A decade after the publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR, Council of Europe 2001), practitioners’ relationship with this fundamental tool is still rather ambivalent and certainly not homogeneous. Very often teachers feel hesitant, asking themselves if what they are doing is consistent with the CEFR guidelines. This scenario, with some minor variations, ca...

Since its publication in 2001, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has gained a leading role as an instrument of reference for language teaching and certification. Nonetheless, there is a growing concern about CEFR levels being insufficiently illustrated in terms of authentic learner data. Such concern grows even stronger when considering languages other than English...

This paper is concerned with the task of automatically assessing the written proficiency level of non-native (L2) learners of English. Drawing on previous research on automated L2 writing assessment following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), we investigate the possibilities and difficulties of deriving the CEFR level from short answers to open-ended questions, wh...

Since English has become a lingua franca in the world, English programs need to be based on International standards such as Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). (1) We report validation experiment by can-do self-check survey in relation to the CEFR levels, in order to find out the cut-off scores and ranges of our computer adaptive placement test called Web-based Test of English Commun...

We introduce possibilities of automatic evaluation of surface text coherence (cohesion) in texts written by learners of Czech during certified exams for non-native speakers. On the basis of a corpus analysis, we focus on finding and describing relevant distinctive features for automatic detection of A1–C1 levels (established by CEFR – the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in...

The MERLIN corpus is a written learner corpus for Czech, German, and Italian that has been designed to illustrate the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) with authentic learner data. The corpus contains 2,290 learner texts produced in standardized language certifications covering CEFR levels A1–C1. The MERLIN annotation scheme includes a wide range of language characteri...

Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK Background The need within language testing and assessment for specifications of test content, methods and constructs has long been recognised and accepted. In education more generally, statements of aims, objectives and curricular frameworks are also widely provided, a...

The Japanese adaptation of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR-J) is a tailored version of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), designed to better meet the needs of Japanese learners of English. The CEFR-J, like the CEFR, uses illustrative  descriptors  known  as  can-do  statements,  that  describe  achievement  goals  for five  skills  (listening,  reading,  spoken ...