Teacher development: Resources and devices to promote reflective attitudes toward their profession

Abstract

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been increasingly used to inform language policies and teaching practices in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education proposed in 2011 that objectives of English curricula at the secondary education level ought to be stated using the “Can do” schemata of the CEFR and then announced a new English examination system for college enrolment to be launched in 2020. This top-down approach to implementing the CEFR, however, has caused practitioners great confusion and led to mis-conceptualisations of the CEFR. A group of practitioners conducted a research project aiming to develop a practical guide to CEFR-informed learning, teaching and assessment. It attempts to provide practitioners with CEFR-related resources and tools to implement the CEFR for course design. To design a course, users of the CEFR need to modify scaled illustrative descriptors in principled ways to fit local needs. The modified descriptors become the basis for daily lesson plans, and function as an assessment tool for teacher and learner self-assessment. This report summarises the research project and workshops held in 2017 and 2018.

The Application of Language Proficiency Scales in Education Context: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Liu et al, 2021; Ma & Chen, 2021; Yang et al,2021). And the new tools help to operationalize the practice of LPS (Yang et al, 2021), simplify their implementation, and usher in novice use of LPS (Schmidt et al, 2019). Finally, the new tools could contribute to students’ reflection on their errors, tracking progress, and facilitating learning (Yannakoudakis et al, 2018).…”

“…This model was incorporated into Cambridge English Write & Improve system to offer diagnostic feedback for learners, facilitating self-assessment, tutoring, and improvement in learning. Schmidt et al (2019) developed a guidebook and tools to implement the CEFR for course design, simplifying the implementation of CEFR, and fostering the novice use of it.…”