‘Towards a CEFR for Language Teachers’ is a uniquely exciting project. It aims to explore the many various frameworks and other resources that describe the competences of teachers involved in language education, and to prepare a guide comparing the most relevant ones. There will also be reports on work to further develop the frameworks that we ourselves have worked on, and a study of the feasibility of a ‘framework of reference’ for teachers engaged in different forms of language education.  This could contribute to the much-needed enrichment of teacher education and development as the role of languages in education increases in scope.

At our kick-off meeting in mid-January 2016 we made a good start on these aims. We began compiling a shortlist of 40 frameworks and other documents, and designed a procedure for analysing them. Then we can consult teacher educators and teachers on the scale and nature of the guide, which will feature case studies on the use of some of the tools.  We also learned more about the five instruments members of the project group have contributed to: the PEPELINO  portfolio, the EPG, the Eaquals Framework, the Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA), and the Swiss Profiles for profession-specific language competences, and their possible future development.

First drafts of this work will be ready by late summer 2016 so that we can gather feedback from experts and practitioners at our network meeting in early September.