CEFR Resources

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CEFR Resources
English Australia is keen to oer support to colleges who wish to use the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR or CEF) to inform their curriculum.
Independent TESOL consultant and assessment expert Mary Jane Hogan compiled the following guide to the CEFR,
comprising resources that teachers, teacher trainers and curriculum developers may nd useful.
What is the CEFR?

What is a language framework?

Why link curriculum to the CEFR?

How can I bring the CEFR into my curriculum? What are the main principles of the CEFR? Points to remember
Find out more about the CEFR

Curriculum resources

General resources

What is the CEFR?

The Common European Framework of References for Languages is a project of the Council of Europe that aims to give
language professionals and language learners 'a prac cal tool for se ng clear standards to be a ained at successive stages
of learning and for evalua ng outcomes in an interna onally comparable manner' (Council of Europe CEFR main website).
It is a language framework that describes what language learners/users can do at dierent stages of language acquisi on,
in a range of situa ons, contexts and elds of language use.
The CEFR is not prescrip ve, nor does it mandate what must be taught or learnt. It is not an assessment framework. The
CEFR framework is vast and it is not intended to be used as is. 'Rather, [the] purpose is to help the user to consider the
coverage of the learning programme or examina on with which they are concerned: what are the priority areas and what
level of prociency is appropriate in each area?' (Brian North, in the Report of the Intergovernmental Language Policy
Forum 2007).

What is a language framework?

'A language levels framework is a series of language descrip ons arranged sequen ally to indicate an expected order of
language progression or development over me.' (OLoughlin, 2007, NEAS ELT Management Conference). Teachers,
curriculum developers and policy makers can all use a language framework to inform teaching and assessment.

Why should I link curriculum to the CEFR?

Curriculum linked to the CEFR assists ELT providers in crea ng a coherent progression within a language learning
environment, from pre-entry tes ng through learning outcomes to exit tes ng, as well as comparison between learners
within and across learning environments. The CEFR is already the industry-standard language framework in ELT across
Europe as well as in interna onal ELT publishing, and its impact is being felt rapidly in English teaching and learning around
the world.

How can I link curriculum to the Framework?

The CEFR comprises many sets of descriptors covering many dierent aspects of language knowledge and use in a range of
contexts. To make coherent use of the Framework you need to follow some principles.
The CEFR:
asks you to reect on your teaching prac ce
requires you to meet your learners needs
is ac on-oriented in its approach
regards language learning as a lifelong process
expects the learner to take responsibility for their own learning.
These are the main principles to follow in referencing the CEFR when you are developing curriculum. You can then use the
illustra ve scales (descriptors) as a resource to develop learning outcomes for your par cular learning context.
The scales have been revised and expanded in an EAQUALS/ALTE project that has expanded the 6-level scale to 11 levels
with the addi on of '+' levels (click on 'EAQUALS Bank as levels') to provide a ner dis nc on between the levels.

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Details of the main principles

1. Reect on your teaching prac ce:
describe your learners
describe their language goals
describe the teaching methodology you use
2. Meet your learners needs:
explore the illustra ve scales and select the domains, competences, ac vi es and strategies relevant to your learners
needs
3. Follow an ac on-oriented approach and see language learning as a lifelong process:
iden fy descriptors in the illustra ve scales in competences, ac vi es and strategies that are relevant to and at the levels
appropriate for your learners at their stage of language learning
reference these scales in crea ng your learner outcomes, using a 'Can Do' approach
4. Expect the learner to take responsibility for their own learning:
make learners aware of learning outcomes to be achieved
encourage learners to record their own progress and achievements

Points to remember
1. The CEFR requires you to reect on your teaching prac ce
The CEFR asks you to reect on what you teach and how you teach, to put this into words and to describe the outcomes in
terms of what your learners can do. Reference descriptors in the illustra ve scales that are relevant to your learning
context.
2. The CEFR is exible
The CEFR is intended to be applied exibly, so you can adapt it to any learning programme. Not everything is relevant to
your learning context, and the CEFR will not contain everything your learning context needs.
3. The CEFR is ac on-oriented
The CEFR focuses on what learners do to successfully complete tasks requiring language competences; it does not describe
what they know about language.
4. The CEFR is Can Do in approach
The CEFR illustra ve scales describe what learners/users can do at dierent levels of language learning; they are not
intended to be used as ra ng scales for assessment tasks at any one level or across levels. Nor are they intended to be
used directly in a classroom; the illustra ve scales can be referenced in learning outcomes that are also Can Do in approach
and are aimed at mee ng your learners par cular needs.
5. The CEFR operates ver cally and horizontally
To reference the CEFR in your curriculum, you need to look at what learners do according to the ver cal and horizontal
scales. That is, use the ver cal scale of 6+ levels as well as the horizontal aspect of the competences, ac vi es and
strategies.
6. The CEFR focuses on 'act eec vely'
The CEFR describes what learners have to do to act eec vely in their context; needs analysis is central.
7. The CEFR provides support
Use the ideas and support available to reference the CEFR to your learning context (and remember that materials
produced by someone else are copyright).

Where can I nd out more about the CEFR and its resources?
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press,
2001. It's available in paperback, or you can click here to download from Council of Europe website
Main Council of Europe CEFR website
Guide for Users (Ed. John L Trim, 2002; guide to help users make full use of the CEFR in dierent educa on sectors)

What resources can help me bring the CEFR into my curriculum?

These are some of the useful resources for curriculum development:
Cambridge ESOL: Using the CEFR. Principles of Good Prac ce (guide to best prac ce in curriculum and assessment using
the CEFR, 2011)
EAQUALS Self-Help Guide to Curriculum and Syllabus Design (task-based guide to curriculum and syllabus design grounded
in the CEFR)
ECEP (ECML): Pathways through assessing, learning and teaching in the CEFR (kit of worksheets to use in teacher
professional development in rela on to the CEFR)
Bri sh Council/EAQUALS Core Inventory for General English (inventory of core language relevant for learners at levels A1
to C1)

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English Prole Project (an ongoing corpus-based project to produce Reference Level Descriptors describing learning goals
in areas such as vocabulary, grammar and func ons across levels A1 to C2; see especially the English Vocabulary Prole)
See also Cambridge ESOL Research Notes 33, August 2008
Samples of Speaking and Wri ng performances (to exemplify what learners can do at 5 CEFR levels in English, A2 to C2)
Examples of speaking (A2-C2) with detailed comments prepared by Cambridge English Language Assessment - scroll down
to 'Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)' under 'Research and Valida on' to the le of the
screen
European Language Por olio (to allow and encourage users to record their language learning achievements and progress)
Level specica ons A1 to B2 (a range of guides produced through the Council of Europe from 1990 to 2001, describing at
four levels aspects of language use such as func ons, no ons, verbal exchange pa erns, lexis, texts, wri ng, competences,
and strategies):
A1 Breakthrough level specica ons (Word document, unpublished, Council of Europe 2001)
A2 Waystage level specica ons (Council of Europe 1991, Cambridge University Press 1998)
B1 Threshold level specica ons (Council of Europe 1991, Cambridge University Press 1998)
B2 Vantage level specica ons (Council of Europe, Cambridge University Press 2001)

Selected CEFR resources

If you'd like to do further reading or research into the CEFR, you might nd these useful and/or interes ng.
The following is short interview between Nick Saville, Head of Research & Valida on at Cambridge ESOL, and John Trim,
co-developer of the CEFR.

Jones, N. (2009). 'The classroom and the Common European Framework: towards a model for forma ve assessment'.
Research Notes (Cambridge ESOL), 36: 2-8.
Jones, N. & Saville, N. (2009). 'European Language Policy: Assessment, Learning, and the CEFR'. Annual Review of Applied
Linguis cs, 29: 51-63.
Li le, D. (2007) 'The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Perspec ves on the Making of
Suprana onal Language Policy'. Modern Language Journal 91: iv, 645-653.
North, B. (2007). 'The CEFR Common Reference Levels: validated reference points and local strategies.' in The Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the development of language policies: challenges and
responsibili es. Intergovernmental Language Policy Forum. Report by Francis Goullier.
North, B. (2008). 'The relevance of the CEFR to teacher training'. Babylonia, 2, 55-57.
Research Notes, Cambridge ESOL. 37, August 2009. Issue devoted to the CEFR and Cambridge ESOL.
Saville, N. (2010). 'The CEFR: Handle with care'. EL Gaze e, October 1, 2010, 7.
Trim, J.L.M. (2010). 'The Modern Languages Programme of the Council of Europe as a background to the English Prole
Programme'. English Prole Journal, 1:01, e2.
Weir, C.J. (2005). 'Limita ons of the Common European Framework for developing comparable examina ons and tests'.
Language Tes ng, 22:3, 281-3

2015 English Australia.

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