Council of Europe: Reference levels for national and regional languages

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Reference levels for national and regional languages
Background


A number of important studies published by the Council of Europe have
played a significant role in innovation in language teaching, and notably
in the shift from a primarily formalistic approach towards a more
communicative view of language teaching in order to facilitate the 'freer
movement of people and ideas'. In the mid 1970s the Council's experts
developed a specification in operational terms first of what a learner
should be able to DO when using the language independently for
communication in a country in which that language is the vehicle of
communication in everyday life, and then of the necessary knowledge and
skills.


A descriptive instrument for specific languages

The initial threshold level specification for English, together with the
specification developed for French (Un Niveau-Seuil), provided the basic
models which have been adapted for other languages in the light of their
particular linguistic situation, and further developed in the light of
experience. The model has been extremely influential in the planning of
language programmes, providing a basis for new national curricula, more
interesting and attractive textbooks, popular multimedia courses and more
realistic and relevant forms of assessment.

Four levels

The original threshold level model was enriched and extended in the light
of developments in the field (Threshold Level 1990), and particular
attention has been paid to the socio-cultural and 'learning to learn'
components. A lower level (Waystage) has been developed and in response to
demand, a higher level specification has also been developed, initially
for English (Vantage Level), and versions for a number of other languages
have followed. (The three Council of Europe descriptions at ascending
levels) (Waystage, Threshold, Vantage) now form the basis for course
design and levels of competence both in national and international
contexts as well as for the design of multimedia courses.

A new level (Breakthrough) of language proficiency below Waystage,
corresponding to Level A1 in the Common European Framework of Reference,
is in preparation. This will provide beginners with an attainable
short-term objective which is measurable, worthy of recognition and
motivating to go further.

These four levels of description correspond to level A1 (Breakthrough), A2
(Waystage), B1 (Threshold) and B2 (Vantage) of the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages.

Reference levels for national and regional languages

Reference levels have been developed for Basque, Catalan, Czech, Danish,
Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian,
Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian,
Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Welsh.

Others are in preparation.

Authorities wishing to develop level descriptions for national or regional
languages are invited to contact the Language Policy Division for Guidance
on development and validation.

Recent and present developments

More recently, the elaboration of new specifications have been closely
developed along the levels of Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages.

French language: Project NICOLAF

The French and international team which has taken charge of producing the
reference levels for French will be submitting a distributable version of
level B2 at the end of April 2003, which will probably be available for
on-line consultation on this site in June or September.

It comprises: a recapitulation of the definition of this level in the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching,
Assessment , a transposition of the general communication skills into an
inventory of the corresponding discourse types, an inventory of the
features specific to these types, essentially in terms of general
concepts, functions, grammar (in the sense of morphosyntax) based on a
distributional approach, and specific concepts. It will also include
inventories relating to sound aspects, spelling, the cultural dimension,
and cross-sectoral skills (from a self-learning perspective).

The overall plan is to transpose the guidelines contained in the Framework
to a particular language while taking the 6 levels into account from the
outset. Work on level A1 will be completed in 2003 and 2004.

Contact: Jean-Claude Beacco, Universit de la Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris
III): jcb.mdg at wanadoo.fr

For the German language, Profile deutsch has been developed by a
three-nation team, covering the first four levels (A1, A2, B1 and B2) of
the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This is the
first major application of the Framework to the description of a
language-specific objective.

Profile deutsch is a reference manual (with a CD-ROM), checklist, resource
bank and
Database all in one, providing an overview of the subject matter addressed
at each level as well as the relevant examination requirements.
(http://www.langenscheidt.de/profile/index.html).


http://www.coe.int/T/E/Cultural_Co-operation/education/Languages/Language_Policy/Reference_levels/_Summary.asp#TopOfPage