Appendix B: The illustrative scales of descriptors

have a stricter interpretation of the word ‘understand’ at advanced levels, particularly with regard to literature.

Exploitation

The illustrative descriptors in Chapters 4 and 5 have been either (a) situated at the level at which that actual descriptor was empirically calibrated in the study; (b) written by recombining elements of descriptors so calibrated to that level (for a few categories like Public Announcements which were not included in the original survey), or (c) selected on the basis of the results of the qualitative phase (workshops), or (d) written during the interpretative phase to plug a gap on the empirically calibrated sub-scale. This last point applies almost entirely to Mastery, for which very few descriptors had been included in the study.

Follow up

A project for the university of Basle in 1999–2000 adapted CEF descriptors for a selfassessment instrument designed for university entrance. Descriptors were also added for sociolinguistic competence and for note taking in a university context. The new descriptors were scaled to the CEF levels with the same methodology used in the original project, and are included in this edition of the CEF. The correlation of the scale values of the CEF descriptors between their original scale values and their values in this study was 0.899.

References

North, B. 1996/2000: The development of a common framework scale of language proficiency. PhD thesis, Thames Valley University. Reprinted 2000, New York, Peter Lang.

forthcoming: Developing descriptor scales of language proficiency for the CEF Common Reference Levels. In J.C. Alderson (ed.) Case studies of the use of the Common European Framework. Council of Europe.

forthcoming: A CEF-based self-assessment tool for university entrance. In J.C. Alderson (ed.) Case studies of the use of the Common European Framework. Council of Europe.

North, B. and Schneider, G. 1998: Scaling descriptors for language proficiency scales. Language Testing 15/2: 217–262.

Schneider and North 1999: ‘In anderen Sprachen kann ich’ . . . Skalen zur Beschreibung, Beurteilung und Selbsteinschätzung der fremdsprachlichen Kommunikationmsfähigkeit. Berne, Project Report, National Research Programme 33, Swiss National Science Research Council.

The descriptors in the Framework

In addition to the tables used in Chapter 3 to summarise the Common Reference Levels, illustrative descriptors are interspersed in the text of Chapters 4 and 5 as follows:

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Appendix B: The illustrative scales of descriptors

Document B1 Illustrative scales in Chapter 4: Communicative activities

Document B2 Illustrative scales in Chapter 4: Communication strategies

RECEPTION

• Identifying cues and inferring

INTERACTION

•Taking the floor (turntaking)

•Co-operating

•Asking for clarification

PRODUCTION

•Planning

•Compensating

•Monitoring and repair

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Appendix B: The illustrative scales of descriptors

Document B3 Illustrative scales in Chapter 4: Working with text

TEXT

•Note taking in seminars and lectures

•Processing text

Document B4 Illustrative scales in Chapter 5: Communicative language competence

Document B5 Coherence in descriptor calibration

The position at which particular content appears on the scale demonstrates a high degree of coherence. As an example, one can take topics. No descriptors were included for topics, but topics were referred to in descriptors for various categories. The three most relevant categories were Describing & narrating, Information exchange and Range.

The charts below compare the way topics are treated in those three areas. Although the content of the three charts is not identical, comparison demonstrates a considerable degree of coherence, which is reflected throughout the set of calibrated descriptors. Analysis of this kind has been the basis for producing descriptors for categories not included in the original survey (e.g. Public announcements) by recombining descriptor elements.

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Appendix B: The illustrative scales of descriptors

DESCRIBING & NARRATING:

Document B4 Scales of language proficiency used as sources

Holistic scales of overall spoken proficiency

•Hofmann: Levels of Competence in Oral Communication 1974

•University of London School Examination Board: Certificate of Attainment – Graded Tests 1987

•Ontario ESL Oral Interaction Assessment Bands 1990

•Finnish Nine Level Scale of Language Proficiency 1993

•European Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages 1993

Scales for different communicative activities

•Trim: Possible Scale for a Unit/Credit Scheme: Social Skills 1978

•North: European Language Portfolio Mock-up: Interaction Scales 1991

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Appendix B: The illustrative scales of descriptors

•Eurocentres/ELTDU Scale of Business English 1991

•Association of Language Testers in Europe, Bulletin 3, 1994

Scales for the four skills

•Foreign Service Institute Absolute Proficiency Ratings 1975

•Wilkins: Proposals for Level Definitions for a Unit/Credit Scheme: Speaking 1978

•Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings 1982

•American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines 1986

•Elviri et al.: Oral Expression 1986 (in Van Ek 1986)

•Interagency Language Roundtable Language Skill Level Descriptors 1991

•English Speaking Union (ESU) Framework Project: 1989

•Australian Migrant Education Program Scale (Listening only)

Rating scales for oral assessment

•Dade County ESL Functional Levels 1978

•Hebrew Oral Proficiency Rating Grid 1981

•Carroll B.J. and Hall P.J. Interview Scale 1985

•Carroll B.J. Oral Interaction Assessment Scale 1980

•International English Testing System (IELTS): Band Descriptors for Speaking & Writing 1990

•Goteborgs Univeritet: Oral Assessment Criteria

•Fulcher: The Fluency Rating Scale 1993

Frameworks of syllabus content and assessment criteria for pedagogic stages of attainment

•University of Cambridge/Royal Society of Arts Certificates in Communicative Skills in English 1990

•Royal Society of Arts Modern Languages Examinations: French 1989

•English National Curriculum: Modern Languages 1991

•Netherlands New Examinations Programme 1992

•Eurocentres Scale of Language Proficiency 1993

•British Languages Lead Body: National Language Standards 1993

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