Eaquals Prague 2018

1. Tim Goodier
©Eaquals 06/08/2014 1
Implementing the CEFR Companion
Volume with New Descriptors

2. Eurocentres’ Mission & Vision
To prepare individuals to study, work and live successfully
in a foreign language and culture.
We are the worldwide benchmark for learning & teaching
a / in a foreign language.
Background: Eurocentres and
the CEFR

3. Consultancy to the Council of Europe since 1968
Leading developer of the international language
benchmarking framework Common European Framework
of Reference (CEFR, 2001)
Implemented landmark extension to CEFR in a Companion
Volume (2017), benchmarking essential competences for
the globalised world
Background: Eurocentres and
the CEFR

4. 1. Disruption – a context for 21st century language learning
2. The CEFR Companion Volume – What’s new?
3. Descriptors for new areas
4. Exploitation for curriculum, teaching and learning
Agenda
4

5. Disruption – a context for 21st
century language learning
5

6. Technological disruption
6

7. (Adapted from www.oxfamblogs.org ‘20th Century policies may not be
enough for 21st Century digital disruption’, accessed 29/3/18)
Exposure to technological disruption
7
Language
teachers
Factory workers
Social workers
Administrators
Cleaners
Retailers
Managers
Musicians
Farmers
…etc.
Highadaptive
capacity
Digital elites Portfolio livelihoods
Lowadaptive
capacity
Persistent offline Digitally vulnerable
Low exposure High exposure

8. Top skills for employability
(World Economic Forum)
8

9. The ‘21st Century Skills’
movement
©Eaquals 23/11/2017 9

10. A policy-oriented definition
of ‘21st century skills’
(source: Glossary of
Education Reform
edglossary.org accessed
4/11/2017)

11. Mediation activities in the CEFR
– a broadened concept
Mediation Activities
Mediating CommunicationCognitive mediation
Mediating a Text Mediating Concepts
Enhancing the
effectiveness of
cognitive mediation by:
• creating a positive
atmosphere
• showing cultural
awareness
• facilitating collaborative
interaction
• resolving delicate
situations
Collaborating with
others in order to
come to a decision or
solve a problem.
Relaying /
summarising /
synthesising
information from
spoken or written
sources (including
translation).
Includes:
• aiding the development of
ideas
• asking questions to stimulate
reasoning
• inviting/giving contributions
and reactions
• asking for/giving clarification
• making and responding to
suggestions
Sources include:
• listening material
• reading material
• class discussions /
conversations
• data, graphs, statistics
• visuals, diagrams,
pictures

12. The CEFR Companion Volume –
What’s new?
12

13. Overview - aims of the CEFR
13
Common European Framework
of Reference for languages:
1. learning
2. teaching
3. assessment

14. Overview - aims of the CEFR
14
Common European Framework
of Reference for languages:
1. learning
2. teaching
3. assessment
CEFR Companion Volume:
1. Key aspects of the CEFR for teaching &
learning
2. Updated and new illustrative descriptor scales

15. Contents of the CEFR
Companion Volume
15
• Foreword: the context of the work
• Key aspects of the CEFR for teaching and learning
• Updated 2001 descriptor scales – including some new
scales and addition of pre-A1
• Descriptor scales for new areas:
- online interaction
- mediation (including reactions to creative text)
- plurilingual and pluricultural competence
• Outline of the research and development project

16. Reinforcement of Reference
Levels for Profiling
16
English Skills Pre-A1 A1 A2 A2+ B1 B1+ B2 B2+ C1 C2
Listening
Reading
Spoken Interaction
Written Interaction
Spoken Production
Written Production

17. Orientation maps of the
illustrative descriptor scales
17

18. Rationale given for each scale
18
Reading as a leisure activity involves fiction and nonfiction,
literature, magazine and newspaper articles, blogs, biographies,
etc.
Key concepts operationalized:
1. length, variety of texts and whether there are illustrations;
2. type of texts, from simple descriptions to contemporary and classical
writings in different genres;
3. topics, from everyday topics to a full range of abstract and literary
topics;
4. type of language: from simple to stylistically complex;
5. ease of reading: from guessing with the help of images, to
appreciating the full variety of texts;
6. depth of understanding: from understanding in outline to
understanding implicit meaning.

19. Descriptor scales for new areas
19

20. (Taken from CEFR/CV 2018
edition, Council of Europe
Strasbourg)
Communicative language
activities in the CEFR
Beyond the ‘four skills’ model
Beyond the ‘four skills’ model
20

21. (Taken from CEFR/CV 2018
edition, Council of Europe
Strasbourg)
Communicative language
strategies in the CEFR
Beyond the ‘four skills’ model
Beyond the ‘four skills’ model
21

22. Examples of Mediation descriptors
22
Processing Text in Speech B1
Can summarise (in Language B) the main points
made during a conversation (in Language A) on a
subject of personal or current interest, provided
that the speakers articulated clearly in standard
language.
Facilitating collaborative
interaction with peers B1+
Can collaborate on a shared task, for example
formulating and responding to suggestions,
asking whether people agree, and proposing
alternative approaches.

23. Online Interaction descriptors
23
Online interaction
Online conversation
and discussion
Open-ended, social,
speculative
Goal-oriented online
transactions and
collaboration
Towards a specific
outcome

24. Examples of Online Interaction
descriptors
24
Online Conversation and Discussion B1
Can post a comprehensible contribution in an
online discussion on a familiar topic of interest,
provided that he/she can prepare the text
beforehand and use online tools to fill gaps in
language and check accuracy.
Goal-oriented online transactions and
collaboration A2+
Can use formulaic language to respond to routine
problems arising in online transactions (e.g.
concerning availability of models and special
offers, delivery dates, addresses, etc.).

25. Plurilingual and Pluricultural
Competences
25
Plurilingual
comprehension
Building on plurilingual
repertoire
Building on pluricultural
repertoire

26. Examples of Plurilingual and
Pluricultural descriptors
26
Plurilingual comprehension A2
Can understand short, clearly articulated spoken
announcements by piecing together what he/she
understands from the available versions in different
languages.
Building on plurilingual repertoire A2
Can mobilise his/her limited repertoire in different
languages in order to explain a problem or to ask for help
or clarification.
Building on pluricultural repertoire A2
Can recognise that his/her behaviour in an everyday
transaction may convey a message different to the one
he/she intends, and can try to explain this simply.

27. Elaboration into the curriculum
27

28. Eaquals on the CEFR
Standard 3.2:
All language course programmes are specified by levels which
refer to the CEFR, and learning objectives are related to the global
descriptors of CEFR levels.
..with the following indicators of compliance:
3 b) There are written descriptions of the institution’s learning
programmes:
- within a framework of levels referenced to the CEFR
3 g) Institutional language competence levels are mapped to the
CEFR. These levels and the global CEFR descriptors, as a minimum,
are used and understood throughout the institution.

29. Eaquals on the CEFR
..and with the indicator of excellence:
There is detailed reference to the CEFR, both in planning and
implementation of course programmes in such a way as to have a real
influence on setting clear learning objectives as well as on teaching and
learning.

30. What’s wrong with this picture?
Hi teachers, here’s the
CEFR Companion Volume
- Eaquals says we need to
use it in our courses!

31. Uses of the descriptors
• relating learning aims to real world language use,
thus giving a framework to action-oriented learning
• providing transparent ‘signposting’ to learners,
parents, sponsors
• offering a ‘menu’ to negotiate priorities with adult
learners in a process of ongoing needs analysis
• suggesting classroom tasks to teachers, usually
tasks that will involve activities described in several
descriptors
• introducing criterion-referenced assessment with the
criteria relating to an external framework (CEFR)
• teacher assessment / self-assessment

32. The CEFR is not an ‘off the shelf’
curriculum
32
(*North, 2014)
‘Unzipped’* / course-
adapted can dos
Communicative
language competences
Communicative
language activities
Global scale descriptors
• Pedagogic aims
supported by classroom
tasks and language
specifications
• Empowerment /
outcomes
• Detailed assessment
criteria
• Action-oriented
• Appraisal of task
achievement
• Self-evaluation
Course
design
Source
Material

33. The negotiated syllabus
as lego or pizza?
33
vs.

34. • Learning task
design
• Piloting
• Evaluation of
learning
outcomes
• Aims as
actions
• Outcomes as
‘can dos’
• Needs
analysis
• Pedagogic ‘fit’
Selection Adaptation
ElaborationImpact
Process of elaboration to context

35. 35
Building a developmental
community of practice
Institutional learning community
Teachers
Learners
Local ‘leading practitioners’ as
champions of new developments
Senior
teachers
Managers
Curriculum Developers
Project Leader Project members

36. 36
Building a developmental
community of practice
Small scale
pilots
• Learning aims
• Activities
• Assessment criteria
Cascade
training
• Conceptual presentation
• Scaffolding peer group selections
for exploratory practice
Group
exploratory
practice
• Task design /
implement
• Learner feedback
Teacher peer
presentations
• Outcomes /
impact
• Recommendatio
ns

37. Examples for domainsDomain examples in
Appendix 6 – very useful!

38. Can-do statements as
stimulus for activity design
38
ONLINE CONVERSATION AND
DISCUSSION (B1)
Can make personal online
postings about experiences,
feelings and events and respond
individually to the
comments of others in some
detail, though lexical limitations
sometimes cause repetition and
inappropriate
formulation.

39. Can-do statements as stimulus
for reflection and action
39

40. The European Language ~
Portfolio revisited
40
• Overview of (plurilingual) proficiency
The Language Passport
• Goal setting and self-assessment
• Includes detailed checklists as ‘can do’
statements
The Language Biography
• Illustration of achievement and experiences
The Dossier
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio

41. Example: language biography self-evaluation checklists,
which correspond with aims for teacher course planning
41

42. Feedback from pilots of
online interaction descriptors
42
Tertiary B1:
‘Most of the students wrote in the questionnaire that it was nice to
work online, but a small group said that it was a little bit too
difficult... The exercises based on the chat worked surprisingly
well.’
Tertiary/YL teaching prac. B2
‘The descriptors …helped students focus on the task … They
serve for both students and the professor alike.’
Primary: A1/A2
‘a CLIL project about earthquakes...through a platform (eTwinning)
where students can meet each other (chat, forum, live events),
share materials (presentations on padlet)’
Impact on T&L : ‘More focused on development of
competences’

43. www.coe.int/EN/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/
Google: ‘CEFR Council of Europe’
How to get the CEFR
Companion Volume
43

44. Děkuji!
tgoodier@eurocentres.com
www.eurocentresnetwork.com/

45. Beacco, J., Byram, M., Cavalli, M., Coste, D., Cuenat, M., Goullier, F. and Panthier, J. (2018). GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULA FOR PLURILINGUAL AND INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION. [ebook] Strasbourg: Council of Europe Education
Policy Division. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/tools-for-curricula [Accessed 26 Jan. 2018].
British Council | EAQUALS Core Inventory for General English. (2018). English Agenda, British Council/Eaquals.
Council of Europe (2018). Common European framework of reference for languages: learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume with new
descriptors. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Available at www.coe.int/lang-cefr.
Inventaire linguistique des contenus clés des niveaux du CECRL. (2018). [ebook] Eaquals. Available at: https://www.eaquals.org [Accessed 26 Jan. 2018].
North, B. (2015). The CEFR in practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The Glossary of Education Reform. (2018). 21st Century Skills Definition. [online] Available at: http://edglossary.org/21st-century-skills/ [Accessed 26 Jan.
2018].
van den Akker J. (2006), “Curriculum development re-invented: evolving challenges”, in Letschert J. (ed.), Curriculum development re-invented, SLO,
Enschede. In Beacco, J., Byram, M., Cavalli, M., Coste, D., Cuenat, M., Goullier, F. and Panthier, J. (2018). GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULA FOR PLURILINGUAL AND INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION. [ebook] Strasbourg: Council of Europe Education
Policy Division. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/tools-for-curricula [Accessed 26 Jan. 2018].
Wenger, E. (2008). Communities of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Web resources:
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) home page www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-
languages/home
Platform of resources and references for plurilingual and intercultural education www.coe.int/en/web/platform-plurilingual-intercultural-language-
education/home
European Language Portfolio (ELP) home page www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio
Plurilingual Education, European Centre of Modern Languages of the Council of Europe:
www.ecml.at/Thematicareas/PlurilingualEducation/tabid/1631/Default.aspx
A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures: http://carap.ecml.at/
Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants home page, Council of Europe: www.coe.int/lang-migrants
Selected References / Readings
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