Adapting the Common European Framework of Reference for specific purposes is it allowed and how do we do it?

Transcription

1 Adapting the Common European Framework of Reference for specific purposes is it allowed and how do we do it? Judith Mader Head of Languages Frankfurt School of Finance and Management F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e

2 Adapting the Common European Framework of Reference for specific purposes is it allowed and how do we do it? Introductions The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management Languages at The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management The Common European Framework of Reference for languages learning, teaching, assessment Can it be adapted? Why the CEFR? Constraints Structure of the English programme at the FS Decisions and projects Questions and comments F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 2

3 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Academic Programmes Professional Programmes Seminars Executive Education Corporate Programmes & Services Research International Advisory Services F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e

4 Frankfurt School: Origins / History In 1957, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (FS) was founded as the Bankakademie e.v. Since 1966 the FS has been funded by the regional associations of the private banking sector, the Bundesverband der deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken e. V. and the Bankenfachverband e. V. The institution was renamed Frankfurt School of Finance & Management on 17 January F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 4

5 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management - A new type of business school Financial centre Frankfurt School: International partners and cooperation General business Politics Organisations within the scientific and academic community Motivating force Innovation driver Think tank for all stakeholders: students, alumni, corporate clients, the scientific and academic community, the political scene, the business world, the financial centre, and society as a whole. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 5

6 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management A success story in Frankfurt and in the education industry Figures: Continuing Education Tertiary Education Corp. Education Research Founded: 1957 Sales 2008: 61,8 million Employees: 374 Average growth: 10-12% p. a. Exec. Education F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 6

7 Academic Programmes Academic Programmes Professional Programmes Seminars Executive Education Corporate Programmes & Services Research International Advisory Services F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e

8 Academic Programmes Ph.D. Programme (Dr. rer. pol.) Master of Science Master of Arts Master of Science Master of Laws MBA Specialist subjects: Capital Markets Bank Management Accounting & Taxation Development Finance International Business Quantitative Finance Mergers & Acquisitions International Business & Tax Law International Hospital & Healthcare Management Finance Specialist and... Bachelor of Science Executive Master Programmes Bachelor of Science Business Economics Business Information Technology Management Philosophy & Economics International Business Economics Accountancy Management in Financial Markets (blended learning course) F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 8

9 Languages at The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management Semesters English 2. Spanish French Russian Chinese Italian German Considerations Hours Levels Skills Assessment Content Teaching Hours Semester 4 preparation for studying abroad F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 9

10 Adapting the Common European Framework of Reference for specific purposes is it allowed and how do we do it? What is the CEFR? What do you know about it? Why was it necessary? Background and history F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 10

11 What do you know? What forms is the CEFR available in? When did the work on the CEFR start? When was it published? How many languages has it been translated into? What is the most important word in the CEFR? What is probably the least important? Learning How many levels are there? Which is the highest? Which was the first to be developed? Teaching How many descriptive scales are there? How many relate to accuracy? How many relate to grammar? F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e Assessment Which publications have arisen out of the CEFR? elc-frankfurt 2009

12 2001 The CEFR published by the CoE 1995 First draft of the CEFR published by the CoE 1975 Threshold Level published by the CoE 1971 CoE conference on Unit Credit System elc-frankfurt 2009 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e

13 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Council of Europe 2001 Domains, scenarios, situations, communicative tasks and objectives, forms of oral and written interaction, interactive strategies, language processes, socio-linguistic skills, intercultural skills, competence levels Where can I find it? F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 13

14 First published in English by the Council of Europe (Cambridge University Press 2001). It has since been translated into Albanian Arabic Armenian Basque Bulgarian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Estonian Finnish French Friulian Galician Georgian German Greek Italian Japanese Moldavian Portuguese Polish Russian Slovak Spanish Ukrainian December F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 14

15 The influence of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) around the world 41 member states of the Council of Europe Commonwealth Office Hong Kong New Zealand Australia Japan Chile, Columbia and Mexico In the USA, LinguaFolio is being designed to bring together ACTFL standards and those of the Common European Framework. elc-frankfurt 2009 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 15

16 Reading Correspondence Listening as a Member of a Live Audience Monitoring and Repair Compensating Planning Reports and Essays Overall Written Production Addressing Audiences Sustained Monologue Overall Oral Production External Context of Use Qualitative Aspects of Spoken Language : Range, Accuracy, Fluency, Interaction, Coherence The CEFR: Examples of individual scales elc-frankfurt 2009 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 16

17 Information Exchange Goal-Oriented Co-operation Formal Discussion and Meetings Informal Discussion (with friends) Conversation Overall Spoken Interaction Understanding a Native Speaker Interlocutor Identifying Cues and Inferring Addressing Audiences Public Announcements Sustained Monologue Overall Oral Production Examples of scales relevant to speaking elc-frankfurt 2009 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 17

18 Excerpt from the CEFR Index Communication comes first. Grammatical correctness comes second. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 18

19 How was language competence defined and measured in the past? Average. Fair to middling. Good to very good. Can read and understand. Survival. A little. Studied the language. Native speaker. Relatively good. A smattering. Not much. Can get by. Passive. Poor. Basic knowledge. elc-frankfurt 2009 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 19

20 Learner self-assessments for course placements The traditional ways of assessing language competence are by reference to school exams. I have an A level in French. by mentioning a time period. in terms of quantity. I did 6 years of English at school. I ve been through the whole English grammar three times! In my last course I learnt 2,000 words. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 20

21 Learner self-assessments for course placements The traditional ways of assessing language competence are by reference to school exams. by mentioning a time period. in terms of quantity. A test is not necessarily proof of language skills. A period of time does not offer proof of having acquired skills. Knowledge of language does not offer proof of actual skills. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 21

22 Learner self-assessments for course placements English for Real Beginners 1 English for False Beginners Advanced English Course English Morning Course Active English I English Conversation English for Tourists English Grammar Refresher 3 An Introduction to English Conversation English A1 English V Stage 2 English VIII Basic English Refresher Course English Refresher Intensive Business English 1 Business English Lower Intermediate Business English Intermediate Business English Upper Intermediate F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 22

23 How can language competence be defined and measured? C2 Mastery Proficient User C1 Effective Proficiency B2 Vantage Competent User B1 Threshold A2 Waystage Basic User A1 Breakthrough F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 23

24 GERR - Kompetenz Niveaus The CEFR describes language competence in terms of six levels and bases these on what a language learner is able to do to using the language concerned. Some examples are passing on a message, report or piece of news. disagreeing politely. taking an active part in a discussion. giving facts and opinions in writing. In other words: The CEFR has communicative tasks as its focus. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 24

25 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 25

26 Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages January 2009 The Manual names 4 steps in the quality assurance process 1. Familiarisation with the tools of the CEFR 2. Specification of competences and QM procedure 3. Standardisation of test procedures 4. Empirical Validation of test items We can assume that, increasingly, evidence will be required for claims made concerning language teaching and the relation of this to the CEFR and that this evidence will be necessary for language programmes to be accepted in a European context. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 26

27 Can the CEFR be adapted? The Common Reference Levels can be presented and exploited in a number of different formats, in varying degrees of detail. Yet the existence of fixed points of common reference offers transparency and coherence, a tool for future planning and a basis for further development. The intention of providing a concrete illustrative set of descriptors, together with criteria and methodologies for the further development of descriptors, is to help decision-makers design applications to suit their contexts. Working in Europe Arbeitsplatz Europa F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 27

28 Why the CEFR? The language objectives at The Frankfurt School Levels Skills Acceptance F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 28

29 The CEFR at the Frankfurt School The aim of language courses at the Frankfurt School is to provide students with effective communication skills, both for their further academic career as well as to prepare them for work in an international and intercultural context. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 29

30 Levels Admission B1+ For study abroad B2+/C1 F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 30

31 The English programme Semester 1 Discussion Presentation SKILLS Semester 2 Reading Semester 3 Academic writing Semester 4 Study (internship) abroad F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 31

32 Constraints and difficulties Misconceptions Hours Structure English and other languages F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 32

33 The CEFR at the Frankfurt School Quality assurance 1. Familiarisation of all concerned with the CEFR 2. Specification of skills and procedure (levels, assessment, documentation, ) 3. Standardisation of evaluation and assessment (format, level, grading, ) 4. Standardisation of Material (objectives, amount, content, appropriacy, ) 5. Piloting and Evaluation 6. Empirical Validation F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 33

34 The CEFR at The Frankfurt School 1. Identification of relevant descriptors 2. Establishment of start and final levels and assessment procedure 3. Scoring and Grading Documentation!! We can assume that, increasingly, evidence will be required for claims made concerning language teaching and the relation of this to the CEFR and that this evidence will be necessary for language programmes to be accepted in a European context. F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 34

35 Any questions? Thank you for your attention! F r a n k f u r t S c h o o l. d e 35