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CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox

The project will develop tools in various languages to help teacher educators use and disseminate the ideas of the CEFR Companion Volume. It will provide digital documents and examples of inspiring practice in the implementation of the Companion Volume in language learning, teaching and assessment at university and in vocational training.

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Working languages of the project: English, French
Project term: 2020-2022
Shortcut: www.ecml.at/companionvolumetoolbox      

   


Main idea and objectives

The CEFR Companion Volume (CV) stresses the underlying action-oriented and task-based approach of the CEFR and emphasises the idea of the learner as a social agent. This requires a deeper understanding of the role of the social dimension in language. Experience from workshops across Europe has shown that teachers need guidance and tools to integrate notions like mediation into their work. Furthermore, intercultural activities, plurilinguistic tasks and the integration of transferable skills in our teaching need to be re-considered. Likewise, and based on the idea of constructive alignment, a paradigm shift is also needed in assessment practices.

The project will contribute to the implementation of an action-oriented and task-based approach in teaching, learning and assessment and thus make teaching and assessment more relevant to the learner. It will help to stress the importance of mediation tasks, but also of plurilinguistic tasks and intercultural activities and the integration of transferable skills in teaching and assessment. Tasks, activities and scenarios will become more meaningful to the learner – both in teaching and assessment (according to the principles of constructive alignment).

Target groups

This project addresses first of all teacher educators and curriculum designers concerned with language teaching and assessment in university and vocational language training.


Envisaged project outputs

The toolkit developed by the team will facilitate the activities of teacher educators who wish to implement the ideas of the CEFR Companion Volume in teaching, learning and assessment practices by using material from this database in their professional development activities and in initial teacher training of student teachers.

It will consist of training material structured as an online course in English and French, i.e. PPT documents, worksheets, checklists and webinars – downloadable from project website, offering training material and examples of good practice in various languages

  • to be used as training material in teacher education and professional development by teacher trainers and teacher educators;
  • to be used by decision makers and curriculum designers in curriculum design;
  • to be used by language teachers and test developers for self-study purposes.

Language teachers / examiners will be able to use the training material for self-study purposes. 

Furthermore, a database of sample teaching and assessment tasks in various languages, i.e. examples of good practice for different modes of communication and different skills areas, will also be made available in a digital format both for teacher education / professional development and for use in teaching and assessment

  • to be used as examples of good practice by language teachers and examiners, student teachers and test developers in their course planning;
  • to be used as sample tasks in teacher education and professional development by teacher educators.

Latest articles

11.12.2023
Final conference of the 6th medium-term programme 2020-2023 (13-14 December 2023, Graz, Austria & online)

04.01.2023
ECML project “CEFR Companion Volume Implementation Toolbox” – Expert meeting (Graz, 29-30 September 2022): VITbox Project at the finishing line!

06.07.2022
VITbox Project on the agenda of the FIPLV World Congress of Modern Languages in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Polish Association of Modern Languages

23.11.2021
ECML VITbox project “CEFR Companion Volume Implementation Toolbox”: expert meeting (18-19 November 2021)

18.09.2021
ECML VITbox project “CEFR Companion Volume Implementation Toolbox”: workshop during ACLES Conference (17 September 2021, Murcia, Spain)

16.09.2021
ECML VITbox Project “CEFR Companion Volume Implementation Toolbox”: workshop at the ECML, 14 & 15 September 2021

07.07.2021
ECML VITbox project “CEFR Companion Volume Implementation Toolbox”: expert meeting (5-6 July 2021)

14.04.2021
"CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox": A short update on the VITbox project

30.11.2020
Second Expert Meeting of VITbox Project: Training materials on the CEFR Companion Volume are under development

24.06.2020
First expert meeting of VITbox Project (26-27 March 2020)