A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use

 

The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council of Europe is pleased to announce the launch of a new resource website in both English and French of particular relevance to language professionals in these challenging times:

 CEFR-QualiMatrix – A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use

 www.ecml.at/CEFRqualitymatrix

The resources and ideas provided on this platform can inspire teachers and other language education professionals to engage in curriculum renewal to help foster effective language learning, supported by the CEFR action-oriented approach.

Alongside the matrix tool, the website provides a rich collection of resources and promising practices that can be used by different stakeholders at the levels of policy, curriculum development, teaching and assessment:

• an interactive matrix for self-evaluation and online tutorials
• a database with examples of promising practices
• CEFR-related quality principles in language education
• a collection of resources for planning, teaching and assessment

This open-access resource website has been developed within the framework of the ECML programme “Languages at the heart of learning” (2016-2019), through expert cooperation in the field of language education across geographic Europe and beyond.

 

• CEFR-QualiMatrix flyer
• Outputs of the ECML programme “Languages at the heart of learning” (2016-2019)

The “Courriel européen des langues”, the online magazine which is edited twice a year by the International Centre for Pedagogical Studies (CIEP), has been relaunched with renewed contents and a refreshing layout. The current issue highlights 6 ongoing ECML projects, giving the floor to the project coordinators and a project team member, as well as to teachers in the field. In addition, the National Contact Point for the ECML highlights the new national language strategy in Denmark. Finally, a section presents 11 recent resources (online materials, publications).

The Courriel is disseminated in French on the CIEP website and on its LISEO portal (see dedicated section “Courriel européen des langues”). You can subscribe for free to the Magazine and find the archives here: http://www.ciep.fr/lettres-information/courriel-europeen-langues.

 

Contents of Issue no. 40 – May 2018 (only available in French):

Focus sur le projet EOL

• EOL – Des environnements d’apprentissage optimisés pour et par les langues
  Article de Jonas ERIN, Inspecteur général de l’éducation nationale, coordinateur européen du projet EOL
• Témoignages
  • Le projet EOL au collège André Chénier (Carcassonne)
    Témoignage d’Émilie Courtejaire, avec la collaboration de Selvi Gras, professeur d’anglais et professeur d’espagnol au collège André Chénier, coordinatrice du projet EOL pour le collège
  • Le projet EOL au lycée Les 7 Mares (Maurepas)
    Témoignage de Noëlle Sédilot-Gasmi, Professeure d’espagnole et coordinatrice de la discipline, initiatrice et coordinatrice du projet EOL pour le lycée

Autres projets du CELV

• Le projet e-lang - Vers une littératie numérique pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des langues
  Article de Christian Ollivier, Professeur des universités à l’université de La Réunion, coordinateur du projet e-lang
• La/les langue(s) de scolarisation : une feuille de route pour les établissements scolaires
  Article de Rebecca DAHM, Maître de conférences en didactique des langues, ESPE Midi-Pyrénées – Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, coordinatrice du projet Langue(s) de scolarisation
• Le projet QualiMatrix dans sa dernière année de développement
  Article de Gudrun ERICKSON, University of Gothenburg, Department of Education and Special Education, documentaliste du projet QualiMatrix

Actualités

• Développer la conscience linguistique dans les matières scolaires : appel à contribution pour les enseignants de DNL
• Vers un Cadre européen commun de référence pour les enseignants de langues : trois instruments à l’honneur en 2018
• La Gazette européenne des langues

L’enseignement des langues au Danemark

• Entretien avec Ana Kanareva-Dimitrovska, point de contact national du Danemark
  Propos recueillis par Marion Latour et Bernadette Plumelle

Ressources

• À explorer sur internet
  • Label européen des langues : EUROBAC
  • Écrire en plusieurs langues : dossier réactualisé « Intégrer le numérique en classes de langues »
  • Dossier thématique « La mémorisation : Dans quelle mesure le numérique permet-il de créer des situations d’apprentissage efficace ? »
  • Audio Lingua : 5 000 fichiers audio en 13 langues
  • Radio Garden : écouter en direct toutes les radios nationales, locales ou web du monde
  • 7 nouveaux kits eTwinning pour monter un projet eTwinning
• Vient de paraître

The 2-day meeting (6-7 February 2018) at the ECML in Graz, Austria, was an excellent opportunity for the ECML project experts to discuss ongoing project developments with their fellow project coordinators.

They explored synergies between the different projects and exchanged good practice in project methodology. They discussed ongoing work on the development of their products and how to best disseminate the wide range of final results which will be achieved by the end of 2018 and 2019. They reflected on critical success factors to promote the achievements across and at the end of their respective project life cycles, to implement, to mediate, to possibly further develop them and to maximise impact in the various national and individual contexts. Finally they shared initial ideas for both the contents and the structure of the next ECML programme (2020-2023). They also highlighted the added value, both professional and personal, of coordinating ECML projects, seeing this as an opportunity to bridge policy, research and practice and contribute to making a real difference to quality language education in Europe.

Impressions of the meeting (photo gallery on Facebook)

Current ECML programme of activities 2016-2019: "Languages at the heart of learning"

2017 has been a very intense year for the project. The team has been working on several tasks, supported by our very nice and effective fellow, Anna von Zansen, from Finland.

The key point of the year’s work has been the network meeting in May: an opportunity for good collaborative work in a positive and constructive atmosphere. We have finalised the QA (quality assurance) principles and indicators since. The other key point has been the conceptualisation of the tool and accompanying resources, with the possibility of differentiating between users’ categories through specific filters.

All this work has enabled the organisation of the November expert meeting in a way that covered all the aspects necessary to finalise the matrix, the webpage and the resources which will be made available.

 

Project website

The Qualimatrix project team met on 16-17 November in Graz for two days of intensive work. The project is advancing very well and we are happy to see that the matrix has taken shape and now appears as a user-friendly, comprehensive tool which, we are sure, will bring considerable support to the implementation of curriculum innovation in language teaching, both at the class level and at the level of the educational institution.

The final project website (under construction) with the tools and resources produced will be organised in an intuitive way, with the materials being accessible through a colour-coded graphic that will facilitate navigation and use.

As is always the case, the team was very international. Although only the four core team members and our consultant were present in person, our associate member participated by Skype from the west coast of Canada and a number of members of our network sent feedback and materials which were extremely useful for the work undertaken in Graz.

Soon quality will be put in the spotlight: stay tuned for further updates in the coming months! 

• Qualimatrix project website: English - French

The project team: 
Enrica Piccardo (project coordinator), Anna Czura, Gudrun Erickson, Brian North

 

 

The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources), the Language Policy Unit and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe, as well as our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.

Read the latest issue: English - French

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Issue no. 36 – Contents

Focus on ECML programme developments – "Languages at the heart of learning" (2016-2019)

Latest project developments

"Language awareness in subject classes": participate in an online survey

"Towards a Common European Framework for Language Teachers": latest news

e-lang project in 2016: laying the foundations for a digital literacy in the language teaching and learning context

"Promoting excellence in sign language instruction (PRO-Sign2)": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 1-2 March 2017) – cooperation partnership with Moscow State Linguistic University

"A quality matrix for CEFR use": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 15-16 November 2016) – Interview with Denis Vigneron, French participant

ECML training and consultancy for member states

Network meeting of local organisers and ECML consultants (Graz, Austria, 7-8 March 2017) and upcoming national training workshops

National training workshop "Supporting multilingual classes" in Slovenia (Koper, 2-3 March 2017)

National workshops "A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning" in Malta (Floriana, 2-3 March 2017) and Latvia (Riga, 6-7 March 2017) 

Forthcoming events

Recent ECML publication: Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics

European Day of Languages

National developments in Armenia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland

Professional Network Forum of the ECML: upcoming events

Council of Europe developments

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: some lessons from research

Council of Europe Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues (CAHROM) (ECML, Graz, Austria, 29-31 March 2017)

International Roma Day – 8 April

Pestalozzi programme: creating an online community of action researchers – summer school 2017

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: developments in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Kosovo*, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Urban policies for inclusive integration and diversity advantage: join the Intercultural Cities 2017 Milestone Event (Lisbon, Portugal, 28-29 November 2017)

Cyprus Chairmanship Conference in Nicosia: "Securing Democracy through Education"

Recent publication

Editorial news from other organisations: Eurostat, Eurydice, OECD, Unesco, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, Babylonia

Quick links

On 15th and 16th November the central workshop for the project A Quality Matrix for CEFR use took place. It was an important step in the development of our project.

Thirty-five participants from over thirty countries interacted, reflected and worked together on aspects concerning language education at different levels.

In an increasingly globalised world, characterised by growing personal and professional mobility, transparency and effectiveness in language assessment are more and more necessary. The CEFR can play a key role in this regard, if it is implemented with quality procedures. The workshop provided just such an opportunity for participants to concentrate on the notion of quality in education and to see the issues involved with this notion and the opportunities it offers for advances in language teaching and for a more effective implementation of the CEFR able to foster and support curriculum reform.

Sharing the experiences and practices in their respective countries allowed the participants to expand upon the challenges with which people playing different roles in education are confronted and to consider solutions they had encountered. This provided fertile ground for the identification of principles of quality and for the definition of indicators of quality in relation to the CEFR. These principles and indicators would be the basis of an online tool, the Quality matrix, aimed at all language professionals in education. The workshop was also the first step towards the creation of a network of experts who will continue their collaboration with the project team.

The workshop was a great success that has inspired us in our work. A big thanks to all involved! 

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• Workshop programme in English and in French (Graz, 15-16 November 2016)
• Project team
• Project website
• Pictures from the event

@ Photo credit: ECML - Workshop participants

The ECML colloquium "Ensuring quality in language testing and assessment" (Graz, Austria, 7 December 2016) was a great success.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and participated - onsite and online! 

You may now watch or review the debates here:
- Videos and presentations of all sessions
- Photos

The project will promote effective language learning by supporting teachers and other language education professionals in their use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It will provide a practical tool and suggest clear, coherent, and relevant procedures to facilitate planning, teaching and assessment. Furthermore, the project will enhance reflective practices at the classroom, school and policy-making levels. 

• Workshop programme in English and in French (Graz, 15-16 November 2016)
• Project team
• Project website
• Pictures from the event

Description of the project

The quality assurance matrix for CEFR use is an innovative project comparing CEFR implementation in different contexts and employing a quality assurance approach. The project will promote effective language learning by supporting teachers and other language education professionals in their use of the CEFR. It will suggest clear, coherent, and relevant procedures to facilitate planning, teaching and assessment and it will produce a practical tool, in the form of a template, which will serve for self-assessment before or during CEFR implementation and self- or external evaluation after the implementation.

Project website: English - French

Description of the work foreseen

As the project moves from a rigorous empirically based and experience informed perspective, we are looking for a fellow to support us in the project work.
Before and after the central workshop, participants will conduct semi-structured interviews in their respective countries and complete a form including both the outcomes of the interviews and their own reactions and thoughts about achievements, challenges and opportunities. The data collected will be an important source to inform the matrix which will be the final product of the project. The fellow will participate in the data analysis phase of the project under the supervision of the project coordinator and of the other team members. He/she will be subsequently involved in assisting the team in the development of the matrix.

Expected profile and involvement of the fellow

The ideal candidate will be a young individual with an MA or above in a relevant field. He/she will either be a citizen or a resident of one of the ECML member states.

His/her duties will include:

• Assisting in collating the data resulting from interviews conducted by the participants in the workshop (WS)
• Creating and compiling tables and grids for the analysis
• Analyzing data in order to identify relevant procedures to inform the template
• Assisting the team in drafting the Quality Assurance (QA) template based on project data 
• Assisting in the preparation of the network meeting of the project which will take place in May 2017.

Required skills:

• Interest in and knowledge of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (and/or capacity to quickly update knowledge of it)
• Experience in research and data analysis
• Reliability, precision
• A proactive attitude: capable of taking the initiative
• Familiarity with new technologies
• Ability to quickly join the project team and to interact with WS participants at distance
• Good planning and organisational skills
• Working languages: English and French, with at least C1 level in the first working language and minimum B2 level in the second working language

Professional benefits

The fellowship is a unique opportunity to work in the highly stimulating, multicultural and multilingual international environment of the European Centre for Modern Languages in Graz, which is a partial agreement of the Council of Europe.
The knowledge and expertise resulting from this fellowship will be a considerable asset for future endeavours both in academia and in the professional world.
The fellowship will last three months February, March and April 2017 so that the fellow can assist in preparing the subsequent network meeting in May.

Remuneration

The fellow will receive a total allowance of €3,450 EUR covering the 3 month duration of the fellowship. Travel costs will not be covered.

Procedure

Applicants from ECML member states or currently studying in ECML member states should send a letter of motivation as well as their CV in English or French to: margit.huber@ecml.at.

Closing date for applications: 28 October 2016.

Although the CEFR has now been used as an inspiration for the reform of curricula, teaching and assessment for 15 years now, very little is published that can help people starting out on or taking stock of a CEFR-based innovation in their institution.  The previous ECML ‘ECEP’ project (Encouraging the culture of evaluation among professionals)   provided a guide and a toolkit to help familiarise teachers with the CEFR. 

Now the Quality Matrix project directly responds to questions like the following:  What are the most important aspects to bear in mind in the innovation process? What has been found to really work? How can one get people on board? What are the common pitfalls one should avoid?  The Quality Matrix project runs from January 2016 until December 2018 and the project team consists of: Enrica Piccardo (France: coordinator), Anna Czura (Poland), Gudrun Erickson (Sweden), and Brian North (Switzerland). Two associate members complete the team Valérie Clochard (from Eaquals) and Wendy Carr (from the University of British Columbia, Canada),

The project exploits the 4-stage cycle common to both quality management and action research: 

Planning > Implementation > Evaluation > Reflection

in order to:
- promote a quality approach in curricular and pedagogical change and innovation;
- define in concrete terms the steps of procedures that have proved to be effective; 
- classify and make available examples of good practice from different language education contexts;
- present and explain the materials through scenarios, flowcharts and video statements; 
- pass on tips on what works and what should perhaps be avoided.

The products will be a web-based collection of procedures, tips and illustrative techniques, plus a web tool for profiling an innovation, both organised according to the 4-stage cycle mentioned above. 

These resources aim to:

1) facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise related to successful implementation strategies and techniques;
2) provide a matrix of principled guidelines that can be used by different stakeholders in implementing the CEFR at the levels of policy, curriculum development, and teaching; 
3) enable users to profile the strengths and weaknesses of a (planned) innovation;
4) help to promote a culture of evidence-based QA in CEFR implementation; 
5) encourage reflection about key challenges and gains for language education that the CEFR offers;
6) thus facilitate professional development for language teachers by raising awareness of the importance and of the role of a QA approach in curricular and pedagogical innovation.

The first project team meeting took place 17–18 March. At this meeting we fleshed out the concept of the matrix web-tool, developed a simple, structured questionnaire for project participants to use in interviewing two or three colleagues in their country, and we planned the project workshop.   
 
The Quality Matrix project team cordially invite interested delegates from member states to join them at the project workshop in Graz 15–16 November 2016. Together we will interview colleagues in our countries/institutions, identify successful CEFR implementation strategies in different contexts, and collect examples of good practice. The workshop will consider four themes: curriculum development, teacher education, teaching and assessment; participants will be able to focus on one of these themes, or on a couple of them within their own educational sector. 

Take steps to come and join us by getting in touch with the ECML National Nominating Authority in your country and applying to be the national delegate at the project workshop. 

The network meeting for the project “A Quality Matrix for CEFR Use” took place at Graz on 9-10 May 2017. The meeting was a great accomplishment and a key event in the life of the project.

Thirteen experts from 12 countries brought their support, expertise and ideas to the Quality Matrix and to the associated resources that will help users to promote quality language education.

The atmosphere was extremely focused but at the same time relaxed. Thanks to the preparatory tasks that the project team had sent in advance, the participants were well advanced in their reflections as regards the project and were therefore able to get straight down to work.

Two days of intense effort facilitated the achievement of lots of objectives : a clear conceptualisation of the matrix itself and of the questions that help users  to reflect on principles of quality in relation to the CEFR; a structure for the good practices that will allow users access at the beginning of the process as well as during the reflection phase at the end ; a concept for a web site organised around supplementary resources that will be tagged in such a way as to facilitate effective access for users with different levels of expertise, working in different contexts.

The experts particularly appreciated the prospect of having a clear tool to provide guidance and stimulate reflection in support of pedagogic innovation and CEFR-based curriculum development, inspired by quality assurance approaches. 

The workshop strengthened the link between the members of the project team and the experts, which promises to develop into a network of collective intelligence at the service of quality language education.

We are proud to announce that the Beta version of the Quality Assurance Matrix for CEFR Use (QualiMatrix) is now publicly available here. QualiMatrix was successfully piloted at a workshop with over 100 participants from Higher Education at Maynooth, near Dublin, on 8 June.

The matrix tool itself is now fully functional for PC and Mac, and is supplemented by a collection of CEFR* promising practices (currently 32 and still growing). With the matrix, users can self-evaluate their exploitation of the potential of the CEFR in their language programme; with the promising practices, they can use filters to identify projects and initiatives that are of most relevance to them.

A tremendous amount of work has gone into making this happen, particularly in the last few months. We would like to thank all those who contributed promising practices to the project, plus our network members from Ireland and France for the support they have provided.

Work is now focused on establishing links between the QualiMatrix analysis result and the different promising practices and translating website texts. The final step, providing a set of resources explaining aspects of the CEFR, cross-referenced to our comprehensive bilingual glossary, will be completed by mid-autumn.

If you too would like to try out the QualiMatrix, we would love to hear your feedback. Please let us know by sending an e-mail to the project coordinator, Prof. Enrica Piccardo at enricapiccardo@gmail.com.

The project team: 
Enrica Piccardo (project coordinator), Anna Czura, Gudrun Erickson, Brian North

 

* CECR: Common European Reference Framework for languages

Qualimatrix project website: English - French