Newsletter
Newsletter No. 28 - Read here or download the pdf-file (click here)
JALT CEFR & LP SIG - Newsletter No. 28 - April 2020
Dear members of the CEFR & LP SIG,
The cherry blossom season has passed its peak and the new semester will start soon. We hope that the challenges this spring will work out for you. As of April 1st, 2020, CEFR & LP SIG has 74 members. Thank you to all of you! Our treasurer prepares the report on the fiscal year and this newsletter edition focuses forward to 2020. You can find detailed information about the following topics and news in this newsletter:
(1) We have received a featured report by Fergus O’Dwyer on the EALTA / UKALTA conference in London on February 6th and 7th, 2020 with the theme The CEFR: a road map for future research and development.
(2) The next event is a joint Webinar on “Mediation, interaction and pluricultural competence: How can the new CEFR help English teachers? to be held on April 9th, 2020 at 20:00 JST: See details sign up!
(3) As with many other conferences Pan SIG 2020 has been canceled. A few people initiated a discussion and the outcome is to hold a smaller online conference instead, planned for June 20th. You still can join if you are an accepted presenter for Pan SIG 2020.
(4) Very good news: The next Kaken JSPS research project has been granted! For the members of CEFR & LP SIG this is good news indeed. Why? - Because they have been explicitly included in the proposal with the title 「アクションリサーチの手法を用いた言語教育改善:CEFRの教育理念を参考にして」 in English “Language Education reform using action research: Consulting the CEFRs educational principles”.
(5.1) The JALT International Conference in Tsukuba is scheduled for November 20th to 23rd, 2020. CEFR & LP SIG will hold a SIG Forum on Aligning CEFR to current practices - Identifying needs of learners and teachers / in the classroom - First steps for action research. If you are interested in presenting, please submit your proposal by April 29th, 2020.
(5.2) Your vote is needed for one more decision on the best of CEFR & LP SIG in 2019. The Best of JALT ceremony will be held at JALT 2020.
We hope that some of the events for 2020 will take place and give us the opportunity to share our experience and research. Yet, the trend to do online meetings, webinars or other events seems to become more reasonable. CEFR & LP SIG wants to make a move in this direction and may offer various online meetings or events. The next upcoming events for this year:
(6) The joint meeting with Nagano Chapter on July 12th, 2020. The theme of the conference is Language Frameworks in Action.
(7) The CEFR and CLIL Symposium & Workshop: The praxis of teaching, learning, and assessment with CEFR and CLIL” It will be held October 23rd to 25th at AIU in Akita. The call for papers has been extended until May 1st, 2020. We received confirmations from Yue-Li Lo (Hongkong) and Masashi Negishi (TUFS) as plenary speakers.
(8) The new CEFR Journal is doing well! Volume 2 and 3 are under way.
And finally, cefrjapan.net HP has been updated !
We are working on the update of the CEFR & LP SIGs homepage: see on this homepage. And the old homepage will be maintained. Please stay tuned!
If you would like to organize a joint event with the CEFR&LP SIG, please contact one of our officers. We ask all our members to become involved with organizing meetings and mini-conferences and by contributing to our newsletter. We’d love your cooperation to make this happen.
Thank you for being a member of JALT CEFR&LP SIG! 宜しくお願い致します。
Gabriela Schmidt
Your coordinator on behalf of all officers.
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CONTENTS
/ 1 'Roadmap' - meeting by Fergus O'Dwyer // 2 Webinar // 3 Pan SIG // 4 New Kaken // 5 JALT 2020 // 6 Event Nagano // 7 CEFR & CLIL // 8 Journal /
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1 The EALTA UKALTA ‘Roadmap’ – meeting reported by Fergus O’Dwyer
The CEFR: a road map for future research and development https://uk.live.solas.britishcouncil.digital/exam/aptis/research/ealta-ukalta-conference)
The “Roadmap” meeting (full title: The CEFR: a road map for future research and development) was held in central London on February 7th - 8th, and jointly held EALTA and UKALTA. The central organizing committee was comprised of Barry O’Sullivan and Jamie Dunlea (British Council), Neus Figueras (Departament d Educació, Generalitat de Catalunya), Vincent Folny (France Education International), David Little (Trinity College Dublin), with contributions from figures like Brian North. The first day featured two sessions that opened up the topics of the meeting. The second day was comprised of three symposia that expanded on some of these topics, ending with final session that attempted to draw threads together and sketch out future plans.
The brief for the meeting was as follows: In the two decades since its publication, the CEFR has established itself as an indispensable reference point for all aspects of second and foreign language education – a position that was reinforced by the publication of the Companion Volume in 2018. Used worldwide by individuals, institutions and policy makers in different contexts, with different aims and with varying degrees of rigour, the CEFR has become de facto an open source apparatus that is a great deal more than a collection of documents. EALTA (European Association for Language Testing and Assessment) and UKALTA (United Kingdom Association for Language Testing and Assessment), both open associations of professionals in language testing and assessment, recognize the need to explore ways of developing research methodologies and projects of various kinds that can help to extend and further develop the CEFR and its implementation. Accordingly, they have decided to organize a meeting that will consider the possibility of creating a road map for future engagement with the CEFR, taking account of what has been learnt so far and of new developments in applied linguistics and related disciplines. The meeting will comprise a series of symposia and discussion panels in which invited professionals from different contexts will report on and discuss existing policies and research and express their views on future development.
The brief for meeting as presented to the presenters was as follows:
Starting at the end, a roadmap was presented by David Little (see below), as such:
Text of slide 1 by David Little:
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Steps towards a road map of future research development |
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Assessment - Language testing and assessment professionals and associations are already fully involved
Alignment of curriculum, teaching/ learning and assessment - Identify examples of established and evolving practice -- Universities -- The semi-state and private sectors -- Deaf Studies / sign language teachers
Action-oriented and plurilingual approaches - Identify varieties of implementation - Research classroom practice |
Engaging the profession - Establish a network of associations and agencies to -- share experience -- encourage CEFR-related activities -- organize events -- coordinate publications -- launch research projects, e.g. to update the manual - Promote awareness of the CEFR and its ethos -- Founded on Council of Europe values -- Learning before teaching before assessment - Draw on CEFR-related and other research to clarify and amplify the theoretical underpinning and practical implementation of key concepts |
My take on this is that a steering group should devise an overarching plan, based on the roadmap of Little with addition of contributions from the Roadmap conference and follow-on consultation process. (This plan may be achieved over the course of 20+ years!) Less is more: what is required is a structured suite of [collaborative, funded (e.g. European Centre for Modern Languages medium-term programme; European Commission Marie Curie Innovative Training Network), interdisciplinary, multi-organizational and transnational] projects which incrementally and iteratively achieve the aims of the roadmap. With that in mind in the following, I summarise the two days of the meeting.
Day 1
Opening session The CEFR: Learning, teaching, assessment in Europe and beyond
Brian North The CEFR Companion Volume Project: what has been achieved
The opening session The CEFR: Learning, teaching, assessment in Europe and beyond begin with a talk by Brian North The CEFR Companion Volume Project: what has been achieved. Brian discussed some important concepts of the Companion Volume (CV), such as how it outlines the action-oriented approach (also see Picardo & North 2019: The Action-Oriented Approach: A Dynamic Vision of Language Education, Multilingual Matters), how it importantly conceptualizes mediation. This makes the mediation elements of the 2001 publication more explicit and adding scales for mediating texts across and within languages. It aimed to make a more complete descriptor scheme, that is also readable for purposes like teacher education (a central theme that emerged throughout the meeting). It was emphasized that the mediation scales were designed to be used as a reference scale for curriculum development, but not necessarily as scales for classroom task-, and test item-assessment. Many of the descriptors from the original 2001 document were made modality-inclusive and gender neutral. One point that emerged in later discussion that it is important to look at scales transversally when choosing correct scale for assessment (see Constant Leung on Saturday). This is one area of future work which stakeholders would benefit from accessible resources.
There was a mention of replacing the phonology scales, and the process of removing the “native-speaker ghost” in revising descriptors of the 2001 document, with intelligibility and proficient users of the language now the focus.
This was followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Jamie Dunlea (British Council), which focused on how the 2001 publication was meant to be an international document that could be localized, to reflect situations on the ground.
Meg Malone of the American Association discussed collaboration and building of relationships between ACTFL and the CEFR community, with Masashi Negishi (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) outlining the development of the CEFR-J emphasizing the bilateral impact of the CEFR-J (i.e. not only the impact of CEFR in Japan, but the impact of the CEFR-J research on the development of the CEFR). Some points raised by Negishi included the importance of proper attention of stakeholders toward Action-oriented approach (AoA), and the proper procedure to align tests to the CEFR.
Barry O’Sullivan (British Council) discussed how the CEFR is used everywhere but differently in and across contexts, with the various levels of understanding. Many exams claim alignment with the CEFR, the reality may be questionable. He asked broad questions like what impact has the CEFR has on assessment? And is the original 2001 publication fit for purpose? This ended in a suggestion to combine the 2001 publication with the CV in an accessible way for use in teacher training. O’Sullivan introduced an underlying theme: the equal and constructive alignment of curriculum, assessment and teaching.
David Little The CEFR: challenges and critical perspective
The first day continued with a talk by David Little The CEFR: challenges and critical perspective generally discussed the impact of the CEFR, with a heavy impact on assessment, and impact on curriculum patchy (the school sector, in particular,needs to be developed further). In terms of teaching and learning he expressed disappointment that the ELP is not used on a large scale, and seems to have “sunk without a trace”. I personally am not too optimistic as the ELP was a tool to integrate the AoA into curricula. This I feel has happened, and is continuing to progress, we just need to clearly outline and harness the positive progressions, while addressing the situations and contexts that would benefit from the greater integration of the AoA and other underlying principles of the CEFR.
He outlined 3 challenges: AoA, Plurilingual approach to language education and Descriptors, described in the text from his slide produced below:
Slide 2 David Little
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Three areas of challenge |
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The action-oriented approach - Learners are individual and social agents - Language learning via language use - Learner involvement
The plurilingual approach to language education - Integrated linguistic repertoires -> pedagogical implications - All languages in the learner’s repertoire implicated in his/her (language) education
Descriptors - A means of integrating curriculum, teaching/learning and assessment -> constructive alignment as necessary support for pedagogical implementation of action-oriented and plurilingual approaches |
- For most teachers (and learners) this is still a novel view of the language learning process and the role of the learner - How widely has it been understood, adopted and successfully implemented?
- Entails a profound modification of the aim of language education (CEFR 1.3, p. 9) - But what exactly does it mean for curriculum, classroom practice and assessment? - in how many different ways can it be implemented?
The widespread practice of claiming general and undocumented alignment with the CEFR; - how many examples of thoroughgoing constructive alignment can we identify? |
In terms of descriptors, David emphasized that the CEFR ideally is a system of constructive alignment, with the role of CDS as a tool for constructive alignment often mis- or under-used.
He also outlined steps in CEFR/CV-based curriculum design (see pic), emphasizing the need to define content in terms of learner needs (e.g. CEFR/CV p.37)
Importantly he emphasized the need to engage the profession, and classroom practice (e.g. Kirwan, Scoil Bhríde example below) of AoA and plurilingual approach, and update for aligning materials to CEFR.
Little gave a good definition of levels, with the first levels focusing on survival (A1), leading to interaction and transaction (A2-B1), followed by academic, professional, vocational engagement (B2+). The levels can be viewed as concentric circles that widen in their scope going up the levels.
Slide 3 David Little
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Steps in CEFR/CV-based curriculum design - Define the programme in terms of content the knowledge that learners are required to engage with and master the skills they are required to develop while doing so - Use the levels and scales of the CV to determine what the language activities learners’ should be able to perform by the end of the programme (reception, production, interaction, mediation) - Use the levels and scales of communicative language competence to describe the linguistic resources learners need to acquire -- Develop a programme of teaching and learning, bearing in mind -- the status of the learner as an individual and a social agent -- the action-oriented approach and its pedagogical implications -- the descriptive scheme in Chapters 4 and 5 -- the discussion of learning and teaching in Chapter 6 -- the discussion of tasks in Chapter 7 - Provide learners with a version of the ELP to help them manage their own learning documentation, reflection, self-assessment (“I can” descriptors derived from curriculum establish continuity with teacher and institutional/ external assessment) |
The day ended with roadmap, as discussed above.
Day 2
Change of paradigm?
The second day opened with a symposium on the topic of The action-oriented approach in the CEFR and the CV: a change of paradigm(s)?.
Constant Leung (King’s College London) came from the perspective of English as a Lingua Franca (Global Englishes) and mediation, in particular mediating communication in flexible multilingualism.
One point that emerged in later discussion is that it is important to look at scales transversally when choosing correct scale for assessment (Constant Leung on Saturday: should be looking at “Acting as an intermediary in informal situation with friends and colleagues”). Agency, fluidity, contingency and context-shift in multilingual-mediated communication.
Mark Levy (British Council, Spain) discusses how it was decided that mediation must be included in language curriculum and tasks, as part of royal decree. It seemed to be imposed on teachers, without enough time to prepare. (In reality, the government minister has been a member of 2014 CV working group). There is a hint here for measured and collaborative implementation of top-down initiatives.
The following discussion, chaired by Barry O’Sullivan, highlighted some important questions, such as:
-What are you going to do to help teachers teach in an AoA-informed way? Important to understand plurilingual citizens. Would also turn around question: What can be done to further help learners/ plurilingual citizens learn in an AoA-informed way? Very important to map out current situation, and gaps to address, possibly identifying where the biggest difference can be made.
- When mediating with government officials, an effective approach may be to present a 1-pager with a graphic, and 3 bullet points.
- It is a mistake to standardize everything in the CEFR/CV but should be thinking how to assess classroom-based activities. As an aside, a way of viewing of a standardized test is that is an objective measure of things that can be objectively measured.
There were many discussions around these presentations, with 100+ language professionals in attendance. One such individual was Glyn Jones, who is looking for help with a PhD study. Details included here:
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The aim of Glyn’s PhD study is to the research which led to the calibration of descriptors that make up the Common European Framework (CEFR) scales. Glyn is seeking to recruit a number of English Language teachers to help with his study. Would you or your colleagues be interested in taking part? You will be asked to: Complete an online survey, rating two of your students against with a series of CAN DO statements Complete a second short online survey to rate samples of students’ written work. When you have completed the surveys satisfactorily you will be eligible to receive an Amazon gift voucher worth £15. There is no pre-requisite to be familiar with the CEFR. For more information visit the project website at https://cefrreplication.jimdo.com or contact Glyn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. including the words “CEFR replication" in the subject line. |
Day 2 Symposium 2: Plurilingualism
The second symposium Plurilingualism, plurilingual education and mediation featured four speakers.
Bessie Dendrinos (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece) outlined a project which aimed to make the CEFR levels explicit in terms of linguistic data. This involved the development of a curriculum, suite of exams, curriculum language data base, and language learner profile, all which were linked to the Kratiko Pistopiitiko Glossomathias (KPG) learner corpora.
Déirdre Kirwan, former principal of Scoil Bhríde (Cailíní), Blanchardstown, Dublin), gave an exciting report on a whole school language policy for a primary school with 50 home languages, and learners bringing own languages to school as a resource. The CEFR was used to facilitate a common metalanguage across languages (see Kirwan & Little 2019 for details). The school was unprepared for the rapid change in its student body, and had to develop its policy as time went on. An important take out however was that every school should not have to do this, if an easy to follow guidelines for the implementation of the whole school approach to language where made available.
Overall Kirwan suggested it would be greatly beneficial to create a guide to whole school approach, where language learning is conducted incidentally by doing what they want to do (a great example given was an 8 year old of Filipino heritage writing a diary about her diary in the Irish language).
The examples and learnings outline by Kirwan is a great example of learner-centred AoA, and a learner interpretation of AoA.
Peter Lenz (Institute of Multilingualism, University of Friburg) discussed the Occupational English Test (https://www.occupationalenglishtest.org/), which examined five clinical communications criteria.
Elif Kantarcıoğlu (Bilkent University, Ankara) discussed matters such as the renewal of content analysis grids to integrate CV components like mediation, and the need for speaking samples.
Follow-on discussions featured the need to constructively align teachers and learners.
In order to understand learning, there is often a difference between how learners assess and teachers assess. Exploding descriptors is one solution, and other practices to develop learner agency.
Day 2/ meeting recommendations
The meeting ended with an open discussion, focusing on recommendations for future actions. I list these in note form.
Neus Figueras emphasized less is more for proposals: Need accessible compilation of all CEFR-related documents, to improve usage by professionals.
Mike Byram: need to educate plurilingual democratic citizens, whole school approaches etc. Need bigger picture, and synergies between CEFR CV, and OECD scales etc.
Constance Leung: affordances and limitations of CEFR
Gut: There is a need from relevant organizations to hold collaborative events, along sideless traditional, descriptive reports on website of organizations etc.
Dave Allen:
Joe Siegel: need to realize where Roadmap fits in with democratic ethos of COE, and organizations with participatory status (UKALTA, ALTE, EAQUALS).
There was a final address by presidents of EALTA and UKALTA, who agreed to bring the recommendations of the meeting forward.
Decide who we are, along with roadmap
There was a final address by presidents of EALTA and UKALTA, who agreed to bring the recommendations of the meeting forward.
My own take on the meeting is that the following should be addressed in particular:
How well is the CEFR used and understood by learners? To what extent is the CEFR used alongside/facilitates learning-oriented assessment and assessment for learning? How can we help teachers teach in an action-oriented approach (AoA)? It is important to understand plurilingual citizens: it is necessary to ask what can be done to further help learners/plurilingual citizens learn in an AoA? In my opinion, it is important to map out the current situation, and gaps to address, possibly identifying where the biggest difference can be made. This should tie in with the Languages Connect initiatives in secondary and tertiary education in Ireland, for example, and initiatives like the Higher Education Language Educator Competences project.
What is important here is the equal and constructive alignment of curriculum, assessment and teaching/learning (while understanding that this triangle is embedded in a wider system). An emerging research interest is the need to constructively align teachers and learners. The CEFR is ideally a system of constructive alignment facilitated by use of the illustrative scales and ‘Can do’ statements. It is a mistake to standardize everything in the CEFR/CV, but should be thinking how to assess classroom-based activities. I would particularly emphasize the development of accessible resources for educators viewing scales transversally when developing assessment criteria for classroom-based activities.
- In terms of teaching and learning Little expressed disappointment (that the ELP) is not used on a large scale, and seems to have “sunk without a trace”. I personally am not too optimistic as the ELP was a tool to integrate the AoA into curricula. This I feel has happened, and is continuing to progress, we just need to clearly outline and harness the positive progressions, while addressing the situations and contexts that would benefit from the greater integration of the AoA and other underlying principles of the CEFR. In particular a point of interest is learners’ perception of the CEFR in terms of the AoA and LOA etc.
- Engaging the profession and classroom practice. Following on from work by Little and Kirwan (2019: Engaging with Linguistic Diversity. A Study of Educational Inclusion in an Irish Primary School) it is important to follow though to develop easy to follow guidelines for the implementation of the whole school approach to multilingual education. Flipped learning will have a large role to play for learners of teenage years and older. It is important harness the positive progressions of the last 20 years, while addressing the situations and contexts that would benefit from the greater integration of the AoA and other underlying principles of the CEFR.
- Combining the original 2001 CEFR publication with the Companion Volume in an accessible way for use in teacher training, and to be accessed by a wider audience. It was mentioned that when engaging with new educational ministers, for example, you must present a one-page document with a graphic and 3 bullet points!
There is Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire for change!
Kirwan, Deirdre & Little, David (2019) Engaging with Linguistic Diversity. A Study of Educational Inclusion in an Irish Primary School. London: Bloomsbury Academic
Picardo, Enrica & North, Brian (2019) The Action-oriented Approach: A Dynamic Vision of Language Education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
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2 Webinar on Mediation on April 9th, 2020 at 20:00 JST
The webinar will be a joint event of JALT BizCom SIG, CEFR & LP SIG and ICLE SIG. We are delighted to announce an exciting webinar from Kirsten Waechter called
Mediation, interaction and pluricultural competence: How can the new CEFR help English teachers?
It will be held on Thursday April 9th, 2020 at 8 pm Japanese Standard Time. For sign-up please enter your email address here: (https://bit.ly/2xQcvIY)
To join the webinar (for free), go to: (https://qrgo.page.link/uhQLs)
In this webinar, Kirsten Waechter will take a closer look at some new features of the revised CEFR framework for language learning and will explore to what extend it can help English teachers in their job. The new CEFR now reflects skills and competence a lot more detailed, allowing for better descriptions of competence and skills. Its new categories include pluricultural skills, mediation and a closer look at functions of interaction and production, for example in correspondence or teamwork. The extended skills descriptions can be extremely useful when designing a course or setting goals for our learners to achieve and revising whether the goals have achieved. This webinar will focus on the categories of mediation and pluricultural communication to demonstrate how the new descriptors can help us in our work.
Bio: Kirsten Waechter has been a business English trainer since 1998 teaching in-company courses. Today she focuses on teaching business communication, ESP and intercultural courses. She is also a materials writer and translator.
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3 Pan SIG 2020
As many other conferences Pan SIG 2020 has unfortunately been canceled. A few people initiated a discussion and did agree in setting up a smaller online conference instead. You can still join if you are an accepted presenter for Pan SIG 2020.
The Pan SIG 2020 Online conference will be held on June 20th, 2020. If you are interested in doing a related video recorded talk, please contact the coordinator.
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4 New Kaken proposal granted – get involved!
We have very good news for our members: The next Kaken, the 5th Kaken JSPS research project has been granted! For the members of CEFR & LP SIG this is good news indeed. Why? - Because they have been explicitly included in the proposal with the title 「アクションリサーチの手法を用いた言語教育改善:CEFRの教育理念を参考にして」 in English “Language Education reform using action research: Consulting the CEFRs educational principles”.
The proposal reads in Japanese as follows:
「本研究では、本申請研究代表者と分担者が所属する全国語学教育学会(これ以降、JALT)のCEFR-LP研究会（CEFR&LP SIG）の会員と協働し、アクションリサーチの手法を用い、CEFRの教育理念に基づいた言語教育改善を支援する持続可能なシステムと体制を構築する。そのために、以下のことを行う。
1) CEFRの教育理念に照らして、現在多くの教員が抱える課題を調査し、特定する。
2) アクションリサーチの手法を明確にした上で、(1)で明らかになる課題を解決するための複数のアクションリサーチを行う。
3) アクションリサーチの手法を用いた、CEFRの理念を柱とした言語教育改善を支援する持続可能なシステムと体制を整える。」
With the support of members of the JALT CEFR & LP SIG we aim to conduct action research using the CEFR as a conceptual tool for practitioners to reflect their own practices. Practitioners realizing needs and challenges related to classroom instruction can use the action research cycle when identifying an issue to address, for example related to curriculum, teaching material, assessment, learner autonomy. Align your specific context to the CEFR and CEFR/CV, both may include hints and clues to work on the identified issue. Members of the SIG have the opportunity to contribute to the research by developing their own teaching literacy and present an explanatory case study.
The goal for 2020 is examine existing case studies, to get involved and identify your specific needs. You can become part of Kaken 5 - Get involved!
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JALT Conference 2020 in Tsukuba is scheduled on November 20th to 23rd, 2020 and has the theme “Communities for Teachers and Learners”.
5.1 CEFR & LP SIG Forum & AGM
The title for the CEFR&LP SIG Forum at JALT 2020 in Tsukuba was altered from previous planning and is now:
Aligning CEFR to current practices - Identifying needs of learners and teachers / in the classroom - First steps for action research
Submission Deadline to the SIG Forum is Wednesday, April 29th, 2020.
5.2. Best of JALT 2020- Who will become the next Best of JALT 2020 for CEFR & LP SIG?
Presentations and publications in 2019 are eligible: SIG-members presentation at JALT events: Pan SIG, JALT Annual, SIG or Chapter events, or presenters at CEFR&LP SIG event or publications. These are the following presentations:
(1) Colin Thompson & Tim Woolstencroft (JALT), (2) Monika Szirmai (JALT), (3) Rebecca Schmidt & Ellen Head (PanSIG), (4) Gary Cook (Joint Event), (5) Rebecca Schmidt, Alan Simpson & Ellen Head (JALT), (6) Motoko Teraoka (JALT), (7) Ian Randall & Tyson P. Umberger (JALT).
- Are there any presentations or publications in 2019 needed to be considered, please notify me by April 30th, 2020, to prepare the voting.
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2015: Sergio Mazzarelli – 2017: Jack Bower – 2018: Yukie Saito – 2019: Timothy Wilson - >
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6 Joint event with Nagano (Shinshu) Chapter
On July 12th, 2020 we plan a joint event of the JALT Nagano chapter and the CEFR & LP SIG. Because the event in Nara was very successful, we will include a practical workshop and a presentation with discussion. The theme of the event is
“Language Frameworks in Action”
Jack Bower (Tezukayama University, Nara) Suggestions and resources for using the CEFR in language education
The Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) has become increasingly influential in foreign language education around the world. However, many language teachers remain unfamiliar with the CEFR and unsure of how it can be used to improve foreign language curricula and classroom practice. This presentation will give a brief overview of the CEFR followed by succinct explanations of four major uses the CEFR for language teachers. (abstract shortened from the original)
Gary Cook (Hiroshima Bunkyo University) The CEFR Shuffle: Getting Familiar with Can Do Descriptors
While staff at Hiroshima Bunkyo University had participated in CEFR-focused professional development, little had been done for students to raise their awareness of the CEFR. This workshop will introduce the results of students’ performance from the ‘CEFR-shuffle’ over 3 years, and ask participants to take part in a descriptor-sorting exercise in which they can experience how useful this activity could be for themselves and their students to become familiarized with the CEFR. (abstract shortened from the original)
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7 CEFR and CLIL Symposium & Workshop
On October 23rd, 24th, 25th we are planning a special and joint event at Akita International University.
Symposium & Workshop:
The praxis of teaching, learning, and assessment with CEFR and CLIL
Conference Venue: Akita International University, Akita, Japan
Date: October 23rd to 25th 2020 (Fri: 17:00-21:00, Sat 8:00-20:00, Sun 8:00-12:00)
Deadline for Call for Papers: May 1, 2020
The Plenary speakers will be
Dr. Yuen Yi LO (Hongkong University)
and
Dr. Masashi Negishi (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
https://sites.google.com/site/flpsig/home/even/cefr-clil
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Announcement of Acceptance: June 30, 2020
*Registration Deadline for Presenters: July 31, 2020
To submit: Call for Papers Submission Link: https://airtable.com/shrdUfc1nnjxrvY4d
With increased interest in the integration of CEFR and CLIL, this international symposium & workshop serves to further the educational discussion within CEFR in all levels of education, with the additional understanding of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). Our goal is to create a forum for discussions promoting the understanding of concepts related to, applications of, and future directions of CEFR and CLIL in Japan and beyond. We are calling for papers that (a) bridge the research and practice divide and (b) will provide a rich context for discussion throughout the conference.
Thematic discussions: Discussions will be led by a moderator and centered around three (3) presentations of similar themes. Each presentation should discuss the interaction of theory and practice that will then be able to lead to the discussion of further applications of research and practice. The intended goal is to enrich the audience with theoretically informed ideas, activities, and procedures they can integrate in their classrooms. (three presentations of 15 minutes with 15 minutes for discussion, total 1 hour) (If your abstract is accepted, we will propose a thematic slot for your presentation, which we will ask you to confirm).
Posters: Poster presentations are to include a clear theoretical background with an educational application. We are looking for posters that show research informed teaching and/or teaching that informs research. (There will be a dedicated 1 hour poster session for presenter-audience interaction).
Workshops: Workshops should invoke discussion with the audience around the applications of CEFR and/or CLIL in research and practice. Therefore, while there should be a theoretical background, there should be a clear practical orientation to your workshop; one that fosters ideas with the audience and elevates their conceptual understandings. (1 hour).
Round Table/Large room discussions: These will be discussions based on a particular theme, moderated by presenters/Ph.D. candidates and joined by conference attendees. These discussions are based on the conference theme and are not included in the Call for Papers.
Conference Language: English
CEFR Journal: Research and Practice Special Edition (double-blind reviewed)
Your submission should include the following information to be considered for acceptance.
Title: Provide a clear title of your proposed presentation. The title should not exceed 30 words and it should be informative, revealing the essence of the presentation.
Abstract: Provide a clear abstract of the theoretical and practical content of your presentation in a maximum of 400 words. Please keep in mind the following:
- The theory and practice you present will be used to foster discussions throughout the symposium (i.e. round table and large room discussions).
- Please include a concise outline of your presentation/poster/ as part of your abstract.
- Abstracts shorter than 300 words will not be considered.
Abstract Summary: A summary of your abstract will be included in the program. Please provide a concise explanation so as to inform the audience of what they should expect from your presentation. The summary should not exceed 75 words.
Type of Presentations: Please choose the presentation style you prefer. After consideration of your abstract, the committee may suggest an alternative presentation type: Poster: poster session; Workshop: one-hour workshop; Thematic discussion: 15-minute themed presentations with moderator.
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Q &A: email Mark deBoer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We look forward to receiving your submission.
For updates see: https://sites.google.com/site/flpsig/home/even/cefr-clil or https://cefrjapan.net/events
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8 CEFR Journal – Research and Practice
In May 2019, we launched the first issue of our CEFR Journal; it is freely available here: https://cefrjapan.net/journal.
Thanks to substantial submissions and an international reviewer team work on the next two volumes are is making steady progress. The reviewing of Volume 2 is almost finished, and we are looking forward to publishing it in June 2020. The featured article will be by Brian North. Volume 3 is in the making too and is planned to be published in October 2020.
The call for following volume 4 will be out in the late summer, so please stay tuned. There seems to be interest in special editions on ‘CEFR and CLIL’, ‘CEFR and Assessment’ etc. The editorial team is planning to alternate themed and non-themed issues.
We are growing fast, and we are looking for CEFR & LP SIG members to get involved in
proof-reading (Volume 2 and 3) and (starting with Volume 4) reviewing.
For doing so you will be included in the editing and proofreading team of the journal! Join in! We are looking forward to your contributions either way. Thank you ever so much!
The editorial team
Morten Hunke, Maria Gabriela Schmidt, Alexander Imig
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For the upcoming events see on the homepage or download the pdf! - Thank you.
(Updated April 6th, 2020 GS)
