑ Jean-Claude 2010, p. 73.
  3. ↑ Martyniuk, Waldemar (11 November 2010), Studies in Language Testing (book description), vol. 33, UK, ISBN 9780521176842{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  4. ↑ Carlos César, Jimenez (2011). El Marco Europeo Común de Referencia para las Lenguas y la comprensión teórica del conocimiento del lenguaje: exploración de una normatividad flexible para emprender acciones educativas (PDF) (Essay). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 "The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR)". Council of Europe. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "European language levels – Self Assessment Grid". Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Also available as PDF.
  7. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Goethe-Institut. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "FAQ - Alliance Française de Leeds". Alliance Française de Leeds. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "European Association for Language Testing and Assessment". EALTA. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Association of Language Testers in Europe". ALTE. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "EAquals— Our aims". EAquals. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Certificate de Compétences en Langues de l'Enseignement Supérieur". SPIRAL. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "The European Language Certificate". telc. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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