Way to (inter)act which protects online safety and wellbeing. It can be linked to individual/personal safety (his/her own or others) but also environmental protection, moral and physical health, etc.
Term in French:
agir sûr
Façon d’(inter)agir qui protège la sécurité et le bien-être en ligne. Il peut s’agir de la sécurité des personnes (de soi et des autres), mais aussi de la sécurité de l’environnement, de la santé morale et physique, etc.
Source: ECML resource website Digital citizenship through language education (2020-2022)
Scaffolding is the support given during the learning process which is tailored to the needs of the student with the intention of helping the student achieve his/her learning goals. Instructional scaffolding is a learning process designed to promote a deeper level of learning.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The concept of scaffolding refers to methods used by an adult to support a student’s learning process; this concept was developed in relation to the concept of the “zone of proximal development” by the American psychologist Jerome Bruner who defined it as methods of interacting with a child to support him in his learning until he is able to address the problem on his own.
“Subject-specific language requirements call for scaffolding techniques on a macro level, also called “systemic” scaffolding or “hard” scaffolding. As opposed to scaffolding on a micro level (“soft” or “point-of-need” scaffolding), these techniques are directly associated with the specific curricular goals of a discipline. Thus, language sensitive teachers are able to predict students’ need for support. In contrast, point-of-need techniques of scaffolding require spontaneous supportive action whenever language students are confronted with language obstacles that cannot be anticipated by the teacher when (s)he plans the lesson.” (Beacco et al., 2015)
Beacco J.-C., Goullier F., Fleming M., Thürman E., Vollmer H. (2015),
A handbook for curriculum development and teacher training – The language dimension in all subjects, Council of Europe, Strasbourg,
www.coe.int/en/web/language-policy/a-handbook-for-curriculum-development-and-teacher-training.-the-language-dimension-in-all-subjects.
Bruner J. (1983),
Le développement de l’enfant : savoir faire, savoir dire, PUF, Paris, coll. « Psychologie d’aujourd’hui ».
Source: ECML resource website Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)
“The term ‘scaffolding’, as the metaphor implies, refers to structural components in teaching that support learning by offering transitional dependence (Wood, Bruner and Ross, 1976). It has conceptual links to Vygotsky’s ‘zone of proximal development’, a site where it has a particular usefulness. When the teaching of language is integrated with the teaching of content two opportunities for scaffolding coexist (Gibbons, 2002). Bilingual scaffolding refers to the use of two or more languages in any teaching activities in bilingual classrooms that support learning.”
European core curriculum for inclusive academic language Teaching, 2008, p. 53.
Gibbons P. (2002), Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning – Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom, Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH.
Wood D. J., Bruner J. S. & Ross G. (1976), The role of tutoring in problem solving, Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology , 17(2), pp. 89-100.
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
Scales of descriptor can be:
- user-oriented = describe performances at any given level. They are popularly expressed as ‘I can…’ statements;
- assessor-oriented = provide criteria by which to assess performance. May be third person descriptors, and perhaps using terminology more in keeping with professional understanding of the learning process;
- constructor-oriented = may start from very broad premises, enabling others to build more specific frameworks.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
A group of people with expertise in relevant areas, here regarding (language) curriculum structuring, implementation and evaluation.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Scope is the extent or limitations of the project described; the sum of all its features expectations and responsibilities.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
Language of the host country, learned by migrants coming to live in that county.
strong>Nuances
If the host country has a colonial past, the second language may be still used in the country’s former colonies in education and/or administration.
In France, since the 2000s, the following terms are used:
- language of schooling for newly arrived children and
- learning a second language when referring to adult migrants or immigrants who have been in the country for a long time.
Cf. this definition of “second language” offered by David Crystal:
“A language which is not a person’s mother tongue, but which is learned in order to meet a communicative need. Immigrants commonly learn the language of their host nation as second language. Often a country chooses to give a language official status as a second language, using it as a medium of government, law, education, or the media – a role played, for example, by English or French in many countries of Africa.”
Crystal David (1992), An encyclopaedic dictionary of language & languages, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, p. 345.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
Language other than a child’s first language which he/she must acquire in order to integrate with an environment other than his/her family environment. This second language is usually the main language of socialisation in the context in which the child lives and the one used as the usual language of communication in the institution. Children’s progression in the second language at pre-primary level is illustrated, for example, in the document produced by Nederlandse Taalunie, Framework of reference for early second language acquisition.
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
If we take the example of English as a second or additional language, “In the language education literature this terms tends to be used to refer to the use and teaching and learning of the English language in three contexts: (a) English for immigrant groups and linguistic minority communities in English-speaking countries who may speak their mother tongue at home in their local communities, but use English at school and at work; (b) English when it is widely used within the country but not the first language of the bulk of the population, e.g. in India: and (c) English used by speakers whose first language is not English.”
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
The concept refers to the acquisition of a second/additional language or the academic study of such processes (…). The study of second language acquisition encompasses basic and applied work on how second language proficiency is gained or lost by children and adults, whether learning naturalistically or with the aid of formal instruction, as individuals or in groups, in foreign, second language, or lingua franca settings (e.g. Doughty & Long, 2005).
Doughty C & Long M. H (2010), The handbook of second language acquisition, Wiley-Blackwell.
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
Self-assessment is a judgement made by the learner on his or her own performance, knowledge, strategies etc.
Newby David, Allan Rebecca, Fenner Anne-Brit, Jones Barry, Komorowska Hanna and Soghikyan Kristine (2007),
European portfolio for student teachers of languages – A reflection tool for language teacher education, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, available at
www.ecml.at/Resources/ECMLPublications/tabid/277/ID/51/language/en-GB/Default.aspx, p. 77, accessed 11 June 2019.
Source: ECML resource website Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)
A process during which students reflect on and assess the quality of their own work and learning, judge the degree to which they reflect explicitly stated goals or criteria, and identify strengths and weaknesses in their work.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The process by which learners evaluate their own performances, e.g. imagining how well they would cope in a range of real life settings.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
A semi-structured interview is a qualitative method of inquiry that combines a pre-determined set of open questions (questions that prompt discussion) with the opportunity for the interviewer to explore particular themes or responses further.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The systematic process of analysing the situation before the curriculum is developed effectively. A thorough analysis of individual as well as collective characteristics in order to optimize the planning of learning and teaching. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – so called SWOT analysis – is an example of situation analysis.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The capacity to call upon one’s personal resources, consisting of knowledge, attitudes and skills, to perform a task. In the use of languages, communicative competence draws on linguistic (lexicon and functioning of the language), sociolinguistic (social rules in use of the language) and pragmatic components to perform a communicative task. Communicative competence is therefore based on knowledge about the functioning and use of languages, skills in implementing that knowledge and the capacity to adopt a favourable attitude to communication (e.g. ability to listen, desire to exchange with others, etc.).
See Competence
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
Whereas a learner may understand in principle what to say, he or she may require considerable practice, including correction of error, before having ‘skill’ or ‘competence’.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) presents the language user/learner as a “social agent”, acting in the social world, co-constructing meaning in interaction and exerting agency in the learning process. This implies a real paradigm shift in both course planning and teaching, promoting learner engagement and autonomy. Seeing learners as social agents implies involving them in the learning process.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Combining social and cultural factors; in language learning, for example awareness of level of formality and politeness, register, expressions for particular situations.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The socio-interactional approach places social interactions at the heart of its definition of tasks undertaken by learners.
The overall aim is to train learners to take into account these social interactions when they act and interact in the target language. They can then realise how important these interactions are and thus improve their
communicative competence. We believe that learners need to undertake tasks where they are exposed to a variety of social interactions (especially real-world tasks) in order to develop a real ability to communicate.
Source: ECML resource website Digital literacy for the teaching and learning of languages (2016-2018)
Refers to the conditions for language use in social situations; the ability to use language appropriately in the given social context (level of formality, register, politeness conventions, etc.).
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
“Specialized language” includes both the specialized vocabulary of a given domain and its most common grammatical structures. Typically, the domains in question (law, medicine, biology, chemistry) correspond to major academic specializations. Consequently, teaching/learning of specialized language tends to be oriented towards students in academic settings, though it may also be of interest to experienced professionals with a specific need to interact in the target language or a more international focus.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
This term denotes the communicative context in which individuals’ communicative, linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competences are called upon to perform communicative tasks (understanding written or oral texts, participating in oral exchanges, drafting a text, etc.). Based on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a distinction is drawn between reception activities (oral and written comprehension) and production activities (spoken production, oral interaction, writing independently or in interaction).
See language activities
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
This term denotes the communicative context in which individuals’ communicative, linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competences are called upon to perform communicative tasks (understanding written or oral texts, participating in oral exchanges, drafting a text, etc.). Based on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a distinction is drawn between reception activities (oral and written comprehension) and production activities (spoken production, oral interaction, writing independently or in interaction).
See Language activities
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
A stakeholder is anybody who can affect or is affected by an organisation, strategy or project, for example an educational program. They can be internal or external and they can be at senior or junior level.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Stakeholder (who has an interest + who has an effect on others)
A person or organisation with an interest in, or influence over, a programme or
project. Pupils, parents, employers, politicians etc, may all have such an interest, in addition to teachers.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
The process of making something conform to a standard; making things of the same type have the same basic features. “The process of ensuring that assessors adhere to an agreed procedure and interpret and apply criteria in a consistent and reliable way, for example when teachers are assessing students’ language ability, or when inspectors are visiting an institution” (EAQUALS).
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Training for individuals and groups of individuals to improve, and elaborate on, a consistent and shared interpretation and application of the CEFR levels.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
A standard is a recognized shared definition used as the basis of comparison. Educational standards are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education (e.g. by the end of a course, grade level, or grade span) but they do not describe any particular teaching practice, curriculum, or assessment method.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
“Any language with official status throughout an entire country. Any state language is an official language.”
European Education and Culture Executive Agency, Eurydice (2017),
Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe – 2017 edition, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, p. 142ff, available at
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/04255.
Term in French:
langue d’État
« langue qui bénéficie du statut officiel dans l’ensemble d’un pays. Toute langue d’État est une langue officielle. »
Term in German:
Staatssprache
„Sprachen, derer offizieller Status für das gesamte Gebiet eines Staates gilt. Jede Staatssprache ist zugleich auch Amtssprache.“
Source: ECML resource website CLIL in languages other than English – Successful transitions across educational stages (2020-2022)
Methods more or less consciously utilized by language learners to help them learn a language more effectively. Also, the ability to pursue and persist in learning, to organise one’s own learning, both individually and in groups; includes awareness of one’s own learning process and needs, identifying available opportunities, and the ability to overcome obstacles in order to learn successfully.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
A strategy is a long-term plan of action designed to achieve particular goals.
(Learner) Any organised, purposeful and regulated line of action chosen by an individual to carry out a task which he or she sets for himself or herself or with which he or she is confronted. For example paraphrase intended meaning to get round lack of specific vocabulary: ‘Make the situation better’ instead of ‘Improve the situation’.
(Implementer) Any organised, purposeful and regulated line of action chosen by implementers to secure the adoption and effective use of an ELP whether at national, regional, local or institutional level.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
“A [communication] strategy is any organised, purposeful and regulated line of action chosen by an individual to carry out a task which he or she sets for himself or herself or with which he or she is confronted.” (CEFR 2001: 10).
Council of Europe (2001),
Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 10, available at
https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Include the ability to make effective use of the learning opportunities created by teaching situations, e.g. to grasp the intention of the task set, to make rapid and frequent active use of the language learnt, or to be able to use available materials for independent learning.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
It sums up attainment at the end of the course with a grade or, where there is
sufficient evidence, a CEFR level to which the grade corresponds.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
Sustainability is one of the principles of quality. If something is sustainable it can be maintained or confirmed over time. The idea that learning or innovation needs to be transferable, transformative, and long-lasting.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
A descriptive, educational planning document that defines the content of a course. It usually includes a clear indication of the objectives and expected outcomes, as well as the time to be allocated to main elements.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
This term refers to all the regular patterns which may be observed in the phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatic and sociolinguistic uses of a particular language.
See Functioning of language
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)