CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice, Volume 4
Date: December 20, 2021
Title: Mediation in practice in an ESAP course: Versions of the Medical English student conference
Page: 25 - 42
Author(s): Magdalini Liontou (University of Jyväskylä) & Eva Braidwood (University of Oulu)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: The Medical English course at the University of Oulu (Finland), which is compulsory for 200 first-year medical students, is designed to enhance professional English language communication focusing on work life relevance. The course design utilized the action-oriented approach promoted by CEFR CV (2018), to support the active use of language through various simulation activities. This paper describes specifically the final assignment of the Medical English course, which is integrated with the Clinical Psychology course. Having discussed topics in Finnish in groups, complementing the lectures in the Clinical Psychology course, students present in English what they have learnt in these discussions in the framework of a student conference. While preparing for the conference, the students create a poster presentation in teams. During the conference, they present the posters and, thus, practice communication relevant to work life. In this assignment, they must actively apply cross-linguistic mediation and use mediation strategies to explain new concepts and simplify the source text. Traditionally, the assignment requires students to participate in a simulated real-time face to-face conference both as presenters and attendees. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we used an alternative solution: a hybrid conference of asynchronous presentations with real-time Q&A forums in online posts. The new design similarly provides students with stimuli to activate all modes of communication (production, reception, interaction and mediation) simultaneously.
This article reports on this novel solution for the assignment together with its context and the course design in relation to mediation scales and descriptors. Moreover, an analysis of the self-assessment forms between the student cohorts in 2019 and 2020 allows an insight into the learners’ experiences. The results show that students perceive the assignment as an authentic communication task, which enhances their engagement and autonomy in the learning process.
This article reports on this novel solution for the assignment together with its context and the course design in relation to mediation scales and descriptors. Moreover, an analysis of the self-assessment forms between the student cohorts in 2019 and 2020 allows an insight into the learners’ experiences. The results show that students perceive the assignment as an authentic communication task, which enhances their engagement and autonomy in the learning process.
Keywords: cross-linguistic mediation, mediation strategies, pandemic, pedagogical solution, online teaching, curriculum development, CLIL
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
CEFR Journal - Practice and Research Volume 4
Date: December 20, 2021
Title: The CEFR Companion Volume - What's new and what might it imply for teaching/learning and for assessment?
Page: 5 - 24
Author(s): Brian North (CEFR and CEFR/CV co-author)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: This article discusses key aspects of the CEFR vision that are further elaborated in the CEFR Companion Volume and their potential for innovation in language education. The paper starts with an outline of the content of the CEFR/CV, and a clarification of its status and the relationship to the CEFR 2001, as well as an explanation of the background to the 2014-2020 project that produced it. The article then goes on to briefly summarise the main research perspectives—the integrationist/enactive perspective; the complex, ecological perspective; the agentive perspective; the socio-constructivist/ sociocultural perspective; and the plurilingual perspective—that fed into the development of the CEFR/CV. It points out that, when the CEFR appeared, very many language professionals viewed the CEFR just as an instrument to promote communicative language teaching, which had some useful levels and descriptors. The key innovative concepts in the CEFR/CV—the social agent, the action-oriented approach, mediation, and plurilingualism—were all foregrounded by the CEFR in 2001, but required time for developments in research and from practitioners in the field to pave the ground for their elaboration and wider dissemination with the CEFR/CV. The article ends by considering the implications of these concepts and developments for the classroom and for assessment.
Keywords: CEFR; CEFR Companion Volume; innovation; social agent; action-oriented approach; mediation; plurilingualism; classroom implications
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Classroom-based assessment of group discussion: Challenges and opportunities
Page: 116 - 125
Author: Olga Y. Lankina (St. Petersburg State University) & Yulia V. Petc (St. Petersburg State University)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Collaborating in a group and leading group work are often used in the modern language classroom. However, it still seems relevant to find an effective way to assess group discussions and to identify problems that students experience when they have to mediate texts and concepts or collaborate on shared tasks. This paper analyzes the engagement of students with a task to mediate and discuss information in a group and how students approach the tasks at the B1 and B2 Council of Europe (CoE) or CEFR levels. The objective of this paper is to show that group discussions can be used for the formative and summative assessment of mediation skills as they are described in the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV; CoE 2018). We will describe the process of how learners can receive global achievement marks for mediation on par with analytical marks for interaction, discourse management, range, accuracy, and phonological control. We also provide an example of how assessment of a group discussion can be done by giving students a global achievement mark for mediation and analytical marks. The outcome of the research is a test that can be used in the classroom and to provide criteria for assessing mediation when it is part of a group discussion.
Keywords: mediation, classroom-based assessment, descriptors for mediation, global and analytical marks, CEFR/CV, group discussion
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Developing an e-portfolio reflecting the concept of mediation for university students
Page: 104 - 115
Author: Yukie Saito (Chuo University)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Nearly 20 years have passed since the publication of CEFR (Council of Europe [CoE] 2001) and society has become more globalized with the development of information technology. At the same time, it has become more complex with many international issues needing to be solved. Reflecting on changes in society, the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV) was published in 2018, in which the concept of mediation is emphasized (CoE 2018). At the conference marking the launch of CEFR/CV, North (2018) explained mediation as a social and cultural process of creating conditions for communication and cooperation, which involves facing and hopefully defusing any delicate situations and tensions that may arise. In this increasingly globalized society, being able to play an active role as a mediator using English will be important. In Japan, the CEFR has been widely used in English education, including the new Courses of Study of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for junior high schools (MEXT 2017) and high schools (MEXT 2018). However, the concept of mediation emphasized in CEFR/CV has not been well recognized yet. Incorporating the concept of mediation is meaningful in English education in Japan for English learners to use English as a tool for global communication. In this paper, I will present the process of developing an e-portfolio based upon a learning management system (LMS) to promote students’ use of English as a tool for global communication integrating mediation Can Do descriptors from the CEFR/CV.
Keywords: CEFR, CEFR/CV, mediation, e-portfolio, English as a tool for global communication
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Utilising pupils’ plurilingual skills: a whole-school approach to language learning in a linguistically diverse Irish primary school
Page: 98 - 103
Author: Déirdre Kirwan (former principal of Scoil Bhríde Cailíní)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, schools in many parts of Ireland have experienced an unprecedented increase in the level of linguistic and cultural diversity among pupils. This paper describes an innovative approach to integrated language learning that was developed in a primary school in West Dublin in response to this phenomenon. To ensure inclusion of all pupils and to support them in reaching their full potential, pupils’ plurilingual repertoires are welcomed. Two overarching goals to language teaching and learning inform the whole-school language policy that seeks to: • ensure that all pupils become proficient1 in the language of schooling • exploit the linguistic diversity of the school for the benefit of all pupils (Council of Europe [CoE] 2001: 4; Garcia 2017: 18). Classroom procedures that facilitate inclusion of home languages in curriculum delivery and the needs of pupils who are endeavouring to learn English as an additional language are described. The importance of literacy is highlighted as is teacher, pupil, and parent cooperation. In addition to high levels of achievement in standardised tests of English and Maths, additional outcomes are identified including enhancement of the Irish language, a developing culture of learner autonomy, and the cultivation of pupil confidence and social cohesion.
Keywords: education, social cohesion, learner autonomy, linguistic diversity, inclusive, whole-school approach, plurilingual
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Interpretation of the CEFR Companion Volume for developing rating scales in Cuban higher education
Author: Claudia Harsch (University of Bremen), Ivonne de la Caridad Collada Peña (University of Informatics Sciences, Havana), Tamara Gutiérrez Baffil (University of Pinar del Río), Pedro Castro Álvarez (Univeristy of Informatics Sciences, Havana), & Ioani García Fernández (University of Cienfuegos)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Considering the need for improving English proficiency among Cuban university graduates, the Ministry of Higher Education (MES) implemented a new policy for teaching, learning and assessment of English proficiency. The policy adopted the CEFR (Council of Europe [CoE] 2001) as a proficiency framework, with the level B1 as the targeted attainment level. The CEFR needed to be adapted to suit the local context while operating within an internationally recognised framework. In 2017, the development of a valid and reliable proficiency exam was initiated. This work has been carried out by a network of Cuban teachers of English within the MES, coordinated by the University of Informatics Sciences, Havana, in collaboration with the University of Bremen, Germany. This article is a practice report of the process of developing rating scales for writing as part of the new exam. We explore the feasibility of using the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV; CoE 2018) descriptors as a basis for developing localised rating scales. Moreover, we describe the challenges faced during the process, which included creating more specific descriptors for the CEFR ‘plus’ levels (CoE 2001: 32, 181). Our insights show how the CEFR/CV (CoE 2018) descriptors can be adapted and how adaptation challenges can be overcome.
Keywords: rating scales, CEFR-based assessment, standardised testing, descriptor development, adaptation of the CEFR/CV for rating purposes
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Investigating the difficulties for university learners of English in Japan of CEFR B1-level phrases
Page: 59 - 86
Author: Takeshi Matsuzaki (Meiji University) & Kevin Mark (Meiji University)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: This study examines the variations in difficulty encountered by university learners of English in Japan with regard to English phrases that are classified as CEFR B1 level by the English Vocabulary Profile (EVP). Of the 332 English phrases categorized as B1 level at the time of investigation, 60 were identified as worthy of close examination for this research. An English phrase test was created, comprising two sections: one testing recognition and the other productive ability. Each section consisted of 60 test items embedded within 11 short written passages that were devised to provide context for the items used in this study. The test was administered to 360 university students in Japan, with the recognition section given first and the production section following immediately after. The results obtained show that there was a wide variation in the difficulty measures of the 60 phrases, and that recognition and production showed a discrepancy in terms of level of difficulty. The latter finding suggests that determination of difficulty based on a single processing mode is unlikely to provide an adequate indication of the difficulty of phrases, and that use should therefore be made of measurement instruments that assess both recognition and production ability. Implications for learning and pedagogy and for future directions for this line of research are discussed.
Keywords: English Vocabulary Profile (EVP), B1 level, phrases, difficulty, recognition, production
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Learner perspectives: familiarization, knowledge, and perceptions of the CEFR
Page: 44 - 58
Author: Gary Cook (Hiroshima Bunkyo University) & Yukari Rutson-Griffiths (Hiroshima Bunkyo University)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Since 2012, various aspects of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) have been utilized in language curricula at Hiroshima Bunkyo University’s language learning center: the Bunkyo English Communication Center (BECC). Whilst teacher training regarding the CEFR had taken place, students had not received any direct CEFR-education. A decision was taken in 2017 to involve one cohort of students from the Global Communication Department in activities over three years to a) determine their ability to sort Can Do descriptors into their respective levels on the self-assessment grid (A1-C2), and b) establish their knowledge and perceptions of the CEFR through questionnaires. The sorting activity, termed the CEFR shuffle in this paper, was also intended to raise students’ awareness of the CEFR. Results of this research comparing two groups of students streamed into low (A1-A2) and high (A2-B1) classes show that 1) their ability to correctly sort descriptors as a cohort showed no change over a period of 2 years, 2) the high class performed better than the low class in terms of making fewer sorting mistakes in the first and third years of the study but these results were not found to be statistically significant, and 3) students’ knowledge of the CEFR improved slightly while perceptions received mixed results. Further results are discussed and suggestions made for the improvement of this study in future editions.
Keywords: Awareness, Self-assessment, Curriculum, Training, Knowledge, Perceptions, CEFR, Can Do descriptors
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Initial stages of individual teacher CEFR-related classroom curriculum projects at Miyazaki International College
Page: 21 - 43
Author: Rebecca Schmidt (Miyazaki International College) & Ellen Head (Miyazaki International College)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: This paper explores steps individual instructors have undertaken to incorporate the CEFR into oral communication, reading, writing, and team-taught CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) courses absent of administrative mandates, within a large-scale curricular framework of the International Liberal Arts Department at Miyazaki International College (MIC). Although the curricular framework specifies general learner and course goals, a high level of teacher autonomy allows instructors to embark on their own projects integrating CEFR-related goals. For example, instructors have found ways to input larger conceptual goals of the CEFR through Can Do statements, and other reflective activities aimed to raise learner awareness, as well as noting where curriculum already aligns with established descriptors of the CEFR scales. In addition, aspects of the newer Illustrative Descriptors Scales of the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV) including reception, production, interaction and mediation provide benchmarks for instructors to reflect on the way language is taught and negotiated in the CLIL program. While the paper focuses on projects within such an autonomous environment, it offers a case study of steps individual instructors can attempt in order to incorporate the CEFR into curricula absent of administrative mandates and provides guidance for those receiving various mandates to reform curriculum.
Keywords: CEFR-informed curriculum design and mapping; teacher autonomy; learner awareness; learner reflection; CLIL; EMI institution; Can Do statements; Illustrative Descriptor Scales, CEFR/CV; action research approach
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 3 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: October 20, 2020
Title: Is a self-regulatory eELP the way forward? A reflection on two decades of achievements and failures of the ELP
Page: 6 - 20
Author: Maria José Luelmo del Castillo (Rey Juan Carlos University) & Maria Luisa Pérez Cavana (Open University)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: The European Language Portfolio (ELP) launched in 2001 was created and promoted by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a tool to foster learner autonomy, plurilingualism, and life-long learning. In spite of the progressive educational principles and promising perspectives to develop and support language learning, the ELP has not become established as a widely implemented tool within the European educational context, not even in its electronic version. This paper starts by briefly introducing the original elements and principles of the ELP in order to evaluate some of its main achievements and failures. After examining different models of electronic ELPs, the paper focuses on ePortfolios as pedagogical tools and, in particular, on the suitability of ePortfolios to develop self-regulation. The authors then present some examples of self-regulatory ePortfolios they have created and implemented in different educational contexts. Finally, they present a new self-regulatory ePortfolio prototype. Although still in an exploratory phase, this prototype seems to offer a flexible, adaptable and powerful tool for a variety of learning contexts and learner needs, including the learning of languages and specifically for a state-of-the-art variant of the ELP. This paper concludes by mapping out the self-regulatory ePortfolio as a possible way forward for the ELP.
Keywords: European Language Portfolio (ELP), ePortfolio, self-regulation
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice - Volume 2 (June 2020)
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 2 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: June 10, 2020
Title: Developing classroom mediation awareness and skills in pre-service language teacher education
Page: 25 - 39
Author: Marina Perevertkina (Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia), Alexey Korenev (Lomonosov Moscow State University), & Maria Zolotareva (Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: The introduction of mediation as the fourth mode of communication into the CEFR has the potential to revolutionise language teaching. The development of teachers’ competence in this area has become a challenge for teacher training. The paucity of curricula and courses aimed at developing pre-service teachers’ awareness and competence in mediating communication has motivated this research, and the article is intended to serve two main purposes, namely, to identify mediation activities performed by in-service teachers and to outline strategies of training preservice teachers. Research methodology included both qualitative analysis of 15 video-recorded lesson transcripts and quantitative analysis of a survey of 100 pre-service teachers of English in Russia. The lessons by Russian in-service teachers of English were analyzed to find evidence of classroom mediation and the survey was conducted to discover their familiarity with the CEFR and to elicit their views on the changes needed in teacher training after the appearance of the CEFR Companion Volume. The results indicate that communicating ideas and concepts lies at the core of classroom interaction, and thus special training is needed for language teachers to perform it. The practical implications of this study include a sample of piloted tasks for various proficiency levels aimed at facilitating the pre-service teachers’ awareness of mediation and the ability to perform it in the classroom.
Keywords: CEFR/CV, mediation, teacher training, awareness, professional communicative competence, in-service teachers, pre-service teachers
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice (June 2020)
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 2 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: June 10, 2020
Title: The new CEFR descriptors for the assessment of written mediation: Exploring their applicability in a local context in an effort towards multilingual testing
Page: 40 -78
Author: Maria Stathopoulou (Hellenic Open University / National Technical University of Athens)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: Focusing on the process of written mediation, this paper deals with the newly developed descriptor scales presented in the CEFR Companion Volume with New Descriptors (CEFR/CV) (Council of Europe (CoE) 2018). It investigates the views of both language education experts and teachers in Greece regarding these new descriptors in an effort to explore the extent to which they can be exploited in a local context. The questions this study addresses are: Which descriptors can be useful in the Greek educational context, and to what extent? The research project was organised into two phases. In Phase 1, 18 language experts (mainly from the two major state universities in Athens and Thessaloniki) completed online questionnaires containing the 90 new CEFR written mediation descriptors and they judged the clarity of these descriptors in terms of language, their usefulness for assessment purposes, and their relevance for the Greek context. Phase 2 involved 94 language teachers in Greece who were invited to judge the degree to which the same 90 CEFR descriptors correspond to the proficiency level for which they had initially been designed. Based on empirical evidence, the present paper stresses the urgent need for language testers to consider (cross-lingual) written mediation as a fundamental ability which needs to be both taught as well as tested, and discusses the possibility of transforming the monoglossic paradigm in assessment.
Keywords: written mediation, CEFR/CV, descriptors, multilingual, plurilingual, cross-lingual, (trans)languaging, pluricultural, assessment/testing
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
CEFR Journal - Research and Practice - Volume 2 (June 2020)
Volume: CEFR Journal - Research and Practice Volume 2 (https://cefrjapan.net/journal)
Date: June 20, 2020
Title: Trolls, unicorns and the CEFR: Precision and professionalism in criticism of the CEFR
Page: 8 -24
Author: Brian North (CEFR and CEFR/CV co-author)
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract: This article starts by recalling the reasons that have been given for the CEFR’s success, for example its neutrality, the way it encourages the constructive alignment of planning, teaching and assessment and helps educators to fulfil both instrumental and educational goals. It then reviews and responds to some of the main criticisms that have been made of the CEFR over the past twenty years concerning the relationship of the CEFR to linguistic theory, the compatibility of the CEFR descriptors with research in second language acquisition and corpus linguistics, the development methodology and formulation style of the descriptors, the intended scope of the CEFR itself and its relationship to socio-political power. It points out that many of these criticisms are based on misunderstandings or misrepresentations and underlines that a sustained constructive engagement with the CEFR is necessary if criticism is to inform future revisions. The article also draws attention to some of the innovations brought by the CEFR, which have tended to be overlooked, and which are reinforced and further developed in the recently published update to the CEFR, the CEFR/CV, which has just in its definitive form.
Keywords: CEFR criticism, reasons for success, descriptors, research base, theory, CEFR innovations, CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR/CV), development methodology, action-oriented approach, corpus linguistics
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(Last update March 6th, 2023 MGS)
