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The CEFR and the dynamics of second language learning: trends and challenges

  • Wander Lowie is senior lecturer in English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen and a research associate of the University of the Free State, South Africa

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Published/Copyright: February 1, 2013
Language Learning in Higher Education
From the journal Language Learning in Higher Education Volume 2 Issue 1

Abstract

This paper discusses the pedagogical implications of Dynamic Systems Theory approaches to second language development. The main question addressed is whether it is possible to describe a learner's level of proficiency with a simple and unambiguous label, and if so, whether the CEFR can provide such a label. It is argued that considering the dynamic and multidimensional nature of second language development, only an approach that values the relevance of variability will be able to capture the crucial time dimension of development. When learning is defined as self-organization that follows the perturbation of a system, language learning cannot be seen as development that follows a predetermined sequence, but must ultimately be regarded as a contextualized individual trajectory. When this observation is applied to language teaching and language testing, it must be concluded that a longitudinal approach using a language portfolio that captures a range of language skills as proposed by the CEFR is of considerably greater value for the learner than a rigid assessment of some aspects of language proficiency at one moment in time.

Keywords: CEFR; DST (Dynamic Systems Theory); language testing; timescales; learning theory; development
Department of English/Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Groningen, The Netherlands and Department of Linguistics and Language Practice, University of the Free State, South Africa

About the author

Wander Lowie

Wander Lowie is senior lecturer in English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Groningen and a research associate of the University of the Free State, South Africa

Published Online: 2013-02-01
Published in Print: 2013-02-22

©[2013] by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio: Some history, a view of language learner autonomy, and some implications for language learning in higher education
  3. The CEFR and the dynamics of second language learning: trends and challenges
  4. Adaptation of the CEFR to remedial English language education in Japan
  5. Applying the writing scales of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to the new HSK test of proficiency in Chinese: Realities, problems and some suggestions for Chinese language teachers and learners
  6. Self-assessment and placement tests – a worthwhile combination?
  7. Oral proficiency teaching with WebCEF and Skype: Scenarios for online production and interaction tasks
  8. Test di ingresso e validità. Proposte per un miglioramento della performance del placement di Italiano L2/LS per studenti ispanofoni
  9. Re-conceptualizing the ELP as a Web 2.0 Personal Language Learning Environment
  10. The role of the syllable in foreign language learning: Improving oral production through dual-coded, sound-synchronised, typographic annotations
  11. Designing ICT-enhanced language programmes: Academic writing for postgraduate studies
  12. The flowering of EAP/ESP: Customised support for the development of communicative competence in writing in the disciplines
  13. Asiakaspalvelua vieraalla kielellä: Riittääkö, että on kohtelias ja osaa joitain fraaseja?
  14. Towards a standardised qualification for primary school teachers of English as a foreign language: The experience of Parma (Italy)
https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2012-0002
Keywords for this article
CEFR; DST (Dynamic Systems Theory); language testing; timescales; learning theory; development

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio: Some history, a view of language learner autonomy, and some implications for language learning in higher education
  3. The CEFR and the dynamics of second language learning: trends and challenges
  4. Adaptation of the CEFR to remedial English language education in Japan
  5. Applying the writing scales of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to the new HSK test of proficiency in Chinese: Realities, problems and some suggestions for Chinese language teachers and learners
  6. Self-assessment and placement tests – a worthwhile combination?
  7. Oral proficiency teaching with WebCEF and Skype: Scenarios for online production and interaction tasks
  8. Test di ingresso e validità. Proposte per un miglioramento della performance del placement di Italiano L2/LS per studenti ispanofoni
  9. Re-conceptualizing the ELP as a Web 2.0 Personal Language Learning Environment
  10. The role of the syllable in foreign language learning: Improving oral production through dual-coded, sound-synchronised, typographic annotations
  11. Designing ICT-enhanced language programmes: Academic writing for postgraduate studies
  12. The flowering of EAP/ESP: Customised support for the development of communicative competence in writing in the disciplines
  13. Asiakaspalvelua vieraalla kielellä: Riittääkö, että on kohtelias ja osaa joitain fraaseja?
  14. Towards a standardised qualification for primary school teachers of English as a foreign language: The experience of Parma (Italy)
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