The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: A challenge for applied linguistics
Open accessAbstract
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR, Council of Europe, 2001) currently functions as an instrument for educational policy and practice. The view of language proficiency on which it is based and the six proficiency levels it defines lack empirical support from language-use data. Several issues need to be investigated collaboratively by researchers working in the fields of first and second language acquisition, corpus linguistics and language assessment. These issues are concerned with (i) the CEFR’s failure to consistently distinguish between levels of language proficiency (static aspect) and language development (dynamic aspect), (ii) with the CEFR’s confounding of levels of language proficiency and intellectual abilities, and (iii) the potential problem of mismatches between second-language learners’ communicative and linguistic competences. Furthermore, from a more theoretical perspective, this paper proposes (iv) to investigate which CEFR proficiency levels are attainable by native speakers and (v) to empirically delineate the lexical, morpho-syntactic and pragmatic knowledge shared by all native speakers (called Basic Language Cognition).
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment
Verhelst, N. D., Avermaet, P. V., Takala, S., Figueras, N., & North, B. (2009) · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · Cited by 6,088 · see citing works
Speaking: from intention to articulation
(1989) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-1947 · Cited by 5,016 · see citing works
Speaking: From Intention to Articulation
Levelt, W. J. M. (1989) · doi:10.7551/mitpress/6393.001.0001 · Cited by 4,804 · see citing works
Speaking. From Intention to Articulation
Caplan, D. N. (1990) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/0166-2236(90)90151-y · Cited by 4,036 · see citing works
Psycholinguistics: Experiments in spontaneous speech
Goldman-Eisler, F. (1968) · MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) · Cited by 1,220 · see citing works
The Psycho-Biology of Language: An Introduction to Dynamic Philology
Henmon, V. A. C., & Zipf, G. K. (1936) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.2307/317734 · Cited by 1,137 · see citing works
Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
(2008) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203938560 · Cited by 1,107 · see citing works
Goldschneider, J. M., & DeKeyser, R. M. (2001) · Language Learning · doi:10.1111/1467-9922.00147 · Cited by 554 · see citing works
Hulstijn, J. (2011) · Language Assessment Quarterly · doi:10.1080/15434303.2011.565844 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Self-citationThe shaky ground beneath the CEFR: Quantitative and qualitative dimensions of language proficiency
Hulstijn, J. (2007) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00627_5.x · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Self-citationScaling descriptors for language proficiency scales
North, B., & Schneider, G. (1998) · Language Testing · doi:10.1177/026553229801500204 · Cited by 234 · see citing works
The construct of language proficiency in the study of bilingualism from a cognitive perspective
Hulstijn, J. H. (2012) · Bilingualism Language and Cognition · doi:10.1017/s1366728911000678 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Self-citationLittle, D. (2007) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00627_2.x · Cited by 206 · see citing works
The CEFR and the Need for More Research
Alderson, J. C. (2007) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00627_4.x · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Bartning, I., Martin, M., & Vedder, I. (2011) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Developing Linguistic Knowledge and Language Use Across Adolescence
Berman, R. A. (2008) · Blackwell Publishing Ltd eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470757833.ch17 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
The CEFR Illustrative Descriptor Scales
North, B. (2007) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00627_3.x · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Criterial Features in L2 English: Specifying the Reference Levels of the Common European Framework
Hawkins, J. A., & Filipović, L. (2012) · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Figueras, N. (2012) · ELT Journal · doi:10.1093/elt/ccs037 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Chapter 8. Trying out theories on interlanguage
Ortega, L. (2014) · Language learning and language teaching · doi:10.1075/lllt.39.10ch8 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Language Development in School-Age Children, Adolescents, and Adults
Nippold, M. A. (2006) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/00852-x · Cited by 80 · see citing works
The Threshold Level for Modern Language Learning in Schools
Broughton, G. (1980) · ELT Journal · doi:10.1093/elt/34.3.232-a · Cited by 71 · see citing works
AN INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS, SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, AND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
Ellis, N., & Robinson, P. (2008) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203938560-8 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
The Common European Framework of Reference: The Globalisation of Language Education Policy
Barrault-Méthy, A.-M. (2013) · ELT Journal · doi:10.1093/elt/cct048 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Systemization in Foreign Language Teaching
Decoo, W. (2011) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203012246 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Linking L2 proficiency to L2 acquisition: opportunities and challenges of profiling research
Hulstijn, J. H. (2010) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationSystemization in Foreign Language Teaching: Monitoring Content Progression
Decoo, W. (2010) · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- ch17 · DOI
- De Jong, J.H.A.L. (2004). Comparing the psycholinguistic and the communicative paradigm of language proficiency. Presentation given at international workshop "Psycholinguistic and psychometric aspects of language assessment in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages". University of Amsterdam, 13-14 February, 2004.
- In K. Brown (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and linguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier.
- Ortega, L. (in press). Trying out theories on interlanguage: Description and explanation over 40 years of L2 negation research. In Z. Han & E. Tarone (Eds.), Interlanguage: 40 years later. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
VAN DE GUCHTE, M., BRAAKSMA, M., RIJLAARSDAM, G., & BIMMEL, P. (2015) · The Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/modl.12211 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Focus on form through task repetition in TBLT
van de Guchte, M., Braaksma, M., Rijlaarsdam, G., & Bimmel, P. (2016) · Language Teaching Research · doi:10.1177/1362168815609616 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Facchin, A. (2020) · Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale · doi:10.30687/annor/2385-3042/2020/56/007 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hulstijn, J. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Hulstijn, Jan H.
- ORCID
- Hulstijn, Jan H.
- Venue
- ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
- Publisher
- John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Published
- 2014-06-06
- Volume
- 165
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-18
- ISSN
- 0019-0810 (ISSN-L)
- 0019-0829
- 1783-1490
- OpenAlex
- W2038081454
- Cited by
- 530
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 46 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 284.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- handle.uba.uva.nl
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- ITL Review of Applied Linguistics (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- OpenEdition (OpenEdition) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Second Language Learning and Teaching
- Keywords
- Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, language proficiency levels, language proficiency assessment, language development, communicative competence, language skills, native speakers, vocabulary knowledge, pragmatic knowledge, second language acquisition
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
