SOMMARIO

1. political and educational context................................... 3 1.1 What is the CEFR? ................................................ 3 1.2 Plurilingualism .................................................. 3 1.3 CEF keywords ..................................................... 4 2. approach adopted.................................................... 5 2.1 an action-oriented approach ...................................... 5 2.1.1 components of the general competences of an individual ....... 5 3. common reference levels............................................. 7 3.1 criteria for descriptors for cefr ................................ 7 3.2 the common reference levels ...................................... 7 3.5 flexibility in a branching approach .............................. 7 3.3 presentation of common reference levels .......................... 7 3.4 illustrative descriptors ......................................... 8 3.6 content coherence in common reference levels ..................... 8 3.8 how to use scales of descriptors of language proficiency ......... 9 6 language learning and teaching...................................... 11 7. tasks and their role in language teaching.......................... 11 7.1 task description ................................................ 11 4. language use and the language user/learner......................... 12 4.1 the context of language use ..................................... 12 4.1.1 domains ..................................................... 12 4.1.2 situations .................................................. 12 4.1.3 conditions and costraints ................................... 12 4.2 communication themes ............................................ 13 4.3 communicative tasks and purposes ................................ 13 4.4 communicative language activities and strategies ................ 13 4.4.1 PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES ........................ 13

COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK

1. POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT
1.1 WHAT IS THE CEFR?

The CEFR is intended to overcome the barriers to communication among professionals working in the field of modern languages arising from the different educational systems in Europe. The CEFR provides a common basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe. It describes what knowledge and skills learners have to develop so as to be able use a language for communication. The CEFR also defines levels of proficiency which allow learners progress to be measured at each stage of learning and on a life-long basis. The CEFR serves the overall aim of the Council of Europe to achieve greater unity among its members and it is based on the basic principles that: 1. A major educational effort is needed to convert the richness and diversity of languages and cultures in Europe from a barrier to communication into a source of enrichment and understanding; 2. Through a better knowledge of European languages it will be possible to promote European mobility and cooperation and overcome prejudice and discrimination;

1.2 PLURILINGUALISM

Plurilingualism or multilingualism? Multilingualism is the knowledge of a number of languages, coexistence of different languages in a given society. or the

In a plurilingual approach the learner does not keep the languages and cultures that he or she knows in separated mental compartments but rather build up a communicative competence to which all languages and cultures contributes and in which languages interrelate and interact. In different situations, a person can call upon different parts of his competence to achieve effective communication. For instance, partner may switch from one language or dialect to another exploiting the ability of each to express themselves in one language and to understand the other. Plurilingualism has to be seen in the context of pluricuturalism. Language is both a major of aspect of culture and a means of access to cultural manifestations. In an enriched and integrated pluricultural competence all the cultures a person has gained access to and all their

different aspects (of which plurilingual competence is one component) are compared, contrasted and actively interact. From this perspective, the aim of language education is profoundly modified. It is no longer seen as simply to achieve mastery in one or more foreign languages, each taken in isolation, with the ideal native speaker as the ultimate model. Instead the aim is to develop a linguistic repertory, in which all linguistic abilities have a place. Furthermore, once it is recognized that language learning is a lifelong task, the development of a young persons motivation, skill and confidence in facing new language experience out of school comes to be of central importance. The European Language Portfolio (ELP) provides a format in which language learning and intercultural experiences of the most diverse kinds can be recorded and formally recognized. For this purpose CEF not only provides a scaling of overall language proficiency in a given 1 language but also a breakdown of language use and language competences 2 which will make it easier for the practitioner to specify objectives and describe achievements in accordance with the varying needs, characteristics and resources of learners. 1.3 CEF KEYWORDS Comprehensive: it attempts to specify knowledge, skills and use as possible; as full a range of language

Transparent: information must be clearly formulated and explicit; Coherent: free of internal contradictions. Multi-purpose Flexible: it does not imply the imposition of one single uniform system; it can be adapted for use in different circumstances. Open & dynamic: can continuous evolution. User-friendly Non-dogmatic: not irrevocably and exclusively attached to any one of a number of competing linguistic or educational theories or practices. be further extended and refined and its in

1 2

Descrizione dettagliata, analisi dettagliata professionista

2. APPROACH ADOPTED
2.1 AN ACTION-ORIENTED APPROACH

the approach adopted is an action oriented one is so far as it views language learners and users as social agents i.e. members of society who have tasks to accomplish in a given set of circumstances. From the point of view of an action-oriented approach language use (embracing language learning) can be seen as the actions performed by social agents who develop competences 3 both general and communicative language competences. They draw on the competences at their disposal to engage in language activities 4 to produce and/or receive texts 5 in relation to themes in specific domains 6 , activating those strategies 7 which seem most appropriate for carrying out the tasks 8 to be accomplished. The monitoring of these activities by the participants lead to the reinforcement or the modification of these competences. 2.1.1 COMPONENTS OF THE GENERAL COMPETENCES OF AN INDIVIDUAL The general competences of language learners consist in their knowledge, skills , existential competence and ability to learn. Knowledge (declarative knowledge or savoir) is understood as knowledge resulting from experience and from more formal learning. Skills (know-how or savoir faire) the ability to carry out procedures

Existential knowledge (savoir tre) may be considered as the sum of the individual characteristics, personality traits and attitudes which concern, for example, self-image, ones view of others and willingness to engage with others in social interaction. This type of competence is not seen only as resulting from immutable personality characteristics.

Competences are the sum of knowledge and skills. General competence are those not specifically related to language, while communicative language competences are those who empower a person to act using specifically linguistic means.
4

Language activities involve the exercise of ones communicative language competence in a specific domain in processing one or more texts in order to carry out a task.
5

Text is any discourse (spoken and/or written) related to a specific domain which in the course of carrying out a task becomes the occasion for a language activity, whether as a support or as a goal.
6

Domain refers to the brad sectors of social life in which social agents operate. These sectors have been limited to major categories relevant to language learning and teaching: educational, occupational, public and personal domains.
7

A strategy is any purposeful and regulated line of action chosen to carry out a task.
8

A task is a purposeful action considered by an individual as necessary in order to achieve a given result in the context of a problem to be solved, an obligation to fulfill or an objective to be achieved.

It includes factors which are acculturation and can be modified.

the

product

of

various

kinds

of

As has frequently been noted, existential competences are culturerelated and therefore sensitive areas for inter-cultural perceptions and relations. In so far as they can be acquired and modified in use and through learning, attitude formation can be an objective. Ability to learn (savoir apprendre) mobilizes existential competence (e.g. willingness to take initiative or even risk in face- to-face communication etc.) , declarative knowledge and skills (e.g. facility in using a dictionary or knowing how to manipulate computer media as lerning resources), and draws on various types of competence. It can also defined as knowing how, or being disposed, to discover otherness whether the other is another language, another culture or new areas of knowledge.

3. COMMON REFERENCE LEVELS

3.1 CRITERIA FOR DESCRIPTORS FOR CEFR

One of the main aims of the Framework is to help partners to describe levels of proficiency in order to facilitate comparisons between different systems of qualifications. For this purpose the descriptive scheme and the common reference levels have been developed. Between them they provide a conceptual grid which users can use to describe their system.

3.2 THE COMMON REFERENCE LEVELS

Three broad levels, each divided into two sublevels arranged according to a hypertext branching principle:

A BASIC USER

B INDEPENDENT USER

C PROFICIENT USER

A1
BREAKTHROUGH

A2
WAYSTAGE

B1
THRESHOLD

B2
VANTAGE

C1
EFFECTIVE OPERATIONAL PROFICIENCY

C2
MASTERY

3.5 FLEXIBILITY IN A BRANCHING APPROACH

The advantage of a branching scheme is that the numbering allows further subdivisions to be made without losing the reference to the common system. Institutions can develop the branches relevant to them to the appropriate degree of delicacy in order to situate the levels used in their system in terms of the common framework.

3.3 PRESENTATION OF COMMON REFERENCE LEVELS

The common reference points are presented in different ways for different purposes. For some purposes it will be appropriate to summarize the set of proposed common reference levels in single global paragraphs which will make it easier to communicate the system to non specialist users. (table 1) Table 2 is a draft for a self-assessment orientation tool to help learners to profile their main language skills,

and decide at which level they might detailed descriptors. Table 3 was performances.

look at a checklist of more designed to assess spoken

3.4 ILLUSTRATIVE DESCRIPTORS

The descriptors (illustrated in ch 4 and 5)refer to the following three metacategories in the descriptive scheme: Communicative activities: can do reception, interaction and production descriptors are provided for

Strategies: can do descriptors are provided for some of the strategies employed in performing communicative activities: a)planning action b) balancing resources and compensating for deficiencies c) monitoring results and undertaking repair. Communicative language competences: scaled descriptors are provided for aspects of linguistic competence, pragmatic competence, and for sociolinguistic competence.

3.6 CONTENT COHERENCE IN COMMON REFERENCE LEVELS

Level A1 : is considered the lowest level of generative language Level A2: here we can find the majority of descriptors stating social functions and descriptors on getting out and about level A2+ what is noticeable here is more active participation in conversation given some assistance and certain limitations; plus significantly more abilities to sustain monologues level B1 this level reflects the threshold level specification for a visitor to a foreign country. It is most categorized by two features: 1. The ability to maintain interaction and get across what you want to in a range of contexts 2. The ability to cope flexibly with problems in everyday life.

Level B1+ The same 2 features continue to be present with the addition of a number of descriptors which focus on the exchange of quantity of information Level B2 Represents a new point of view, a new perspective. The descriptors of this level represent quite a break with the content so far. At the lower end of the band theres a focus on effective argument; secondly, running right through the level there are two new focuses: 1. Being able to more than hold your own in social discourse 2. A new degree of language awareness Level B2+ At this level the focus on argument and social discourse is interpreted as a new focus on discourse skills. This new discourse competence shows itself 1. In conversational management (co-operating strategies) 2. In relation to cohesion/coherence 3. In negotiating Level C1 What seems to characterize this level is good access to a broad range of language, which allows fluent, spontaneous communication. The discourse skills of the previous band continue to be evident but with a focus on fluency. Level C2 It is not intended to imply native-speaker or near native-speaker competence. What is intended is to characterize the degree of precision, appropriateness and ease with the language which typifies the speech of highly successful learners.
3.8 HOW TO USE SCALES OF DESCRIPTORS OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

A very important issue in discussing scales of language proficiency is the identification of the purpose the scale is to serve, and an appropriate matching of the formulation of scale descriptors to that purpose. A functional distinction has been made between three types of scales: User oriented scales report typical behaviors of learners at any given level. Descriptors talk about what the learner can do and are positively worded. They tend to be holistic and to offer one descriptor per level.

Assessor-oriented scales guide the rating process and the descriptors are generally expressed in terms of the quality of the performance expected. Such scales concentrate on how well the learner performs. Assessor-oriented scales can be holistic or analytic focusing on different aspects of the performance such as range, Accuracy, Fluency, Pronunciation etc. they can be negatively worded (especially when the formulation is norm-referenced around a pass-grade for an examination)or positively worded (cfr Table 3) Analytic scales like that in Table 3 have been described as diagnosisoriented scales since one of their purposes is to profile current position, profile target needs in relevant categories and provide a diagnosis of what needs to be covered to get there. Constructor-oriented scales guide the construction of tests at appropriate levels. Statements are generally expressed in terms of specific communication tasks the learner might be asked to perform in tests. Therefore they concentrate on what the learner can do Another way to look at it is to say that a user oriented scale is a less detailed version of a constructor-oriented scales which is intended to give an overview. Similarly, an assessor-oriented scale is a less detailed version of a diagnosis-oriented scale which helps an assessor to arrive to an overview. NB Checklists or scales used for continuous teacherassessment work best when the descriptors say not only what the learner can do but also how well they can do it. Teachers appear to prefer some detail related to curriculum tasks on the one hand and related to qualitative criteria on the other (a link to diagnostic-oriented scales and to constructor-oriented scales)

6 LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING

7. TASKS AND THEIR ROLE IN LANGUAGE TEACHING 7.1 TASK DESCRIPTION

4. LANGUAGE USE AND THE LANGUAGE USER/LEARNER 4.1 THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE USE Language in use varies greatly according to the requirements of the context. The form and the content Of communication is a response to a situation and varies accordingly 4.1.1 DOMAINS 1. Domains (spheres of action or areas of concern in which social life is organised) 4 main domanins: - PERSONAL PUBLIC - OCCUPATIONAL - EDUCATIONAL 4.1.2 SITUATIONS Domains/ Situations (the external situations that may occur in each domain) e.g. the locations where they may occur the persons involved the objects in the environment etc. (see Table 5 examples of situational categories classified according to domains)

4.1.3 CONDITIONS AND COSTRAINTS Conditions and constraints (the external conditions under which communication takes places impose various constraints) Physical conditions: e.g. for speech clarity of pronunciation/ ambient noise social conditions: e.g. number or familiarity of interlocutors / presence/absence of audience time pressures: e.g. preparation time (improvised vs routinised vs prepared in advance) / limitations on time allowed for turns and interactions

4.2 COMMUNICATION THEMES (within the various domains we can distinguish Topics which are the focus of particular communicative acts) attention in

One influential classification into themes/sub-themes/specific notins is that presented in Threshold level 1990

4.3 COMMUNICATIVE TASKS AND PURPOSES (within the various domains acts of communication are undertaken by the user in pursuance of his/her needs) over the years needs analyses have produced an extensive literature on the language-using tasks a learner may require to tackle in order to deal with the exigencies which arise in the various domains: e.g communicating at work (occupational domain) - seek permits as required - enquire about the nature, availability, conditions of employment. e.g. personal identification (personal domain) - say who you are, spell your name - Say where they are from, what they do for a living etc

4.4 COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES

(to carry out tasks, users have to engage in communicative activities and operate communicative strategies) LAGUAGE ACTIVITIES INTERACTION RECEPTION PRODUCTION MEDIATION

STRATEGIES the adoption of a particular line of action in order to maximize effectiveness. The application of the metacognitive principles( PRE-PLANNING, EXECUTION, MONITORING, REPAIR ACTION) to the different kinds of communicative activity. Progress in language learning is most clearly evidenced in the learners ability to engage in observable language activities and operate communicative strategies. They are therefore a convenient basis for the scaling of language ability

4.4.1 PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES SPEAKING illustrative scales: - Overall spoken production

PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES

Sustained monologue : describing experience Sustained monologue : putting a case (eg in debate) Public announcements Addressing audiences

WRITING illustrative scales: - Overall written production - Creative writing - Reports and essays
PLANNING rehearsing

PRODUCTION

STRATEGIES

considering audience (calculating effect of styles etc) locating resources(looking things up or finding assistance) task adjustment (scaling up/down the task) message adjustment approximating or overgeneralising with simpler Language paraphrasing or describing aspects of he/she wants to say feedback offers the opportunity to monitor the success of communication spot slips or favourite mistakes and correct them

COMPENSATING

MONITORING/REPAIR