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The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages at 20: What have we gained from it?

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages was developed by the Council of Europe in the 1990’s and published officially in 2001, with its principal aim being to establish transparency in language competency. While the CEFR is widely used throughout Europe and beyond, it is on occasion over-simplified, with people focusing on the one-page, six-level grid (A1 – C2) that describes the Framework, without really interrogating how it can be best used in language testing and assessment, and in authentic language learning. This talk hopes to move beyond the ‘grid’, and will focus on three aspects in particular of the CEFR and its influence over the past 20 years: language testing and self-assessment; language and cultural competences and lesser-spoken / heritage languages and the Framework. This investigation will help us to answer the question posed in the title of the talk: what have we gained from the CEFR?

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