1. “11th Conference for
Teachers of English”
“Integrating
Phonology following
the ALTE levels”
by Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

2. “Teacher development is the process of
becoming the best teacher you can be. It
means becoming a student of learning, your
own as well as that of others” (Maley 2000).
The aim of this workshop is to provide a ‘learning
space’ from a person-centered learning
approach.
We will briefly analyze the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages and
see how the phonological aspect can be
integrated to the other areas of language
teaching.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

3. What is the
Common European Framework?
It provides a common basis for the elaboration of
language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines,
examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe.
Europe
It describes in a comprehensive way what language
learners have to learn to do in order to use a language
for communication and what knowledge and skills they
have to develop so as to be able to act effectively.
The description also covers the cultural context in which
language is set. The Framework also defines levels of
proficiency which allow learners’ progress to be
measured at each stage of learning and on a life-long
basis.
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf

4. Association of Language
Testers in Europe (ALTE)
It is an association of providers of
European foreign language examinations.
Registered in 1992 as a European
Economic Interest Group (EEIG), it
provides a context for transnational
collaboration between some of the major
international providers in the field of
language testing.
http://www.alte.org/

5. Provides standards for
24 languages:












Basque, 
Bulgarian, 
Catalan, 
Danish, 
Dutch,

English, 
Estonian, 
Finnish, 
French, 
German, 
Greek,

Hungarian,

Italian,
Latvian,
Lithuanian,
Luxembourgish,
Norwegian,
Polish,
Portuguese,
Russian,
Slovenian,
Spanish,
Swedish,
Welsh.

6. Objectives
“… In the light of these objectives, the Committee
of Ministers stressed ‘the political importance
at the present time and in the future of
developing specific fields of action, such as
strategies for diversifying and intensifying
language learning in order to promote
plurilingualism in a pan-European context’ and
context
drew attention to the value of further
developing educational links and exchanges
and of exploiting the full potential of new
communication and information technologies.”
p4
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

7. What criteria must CEF meet?
COMPREHENSIVE
• By ‘comprehensive’ is meant that the
comprehensive
C E F should attempt to specify as
full a range of language knowledge,
skills and use as possible, and that
all users should be able to describe
their objectives by reference to it.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

8. What criteria must CEF meet?
TRANSPARENT
• By ‘transparent’ is meant that
transparent
information must be clearly
formulated and explicit, available
and readily comprehensible to
users.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

9. What criteria must CEF meet?
COHERENT
• By ‘coherent’ is meant that the
coherent
description is free from internal
contradictions. With regard to
educational systems, coherence
requires that there is a harmonious
relation among their components.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

10. The ALTE levels
ALTE level
Level 5
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Breakthrough
CEFR level
C2
C1
B2
B1
A2
A1
ESOL exam
CPE
CAE
FCE
PET
KET
-
IELTS exam
7.5+
6.5 - 7
5-6
3.5 - 4.5
3
1-2
TOEIC
910+
701 - 910
541 - 700
381 - 540
246 - 380
-
TOEFL
276+
236 - 275
176 - 235
126 - 175
96 - 125
-
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

11. General phonetic awareness and skills
Sts ability to pronounce new languages
facilitated by:
• an ability to distinguish and produce unfamiliar
sounds and prosodic patterns;
• an ability to perceive and catenate unfamiliar
sound sequences;
• an ability, as a listener, to resolve (i.e. divide
into distinct and significant parts) a continuous
stream of sound into a meaningful structured
string of phonological elements;
• an understanding/mastery of the processes of
sound perception and production applicable to
new language learning. (p 107)

12. Phonological competence
involves a knowledge of, and skill in the perception and production of:
• the sound-units (phonemes) of the language and
phonemes
their realisation in particular contexts (allophones);
allophones
• the phonetic features which distinguish phonemes
(distinctive features: voicing, rounding, nasality,
plosion);
• the phonetic composition of words (syllable
structure, sequence of phonemes, word stress, word
tones);
• sentence phonetics (prosody): sentence stress and
prosody
rhythm; intonation;
• phonetic reduction: vowel reduction; strong and
weak forms; assimilation; elision. (p 116)
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

13. Ludic uses of language p 55
Social & language games, puzzles,
media games, verbal joking (punning)
Aesthetic uses of language p 56
 singing (nursery rhymes, folk songs, pop songs, etc.)
 retelling and rewriting stories, etc.
 listening to, reading, writing and speaking imaginative
texts (stories, rhymes, etc.)
 including audio-visual texts, cartoons, picture stories, etc.
 performing scripted or unscripted plays, etc.
 the production, reception and performance of literary texts,
e.g.: reading and writing
 texts (short stories, novels, poetry, etc.) and performing
and watching/listening to
 recitals, drama, opera, etc.

14. The ALTE Framework
The ALTE ‘Can Do’ statements constitute a
central part of a long-term research
programme set by ALTE, the aim of which is to
establish a framework of ‘key levels’ of
language performance, within which exams
can be objectively described.
Much work has already been done to place the
exam systems of ALTE members within this
framework, based on an analysis of exam
content and task types, and candidate profiles.
types
profiles
A comprehensive introduction to these exam
systems is available in the ALTE Handbook of
European Language Examinations and
Examination Systems.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

15. The ALTE ‘Can Dos’
A checklist of what the L2 users can do
 define the stage they’re at.
• User-oriented
• Basis for developing an activity-based curricula
and teaching materials.
• Means of carrying out an activity-based
linguistic audit.
• Means of comparing the objectives of courses
and materials in different languages in the
same context.
• Multilingual - L2 relating to the real-world
language skills.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

16. LEVELS
Listening/Speaking
Reading
Writing
C2
Level 5
CAN advise on or talk
about complex or
sensitive issues,
understanding colloquial
references and dealing
confidently with hostile
questions.
CAN understand
documents,
correspondence and
reports, including the
finer points of complex
texts.
CAN write letters on any
subject and full notes of
meetings or seminars
with good expression
and accuracy.
C1
Level 4
CAN contribute
effectively to meetings
and seminars within own
area of work or keep up
a casual conversation
with a good degree of
fluency, coping with
abstract expressions.
CAN read quickly
enough to cope with an
academic course, to
read the media for
information or to
understand nonstandard
correspondence.
CAN prepare/draft
professional
correspondence, take
reasonably accurate
notes in meetings or
write an essay which
shows an ability to
communicate.
B2
Level 3
CAN follow or give a talk
on a familiar topic or
keep up a conversation
on a fairly wide range of
topics.
CAN scan texts for
relevant information,
and understand
detailed instructions or
advice.
CAN make notes while
someone is talking or
write a letter including
non-standard requests.
B1
Level 2
CAN express opinions
on abstract/cultural
matters in a limited way
or offer advice within a
known area, and
understand instructions
or public
announcements.
CAN understand
routine information and
CAN write letters or
articles, and the general
make notes on familiar
meaning of non-routine
or predictable matters.
information within a
familiar area.
A2
Level 1
CAN understand
straightforward
information within a
CAN express simple
known area, such as on
opinions or requirements
products and signs and
in a familiar context.
simple textbooks or
reports on familiar
matters.
CAN complete forms
and write short simple
letters or postcards
related to personal
information.
A1
ALTE
breakthrough
level
CAN understand basic
instructions or take part
in a basic factual
conversation on a
predictable topic.
CAN complete basic
forms, and write notes
including times, dates
and places.
CAN understand basic
notices, instructions or
information.

17. Organisation of the ‘Can Do’
statements
The ‘Can Do’ scales consist currently of about 400
statements, organised into three general areas:
Social and Tourist, Work, and Study.
Each includes a number of more particular areas,
e.g. the Social and Tourist area has sections on
Shopping, Eating out, Accommodation, etc.
Each of these includes up to three scales, for the
skills of Listening/Speaking (combine the
scales relating to interaction), Reading and
Writing.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

19. PHONOLOGI CAL CONTROL
C2
As C1
C1
Can vary intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to
express finer shades of meaning.
Has acquired a clear, natural, pronunciation and intonation.
B2
B1
A2
A1
Pronunciation is clearly intelligible even if a foreign accent is sometimes
evident and occasional mispronunciations occur.
Pronunciation is generally clear enough to be understood despite a
noticeable foreign accent, but conversational partners will need to ask
for repetition from time to time.
Pronunciation of a very limited repertoire of learnt words and phrases
can be understood with some effort by native speakers used to dealing
with speakers of his/her language group.
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

20. Thank
you !!!
Contact me @:
silviasteach@yahoo.com
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https://www.facebook.com/SilviaAlejandraSchnitzler
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