Cascade Master Trainer Notes Primary (Final)

CEFR Familiarisation Workshop
Primary
Master Trainer Notes
September 2016
Course overview
CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary
Session
Timing
3 hours
Content
Introduction to the CEFR and aims of course:
Slides
Hando
uts
1-27
1-7
28-65
8-11
66-79
12-17
80-97
18-19
98-114
20
114131
21-23
Regional/world impact
Terminology
Uses of the CEFR
Course Aims
View of language learning and the 6 levels:
3 hours
Key notions (e.g. Action-oriented

approach)
6 levels of the CEFR
Global scale
Overview of range of scales
Baseline study
Learner outcomes and how the CEFR

can support improved learning
Early Primary Listening and the CEFR
1.5
hours
Primary Speaking Competences and Strategies
1.5
hours
1.5
hours
1.5
hours
CEFR spoken production and

interaction scales
Early Primary Speaking Activities
Issues in child speaking
CEFR Reading scales and early literacy

breakthrough
Analogies between L1 and L2 listening

CEFR [listening] reception scales
Grading and scaffolding Primary
listening tasks
Six-level CEFR reading scale

Early literacy onset and pre-A1
perspectives
Techniques in helping with early
decoding skills
CEFR scales and early writing
CEFR written production scales

Primary motor skills for writing
Early encoding skills for Primary learners
Primary Text level Reading and the CEFR
CEFR Reading scales

Reading tasks and level of
understanding
CEFR Primary action-oriented
Reading tasks
1.5
hours
CEFR and Text level Primary Writing
1.5
hours
Communicative Language pedagogy and the

role of assessment
1.5
hours
1.5
hours
Vocabulary and grammar scales

Lexical progression (English
Vocabulary Profile)
Grammatical progression (English
Grammar Profile)
CEFR and assessment-oriented scales for

assessing Primary writing and speaking
24-27
140159
28-30
160168
31-34
169180
35-37
Language classroom arrangements and

perspectives in CEFR
CEFR perspectives on learning-oriented
assessment
Differentiating for learners with different
levels of competence
Language knowledge scales
10
CEFR written production and interaction

scales
CEFR and written text types with Primary
children
Techniques in writing classes with Primary
children
133139
Identifying criteria in speaking and writing

scales
Primary speaking rating scales
Primary writing rating scale
Materials
Workshop PowerPoint slides
Master Trainer Notes
Copies of participants handouts and slides
Reference copies of CEFR framework (ideally 1 per participant)

o
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf
Another useful resource is an overview document of all scales:

o
https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCT
MContent?documentId=090000168045b15e
Equipment
PowerPoint equipment and/or overhead projector with capacity to play video
Screen
Whiteboard / flipchart / poster paper (optional)
Coloured pens for whiteboard / flipchart / poster paper
Coloured sticky notes / paper
Adhesive for hanging flipchart paper / poster paper: tape / pins
Aims
To introduce the CEFRs core conception of language learning
To introduce the CEFRs six level framework of language proficiency
To raise awareness of language learning pedagogy perspectives in the CEFR

and implications for curriculum, teaching methodology and assessment
To induct participants into the characteristics of input (listening and reading)

and output (speaking and writing) for relevant CEFR levels
To encourage participants to reflect on how CEFR could impact on areas of

education in Malaysia
To plan and consider how to use the CEFR in the classroom
Seminar delivery
The material is intended to be used as a workshop rather than a presentation. Some
trainer-talking time is unavoidable, but aim for maximum audience participation.
General note for all slides and handouts:

If you foresee any difficulties because some of your trainees may have low levels of
English, please be prepared to support your groups in a variety of ways. Here are
some suggestions:
Type of support
Use of the common L1 (Bahasi) as needed.

For activities, create groups with mixed English language ability.
Encourage stronger members of the group to explain what weaker
members may not fully understand.
Doing the task together at the beginning.
Doing the first few questions together.
Going through the handouts for things that are not clear.
Splitting the task up and asking different groups to do different parts of the
task.
Session 1 Introduction to the CEFR and Views

of Language Learning and the 6 Levels
Rationale
The aim of this section is to introduce the aims of the training

programme and introduce participants to the CEFR and provide an
overview of the CEFR scales.
Timing3 hours
Materials
Slides: 1 27; Handouts: 1-7

Large white stickers or sticky notes (or your own icebreaker task)
Large poster-sized copies of the Global Scale and Self-assessment
scale (1 per 4-5 participants)
Overview for Session 1

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slides 1-2
Introduction: Welcome, ice breaker and set

up for sessions
None
15 minutes
Slides 3-7
Introducing the CEFR: Global impact and

key terminology
None
10 minutes
Introducing the CEFR: Background, aims

and underlying principles
None
15 minutes
Handout 1
15 minutes
Slides 8-13
Consider the uses of CEFR as it has been

applied internationally so far
Slide 14
Consider the impact of CEFR in Malaysian

context
Allow participants to consider how the
CEFR will be applied and have impact in
their own contexts
Slide 15
Introduce the aims of the programme in full
None
5 minutes
Slide 16
KWL activity
None
10 minutes
Slide 17-18
Defining the CEFR: Key concepts
Handout 2
15 minutes
Slide 19-20
Introducing the 6 levels
Handout 3
15 minutes
Slide 21-23
Criterial features at each level
Handout 4
20 minutes
Slide 24
Focusing in on 3 levels
Handout 5
15 minutes
Slide 25
Overview of range of scales
Handout 6
15 minutes
Slide 26
Focusing on range of scales in more detail
Handout 7
15 minutes
Slide 27
Session reflection KWL and implications

for your classroom
None
15 minutes
Overall timing
180 minutes
Procedure
Slide 1
Show the title slide in background. Introduce yourself, welcome the participants and
explain the purpose of the workshops briefly. Invite participants to talk for a few
minutes with someone sitting close to them that they do not know well. They should
exchange information about what, where and how long they have been teaching.
Complete a short icebreaker task that will allow participants to mingle as a warmer
to the session. This could be a warmer of your choice e.g. find someone who. One
option is to give each person a sticky label and ask them to write four words or draw
4 mini images on the sticker, which represent important things about themselves (e.g.
a picture of 2 stick figures to represent their children; a word that represents a hobby,
etc.) Ask them to stick this on and mingle for 6 - 8 minutes, speaking to at least 3
other people they dont know/know least. They should try to guess what each
persons sticker is showing by asking and answering questions.
Allow the participants to mingle and get to know each other. Bring the task to a close
and ask for some feedback what have they found out about each other?
Slide 2
Briefly clarify what you will be doing in Session 1 referring to the slide. Emphasise
that the aim is to introduce the CEFR, why it is useful, the six proficiency levels and
an overview of the scales. Explain that you will then start to look in more detail at the
CEFR and will continue to do this over the remaining sessions, covering all the skills.
Check the materials and make sure that everyone has the necessary handouts (see
materials section), which include any additional activities planned. Explain that the
training will be a mixture of presentation and participant activities.
Reassure participants that they shouldnt worry; that the presenters were in the same
situation recently, but that by the end of the course they will know all about the CEFR.
Remind participants that the aim of the course is to introduce the CEFR and that
participants will not be expected to start using it until later in the Roadmap, and that,
before this happens, there will be more training, but this is in the future.
Slide 3
Ask participants if they know anything about the CEFR. Elicit a show of hands rather
than ask for any details. Explain that by the end of the session they will know a lot
more.
Slide 4
Show slide: What do you think the map shows? Ask trainees to work in pairs and
give them one minute to discuss. Elicit back a few ideas.
Slide 5
Clarify that the CEFR is now the de facto world standard and is being used
internationally to identify and measure language achievement in educational systems
around the world. Point out that it is being adopted in Malaysia. Note that it is has
been translated into over 40 languages including Chinese and continues to be
translated into other languages. Show the participants a copy of the book (if you have
it) or go to the website (http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/cadre1_en.asp) where you
can get information on the translations (this website also includes other useful
resources).
Slide 6
Explain the impact of the CEFR internationally by running briefly over the points on
slide 6, showing the CEFR impact in different regions of the world. Note that despite
originating in Europe the CEFR has more and more currency outside of Europe and it
is increasingly difficult to talk about language ability without reference to the CEFR
proficiency levels.
It is translated into over 40 languages including Chinese.
If anyone asks about the differences between the projects or asks about the
difference between Educational language policy and incorporating the CEFR into
their educational systems, tell them not to worry.
Slide 7
Explain that participants may hear different ways of referring to the CEFR: they may
have heard people refer to the Common European Framework of Reference as
CEFR as CFR or CEF. It originated in Europe hence the E for European - but as
the framework is being used now across the world, more and more people are
dropping the E (hence CFR). This presentation will use the term CFR without the E
even though we will spell it with an E.
Slide 8
Explain that you will now look in more detail at the features and uses of the CEFR but
before you do, briefly ask participants what the CEFR is and why it is useful.
Elicit brief ideas from participants. 1-2 minutes

If earlier with slide 3 it was clear that there was knowledge about the CEFR in the
room, put participants into small groups and ask them if they can think of one or two
uses. If they cant, no problem feedback immediately as a whole group.
Slide 9
Briefly discuss some of the history and background to the CEFR:
The CEFR is the result of developments in language education that date back to the
1970s. The landmark publication (often referred to as the blue book) appeared in
2001, which was the culmination of 10 years of meetings and a consultation process
involving language educators and learners throughout Europe but informed by
research beyond Europe.
The development of the CEFR was supported by the Council of Europe and was
created to have a common language to talk about and compare language ability
across countries and across languages. This was particularly important in Europe
where free movement of people within the European Union meant that there was a
need for a mechanism to compare and recognise language qualifications from
different countries and institutions. This feature is also what makes it useful beyond
Europe: it allows countries to compare learning outcomes with other countries.
The CEFR was envisaged as primarily a planning tool to promote transparency in

language education particularly for policy-makers who set minimum language
requirements of specific CEFR levels for different purposes (immigration, entry to
higher education, employment, etc.). Consequently, it became useful for curriculum
planning, textbook design, etc. in order to help learners work towards these targets.
The CEFR also was a reaction to developments in language teaching and learning,
where language learning was increasingly viewed as a means to communicate with
others, rather than a subject to be learned for intellectual purposes. Language is a
tool to be used in order to achieve some sort of communicative activity.
Slide 10
The CEFR is an important tool for those involved in language education. The aims of
the developers of the CEFR are:
1. To encourage practitioners of all kinds in the language field, including language

learners themselves, to reflect on such questions as:
what do we actually do when we speak (or write) to each other?

what enables us to act in this way?
how much of this do we need to learn when we try to use a new language?
how do we set our objectives and mark our progress along the path from total
ignorance to effective mastery?
how does language learning take place?
what can we do to help ourselves and other people to learn a language
better?
2. to make it easier for practitioners to tell each other what they wish to help learners
to achieve, and how they attempt to do so
Although the CEFR is very detailed, it should not be seen as a prescriptive

instrument it is not designed to tell educationalists what objectives to teach and
how to teach them but to provide users with the information needed to make
appropriate choices for a particular learning context
This is what we spoke about many times during the workshops in Kuala Lumpur. The
CEFR is a view of language as communication; everything flows from that. For us in
the workshops this means 1) the scales 2) how this view of language affects teaching
and testing.
Slide 11
John Trim was an expert in the field of phonetics, linguistics, language teaching and
policy. He taught phonetics and set up the Department of Linguistics at Cambridge
University, and lectured and conducted seminars in around 40 countries. Most
notably he was director of the Council of Europes Modern Languages Projects from
1971 to 1997, where he was responsible for the composition, piloting and publication
of the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR), of which he was partauthor.
Note that the concepts are based on an international approach. Ask participants to
work in pairs and read the description on the slide. Ask them to find any phrases or
words which emphasise the role of the CEFR as an international framework able to
function across cultures. Point out central point of reference as the first example.
Give the participants one minute to find the rest. Stop them after one minute and
elicit ideas.
Slide 12
Show the answers:
central point of reference

international system
cooperating institutions
shared by all
Link these concepts to what has been discussed to this point the CEFR is designed
to bring transparency and coherence in language education. The CEFR gives
learners, teachers, policy makers a common language to talk about language
proficiency which allows for comparisons within and across borders, thus improving
cooperation and understanding of effective and efficient language learning (i.e.
transparency and coherence).
Slide 13
Put trainees into small groups and ask them to discuss how the CEFR could be used
(keep it general at this point). Give them 2 - 3 minutes to list as many ideas as they
can.
Elicit their ideas and see how many uses they can identify.
Slide 14
Tell participants to look at the uses and identify which ones they have listed. Explain
that some of these uses will become or are already relevant to the Malaysian context.
Look at uses of the CEFR the CEFR is used in:
Setting language policies and learning targets (exit/entrance targets,

monitoring of learning at key stages)
Planning language learning programme objectives and content
allows for learning to be tailored to account for different learning

focuses and aims (global approach; all dimensions of language
proficiency focused on or modular approach; focus on some
dimensions at a time depending on purpose as well as a partial
approach; where only some activities/skills are focussed on while
others are not)
Helps to understand prior learning/knowledge (assumptions as to what

a learner should know if they come to a class with a certain CEFR
level).
Planning of language certification in terms of content syllabus and

assessment criteria
Planning of self-directed learning such as raising learner awareness of

present knowledge and helping with setting feasible learning goals and selfassessment
Handout 1
Ask the participants to look at Handout 1 and then ask them to read through the
possible impacts in Malaysia. Give them one minute and ask if they have any
questions about the list. If so answer or clarify. Then ask them to spend one minute
writing a number next to each item A - H, with number 1 next to the item they think
will have most impact, 2 next to the item that is next in terms of impact and so on.
After one minute, ask them to work in groups of 3 - 4 and compare what they have
listed and why. Give them 4 - 5 minutes. Briefly discuss how similar or different
peoples choices are.
Note: The CEFR emphasises plurilingualism (see Section 1.3; pages 4 - 5 in the
CEFR Book/PDF for a definition).
Multilingualism is typically described as the knowledge of a number of different

languages or co-existence of different languages in a society. Perceived as atomistic
aim to achieve mastery in all languages but each language is treated as separate
and distinct.
Plurilingualism is typically described as the recognition that languages are not

learned in isolation from other languages one knows, but rather, people use their
knowledge of different languages and cultures in an interactive and complex way to
build up communicative competence. Therefore, in a plurilingual approach, people
use their competence in different languages flexibly to achieve effective
communication and become more proficient.
KEY:
Participants own answers, but answers that may feature in the discussion are:
A: Current curricula and materials may benefit from being aligned with international
standards to strengthen their definition in terms of delineation of skills and clarify
learning objectives across phases of the curriculum, which could result in a greater
sense of progression within and across learning materials. The Cambridge Baseline
study reported on lessons consistently lacking in degree of challenge which can be
tied to the idea of clearer definition being needed for different levels.
C: The need for qualifications to be recognised both by local and international

organisations (especially higher education institutions) which, in an increasingly
globalised world, makes this an imperative.
E: Ensuring that progression across learning stages is charted effectively so that

learners do not end up starting again and re-learning knowledge that they had
already covered previously. This is a constant battle in education and the CEFR can
help in identifying what learners should already know if they have achieved a
particular CEFR level, which may then allow for improved progression across school
stages.
Slide 15
Most people are focused on the six level framework and the scales without ever
considering the descriptive framework which accompanies the scales. The
descriptive framework provides detailed analysis of communicative contexts, themes,
tasks and purposes of language learning and the underlying principles of the scales
which we will also highlight in the course.
The CEFR is an important framework which will become key in the Malaysian
context. Therefore this training programme aims to introduce the core conceptions of
the CEFR, familiarise them with the framework and related implications for pedagogy
and assessment and prepare them to cascade this knowledge to other educational
practitioners in Malaysia. Highlight the fact that this is just a taster course because it
would need a month to really go into the CEFR in great depth. Explain that when they
open the CEFR book, there will be a lot of additional information that you wont really
have time to talk about, but you hope that this taster course will give teachers the
basic knowledge of (and enthusiasm for) the CEFR, as well as the tools to be able to
find out more information about the CEFR after these training sessions have finished.
Slides 16
The next part of this session will focus on the view of language learning underlying the CEFR and the
six reference levels. Before doing this, start with an activity:
K (I know) W (would like to know) L (learnt) activity (to be picked up again at the end
of the session)
Complete a KWL chart. Pin up 3 or 4 large sheets of paper on the walls and write the
letters K, W, L as titles across the top of each paper. Explain K means I know, W
means I would like to know and L means I have learnt. Tell them to ignore the L
for now. Give participants some sticky notes and group them in roughly equal sized
groups around each paper. Ask them to write down what they already know and want
to know about the CEFR on the sticky notes and stick them in the appropriate column
e.g. if there is information they know they should note it on the sticky note and put it
under K, if they have heard something they dont understand they should note it and
stick it under W. Give them 4 - 5 minutes. Once finished, elicit a few ideas and
reassure them if there are aspects they dont know, you will come back to these later.
Use this information to know how to pitch the rest of the sessions and decide whether
alternative activities should be included.
Slide 17
Explain that the CEFR has two key areas of focus and show the slide. Elicit the two
key areas from participants:
1. communication as the goal: we use language to communicate with others in order

to achieve some sort of task; therefore, language learning should focus on
communication and provide learners opportunities to use language purposefully.
2. provision of a descriptive framework of levels of language that all can understand

and relate to whatever their context. The CEFR is language and context-neutral
which is why it has such value. We can compare someones proficiency and
progression in English or Malay whether they are learning these languages in
Germany or Brazil.
Action-oriented approach; users and learners of a language are viewed primarily as

social agents (i.e. people who have tasks to accomplish in a given set of
circumstances, in a specific environment and within a particular field of action).
Can-do approach; focus is on what can be done rather than what cannot be done
(i.e. a positive focus rather than deficit focus).
Handout 2
Give participants Handout 2 and ask them to work in pairs and try to complete the
gaps. Recommend they work upwards through the levels in all such activities,
starting from A1. Give them approximately 5 minutes. Elicit back some ideas briefly
and then show the next slide, which contains the answers.
KEY: on next slide.
The core view of language learning in the CEFR is that learning a

language is essentially a process of learning to use language to
perform communicative acts - either in social contexts with
others or in private contexts in communicating with ourselves.
These are shaped by the different forms of language activity of
which they are comprised, which can be described in terms of four
broad categories : reception, production, interaction and
mediation. The process of engaging with texts - spoken or written
-in these different ways requires language users to draw on a range
of communicative language competences [linguistic, sociolinguistic, pragmatic] to negotiate communication with flexibility in a
variety of contexts. Performing tasks in different contexts, to the
extent that these tasks are not routine or automatic and subject to
different conditions and constraints, will require learners to use
different strategies for their successful completion. It is this broad
conception of language use and emergent communicative

competences that underpins the action-oriented approach to
language teaching and learning embodied in the CEFR.
Slide 18
Ask participants to read the whole text from the slide and check against what they
have written. Definitions can be found in Chapter 2, pages 9 - 16.
The main ideas to draw out are:

1. CEFR prioritises communication as the aim of language learning, and this is
done through language activities, which require learners to read, listen, speak
and write. Language activities involve the use of ones communicative
language competence in processing (receptive/productive) language to carry
out a task.
2. Text is any sequence or discourse spoken or written (can be the input or
output)
3. Communicative language competences are therefore necessary for success
in language learning. Competences are the sum of knowledge, skills and
characteristics that allow a person to perform actions while communicative
language competences are those which empower a person to act using
specifically linguistic means.
4. As well as these competences, learners have to use strategies to perform
tasks successfully and therefore an action-oriented approach is taken which
prioritises using language in order to develop these competences and
strategies (i.e. learning language through using it rather than learning about
language).
These concepts will come up again and again because they are core to the CEFR
and are discussed in detail in Chapter 2, pages 9-16.
Emphasise the fact that the CEFR is about what learners can do rather than what
they cannot do which is an important distinction.
Slide 19
The CEFR describes language ability at six levels with A1 being the lowest level and
C2 the highest. The levels are grouped into 3 broad categories - basic user,
independent user, proficient user. These terms (basic, independent and proficient)
replace the traditional terms of beginner, intermediate and advanced which are often
defined differently by each user, institution and country, which makes it hard to
understand what these terms actually mean when we are discussing language ability.
C2 (proficient user) is the highest level: C1 and C2 are both proficient user
levels.
B1 and B2 are referred to as independent users of a language.
A1 (basic user) is the lowest level: A1 and A2 are basic user levels.
For each level, the CEFR describes in depth the language knowledge, skills and
competencies necessary for effective communication. The levels have been scaled
empirically (scaling is described in Appendix A; pages 205 - 216).
The framework is context-free in order to be generalisable across contexts; therefore,

users must reflect on what competence means in their context. It can be applied to
learners of any language.
Handout 3
Give out Handout 3 and ask participants to read the illustrative descriptions of three
different levels. Explain these are global descriptions. Ask them to talk in pairs and
decide where each one might fit on the scale. Elicit back some ideas. Then direct
them to page 24 Table 1 and ask them to check their answers.
KEY:
1B 2A 3C
Elicit back the correct answers from the book. Explain this table is important for
understanding the overall criterial features for the CEFR levels.
Slide 20
Shows the answers for Handout 3 and where the descriptors are in the global scale.
Now explain to participants that they will look in more detail at how descriptors differ
by level.
Ask participants to look at Handout 4a and underline the key differences between
levels on poster paper in groups (identify criterial features).
Next, look at Handout 4b and plot their knowledge of a foreign language in two skills
of their choice. Point out that this is a scale that could be used with learners as the
focus is on I can rather than can do. Ask them to work alone first of all. They should
think about a language they have learnt or are learning and plot where they think
they are on the scale.
After a few minutes ask them to work in pairs and explain to their partner where they
positioned themselves, clarifying why they placed themselves on particular points of
the scale. Elicit back some ideas.
KEY:
Key is on slide 21
Points trainers may develop in feedback are:

1. Why might employers be interested in different language skill profiles?
2. Was there a time when your skills in one area were much better / worse? What
circumstances / kind of programme made the difference?
Slide 21
Discuss some of the key criterial features that distinguish levels. Reassure
participants that they will be watching video and reading pieces of writing soon so not
to worry if it isnt all clear. Point out the descriptors are positive (do not focus on
deficits but on what can be done). The colouring is for highlighting only: it has no
other significance.
Further notes (found in Section 3.6 on pages 33-36 point this out to
participants):
C2=intended to characterise the degree of precision, appropriateness and ease

with the language which typifies the speech of those who have been highly
successful learners.
C1=is characterised by a broad range of language, which allows fluent,

spontaneous communication..
B2=represents a focus on effective argument, an ability to hold your own in social

discourse: and a new degree of language awareness: correct mistakes if they
have led to misunderstandings..
B1= is perhaps most categorised by two features. The first feature is the ability to
maintain interaction and get across what you want to. The second feature is the
ability to cope flexibly with problems in everyday life.
A2=has the majority of descriptors stating social functions and getting out and
about.
A1=is the lowest level of generative language use - the point at which the learner
can interact in a simple way, ask and answer simple questions about themselves,
but communication is totally dependent on repetition at a slower rate of speech,
rephrasing and repair.
Also, point out that there are plus levels (A2+, B1+) to indicate a stronger
performance within the same level.
Slide 22
Summarise by using the car metaphor. Show them the slide and elicit how they think
this is comparable.
When you learn to drive a car you need to learn the basicsthe mechanicsso this
is grammar and vocabulary and knowledge of the sounds of a language. You then
need to apply that knowledge driving in different situations e.g. in heavy traffic or in a
highway or in a quiet street with no other cars or when its raining (i.e. when
conditions are difficult) it is the same with all skills. As you move up the CEFR
levels, you are more able to process language and produce language in a range of
communicative situations and with greater degrees of accuracy (fewer accidents).
Slide 23
Thinking of the CEFR as a cone is relevant because as you advance up the levels,
the breadth and depth of knowledge increases, so each level does not contain the
same amount to learn and it usually takes longer to move from one level to the next
as you progress up the levels.
Note: if they ask but probably dont volunteer this information: there is no research on
how long it takes to go from one level to the next as it depends on a number of
factors (intensity of instructions, learner motivation, quality of instruction, etc.) but a
general rule of thumb is 180 hours to move within the A levels, 200 hours at B levels
and 220+ at C levels.
Emphasise that learners need to extend their skills across the levels and not just
focus on going up the scale. It is very useful to think of the CEFR as having two
dimensions; vertical and horizontal. Most users are focussed on the vertical
dimension, going up the levels, but you can also progress by broadening your
abilities within a level (to do be able to read more types of texts or for different
purposes, domains: to be able to move from being only able to use language in the
familiar / personal or public domains to the educational or occupational domains.
Handout 4 can be referred to again as required.
Handout 5
Give out Handout 5 and ask participants to work in pairs and use the grid to fill in
details on the levels. Give them 5 minutes to work on this. Slide 24 contains the
same information as Handout 5.
Slide 24
Explain that now you will look at a few levels which are most relevant for participants
educational stage in more detail.
Primary pre-A1, A1, A2,
Info on levels is found in Section 3.6 on page 33-36 but these pages also introduce
the plus levels (A2+, B1+, etc.):
A2=has the majority of descriptors stating social functions like use simple
everyday polite forms of greeting and address; greet people, ask how they are and
react to news; handle very short social exchanges; ask and answer questions about
what they do at work and in free time; make and respond to invitations; discuss what
to do, where to go and make arrangements to meet; make and accept offers. Here
too are to be found descriptors on getting out and about: make simple transactions
in shops, post offices or banks; get simple information about travel; use public
transport: buses, trains, and taxis, ask for basic information, ask and give directions,
and buy tickets; ask for and provide everyday goods and services.
A1=is the lowest level of generative language use - the point at which the learner
can interact in a simple way, ask and answer simple questions about themselves,
where they live, people they know, and things they have, initiate and respond to
simple statements in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics, rather than
relying purely on a very finite rehearsed, lexically organised repertoire of situationspecific phrases. However, communication is totally dependent on repetition at a
slower rate of speech, rephrasing and repair.
Reception
Productio
n
Theme/To
pic
complexit
y
A1
A2
Can understand and use

familiar everyday
expressions and very basic
phrases aimed at the
satisfaction of needs of a
concrete type.
Can understand sentences

and frequently used
expressions related to areas
of most immediate
relevance (e.g. very basic
personal and family
information, shopping, local
geography, employment).
Can introduce him/herself

and others and can ask
and answer questions
about personal details such
as where he/she lives,
people he/she knows and
things he/she has. Can
interact in a simple way
provided the other person
talks slowly and clearly
and is prepared to help.
Can communicate in simple

and routine tasks requiring
a simple and direct
exchange of information on
familiar and routine
matters. Can describe in
simple terms aspects of
his/her background,
immediate environment and
matters in areas of
immediate need.
Can understand and use

familiar everyday
expressions and very basic
phrases aimed at the
satisfaction of needs of a
concrete type.
Can understand sentences

and frequently used
expressions related to areas
of most immediate
relevance (e.g. very basic
personal and family
information, shopping, local
geography, employment).
Can ask and answer

questions about personal
details such as where
he/she lives, people he/she
knows and things he/she
has.
Can communicate in simple

and routine tasks
familiar and routine
matters.
---aspects of his/her
background, immediate
environment and matters in
areas of immediate need.
Have a brief discussion, having them reflect on this information in relation to their
students. Do these levels capture what their students are able to do?
Slide 25
Explain that there are more than 50 of these scales which can be found in Chapters 4
and 5 of the CEFR book. The illustrative scales are grouped into 3 main categories:
language activities, language strategies and language competencies. Refer to p222.
Activities are what you do eg. Lets read the instructions
Strategies are how you cope often if things go wrong eg, I need to monitor and
repair
Competences are what we do to communicate.
Remember if you want to simplify the task, go through one or two examples together
at the start so effectively you are giving the participants some of the answers.
Give out Handout 6 and ask participants to work in pairs.
Handout 6
Give out Handout 6 and ask participants to work in pairs and use the grid to fill in the
activities, strategies and competencies while also indicating whether the activities
and strategies are production, reception or interaction. Give them 10 minutes to work
on this.
If you feel you need to simplify this task for your participants, go through one or two
examples together at the start so effectively you are giving the participants some of
the answers.
Refer them to Chapter 4 and 5, for an overview:

https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?
documentId=090000168045b15e to check their answers or if time is short, look at the
Additional resources for the overview of activities, strategies and competencies
handout 1.1. Point out or have them look to see which section has the most scales
(Reception, interaction or production)? It is interaction link back to the underlying

approach which is action-oriented, focussing on communication as purposeful and
involving others. Give participants time to look at scale focus by reading descriptors
in the CEFR Book/PDF as necessary.
KEY:
Activities
Strategies
Competencies
Reading
instructions
Monitoring and
repair
Sociolinguistic
appropriateness
Transactions to
obtain goods and
services
Asking for
clarification
Turntaking
Listening to
announcements
and instructions
Identifying cues and

inferring
Propositional precision
Correspondence
Taking the floor
Coherence and
cohesion
Addressing
audiences
Planning
Spoken fluency
Goal-oriented
cooperation
Reports and
essays
Reading for
orientation
Informal
discussion
Note-taking
Slide 26
There are more than 50 of these scales which can be found in Chapters 4 and 5 of
the CEFR Book/PDF. The illustrative scales are grouped into 3 main language
activities which cover the 4 skills, and which are referred to as either productive
(speaking and writing), or receptive (reading and listening) and interactive when
more than one skill is involved.
Then there are the language strategies that are needed to achieve the language
activities; and finally language competencies which cover the linguistic and
sociolinguistic knowledge needed to communicate. These subscales cover different
areas but are applied to the same 6 levels of A1 - C2.
Include the idea that descriptors are meant to be refined for particular contexts of
use. The CEFR provides overarching characteristics of what it means to be proficient
at different levels; however, it doesnt always describe the cognitive-psychological
aspects of using language (what does it mean to be able to read / listen / speak /
write in English what aspects are more challenging than others). Therefore, it is
necessary to supplement the CEFR with knowledge of the underlying abilities / skills
(called constructs) involved in language use and how those abilities change
depending on a learners CEFR level.
Handout 7
Give out Handout 7 and ask participants to look at the word cloud and identify scale
names by combining the words they can refer to Chapter 4 and 5 for help.
KEY: (other combinations may be possible)
Note-taking
Orthographic control
Creative Writing
Propositional Precision
Text processing
Reading correspondence
Identifying cues
Formal discussion
Turn-taking
Vocabulary range
Vocabulary control
Slide 27
Ask participants to look back at the KWL chart. Ask if they would like to move any of
the post it notes into a new column. Give them a few minutes to do this. Elicit back
what they have moved and why. Then ask them to work in pairs and answer
questions 2 and 3 on the slide. Give them 2 minutes to discuss. Elicit back some
ideas.
Wrap up this session by asking teachers to reflect on what they have learned so far
and the relevance / application of these concepts in their own classrooms.
Session 2 Baseline Study and CEFR and Early

Primary Listening
Rationale
The aim of this section is to understand the Cambridge Baseline,

which provides information on why and how the CEFR may be
relevant for the Malaysian context. The session then focuses on
understanding listening reception scale, which is viewed as the
primary skill in driving early L2 competence in children forward.
Timing3 hours
Materials

Optional: Poster-sized scales for production and interaction

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 28
Overview of session
None
5 minutes
Slide 29
Introduction to baseline
None
3 minutes
Slide 30
Pre-activity, reflect on Roadmap and

Blueprint aspirations and challenges in
achieving these
None
10 minutes
Baseline study methods and results,

including discussion and relevance of
results
None
20 minutes
Slides 40-43
Baseline results continued and discussion

and relevance of results
None
15 minutes
Slide 44
Baseline: Reflecting on the findings for

your teaching
None
10 minutes
Slide 45-46
Overview of issues in the session
None
10 minutes
Slide 47-51
Exploring key terms and notions in teachergiven L2 listening input in the Primary
classroom
None
20 mins
Slide 52
Primary listening activity where teacher

provides instructional input
None
15 mins
Slide 53-58
Can-do perspectives in A1 / A2 level

listening activities for Primary Learners
None
10 mins
Slide 59-64
Grading early Listening activities and
20 mins
Slides 31-39
providing activities with a can-do

orientation
Slide 65
Round up and reflection on activities and

concepts thus far
Overall timing
10 11
15 mins
180 minutes
Procedure
Slide 28
Overview of the session. Consider including a review task from Session 1 (10
minutes).
If you want to get going quickly, simply ask what the key to the project is. Malaysia
has a 10-year Roadmap where English teaching will be revised. All the revisions
refer to and are informed by the CEFR so this is why we need to learn about it. Ask
what the main points are: that it is a view of language as communication; that this
view will have consequences for teaching and assessment (later); that there are the
6 scales to describe language.
Slide 29
Introduce the new topic the Cambridge Baseline Study 2013 which provides a
rationale for why the Malaysian education system might benefit from introducing the
CEFR.
Slide 30
Begin the session by asking participants about the education blueprint and/or
Roadmap in terms of aspirations and the relevance of the CEFR for achieving these
aspirations:
What are the key aspirations for English language learning in Malaysia?
What are the key challenges to learning English in Malaysia?
Participants discuss in pairs for a minute to identify issues and then feed back
together. Be careful as some participants might still feel negatively about some
aspects of the Baseline. Some teachers felt that they werent prepared for the tests.
Tell them this is in the past and that they shouldnt worry.
Slide 31
The Baseline study conducted in 2013 provided a baseline of student and teacher
performance as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the English education
system. The CEFR was used to measure English proficiency and this allows for
comparisons in the future to determine the extent to which initiatives over the next 10
years have impacted on learning and teaching in Malaysia.
Slide 32
Included students and teachers from all states and different types of schools
(urban/rural, Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Religious, Arts, Science, etc.)
Slide 33
All states were represented and here are some pictures from the researchers who
went out to some schools. Ask participants which states they are from.
Slide 34
Measured all 4 skills as well as teacher proficiency and teaching knowledge and
practice. Also reviewed key documents which allowed the report to include a
comprehensive review of the educational system
Slide 35
Allow participants a minute or so to read the positive findings.
Slide 36
Can see improvement as students move up the grades but a key finding was
variation in performance within grades. There were strong performances and weak
performances throughout the system.
Slide 37
Good achievement but some students are being left behind.
Slide 38
Point out the number of learners who are not moving beyond A1/A2 levels even into
secondary school
Slide 39
There was also variation by location of school, gender of student and type of class
(subject focus)
Slide 40
Discussion point: Based on the student performance presented in the previous 4
slides: How can the introduction of the CEFR benefit the Malaysian education
system? This discussion may include addressing the issues of why there are both
these strengths and weaknesses in the system.
Link back to how introducing the CEFR can support this (i.e. the CEFR emphasises
communicative interaction)
Slide 41
Note: This is what the learners report this doesnt necessarily mean it is true;
however, there was a lot of variation in this area. Some students are learning English
as their third, fourth or fifth language and dont see the value in it.
Therefore its important to capitalise on this interest, and where it doesnt exist, to
identify ways of generating interest in learning English.
Slide 42
This may be controversial as the teachers did the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT)
but had not prepared for it so results must be interpreted with some caution. A
common finding from the observations was that teachers were not always
challenging their students. They were giving them activities / exercises which were
too easy. Important to challenge learners which can improve their motivation
(disinterest does not always equal inability to do something).
Slide 43
Read the slide together then do the activity. Ask teachers to what extent do these
findings correspond with their experience of English language education in Malaysia?
Discuss in groups.
Handout 8 (5 - 10 minutes)
Key: Participants own views.
Elicit back some ideas.
Slide 44
(15 minutes) Put participants into groups of four. Ask them to work together and
answer the questions on the slide. Elicit back some ideas. Now ask them to focus on
the areas of difficulty and suggest an activity that would support understanding and
make the content more accessible. Give them a few minutes to work on this and then
share ideas together.
You may highlight that the picture the Baseline paints is generally positive, that there
are solid foundations to build on. Also say that the Baseline also shows that there
needs to be change.
Slide 45
Introduce the topic of the session.
The ability for learners to develop their language skills depends to a large extent on
the type of language input that they receive. For input to be effective for secondlanguage acquisition, it must be comprehensible. Merely being immersed in a
second-language environment is no guarantee of receiving comprehensible input.
One way that teachers help to make input comprehensible to learners is to modify
and simplify their language in the classroom. In the next few slides we will look at
input and output.
Slide 46
Ask participants to read the overview for the session briefly. Then, ask participants to
rank them according to which they can answer in the fullest detail. Elicit some
responses for statements ranked first.
Slide 47
Introduce the slide by explaining that research on how exactly learners acquire a new
language spans a number of different areas. The focus of much of the research is
directed toward providing proof of whether basic linguistic skills are innate (nature),
acquired (nurture), or a combination of the two.
Give participants a few minutes to read the slide, then ask if they have heard of, or
are familiar with, any of the terminology of Second Language Acquisition, commonly
referred to as SLA. Move onto a brief overview of the terms (below). If they say they
are familiar, ask them if they would like to add or comment on your explanations
afterwards, but avoid putting participants on the spot.
Interlanguage
The language that learners use is not simply the result of differences between the
languages that they already know and the language that they are learning, but a
complete language system in its own right, with its own systematic rules. This
interlanguage gradually develops as learners are exposed to the target language.
Language transfer
Languages that learners already know can have a significant influence on the
process of learning a new one. This influence is known as language transfer (which
could be negative or positive).
The input hypothesis, developed by linguist Stephen Krashen, makes a distinction

between language acquisition (L1) and language learning (L2) claiming that
acquisition is a subconscious process, whereas learning is a conscious one, learning
and inputting the language being learned. However, this goes as far as to state that
input is all that is required for acquisition. Subsequent work, such as the
comprehensible output hypothesis, has suggested that opportunities for output and
interaction may also be necessary for learners to reach more advanced levels.
Haynes divides the process of second-language acquisition into five stages:
preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and
advanced fluency. The first stage, preproduction, is also known as the silent period.
Learners at this stage have a receptive vocabulary of up to 500 words, but they do
not yet speak their second language. Not all learners go through a silent period.
Cognitive approaches to SLA research deal with the processes in the brain that
underpin language acquisition, for example how language acquisition is related to
short-term and long-term memory.
Sociocultural approaches attempt to explain language acquisition in a social

context, looking at social factors such the level of immersion, connection to the L2
community, and gender.
Research into Individual factors looks at how SLA can be affected by individual
factors such as age, learning strategies, and affective factors (anxiety, personality,
social attitudes, and motivation).
The differences between adult and child learners is another area of research,
although a great deal of the research compares children learning their first language
with adults learning a second language.
Slide 48
Explain that we are now going to look at some differences between L1 (acquisition)
and L2 (learning) in terms of input and output.
The first column lists sources of input for the L1 child: the parent/carer and language
of the home, which may be directed to them, or language they hear between others
in their environment.
Output appears to play an important role, and among other things, can help provide
learners with feedback, make them concentrate on the form of what they are saying,
and help them to automatize their language knowledge. These processes have been
codified in the theory of comprehensible output.
As participants what they expect to remain the same for the next slide on L2 oral
development in terms of input/output. Discuss in pairs.
Slide 49
Participants compare their ideas with the slide. Points to contribute to the discussion
are:
In L2 learning, interlanguage is affected by language transfer from the L1,
overgeneralization of writing and speaking rules in the L2 ( goed overgeneralizing the
English rule of adding -ed to create past tense) and simplification (Girls going).
As children, L1 learners go through similar stages.
Slide 50
Participants read the slide. Discuss how critical the classroom is as a source of
comprehensible input and output.
Conditions for acquisition are especially good when interacting in the second
language; especially when a breakdown in communication occurs and learners must
negotiate for meaning. The modifications to speech arising from interactions like this
help make input more comprehensible, provide feedback to the learner, and push
learners to modify their speech.
Slide 51
Participants read the slide. Discuss how this can be applied to the classroom in
Malaysia.
Slide 52
Use this slide to do a sample activity that illustrates some of these concepts where
you ask different learners to make different animal shadow shapes on the board and
then to perform different movements to show actions : run snail run eat the snail Mr
Bird etc..
Slide 53
Use this slide to consolidate some of the learning points from the activity on the
previous slide.
Slide 54
Use the next three slides to explore CEFR A1 and A2 Listening comprehension
scales and look at the types of activity that fit the can-do perspectives described here
for younger children.
Slide 55-7
Participants read the slides.
Slide 58-59
Use these slides to focus on how listening can be graded by modifying both input and
task.
Slide 60
Use the activity: Watch, Listen and Speak, Make, Decorate and Fly a paper plane
which involve making responses to prompts as well as receptive skills to
demonstrate some features of pre-school listening and speaking activity.
Slide 61
Show them how listening can be made more or less difficult by features such as
length of text/sentence length and so on.
Handout 9
No key: discussion task.
Slide 62
If there is time, participants can go to You Tube to view some examples.
Slide 63
Participants read the slide. Remind them that these are the implications for the
classroom in order to supply regular comprehensible input, which is essential for
language acquisition.
Slide 64
Consolidation and Reflection: ask participants to review what they learned by
discussing the questions in pairs.
Slide 65
Wrap up activity to review some of the key concepts covered so far. Have
participants reflect on what was most useful to them and how they might apply what
they have learned today in their own classes.
Handout 10
Give out Handout 10 and ask participants to discuss in groups the terms that we
have seen today. How do they relate to the CEFRs perspective on language learning
and assessment?
Key:
Teachers own answers but possible further sample ideas in blue
Key training
Activity/ interaction
outcome
De facto world
standard
Adaptation for
cascading
Identified the scope

and influence of CEFR
Teachers could predict

the possible areas on a
map before looking at
the slide.
P/W discussion about

map
Key aims of CEFR as

intercultural, shared
knowledge
Three broad aims on

slide.
P/W discussion about

other aims.
Common uses of CEFR
Slide highlighting
different uses
P/W ranking activity
Trainer could show first

aim and ask trainees to
predict areas other two
hidden aims might
relate to
Trainer could ask

trainees to rank uses
which could most
immediate impact in
Malaysia
Handout 11
Ask participants to look at Handout 11 which should prompt them to discuss the
context in which these concepts and ideas related to the CEFR have been seen thus
far on the course.
Key:
independent: describes the B2 level/independent user
service interactions: spoken text type that A2 learners can begin to engage with
strategies: Primary Speaking and Competence Strategies (use of strategies such
as repair, effective turn-taking helps facilitate communication); learners have to use
strategies to perform tasks successfully.
production: features in CEFR scales of spoken and written production
fluency: spoken fluency is one of the descriptive speaking scales
Session 3 Primary Learner Speaking

competencies and strategies
Rationale
to raise awareness of spoken production and spoken interaction competences
described in CEFR scales and to reflect on how these relate to Primary learners
Timing90 minutes
Materials

Optional: Poster-sized scales for production and interaction

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
66-67
Overview of the session
None
5 minutes
68
Aspects of spoken competence
12
10 minutes
69
CEFR Spoken Interaction scales
13
10 Minutes
70
CEFR Spoken production scales
14
10 Minutes
71
CEFR level and spoken tasks
15
10 Minutes
72
Labelling aspects of spoken competence
16
5 Minutes
73
Child-friendly speaking task frameworks
17
10 Minutes
74-78
Enabling perspectives and classroom

techniques with Primary learners
None
20 Minutes
79
Aspects of child speech not reflected in

CEFR
None
10 Minutes
Overall timing
Procedure
Slide 66
90 minutes
Start with a brief warmer. Ask trainees to turn to the person next to them and choose
two adjectives describing how they are feeling at the start of the third session and
why. Elicit a few examples back and explore if others are feeling the same.
Slide 67
Introduce the topic for the day.
Slide 68
Tell participants that first we are going to look at one clip to analyse and understand
how the CEFR sees language. Elicit that communication is the key. Reassure them
that they will be watching the levels later, for now they are simply looking at how the
CEFR views language. Immediate reflection: what do you think you/your colleagues
would say makes a good speaker of English (what qualities/characteristics)?
The videos are embedded in the slide.
1. This is a video of a Movers candidate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=3e7Q97rWW5Q
Use the video clip and Handout 12 to elicit participant views on aspects of spoken
production the CEFR may focus on.
2. This is a video of a Starters candidate. The video is embedded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXL_IpFzUQ
3. This is a video of a two Key for Schools candidates. The video is embedded.
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-lucas-marc-organising-a-party
After the clips ask participants to compare notes. Elicit back ideas drawing out
concepts of what they think the learners were able to do which made the interaction
successful or less successful. Ask them to identify what kinds of skills and strategies
good speakers use that might be included in the CEFR scales. Elicit their thoughts
and then say you will try to apply this further.
Handout 12
Key:
Obviously participants own answers, but may feature:
pronunciation: individual sounds, accent, intonation, stress

interactive ability, fluency, turn-taking
accuracy of language: grammar, vocabulary
range of language and expression
promptness of response
relevance of ideas
expansion of answers
(Optional depending on timing)

This is a video of a second Starters candidate. The video is embedded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXL_IpFzUQ Use the video clip to check
previous opinions participant views on aspects of spoken production CEFR may
focus on. It also uses Handout 12. At this stage, you can use the clip alongside the
Speaking assessment criteria for Pre-A1 to A2 level, or wait until the next Slide to
distribute Handout 13.
Slide 69
Use Handout 13, which links back to the video clips, to give participants an overview
of the spoken production scale and to focus in particularly on the A1 and A2 levels
Starters candidates like those in the clips are usually operating at A1level.
Handout 13
Key
1 A1
2 Pre-A1 3 A2
Masa Solid A1
Masa is a good example for solid A1: he has a basic repertoire of words and simple
phrases to talk about very everyday matters: Im eleven years old, This is a
computer, but this is, happy, sea, Kai is tall, but Leo is same, my same. He can
answer questions about personal details, but need quite a lot help to overcome the
pauses
Maria pre-A1
Maria is a good illustration of very weak A1. In the first part she understands most of
the questions and can follow some of the instruction when she is told to put things on
the picture. She produces one or two very short phrases brown, dark brown, in
sitting room, no idea, but most of the time she answers with single words: This?
Fish, pink, books. She can answer questions about personal details, but is totally
dependent on the other person.
Lucas solid A2
Lucas speaks at A2 level: he can make himself understood in short sentences and
utterances despite false starts. He can initiate and respond appropriately and he
maintains the conversation: eg and the music and he uses basic linking: eg so,
and maybe. There is some control of simple structure and a basic range of
vocabulary in this context: eg I would like to eat cakes and candies, and to drink,
what do you want to drink?
Marc strong A2
Marc is strong A2: he can make himself understood in short sentences and
utterances despite pausing to plan what he wants to say: for example, before talking
about what drinks there will be at the party. He can respond appropriately and
maintain the conversation in this context: eg what do you want to prepare? using
basic linking: so, because it my birthday. There is some range and accuracy with
simple structures: eg I want to listen, if you want.
Slide 70
Give out Handout 14, which presents exam tasks. Ask them to work in small groups
and match the task type with the level. Tell them to think about the types of
interaction and production that would be needed in each level to help them identify
the level.
Elicit answers and feedback. Before moving to the next slide elicit from participants
any area that they think has not yet been considered in the scales. Elicit the idea of
pronunciation. Tell the participants not to worry and that they will look at this in
another session.
Key:
Task 1 B1
Task 2 B2
Task 3 B1
Task 4 A2
Task 5 B2
Task 6 A2
Slide 71
Speaking involves various types of interactions as well as production. It is important
to ensure that learners are given different types of interactions in order to develop
their speaking skills. We as teachers need to give our students opportunities to
practice all these interactions.
What type of talk does neither diagram accurately represent? Monologues.
Distribute Handout 15 and ask participants to allocate a level to the activities.
KEY
A1
short question and answer sequences
short statements
short dialogues
responses to prompts
A2
dialogues, service interactions, phone conversations, interview sequences,
announcements, voicemails, personal anecdote telling
B1
collaborative discussions
quiz forums
short presentations using visual
prompts
B2
problem-solving group discussions , presentations using visual, graphic or written
media, radio phone-in discussions, short news and documentary features
Slide 72
Clarify that for each CEFR level there are five key qualitative aspects to spoken
language use. Show the characteristics on the slide. Point out that these aspects are
particularly useful when designing learning tasks for speaking and for assessing
speaking performance. (see Table 3, pages 28 - 29)
Start by discussing briefly what each word means. Finish by eliciting Which of these
dimensions is most important currently in your context? Which do you think is most
important in the CEFR?
Handout 16
Give out Handout 16 and ask participants to work in pairs and match each descriptor
with a heading. Give them 3 - 4 minutes to complete and then elicit their answers.
KEY:
Range
Has enough language
to get by, with
sufficient vocabulary to
express him/herself
with some hesitation
and circumlocutions on
topics such as family,
hobbies and interests,
work travel, and
current events.
Accuracy
Uses reasonably
accurately a
repertoire of
frequently used
routines and
patterns associated
with more
predictable
situations.
Interaction
Can initiate, maintain close simple
face-to-face conversation on topics
that are familiar or of personal
interest. Can repeat back part of
what someone has said to confirm
mutual understanding.
Fluency
Can keep going
comprehensibly, even
though pausing for
grammatical lexical
planning and repair is
very evident especially
in longer stretches of
free production.
Coherence
Can link a series of shorter,
discrete simple elements into a
connected, sequence of points.
Slide 73
With this slide the focus of the session shifts to looking at how teachers/interlocutors
typically engage Pre-school learners in speaking in the language learning classroom.
Use the slide and handout 17 to open discussion as to why these techniques help
generate talk with younger learners
Handout 17
No key: participants own views.
Slide 74
Use the next series of slides to go over different types of enabling techniques with
children such as: modelling, drilling, recasting which support child spoken output and
different tools that teachers can use to engender pre-school learner speech.
KEY:
comprehend
formulate
produce
respond
answers
Contributions
-correction
engagement
Slide 75
Use this to look at ways to engage learners in self-correction. Demonstrate with the
support of participants that you ask to make deliberate mistakes.
Positive reinforcement should be given where learners communicate correct

meaning even if language used to do so is incorrect or minimal.
Finger correction can be used for short utterances where a word is missing or
incorrect it promotes learners to self-correct.
Correction images/symbols/spaces is a technique that encourages learners to

identify a part of the classroom with a certain kind of error e.g. missing 3rd person s.
This technique can be demonstrated with this clip.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=znswuO4goYg
Recasting is a technique where teacher acknowledges learner answer as a correct

response [meaning] e.g. through positive reinforcement but indirectly corrects so as
to model correct [language]. The focus of correction is taken away from the learner
who made the language error.
Learner: It at blue house

Teacher: Excellent. So John says that one is in the blue house so wheres this one
Sonia ?
Avoiding echoing is important to show learners that you understand their meaning
without the need to repeat what they say. Think about everyday conversation: it
would be most unnatural to repeat everything other people in your conversations
said.
Ask participants which of these techniques they use frequently.
Slide 76
Presents different techniques that can be used when drilling language with children.
Drilling is one of the key ways that teachers can model spoken language for children,
breaking language down into chunks and then running it altogether to highlight how
sounds are linked for example.
Back-chaining for example helps learners pick up the rhythm of English sentences. It
is a technique where teacher models the last word in an utterance first and works
back along the other words before putting the whole utterance together. Such
classroom techniques focus on enabling [CEFR term] learners to take part more
effectively in communication. Learning how to hold a pencil and write letters of even
size on lines would be analogous enabling skills in learning to write.
Slide 77
Considers some of the advantages in using pair or group work in speaking lessons,
essentially allowing more time for learner spoken output.
Elicit from participants which techniques they use.
Slide 78
Is a reminder of the different tools that teachers can use to engender Primary
learner speech the kind of support that helps T to get younger learners speaking.
This slide can thus be used for consolidation with participants encouraged to share
an example of something related to each point that they have encountered in this and
the previous session.
Slide 79
This slide is designed to generate discussion around the points peculiar to child
directed speech which CEFR does not address. The slide presents the perspective
that with children there is a trade off in language learning between focusing on
authentic interaction and engaging in spoken output more as emotional response
activities.
Session 4 CEFR Reading Scales and Early

Literacy Breakthrough
Rationale
to introduce the global reading scales and the notion of a global reading construct.
to raise awareness of literacy onset issues that will be prevalent with children at PreA1 and A1 CEFR levels and consider particular complexities of the English code and
how these might present problems for early Primary readers
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 80 97; Handouts: 18 19

Optional: Poster-sized scales for reception

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 80-81
Overview of issues to be looked at in the

session
None
5 minutes
Slide 82
Focus on early decoding / literacy onset

issues
Handout 18
10 minutes
Slides 83
-84
Early decoding skills in an overall Reading

construct model
Handout 19
15 minutes
Slides 85
-86
Exploring issues in written English code

e.g. alphabet knowledge
None
10 minutes
Slides 87-94
Early phonographic approaches: sound

pictures
None
25 minutes
Slide 95 -96
Other complimentary meaning-focused

approaches
None
15 minutes
Slide 97
Round-up of key concepts/terms
None
10 minutes
Overall timing
Procedure
Slide 80
90 minutes
Introduce the focus of the session
Slide 81
Put participants into small groups (3-4) and ask them to discuss the questions briefly.
Use the questions on the slide to generate discussion around subject of teaching
early primary children to read. Encourage participants to discuss the questions from
the perspective of their own classroom experiences.
Slide 82
Use the slide and Handout 18 to establish what the most basic aspects of decoding
written text might involve. Participant answers may vary depending on their direct
experience of different methodologies but some possible answers are given below.
Handout 18
Recognising lower case and upper case letters
Recognising CVC words
Recognising common written words in the environment
Recognising sound-letter relationships
Blending letter strings together
Learning the alphabet
Recognising basic punctuation marks
At this stage, accept answers and then use the rest of the session to give a clearer
outline of how these different ideas fit within a broad early literacy framework.
Slide 83
Use these next two slides together with Handout 19 to consider some of the early
Reading processing skills involved in decoding written text. In Session 6 a fuller
model of the Reading construct relating in a more detailed way to levels of text
comprehension and interpretation of written meaning in the CEFR will be presented.
Handout 19
Key:
Task 1
lexical search
Task 2 word recognition

Task 3 syntactic parsing
Slide 84
Look at the simplified version of the model in the handout and and explain the
version on the slide is organised from the top to the bottom, rather than working
upwards from the bottom as the handout version does.
Slide 85
Use slides 85 86 to discuss early literacy issues such as complexities in the English
code: letter names do not sound like the most common sound of the letter they
represent, lower case and upper case letters on the whole do not look alike etc..
These facts should at least give practitioners pause to think about universal methods
for teaching early reading skills. Phonics ,for example, is a widely used
methodology but how many teachers using phonics find English sound letter
relationships quite impenetrable at times. English does not have a phonic alphabet
as the fact that there 44 sounds in English and only 26 letters should demonstrate.
This does not mean that we should not use techniques with children that encourage
them to see sound letter relationships but relying exclusively on such approaches
may not be the most effective way to get children reading quickly and effectively
which should be one of our main literacy goals.
Give participants a couple of minutes to jot down answers, then compare in pairs.
Elicit answers in plenary.
Key:
1. There are approximately 44 phonemes (24 consonants, 20 vowels) in
English.
http://www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/literacy/lit_site/lit_sites/phonemes_001/
2. 26
3. There are 24 consonant phonemes in English; in principle we can create

24x24 (576!) but some combinations do not fit our phonological system. We
use around 52.
4. not many e.g. st sp can but
br str wr
cant
5. one sound represented by two letters: ch sh

6. Upper Case is on the keyboard [now on digital devices]
Awareness of aspects of the English written code such as these helps early literacy
teachers in their task of getting young children get to grips with processing written
English.
Slide 86
Put participants into groups of 3-4 to discuss the questions. Feedback in plenary.
Key
Why teach the alphabet? [learning letter names]

Teaching the alphabet may not be as essential to early literacy as some may think as
it basically only serves the purposes of allowing learners to recognise things spelled
out and to start to be able to use alphabetical reference e.g. in lists / dictionaries.
Neither of these are essential in developing literacy competences up to A1 and are

more typical of A2 competences.
When should you teach the alphabet?
This should prove a major subject for discussion. Some view it as the essential
cornerstone of early literacy i.e. being able to say all the letters but for the reasons
above others do not see this as the first task in getting children to read and even see
it as likely to cause confusion.
What can cause confusion with alphabet teaching?

What can cause confusion is that letter names a b c are not the sounds that these
letters primarily represent when reading/sounding aloud. So spelling aloud and
sounding are very different things and some consider starting with the alphabet
introduces a pre-emptive layer of confusion in getting children decoding so that they
can start to relate to print around them and in stories.
Can we teach English spelling/decoding systematically?
A lot is claimed for different systems and approaches but most logically as English
has 44 sounds and as children acquire sounds before letters it makes sense to see
English from a childs perspective as a sound to sound picture [letter/digraph] code.
Thought of this way teachers can introduce learners to sound and sound picture
relationships systematically but will probably want to support such approaches with a
range of others that we will consider in this session and the next.
Slide 87
Use this slide to elicit from participants the most common/frequent sound that each of
the five vowel letters and the consonant letters here represent. Participants should
see that presented this way, young learners can experience the thrill of reading pretty
quickly by recognising CVC words made from these letters e.g. hat cat bed.
Slide 88-89
Use these slides to show participants that they should already be intrinsically aware
of how common/frequent different sound - sound picture realisations are in English
and that this is something that may possible guide them in thinking about when to
introduce learners to different sound pictures.
Ask a volunteer to sound out the words in the first column to illustrate the same
phoneme written in different ways. Ask participants to predict the frequency of the
words in the list, starting with the most common. Slide is animated to reveal the
second column in descending order.
Slide 90
Ask participants to look at the examples for /s/. What do these words tell us about the
phoneme /s/? The slide shows how this information is typically represented in
different kinds of wall chart for early readers. Ask participants if they are familiar with
a THRASS chart or if they use other sound/picture charts in their teaching: there may
be examples in the room you are training in. If they are not familiar, go to the link
here:
http://www.thrass.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Parent-Notes.pdf
Slide 91
Shows a systematic sequence for those wishing to follow a systematic
phonographic thread in structuring early literacy content in presenting sound
sound picture relationships to children. If slide 87 represents Phase 1, teachers move
progressively on to
-
Consonant blends
Consonant digraphs
Split vowel diagraphs [sometimes called magic e

Vowel digraphs
Sound picture environment in words
Variation in English code [one sound different sound pictures]
Overlap in English code [one sound picture different sounds]
The idea here is that sound grasp of relationships at one level prepares children for
the complexities of the next and the approach is consistent in always presenting
sound to sound picture relationships.
Slide 92
Presents the key early skills that children need in making sound and sound picture
relationships in words : blending, segmenting and manipulation. Another strength of
the approach is it allows children to encode e.g. spell as well as decode read using
the same principles.
Slide 93
The next two slides just reiterate the basic principles of a phongraphic approach
covered in the previous slides.
How does this compare to the pre-school learners home language? Discuss in pairs.
Thinking only of English, what are the implications for the classroom of these four
principles? [Detailed on next slide]
Slide 94
Participants look through the list and identify areas which are familiar/already part of
classroom practice in Malaysia; and which are new concepts for their context.
Slide 95
This slide can be used to introduce the idea of a completely different approach [some
would argue necessarily complimentary approach] if we are to engage children with
reading whole text/books/stories quickly.
The table represents 100 of the most common words in English. They are mainly
structure words and because they all originate from earlier forms English are not
orthographically regular. The sight-word approach often taken with these words
involves getting learners to visualise/memorise them as whole words rather than
break them down. Where learners have good recognition of these words they can
start to process short texts more quickly and their reading speeds will increase. This
is why many primary teachers like to combine more phonic/graphemic approaches
with sight-word ones.
Slide 96
Slide 96 presents a range of principles for guiding early literacy work beyond just
engaging learners with sound sound picture and graphemic patterns.
It suggests approaches that encourage learners to recognise names and
environment print around them, approaches which are multi-sensory in nature e.g.
touching 3-D letters and the using of whole story/cartoon/song texts that children
follow with the teacher
More meaning-focused decoding work which aims to get children engaging with texts
as soon as possible. The idea of sight-words is that the most common words of
English are not easily accessible in terms of basic CVC phonic approaches so if we
want children reading whole books [e.g. following script in Big Books] we need to find
ways for them to visualise these common structure words as whole words. Multisensory approaches e.g. experiencing letter and word shapes through touch or
drawing can also be helpful in getting children to visualise words.
Slide 97
Use slide 97 to round off by revisiting some of the key concepts/terms looked at in
this session for developing pre-A1 CEFR level decoding skills Participants read
through the list and clarify any terms they are unsure about.
Session 5
CEFR Scales and Early Writing
Rationale
to consider early motor skills and encoding enabling skills for Primary Learners in
relation to A1 level of the CEFR global written production scale
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 98 -114 ; Handout: 20

Optional: Poster-sized scales for written production

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slides 99101
Targeting early writing competences at

CEFR level A1
None
10 minutes
Slide 102
Focusing on motor skills and encoding/

spelling skills with Primary learners
None
15 minutes
Slides 103
Eliciting areas covered by the term motor

skills in writing.
None
10 minutes
Slide 104
-112
Issues and approaches in learning to spell

in English
None
25 Minutes
Slides 113
Techniques which encouraging learners to

visualise words
None
10 minutes
Slide 114
Classroom spelling approaches and

recording spellings with Primary learners
Handout 20
20 minutes
Overall timing
Procedure
Slide 98
Introduce the topic of the session
Slide 99-100
90 minutes
Use these slides to introduce participants to different CEFR scales which relate
to the focus of the session. Refer participants to the relevant sections of the CEFR
handbook to view the full orthographic control and grammatical accuracy descriptive
scales. Highlight for participants that the aim of this session is to explore the motor
and enabling skills that will allow Primary learners to work towards level A1.
Slide 101
Highlight we will be looking at writing from an assessment point of view and not what
people write in their day to day lives. In order to assess writing we need to think
about what aspects of writing we can measure and what writing is: in other words we
need to have a construct of writing.
Now we will look at some of the CEFR Writing scales with particular reference to the
A1/A2 level
Here focus on the A1, A1, A2 levels and discuss progression of writing skills from A1
up to A2 as it is reflected in the three descriptors.
Slide 102
Use this slide to focus participants on some of the issues we will explore in this
session associated with teaching Writing to early Primary learners at the word/letter
formation/early spelling i.e. where they are working towards achieving A1 level
orthographic control competences.
Slide 103
Use slide 103 to elicit a range of types of writing focus that typically go on in Primary
classrooms. e.g.
holding a pencil with a firm grip

writing letters on lines
writing letters of even size and shape
forming lower case and upper case letters
cursive writing and starting letters from an appropriate point
copying and writing common names
writing words that are spelled out
forming/manipulating CVC words
Where answers reflect a strong phonic approach orientation, you may

want to point out that we will be exploring the teaching of early encoding from a
range of other perspectives as well [slide 113] and presenting learners with a range
of strategies unrelated to phonics. This session will focus more on grapheme
patterning in English
Slide104
The spelling of English words reflects a number of different kinds of influences and
teachers should be open to considering different approaches that will help learners
memorise spelling / grapheme patterns and visualise words
phonological patterning: help learners recognise that certain sounds are

typically represented by certain grapheme patterns e.g. f / ph
lexical patterning e.g. a word like sign can be seen to be at the heart of all sorts of
words signature signal design etc.
grapheme patterning: certain graphemes are very common some in certain kinds of
words e.g. wh - questions
etymological patterning: perhaps less important for early spellers but can used to
raise awareness of words from different roots c from French/Latin city citadel
citizen
morphological patterning e.g. doubling of consonants ing running or grammar

endings e.g. musical - musically
Slide 105
Highlights for participants that many of the common words of English from old
English roots as with the sightword slide from the previous session contain
grapheme patterns that phonic-oriented work will not allow Primary learners
to decode/encode using early acquired phonic rules and yet these words can be
critical for early engagement with text. Whole word recognition/memorisation/
visualisation techniques are probably better for these sort of words.
To demonstrate this bring 3 participants to the board. On the board write a random
selection of 14 words from the list on slide 95. Ask participants to memorise the
words [visualise them] and then ask them to turn around. Remove one word and ask
them what is missing when they turn around again. All sorts of variations on this type
of activity: adding words, changing words, writing a misspelt word etc.. can be done
in such visualisation activities
Slides 106
These slides highlight approaches to remembering significant graphemes in
English. Slide 106 shows that learners attention can be drawn to significant patterns
that words typically begin and end with. These could be digraphs as in the examples
or morphological patterns as in the final example.
Slide 107
Shows how activities can focus in on one kind pattern to memorise. Here
phonological patterns involving the magic e.
Slide 108
Promotes memorisation of another kind of patterning, here the grapheme
igh; here learners are encouraged to visualise the word by association with
words of the opposite meaning.
Slide 109
Presents a simple activity for encouraging learners to think of words that share
spelling patterns. A card is given to a learner who says a word with that pattern in it.
It is passed on until a learner cannot think of another word with this pattern in it.
Obviously the learner who ends up with the least number of cards wins.
Slide 110
Rounds off the focus on grapheme patterning by encouraging participants to think of
Significant areas that such work could focus on/be built around.
Syllables that can be highlighted in different words where the pattern is the same e.g.
phone photo
Common CVC words that double consonant with ing running swimming hitting
etc.
illegal endings - spotting words that contain an ending that is not possible in English
e.g. dish withz chip
Slides 111 -112

Show how focusing learners on word shape in terms of whether letters are above
below or on-the-line letters can help them memorise spellings. Thus the learner who
typically writes the word which wich might remember to put the other h in where
he/she visualises the word with two towers.
Slide 113
Highlights some basic ideas in helping learners to look at print with intent and using
different techniques for remembering the shape/pattern of words. Print is a visual
medium and the techniques looked at here highlight the importance of giving
learners mnemonics for visualising words.
Use slide 113 to prompt participants into talking about multi-sensory and visualisation
techniques they have used in class to promote early literacy engagement.
Slide 114
Use this slide to remind participants of different techniques seen in this
session for engaging Primary learners with English spelling and Handout 20 as a
prompt for getting participants to consider how these techniques can be used
in encouraging learners to record spellings in memorable ways.
Session 6 Text level Reading activities and the

CEFR: extending to the Primary context
Rationale
to introduce the CEFR global reading scale and related descriptive scales and
notions of reading activities, reading purposes and reading strategies that inform
these scales
to explore how the CEFR action-oriented approach to reading can be applied to the
Primary learning context.
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 114- 131 ; Handouts: 21-23

Optional: Poster-sized scales for reception

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 116
Reasons constructs and purpose
None
10 minutes
Slide 117
Reading activities, purposes and strategies
Handout 21
15 minutes
Slide 118
Global reading scales
Handout 22
10 minutes
Slide 119
Reading models and tasks
Handout 23
10 Minutes
Slide 120
Reading not aloud
None
5 minutes
Slide 121
Reading for orientation making reading
Handout 24
10 minutes
more or less challenging

Slide 122123
Top down bottom up reading
None
10 minutes
Slides 124129
Exploring Primary Learner Reading text

engagement
None
15 minutes
Slide 130131
Round of concepts from sessions 3-6
None
10 minutes
Overall timing
90 minutes
Procedure
Slide 116
Discuss the pictures and ask participants about the purpose each person has for
reading in each case, the reading activity and the strategy being used. Elicit their
ideas. Scanning is reading the paper to see whats on TV; skimming is reading the
back of a book quickly to see if it sounds good.
Slide 117
Establish the concept of activities, strategies and purposes.
Reading activities is a way of saying what we read
Purposes what we read FOR
Strategies how we cope
See if you can elicit examples of these.
Handout 21
Give out Handout 21 and ask them to work in pairs and categorise.
Key:
Reading Activities
website signs instructions notes correspondence

Reading Purposes
pleasure specific information gist
general orientation
detailed understanding
reference
Reading Strategies
skimming scanning text structure inference
Slide 118
Show the global reading scale for A2. Ask participants to read it and identify how they
think A1 and B1 will differ. Direct them to the global scales in the CEFR Book/PDF
(see p.69) and ask them to read through the scales quickly and see if they were right.
Handout 22
Give out Handout 22 and ask the participants to complete the information in the
gaps. If you want to challenge them, tell them to close their CEFR books and see
what they can remember. Check and feedback.
Key:
C2
Can understand and interpret critically virtually all forms of the written language
including abstract, structurally complex, or highly colloquial literary and non-literary
writings.
Can understand a wide range of long and complex texts, appreciating subtle
distinctions of style and implicit as well as explicit meaning.
C1
Can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts, whether or not they relate to his/her
own area of speciality, provided he/she can reread difficult sections.
B2
Can read with a large degree of independence, adapting style and speed of reading
to different texts and purposes, and using appropriate reference sources selectively.
Has a broad active reading vocabulary, but may experience some difficulty with low
frequency idioms.
B1
Can read straightforward factual texts on subjects related to his/her field and interest
with a satisfactory level of comprehension.
A2
Can understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type which
consist of high frequency everyday or job-related language.
Can understand short, simple texts containing the highest frequency vocabulary,
including a proportion of shared international vocabulary items.
A1
Can understand very short, simple texts a single phrase at a time, picking up familiar
names, words and basic phrases and rereading as required.
Slide 119
Look at the simplified version of the model in the handout and go through the terms.
Handout 38
Give out Handout 38 and have the participants match the questions to the levels in
the diagram.
Key:
A1 B2 A2
B2-C2 [depending on text] B1 C1
It is possible that these tasks [depending on the texts they are used with] could target
different CEFR levels of comprehension competence.
This is one of the most testing handouts. If you think participants will struggle, do it as
a group.
Slide 120
Emphasise the different skills used in reading and that reading aloud is not helpful.
Demonstrate this by having someone read a challenging paragraph aloud, then ask a
question: they will not remember the answer, because we dont make meaning when
we read aloud.
Slide 121
Show the descriptor for orientation and ask participants to read it through quickly.
Handout 24
Then give them Handout 24 to read and ask them where it fits on the scale (B1). Put
them in groups of 3 - 4. Ask some groups to adjust the reading and make it more
challenging; ask other groups to adjust the reading and make it less challenging.
Share ideas and elicit from groups which factors made the text easier or more
difficult.
Slide 122
Discuss top down and bottom up and how both occur simultaneously depending on
the strategy / activity etc.
Note: Bottom-up processing happens when someone tries to understand language
by looking at individual meanings or grammatical characteristics of the most basic
units of the text, (e.g. sounds for a listening or words for a reading), and moves from
these to trying to understand the whole text. Bottom-up processing is not thought to
be a very efficient way to approach a text initially, and is often contrasted with topdown processing, which is thought to be more efficient.
Example
Asking learners to read aloud may encourage bottom-up processing because they
focus on word forms, not meaning.
In the classroom
Learners can be encouraged to use both bottom-up and top-down strategies to help
them understand a text. For example in a reading comprehension learners use their
knowledge of the genre to predict what will be in the text (top-down), and their
understanding of affixation to guess meaning (bottom-up).
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/bottom
Slide 123
Put participants in small groups and ask them to analyse the tasks and decide if they
would involve mainly bottom-up or mainly top-down activities. Ask them to discuss
for 5 minutes then feedback. Emphasise that in most reading activity both types of
processing are usually happening simultaneously.
Key:
Mainly bottom-up:
finding specific words/numbers in a text
using a dictionary to check the meaning of a word
using word shape/lexical clues to guess meaning of a word
highlighting direct speech in a text
Mainly top-down:
extracting main ideas in a text
using context to guess the meaning of an unknown word
stating explicit and implicit meaning of text
predicting outcomes in a text
summarising ideas in a text
Slides 124
Use slide 124 to highlight for participants how learning to read and engage with texts
represents huge interpersonal, emotional and citizenship goals for children and thus
the importance of teachers finding ways of getting each individual child there. This is
why in our sessions on literacy we have stressed different approaches as each child
will have a different set of needs and any one may the secret for fostering the next
critical step towards greater fluency in Reading.
Slide 125
Can be used to engender discussion around the type of Primary activity than
engages Primary children with text meaningfully in line with the CEFRs can-do
activity orientation. Participants should be encouraged to discuss types of activity
they have experience of.
Read and do activities can often be done in the form of treasure hunt games with
children.
Slide 126 127
These slides give practical exemplars of tasks following approaches on Slide 125.
Slide 128
Gives ideas of typical activity phases that teachers can deploy when engaging
younger children with stories. Encouraging children to read stories for themselves in
one of the prime movers in developing reading speed and broader literacy
competences.
Slide 129
This slide gives teachers some ideas of the type of can-do focuses that can make up
early reading lessons and could possible feature in childrens can-do language
portfolios as objectives achieved.
The range of child-oriented Reading activities described on Slide 129 broadly
descend from A1 A2 level Reading competences
Session 7 CEFR and Text level Writing Activities

for Primary Learners
Rationale
The aim of this section is to understand notions such as purpose,

audience and result in writing, the types of writing that learners can be
expected to engage with at each level of the CEFR and to explore the
detail of the CEFR written production and interaction scales.
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 134 139 Hand-outs 25 26 27

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 134
Overview of session and review of previous

session on Writing
None
10 minutes
Slide 135
Writing descriptive texts and the Creative

Writing scale
Handout 25
20 minutes
Slide 136
Written Interaction and the CEFR

Correspondence Scale
Handout 26
20 minutes
Slide 137
Writing Task Types in a CEFR oriented

curriculum
Handout 27
20 Minutes
Slides 138
-139
Text level Primary Writing activity using the

immediate environment.
None
20 minutes
Overall timing
90 minutes
Procedure
Procedure
Slide 134
Introduce the session focus by showing Slide 134 and reminding participants of the
overall written production scale which we saw in Session 5 where we
focused on motor skills and early Primary writing focuses
Slide 135
Use the slide to show participants that unlike our previous focus, we are now looking
at demands placed on writers when engaging in the writing of actual texts which are
written with a clear purpose, audience and expected outcome or result in mind. Here
the descriptive scale in question is the Creative Writing scale so we are considering
the production of different kinds of descriptive and imaginative texts for a range of
purposes and audiences which will impact on qualitative aspects of the writing such
as organisation and style.
Handout 25
Use the activity to highlight for participants the range of complexity of written
descriptive that learners at each CEFR level can be expected to engage with.
Give them Handout 25 and ask each pair to match the descriptor with the
appropriate level. After 5 minutes check their answers and guide them to the correct
pages in the CEFR Book/PDF (Creative Writing descriptors p.62). Ask them to scan
through the Written Interaction scales and elicit the types of competencies this
covers. Elicit back a few ideas. Remember this refers to the creative writing scales.
Key:
CEFR
Descriptor
level
Can write a series of simple phrases and sentences about their
A2
family, living conditions, educational background, present or

most recent job.
B1
A2
Can write straightforward, detailed descriptions on a range of

familiar subjects within his/her field of interest.
Can write short, simple imaginary biographies and simple
poems about people.
B1
B1
B1
A1
A2
A2
Can write accounts of experiences, describing feelings and

reactions in simple connected text.
Can write a description of an event, e.g. a recent trip real or
imagined.
Can narrate a story.
Can write simple phrases and sentences about themselves and
imaginary people, where they live and what they do.
Can write about everyday aspects of his/her environment, e.g.
people, places, a job or study experience in linked sentences.
Can write very short, basic descriptions of events, past
activities and personal experiences.
Slide 136
As above use the slide and Handout to draw participant attention to the questions of
the type of purpose, audience and result of writing that learners at the
different levels on the CEFR scale can be expected to engage with.
Handout 26
Give them Handout 26 and ask them to work in pairs. Tell them to put the correct
words into the gaps. Give them 3 - 4 minutes before going through the answers.
Key:
B2
Can write letters conveying degrees of emotion and highlighting the personal
significance of events and experiences and commenting on the correspondents
news and views.
B1
Can write personal letters giving news and expressing thoughts about abstract or
cultural topics such as music, films.
Can write personal letters describing experiences, feelings and events in some
detail.
A2
Can write very simple personal letters expressing thanks and apology.
A1
Can write a short simple postcard. (if the participants would like the full set)
Slide 137
Handout 27
Give out Handout 27. Participants put the text types from the slide into the table
according to the level of language required to produce each piece of writing.
Ask participants to look at the various text types on the slide and think about what
learners would need to do to be able to produce these text types successfully. Give
them an example (e.g. a postcard is at small sentence level so suitable for lower
levels). Ask them to discuss the other text types in pairs for a couple of minutes. Ask
for group feedback.
Key:
A2
B1
B2
advertisements, blogs, captions
presentation
articles,
dialogues, digital calendar and diary

entries, text exchanges and
messages, emails, fact files, forms,
invitations, letters, messages,
poems, posters, postcards, stories,
digital posts
slides, profiles,
instructions,
social media
posts
essays,
leaflets,
reports
reviews,
in addition to
task types
introduced at
A2
..in
addition to
task types
introduced at
A2 and B1
Slides 138 139
Use slide 138 to remind participants of some of the early writing techniques looked at
in Session 5 where the focus was on writing and spelling words and phrases and use
slide 139 to show how from such focuses e.g. where teachers use script and print in
the immediate environment, lessons working up to more text message level writing
can be built.
Session 8 Communicative Language Pedagogy

and the role of assessment
Rationale
The aim of this section is to understand the approach to teaching and

learning that underpins the CEFR and to review the key concepts
related to Learning Oriented Assessment.
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides 140 -159, Handouts 28 -30

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 141
Classroom arrangements and the CEFR
Handout 28
10 minutes
Slide 142
Discussion on broader pedagogy and

CEFR perspectives on language learning
None
10 minutes
Slides 143144
Teacher attitudes to error correction and

how this can impact type of feedback
given
None
20 minutes
Slide 145
Formative versus Summative

assessment
Handout 29
15 minutes
Slides 146152
Learning Oriented Assessment
Handout 30
20 minutes
Slide 153 -159
Differentiating language activities in the

Primary classroom
None
15 minutes
Overall timing
90 minutes
Procedure
Slide 140
Explain that in this session we will be considering broader perspectives on language
teaching and learning alluded to in the CEFR and that you will explore learning
oriented assessment. Highlight this is key because it explores how all learning and
assessment essentially work together and that knowing more about the CEFR allows
classroom practitioners to apply this knowledge in all aspects of teaching and
learning, not just summative style assessments.
Slide 141
Use Slide 141 and Handout 28 to talk about creating a communicative language
learning classroom environment and broad pedagogic principles relating to active
task-based learning. Some key features of classroom arrangement are:
Ease with which Teacher can monitor and give feedback

Facing all learners and Teacher when communicating
Ease of putting learners into pairs or groups for tasks
Handout 28
Obviously participants own answers but their reflections may include:
B [horseshoe arrangement] I [satellite arrangement] tend to be most common for

ease of arranging group/pair work and everyone can see others who are talking. Also
ease of teacher monitoring / getting to pairs or groups
A D E hard to see and hear contributions of others and for teachers to monitor with
ease
C F G somewhere in between but do not have all natural advantages of B and I for
flexible interactive language lessons involving different forms of collaborative or
whole class interaction.
Slide 142
Elaborate on the slide and aspects in the images using the points below.
Modelling
Modelling language is something that teachers can do overtly in pre-task sequences to

encourage learners to use this language on task [this may involve activities such as
drilling or rehearsal lesson sequences] or something done less directly in general use of
classroom instructional language or through techniques such as recasting when
commenting on learner responses.
2
Active Learning
Active learning engages students in two aspects doing things and thinking about the
things they are doing. In language classrooms teachers are able to promote the use of
language by creating communicative contexts around affective, physical or problem
solving activities and then have students reflect on strategies they needed to best
complete tasks.
Learning Conversations
Learning Conversations is the term used to describe discussion around behaviours and skills that
are instrumental in helping learners effectively achieve task outcomes and thus focus on the
process of learning itself : meta-learning, use of learning strategies and the idea of learning-how-tolearn.
Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning is where two or more learners learn through working on tasks
something together. Unlike individual learning, learners are engaged in collaborative
processes: capitalising on one anothers resources and skills (asking one another for
information, evaluating one anothers ideas, monitoring one anothers work. Indirect
outcomes of collaborative learning are learning how to manage tasks co-operatively
seen as an important 21st century skill
Differentiation
"Ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student
demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level,
interests, and preferred mode of learning." [Ann Tomlinson] Teachers can differentiate
through four ways: 1) through task 2) process, 3) outcome and 4) learning environment
based on the individual learner.
Cross-curricular links
Working on tasks in English that relate to tasks and content covered in other areas of the
curriculum. The motivation for this may be to engage learners through wider subject
content, play to learner strengths or reinforce skills across different subjects.
Responding to Learners Needs

Refers to the process of starting where the learner is at rather than racing through a
course content. Modifying approaches and making space in the learning process to
address learners needs.
E-learning
Ensuring that learners can optimise learning by effectively using the range of resources
available through computers and the net e.g. reference and media resources and engage
with self-directed learning and processes such as accessing immediate feedback on their
responses.
Slides 143 -144

Use slides 143 144 to explore participant attitudes to error and ask participants to
speculate as to those which best reflect CEFR perspectives on language learning
processes. Although there is room to differ in terms of emphasis to be placed on
correcting errors in tasks which centre more on fluency compared to those which
centre more on accuracy, these points are most typically in line with CEFR
perspectives
errors and mistakes are evidence of the learners willingness to

communicate despite risks
errors are an inevitable, transient product of the learners
developing interlanguage
errors should be corrected only when they interfere with

communication
errors should be accepted as transitional interlanguage and
ignored
Slide 145
Use the slide and Handout 29 to generative discussion around what formative
assessment is. Formative processes clearly put adapting to learners ongoing
development at the heart of assessment processes. Ask participants to compare
this to their own experiences of different kinds of assessment process.
Handout 29
Slide 146
Ask participants if they have heard of the term learning-oriented assessment. Ask
participants which of the basic principles reflect what is happening in classrooms and
schools in Malaysia. Move to Handout 30 and set up activity. Remember if you want
to make the task easier simply do the first few together to get the group going.
Handout 30
Key: on next slide
Slide 147
LOA involves the collection and interpretation of evidence about performance so that
judgements can be made about further language development to promote learning.
Stress that although this diagram looks at first to be quite complex, it is what many
teachers do as a matter of course in their classrooms when monitoring language
activities.
Ask participants to work in pairs to think of a B1 or B2 level learning objective for

Speaking, what a task might consist of, what the teacher might observe, and so on
as they follow the arrows round the chart.
What form might an informal record, and a structured record take?
If this is too challenging, you can model this first.
What aspects of this cycle do they think teachers would be familiar with? Unfamiliar
with?
Slide 148
Putting the learner at the centre (and all forms of assessment can support the learner
and learning).
Ask participants what they think this might mean in practice, especially thinking about
the LOA cycle we have just seen.
How might this slide be interpreted by Malaysian teachers in a context they are
familiar with?
Slide 149
Ask participants to select the first or second statement. What does this tell them
about their view of teaching and learning? What is the role of the students and the
teachers for each of these statements?
Slide 150
All lessons and lesson plans should start with the lesson goals so by the end of the
lesson the teacher and the learners will have some evidence of how far they have
achieved a particular goal or completed a particular task.
Ask why interpretation is important. Try to elicit it is because it leads to decision

making on what happens next, (referring back to the LOA cycle)
Slides 151
Explain that this is another way of looking at the LOA cycle. If we start at the circle at
the top, setting learner objectives, we can move round in this way..
To summarize, we focus on learning and growth by:
- Setting specific learning objectives often linked to a standard such as the CEFR
- Collect evidence to
set goals
drive feedback
track progress
Evidence is the basic currency of LOA but evidence can only be collected and
interpreted against a standard or objective. We collect different types of evidence on
learners performance. Evidence is used to monitor and evaluate learners progress
as well as to drive the feedback. The key is that LOA is a systematic approach rather
than an intuitive one.
And so LOA is about setting clear learner objectives and tracking progress on a
regular basis and assessing inside / outside the classroom, and using the gathered
and recorded insights to feed into the teaching cycle.
Experienced teachers do this intuitively, but novice teachers perhaps dont. LOA
attempts to pull it all together, and make it accessible to teachers and learners
through user-friendly materials.
A key role in making all this workable in practice is TECHNOLOGY for recording
progress.
Slide 152
Which of the three bullet points do participants expect future trainees/teachers will
need most support with? How could these concepts be explained the teachers in a
supportive way?
What benefits do participants see for the LOA approach?
Slides 153 -159

In the remaining slides of this session, well discuss the differentiated learning
approach.
Think how it fits/applies to (very) young learners. Discuss this with participants at the
end of this session. Give participants a few minutes to read the slides.
Slide 158
Participants discuss what they understand by the terms on the slide.
Slide 159
Language Portfolios:
Bring in the idea of Young Learners starting to create a language passport that
follows them through their school years.
There are some examples of Language Portfolios on the next page. Direct them to
the URL link for more information. This is the Council of Europe website which has a
lot of resources on portfolios.
Session 9 Language Knowledge Scales

Rationale
The aim of this section is to explore and become more familiar with
the scales related to language knowledge
Timing90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 95 104; Handouts: 31 34

Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 160
Introduction
None
5 minutes
Slide 161 163
Language awareness
Handout 31
20 minutes
Slide 164167
Vocabulary, scales and the English

Vocabulary Profile
Handout 32
30 minutes
Slide 168
Grammar, Scales and English Grammar

Profile
Handout 33
and 34
30 Minutes
Slide 169
Review and Round up
None
5 minutes
Overall timing
90 minutes
Procedure
Slide 160
Start with a brief warmer or reflection on what participants have done since the last
session have they applied any concepts/aspects of the training in their teaching
report back.
Introduce the focus on the session.
Point out that there are no language specifications in the CEFR, but that the people
who wrote the CEFR have worked on projects that have produced lists of vocabulary
and language points, and that we will be looking at some of them in this session.
Slide 161
Look at the following sentences: what CEFR level do you think these grammatical
errors are associated with?
Let participants know that these are errors associated with progress from one level to
another (e.g. the first one is moving from A2 towards B1: learners who progress show
improvement in this area).
see http://www.englishprofile.org/images/pdf/theenglishprofilebooklet.pdf (p.25 27)
Key: There is no need to go into the grammar errors in detail.
Error types that improve significantly between A2 to B1 levels

I want to sell many dolls. (a lot of)
I will move to other city so I want to sell it. (another)
A valid quantifier word in the language has been used, and it is the correct part of
speech, but not the correct quantifier.
Error types that improve significantly between B2 to C1 levels

Why do you give those information in an advertis(e)ment? (this)
A determiner form is used which is incorrect because of the countability of the noun
to which it refers.
Error types that improve significantly between B1 to B2 levels

It was really interesting to hear about all the different people and theirs
[backgrounds]. (their)
The learner has created a feasible but non-valid inflected form of the
determiner, usually because of a mistaken belief that the determiner (theirs) must
agree in number with the noun which it precedes (backgrounds)
Slide 162
Ask participants if they remember talking about the scales for phonographic control,
vocabulary range etc. in an earlier session. Then ask them to read the scales for the
two levels shown and pick out the main differences between them. Discuss in pairs.
The scales are on p.112 in the CEFR Book/PDF.
Recommend they think of a learner they know when looking at the scales, to help
contextualise it.
Slide 163
After giving out Handout 31, explain that an influential development in the early
history of communicative language teaching was the work of the Council of Europe in
creating new language syllabi, and they set out to provide syllabi that would meet the
needs of European immigrants. The British linguist, D. A. Wilkins, defined language
using notions and functions, rather than more traditional categories of grammar
and vocabulary.
Notions include concepts such as time, location, frequency, and quantity.
Functions include communicative acts such as offers, complaints, denials, and
requests.
Ask them to look at the functions of language on Handout 31 and decide the level:
A1 (Breakthrough) A2 (Waystage) or B1 (Threshold). Remember our example of
regretting being a B1function as it demands quite high level language and
discourse.
Participants can complete this in pairs. Elicit their ideas and in each case why they
think it is the level they chose. Round up by emphasising that although language is
not mentioned directly there is a certain level of insight because of the functions and
types of words.
Highlight the idea that they can use other resources to help with this, for example the
English Vocabulary Profile.
Handout 31
Key:
A1
expressing factual agreement

expressing dislike
expressing ability
seeking identification
A2
talking about what people are doing at the moment
making and responding to offers
introducing oneself and other people
asking and answering questions about personal possessions
asking for repetition and clarification
giving warnings and stating prohibitions
giving reasons
B1
talking about how to operate things
describing simple processes
criticising and complaining
expressing purpose, cause and result
drawing simple conclusions and making recommendations
resuming or continuing the topic
persuading people to do something
Slide 163
Show participants the word pay and how it is listed on English Vocabulary Profile.
Look at the levels and the other details (word class; collocation etc.) Ask them to go
onto the website using their own device, choose a word and look it up. Give them a
few minutes to do this and make notes. Then ask them to work in pairs and share
what they found out with their partner.
Ask them to work in groups and assign the words to the appropriate point in the
scale. Put the words on coloured card and ask participants to arrange the words
along a line on the wall, sticking them up with blu tac.
Handout 32
Give participants Handout 32 and ask them to work in groups and assign the words
to the appropriate point in the scale. If you prefer, put the words on coloured card
and ask participants to arrange the words along a line on the wall sticking them with
blu tac.
Key: answers on next slide
Slide 165
Look at the answers briefly and check if groups were correct.
Elicit the idea that in encouraging and improving language use we are not always
clear about integrating this into skills work or about how to measure vocabulary when
students are doing skills work.
Slide 166
Explain in more detail what English Vocabulary Profile is and demonstrate what it can
do show them examples of searching for language and how the tools can support
them.
Slide 167
As well as English Vocabulary Profile, Primary Teachers may want to familiarise

themselves with the vocabulary and structure specifications of the Cambridge
English YLE suite of examinations. The extended list of words shown here and the
extended list of structures mentioned on the next slide and in Handout 33 can be
found in the YLE Handbook for teachers. www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/ylehandbook-for-teachers.pdf
Slide 168
This slide suggests where participants should begin to look if they wish to focus on a
pedagogic rather than a formal grammar specification for Primary L2 learners.
The YLE Handbook for teachers [above] which categories structures into Starters
[pre-A1], Movers [A1] and Flyers [A2]. Remember that for Young Learners of English
the structures on Handout 33 are more likely to experienced/learned through
embedded activity contexts rather than formal grammar explanation.
Handout 33
Pre-A1
What (a/an) + adj + n

What beautiful fish!
Here you are

Would you like an apple?
Yes, please.
Here you are.
Me too
I like football.
Me too
So do I
I love hippos.
So do I.
A1
Must for obligation
You mustnt give the rabbit cheese
Past simple regular and irregular forms

Her father cooked lunch on Friday
Did you go to the cinema? Yes, I did.
Verb + ing
I went riding on Saturday
Infinitive of purpose
She went to town to buy a toothbrush
Be called + n
A baby cat is called a kitten.
A2.
Be/look/sound/feel/taste/smell like
Whats your new teacher like?
If clauses (in zero conditionals)

If its sunny, we go swimming.
Infinitive of purpose
She went to town to buy a toothbrush
Tag questions
Thats Johns book, isnt it?
Handout 34
Ask participants if they have heard of the English Grammar Profile. As participants
read through the slide, distribute the handout.
Note: The Cambridge Learner Corpus is a multi-million word collection of written and
spoken learner texts collected from all over the world, initially from exam scripts.
Handout 34. Ask participants to consider the level at which they might expect a
learner to be able to produce these and put them into order from easiest to most
challenging. Stress that there is no need to go into what is causing the error.
Participants should focus on the Learner example column and can look at the
Grammatical feature column for extra information, if they are especially interested.
Key:
CEFR
Grammatical feature
Learner example
C1
assumed, discovered, felt, found, proved (in

Passive voice) + infinitive
The children stories were

felt to be the best idea for
kids, after, of course, the pony
rides.
B1
Relative clauses with whose
a biography of this famous

painter whose pictures I like
so much
[Relative clauses formed on a genitive position]

B1
tough+infinitive
[Tough Movement constructions with the adjective
tough]
B2
It+Verb+infinitive
[It Extraposition with infinitival phrases]
A2
Verb+subordinate clause with or without that

These structures comprise one main clause containing
a Noun Phrase and a Verb and a subordinate
complement clause with a finite Verb (i.e. a verb
inflected for person and tense) (e.g. they thought
that he was always late).
What she knew would be

really tough to live with
was the reason of his death.
it would be helpful to
work in your group as well.
I knew that you have a new
house too.
I think the zoo is an
interesting place.
If there is time, participants can look at the English Grammar Profile website. This
could also be an optional activity during the reflection phase on the next slide, or for
follow up activity after the session.
The homepage contains a (6 mins) video of Mike Macarthy explaining what the EGP
is and how the research was carried out.
http://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profile
There is also a link to a demo (7 mins) of how to use the website:
http://www.englishprofile.org/english-grammar-profile/egp-demo
Session 10 CEFR and Assessment Scales:

assessing Primary Speaking and Writing skills
Rationale
to look at assessment processes for assessing speaking with primary-aged children

and practise rating examples of spoken performance of different Primary learners
to have participants use an A2 assessment writing scale to rate examples of learner

performance
Timing 90 minutes
Materials
Slides: 169 -180 ; Handouts: 35 -37
Slides
Focus
Handouts
Timing
Slide 170
Interlocutor processes in assessing

speaking
Handout 35
15 minutes
Slides 171172
CEFR scales and Primary speaking rating

scales and exemplar performances
Handout 36
25 minutes
Slides 173175
CEFR writing scales
None
15 minutes
Slides 176177
Assessment tasks, rating scales and

exemplar scripts
Handout 37
20 Minutes
Slide 179
Overview of concepts from sessions 7 -10
None
10 minutes
Slide 180
Going further with CEFR
None
5 minutes
Overall timing
90 minutes
Procedure
Slide 170
Invite participants to think of the type of interactions they have seen on this course
where an examiner is working with a child that is being assessed. Provide Handout
35 and explain that they will watch a clip of a pre-A1 learner. While watching they
should note the type of behaviours observed for the interlocutor and the learner
Play clip (embedded): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV-N_3YscDc

Allow participants to compare notes in pairs then elicit their responses
Key
Obviously participants own answers but here are some of the obvious interlocutor
behaviours that help facilitate the interaction:
Interlocutor sets the scene and describes action to allow learner

to get into
context
Interlocutor moves cards while talking [semantically contingent
actions]
and initially only requires learner to point
Interlocutor gives examples and models task
Interlocutor asks open questions
Interlocutor asks closed back-up questions to move discourse

forward
Interlocutor asks questions and allows learner wait-time
Interlocutor offers positive re-enforcement and does not overtly

correct
Interlocutor clearly indicates to learner that focus of questions

has changed
Interlocutor maintains clear eye contact with learner during
direct personal
question sequences
Learner.
Points to items in a scene picture
Chooses an object card in a group of cards
by pointing
Moves object cards to places in a scene
picture
Talk about things in a scene picture
Answering questions about selected object
Cards
Answering personalized questions relating
to object cards
Answering personal questions without
visual support
Slides 171 172
Use these slides to highlight that the learner in the previous activity is working
towards level A1 on the Spoken Production and Spoken Interaction scales.
Highlight for participants that the different criteria that can used to assess candidates
at the A-level by looking at the rating scales in Handout 36
Play the clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW098SkzIEw
and ask participants to rate the learner using the scale. Massa is towards the top end
of the scale for each criteria.
Masa A1 Solid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7Q97rWW5Q
pauses,
Further clips of candidate performances relating to CEFR levels can be found by

going to the Cambridge English TV section of Youtube.
Slides 173 -175
Use the slides to remind participants of the target level of competence in the written
production and interaction scales at CEFR level A2
Slides 176 -177
Use slide 176 to focus in on the scope of an assessment task for the A2 level and
slide 177 and Handout 37 to consider criteria on a rating scale for assessing learner
performance at this level.
Handout 37
Key
Candidate A
Band 3
Satisfactory attempt at task. Two elements of the message are clearly
communicated. Information about what time to come is not included. Some effort is
required of the reader, for example with the last sentence
Candidate B
Band 5
Very good attempt at task. All three elements of the message are clearly
communicated.
Candidate C
Band 4
Good attempt at task. All three elements of the message are communicated. Minimal
effort is required of the reader, for example with the last sentence
Candidate D
Band 2
Inadequate attempt at task. Only two elements of the message are communicated.
Information about which DVD to watch is not included. Significant effort is required of
the reader, e.g. DVD is a film and I can you come at 12.30.
Slides 178 -180

Use these slides to give a brief round-up of key concepts covered in sessions 7 -10
and to point participants forward to further engagement with the CEFR
You may also like to point participants to where they can engage with further
exemplars of CEFR level Spoken and Written performances by using the pointers in
the Appendix to this document below.
Master Trainer Notes: Additional Activities
Rating Speaking
To do extra Practice rating speaking, use the addresses below and refer to the scales
in the handouts or in the CEFR PDF.
Short commentaries (for most of the videos) and a link to a PDF with longer
commentaries are on the following pages.
Videos can be found at the addresses below. For the same list with indication of
level, see page 3.
Maria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXL_IpFzUQ
Masa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7Q97rWW5Q
Tifaine and Clara http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessmentand-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-tifaine-clara-family
Zofia and Camille http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-zofia-camille-organisingholidays
Lucas and Marc http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessmentand-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-lucas-marc-organising-a-party
Audrey and Mathilde http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-audrey-mathildeorganising-a-party
Paul conversation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdBL1Rb30k monologue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YyY2GHcF8A
Amelie and Theo http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessmentand-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-amelie-theo-organising-holidays
Simon and Tiennot http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-simon-tiennot-the-idealpartner
Sylvia and Paul http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessmentand-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-sylvia-paul-organising-holidays
Theo and Blandine http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-theo-blandine-internet
Paul and Charlotte http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-paul-charlotte-the-idealpartner
Alizee and Marie http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessmentand-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-alizee-marie-fashion
Annabelle and Xavier http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-annabelle-xavieradvertising

Videos with levels indicated:

A1 (Maria) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXL_IpFzUQ
A1 (Masa) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7Q97rWW5Q
A1 (Tifaine and Clara) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-tifaine-clara-family
A2 (Zofia and Camille) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-zofia-camille-organisingholidays
A2 (Lucas and Marc) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-lucas-marc-organising-aparty
B1 (Audrey and Mathilde) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-audrey-mathildeorganising-a-party
B1 (Paul) conversation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdBL1Rb30k

monologue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YyY2GHcF8A
B1 (Amelie and Theo) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-amelie-theo-organisingholidays
B1/B2 (Simon and Tiennot) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-simon-tiennot-the-idealpartner
B2 (Sylvia and Paul) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-sylvia-paul-organisingholidays
B2 (Theo and Blandine) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-theo-blandine-internet
B2/C1 (Paul and Charlotte) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-paul-charlotte-the-idealpartner
C1 (Alizee and Marie) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-alizee-marie-fashion
C1/C2 (Annabelle and Xavier) http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-withassessment-and-certifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-ofthe-common-european-framework-of-reference-for/english-annabelle-xavieradvertising
Commentaries
Longer commentaries for most of the videos can be found at:
http://www.ciep.fr/sites/default/files/migration/en/publi_evalcert/dvd-productionsorales-cecrl/docs/comments_en.pdf
Shorter commentaries
Maria very weak A1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXL_IpFzUQ
Maria is a good illustration of very weak A1. In the first part she understands most of
the questions and can follow some of the instruction when she is told to put things on
the picture. She produces one or two very short phrases brown, dark brown, in
sitting room, no idea, but most of the time she answers with single words: This?
Fish, pink, books. She can answer questions about personal details, but is totally
dependent on the other person.
Masa A1 Solid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7Q97rWW5Q
pauses,
Tiffany solid A1
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-tifaine-clara-family
Tiffany is A1: she has enough linguistic resources to deal with the very familiar topic
of talking about her family, but there is a lot of pausing to search for language and the
communication breaks down: eg when Tiffany didnt have to language to ask about
pets. She has a basic repertoire of words: eg French, cats and limited control of a
few simple grammatical structures: yes, I have got a sister.
Clara strong A1
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-tifaine-clara-family
Clara is strong A1: despite her basic control of the language, she talks about her
family quite well. She keeps the interaction going and shows some control of basic
grammatical structures as well as vocabulary and asks questions: How old is she?,
I have too a sister shes very cute., Have you got sister or brother?
Camille weak A2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-zofia-camille-organising-holidays
Camille is towards the weaker end of A2. She speaks more than her partner, but
often pauses, breaking down towards the end when searching for the word
activities, which her partner supplies; she often relies on her partner to move the
conversation forward, but can generally respond to simple statements. She uses
some basic structures, but makes mistakes systematically: I dont know, but we can
organises, We can ask to the English friends and there are more intrusive
mistakes too: eg How many times do you want to go?
Zofia solid A2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-zofia-camille-organising-holidays
Zofia demonstrates a solid A2 performance: she uses basic sentences and can make
herself understood in very short utterances, despite occasional false starts. She has
some control over basic grammar and vocabulary at A2 level: eg What do you do
during summer?, I want to go to sea., sea-sick. She also keeps the interaction
going quire well: eg Yes, we can but where?
Lucas solid A2
Lucas speaks at A2 level: he can make himself understood in short sentences and
utterances despite false starts. He can initiate and respond appropriately and he
maintains the conversation: eg and the music and he uses basic linking: eg so,
and maybe. There is some control of simple structure and a basic range of
vocabulary in this context: eg I would like to eat cakes and candies, and to drink,
what do you want to drink?
Marc strong A2
Marc is strong A2: he can make himself understood in short sentences and
utterances despite pausing to plan what he wants to say: for example, before talking
about what drinks there will be at the party. He can respond appropriately and
maintain the conversation in this context: eg what do you want to prepare? using
basic linking: so, because it my birthday. There is some range and accuracy with
simple structures: eg I want to listen, if you want.
Mathilde weak B1
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-audrey-mathilde-organising-a-party
Mathilde is towards the weaker end of B1: she has sufficient language to deal with
the task, but her vocabulary is often quite limited: good, attractive, sing, dance,
friendly. However, she does show some good accuracy and control with Its going to
be too complicated if we dont do it, but slips with Everyone have to and I dont
tell anyone When it comes to interaction she often lets her partner lead and she
doesnt develop the conversation effectively.
Audrey solid B1
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-audrey-mathilde-organising-a-party
Audrey is solid B1: she has sufficient language to deal with the task and express
herself, despite some slips: eg If its a costly restaurant, we can choose the menu for
everyone. She develops the interaction well and interacts well an initiates and carries
the conversation asking questions to keep the conversation going; What do you think
about buying.
Paul solid B1
conversation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdBL1Rb30k
monologue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YyY2GHcF8A
These two clips are part of the same test and show a solid B1 performance. Paul
interacts well and responds to his partners questions. In terms of initiating he is a
little weaker, but still is capable of moving the conversation along: I think the suitcase
is a good idea, Yes, if he likes playing football, hell never forget them. In his
description of the room he keeps going showing enough language: Shes reading a
book. On the left theres a picture, but
Simon (on the left) strong B1

http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-simon-tiennot-the-ideal-partner
Simon illustrates strong B1 well: he is reasonably fluent, but there is noticeable
hesitation while he is searching for language and resorts to real cool at one point as
a coping strategy, the subject is quite demanding and a little above what is normally
required of B1. His vocabulary is generally sufficient: shy, good looking, get
married, but there are quite basic mistakes: clothe herself should be dress. He can
initiate, maintain and close: where he says yeah of course, were a little bit young for
this.
Tiennot (on the right) weak B2

http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-simon-tiennot-the-ideal-partner
Tiennot is a good illustration of weak B2: some of his language shows good control
and range; Get along well, lucky balance, I miss being alone, but there are one or
two basic mistakes: eg I doesnt want; these errors do not obscure the message of
what he is trying to say. However, he pauses, sometimes a little conspicuously when
searching for language and sometimes his delivery is halting. However, he takes the
lead in the interaction and initiates and responds well for most of the interaction.
Theo solid B2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-theo-blandine-internet
Theo is in the middle of the B2 range: he talks quite fluently and effectively about the
subject of the internet. He initiates at the beginning of the interaction: Do you ever
play or get on and interacts well, helping his partner with the word virus. His
grammatical control is B2: I currently have no access to the internet, can be
considered; his mistakes do not obscure meaning and sometimes come when
attempting quite difficult language unappropriate. He uses discourse markers and
cohesive devices well too: However and Thats true.
Amelie no short commentary, refer to the PDF

Blandine criterial B2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-theo-blandine-internet
Blandine is a perfect example of B2. The discussion is about the quite demanding
subject of internet safety and Blandine talks quite fluently and accurately, having
sufficient linguistic range to deal with the subject well. She pauses while searching for
language, but these dont cause strain, but her partner has to help her with the word
virus. Her grammatical control and range of vocabulary is B2: eg its useful to do
research on countries; start all over again, with moderation, despite some
mistakes: many time; these, however, do not interfere with what she wants to say.
She organises her discourse well: eg Yeah, sure and initiates appropriately: What
about you; here initiation and contribution connected with chatting online is
spontaneous and strong.
Paul - strong B2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-paul-charlotte-the-ideal-partner
Paul talks slowly, but quite fluently, about the abstract subject of the ideal partner.
There is no strain listening to him and he has a good degree of control of grammar:
eg If she was good looking, it wouldnt be bad. He produces stretches of coherent
language eg: first of all at an even tempo and interacts well developing the
interaction by initiating, following up and turn taking appropriately in the second half
of the discussion.
Sylvia no short commentary, refer to the PDF

Charlotte exemplar strong B2
http://www.ciep.fr/en/books-and-cd-roms-dealing-with-assessment-andcertifications/dvd-spoken-performances-illustrating-the-6-levels-of-the-commoneuropean-framework-of-reference-for/english-paul-charlotte-the-ideal-partner
Charlotte talks slowly, but quite fluently, about the abstract subject of the ideal
partner. There is no strain listening to her and she has a good degree of control of
grammar and a range or suitable vocabulary: eg He has to be interested in things,
not only, like, sports and music. He produces stretches of coherent language and
uses linkers and cohesive devices eg: but actually at an even tempo and interacts
well developing the interaction by initiating, following up and turn taking appropriately
in the second half of the discussion.
Alizee, Marie, Annabelle and Xavier: no short commentaries, refer to

PDF.
Rating writing
Lower Ed
Read the writing scripts from Malaysian students. Decide on the level and check with
the commentary.
Script 1
Jane
Yesterday I bought a black and white colour cloth and a green colour cloth. I bought
them for my tennis lesson next weekend. Each of them cost £25.
Commentary
This is strong A1, there is more than limited control: eg I bought them for my tennis
lesson next weekend and the vocab is appropriate despite the sometimes impeding
mistakes: eg a green colour cloth
Script 2
Dear Jools,
I go to a music club at Elm street, Penang.
I go there at Friday.
I play musical instrument there.
From:
Commentary
This fits well as Solid A1 in that is simply 3 sentences using only the most limited
grammar and a very basic vocabulary. The sentences are connected using there as
a substitute for the music club, but they are still quite isolated.
Script 3
I bought the clothes yesterday, the clothes are very beautiful and colourful, I love it.
And the cost is only £3 for each. I also buy one beautiful T-shirt for you.
From
Commentary
This fits into weak B2 well: it meets the descriptor for short and simple, but only just.
There is basic connection and and also. The grammar and vocab are basic, but still
do what is required but no more. There are basic mistakes, but the limited
information is still conveyed.
Script 4
Kim:
Hi! How are you? Yesterday I went to shopping. I bought a new shirt and trousers. I
bought them because it is nice and beauty. I bought thoses for just £10.
Love
Commentary
This is solid B2: the information is conveyed clearly and the tone and style is
appropriate: eg Hi! How are you? The grammar and vocab are still weak, but there
is some control and cohesion: eg I bought them because
Script 5
Dear,
Hi! How are you? I hope you are fine.
Yesterday, I went shopping to Mid Valley. I had bought a dress because I'm going to a
party. I also bought a necklace to suit my dress. They cost about £60.
Write to me soon. Take care.
Lots of Love,
Commentary
This is strong A2 it is a simple letter, but accurate, with a good register and tone.
There is linking of ideas, eg: because I'm going to a party, and organisation into
paragraphs. The language is more than sufficient: eg I also bought a necklace to suit
my dress.
Script 6
Hi Jools,
How are you? I am writting about the music club. The music club address - it's
30 Jason Road, it near my uncle house. The music club start at this Friday, I
when to there to listen some rock music and looking for some bans.
If you have times, please reply me.
Commentary
This is weak A2, the message of the note is quite clear, there is some
organisation in paragraphs, but the sentences arent linked. There are
mistakes and at times the reader must work a little to understand: eg I when
to there to listen some rock music and looking for some bans., but overall it is
still clear.
Script 7
Dear Jools,
The World Grand music club that I just went last Saturday in Hawaii was awesome.
The food and drinks there was perfect. I dance there with some of my friends all night
long.
Your best friend,
Commentary
This is solid A2, the message is clear and the tone and register suitable. The
organisation is acceptable in that there is Dear Jools and Your best friend. What
stops it from being strong A2 is the lack of connection between the sentences. The
grammar is sufficient: eg The food and drinks there was perfect. Even though there
are mistakes, the writers intent is still clear. The vocabulary is controlled in the
context: eg awesome.
Script 8
To: Jools
The music club is held in my school, SMJK Kwang Hua. It is every Saturday,
2.30p.m. to 4.30p.m. I go there to learn different kinds of music instrument such as
drums, guitars and more.
Commentary
This fits into strong A2 for a number of reasons: the organisation is clear and
sophisticated for this level: the sentences are linked using the pronoun it and there
is also I go there to learn. In addition the vocabulary is also more than sufficient: eg
different kinds of music instrument such as drums, guitars.
Script 9
Hello, yesterday I went shopping to bought some new T-shirts. I bought them
because they were attractive and colourful. The cost of the T-shirts were RM59.00.
Please write to me soon.
Commentary
Although quite short, this fits into B1 weak in that the ideas and sentences are linked:
eg I bought them into a sequence as the B1 criteria says. The control of grammar is
sufficient despite mistakes eg: yesterday I went shopping to bought and there is
good control of elementary vocabulary: eg attractive and colourful.
Script 10
Dear ...,
How are you? Hope your family members are in the pink of health. I received your
letter yesterday. I think you should go on holiday with your parents. It is because they
are usually very busy working every day and this is the only chance they can relax
themselves. They must be very hopefully to accompany their children to enjoy the
holidays. If you go on holiday with them. You will make them happier and there are
lots of activities for family. Well, if you really want to go out with your friends, you
must arrange your time wisely. I think you can go shopping or go for a picnic with
your best friends. I have to stop here now because it is very late now. Hope to hear
from you soon.
Bye!
Yours sincerely,
Commentary
This fits well into the middle of B1: it is a straightforward text on a concrete topic and
the candidate gets her point across this is the most important aspect. There are
problems: eg the lack of paragraphing stops it scoring higher, the sentences arent
connected particularly well and the tone is slightly uneven: eg Bye! followed by
Yours sincerely. There is some control of vocab; eg lots of activities for family. The
grammar is actually very good.
Script 11
Dear ...,
How are you recently? I hope you and your family are in the pink. I had received your
letter two days ago. So, I will give some opinions for you in this letter.
I think you should go on your summer holiday with your lovely parents. It is an
opportunity for you to accompany with your parents. As we know, your parents are
businessman so they will not have a lot of time to go on holiday with them. That is
why you should go with them. Besides that, if you go on holiday with your parents,
your relationship with them will be getting more closer. Is this true? In addition, if you
go on holiday with your parents, they will take good care of you. So, you will be more
safety and you can do a lot of activities with your parents. They will make sure you
would not be dangerous when doing some activities. Moreover, if you go on holiday
with your parents, it will be a memory for all of you. You can take a photograph with
your parents during your holiday trip. Is it a good idea for you?
I hope you will have a happy holiday.
From
Commentary
This is a strong B1 answer: all the information and ideas are conveyed clearly. The
paragraph organisation is clear and within paragraphs the cohesion is very much in
line with the B1 CEFR criteria: a connected series of linear points is achieved
naturally using some range of devices: eg That is why, Besides that. The; register
and tone are very effective and grammar and vocabulary are good: eg if you go on
holiday with your parents, your relationship with them will be getting more closer; the
mistakes in no way impede the meaning: eg you will be more safety.
Script 12
Dear Alice,
Hi. How are you? I am going to tell you something unexpected. A TV company came
to my school yesterday to make a film. All students in the school are very surprised
and excited about it.
I think that the TV company chose my school is because there are beautiful scenery .
The TV company filmed our principal and ask him some question about my school.
The TV company told us that the programme will be shown on television next month.
I am look forward to enjoy it.
Take Care.
Commentary
This is a good example of solid B1 the task of the letter is simple and the writer
achieves her aim. There is organisation into paragraphs. Within the paragraphs the
cohesion is less effective in the first paragraph the final two sentences could be
linked. However, the grammar is accurate; eg The TV company told us that the
programme will be shown on television next month; there are slips, but the message
is still clear. The vocabulary is sufficient: eg surprised and excited
Script 13
To Alice
How are you recently? I hope you are in the pink. A TV company came to my school
yesterday to make a film with the title of 'My School'. All students in my school were
very excited and happy. The TV company chose my school to make a film because
my school is large and it has fifty classrooms there. Besides that, my school has a
very beautiful garden with a variety of flowers. My school also has many facilities
such as library, canteen, laboratory, computer rooms and others. The TV company
filmed a main character, Jusline Tan who was studied in my school and she was
sitting for an examination at that time. It is an interesting film and the programme will
be shown on television on next month. I think you will like to watch the film too. Bye.
From
Commentary
This is a stronger B1, but still in the band: there is organisation: Besides that, but the
text could be split into paragraphs and the candidate uses TV company too much.
The text is strong in terms of the tone as well as the grammar: eg she was sitting for
an examination at that time and vocabulary: eg : facilities such as library, canteen,
laboratory, computer rooms. There are slips, but these dont obscure the meaning.
Script 14
To Chris,
How are you? I hope you are in the pink of health when I visit you this weekend.
Even though just by reading your letter, I feel excited about the plan of yours. About
the Science Festival, my answer - yes, of course! Just think about doing experiments
and exploring newly found specimens, it is fun.
As you know, I hate talks but I'm curious about one of the topic that you had listed for
me so I choose 'Can Animal speak?'. By the way, can I know is there anything I need
to bring along and do I need to pay for the talk. If yes, please state the amount.
About your suggestion to stay longer, I am sorry that I might dissappoint you. After all
the consideration - my tuition, school assignments, I can't stay longer due to my time
limits. I'm really sorry. Hope to see you soon.
Love,
Commentary
This is a good example of a weaker B2 script. The most important feature which puts
it into B2 is that the letter succeeds in doing what it is supposed to do at the end
the reader will know all the information required. The student coveys their ideas
adequately and in the correct register. The text is organised into paragraphs and
there are organisers like: eg As you know. The grammar is sufficient and there is
some good vocabulary: eg specimens. There are quite a lot of mistakes, these are
very noticeable, but dont impede meaning.
Script 15
Dear Chris,
Hi! How are you? I have received your letter and I am also looking forward to staying
with you for the weekend.
In your letter, you mentioned about a Science Festival in your city that weekend. I
would love to go to the festival as Science happens to be one of my favourite subject.
Besides , you also mentioned regarding choosing one of the these talks: 'Can
Animals Speak?' and 'The Power of the Sun'. Well, I would prefer the talk about 'The
Power of the Sun' because since young, I am always fascinated about the Sun and
this can be a chance for me to learn more about it.
Moreover, I would be grateful if you could tell me whether the festival has exhibition
about our Solar System?
Lastly, I am sad to say that I would not be able to stay with you for a bit longer. This
is because my family will be going on a holiday to Paris after staying with you.
Well, I am going to pen off now. I hope you could reply me soon.
Your friend,
Commentary
This is a solid B2. The letter achieves its purpose, the writer expresses him or herself
clearly and the tone is very good: Hi! How are you?, although the moreover at the
end is slightly too formal. The paragraphs are clear with discourse markers: eg
Lastly. The language used fits well in the B2 band and there is good control: eg This
is because my family will be going on a holiday to Paris after staying with you. The
vocab is also good in the context: eg fascinated.
Script 16
Hi Chris! I've been waiting for you to write back to me. I have received your letter and
I am looking forward to meet you this weekend. About the Science Festival you've
mentioned earlier, I think that it would be fantastic for the two of us to attend the
festival. It would be great fun, wouldn't it?
It is very good that the Festival Programme organises talks because it is an engaging
way to communicate with the people. I would love to attend the "Can Animal Speak?"
talk show because the topic is very close to my heart, animals. Would that be fine to
you?
Since I am very passionate about plants, do you think that there is a talk on plants
during the Science Festival? If there is, would you be kind enough to join with me to
attend the talk? If you don't mind.
I love would love to stay with you a big longer but I can't. I have to attend a meeting
the following day. But do come and visit me here. I would appreciate it.
Best wishes,
Commentary
This is strong B2. On finishing the letter we know exactly what is required and we
have all the information we need. The emotions are conveyed well with vocabulary:
eg Close to my heart passionate, the tone is consistently correct. The organisation
is very clear with paragraphs and sentences linked naturally: eg If there is,. The
grammar is well controlled: eg I've been waiting for you to write back to me.
Script 17
Recently, there's a new thriller named "Twilight", it was the most unforgettable thriller
that I ever saw. The story was very interesting and creative, it was talking about a girl
fell in love with a vampire. At first, she does not know he is a vampire, she just felt
that he is kind of strange and weird because his face is very pale all the time, he
never appear at outdoor in a sunny day and his hand is cold.
After she knew he is a vampire, she has already fell in love with him. She is even
willing to let him to suck her blood, but of course he refused to do so even he is crave
for it. He tried very hard to control his desire to suck her blood and is willing to
sacrifice his life to protect the girl from intrusion and attack of other vampires. Their
love touches me, I cried while I was watching this part.
Their 'unusual' love and the mystery ending sure will attract a lot of people's
attention.
Commentary
This answer just comes into the B2 band and is a good example of weak B2. The
reader is informed and we know how the reader feels about the film. There is
organisation, but it is uneven and the final paragraph should be longer. There is
some good vocabulary: eg unforgettable and suck her blood and this compensates
for the frequent grammatical lapses. The important point about these lapses is that
they dont impede the meaning.
Script 18
The thriller move that I had recently watched is called Spiderman 3. I find this movie
exciting because the hero, Peter Parker or Spiderman has recently discovered the
true murderer who murdered his uncle, Ben Parker. He wanted to take revenge of his
uncle's death and one night, a black substance crawled all over his body and gave
him a new suit, which is black in colour. Besides giving him a new suit, the substance
also changes his attitude, turning him into a bad boy. Now, he has to overcome the
evil inside him and rescue his girlfriend, M.J and defeating the Venom and the
Sandman with the help of his friend, Harry or New Goblin.
I think other people would like it because this movie teaches us that the evil part
inside us can consume us, making us do bad things. So we need to get rid of our evil
thoughts and desires in order not to commit crimes. Apart from that, the movie also
has scenes that are so thrilling that you would not be able to move about. Moreover,
the sound effects of the movie is very realistic.
I would recommend this movie to everyone who enjoys watching adventures and
thriller movie.
Commentary
This is a solid B2 the task is achieved and the write conveys their feelings well
using good vocabulary: eg to take revenge. The organisation is clear; the first
paragraph tells the story, the second talks about the effect on others in quite a
sophisticated way: eg this movie teaches us that the evil part inside us can consume
us, making us do bad things. The register is consistent and there are a few slips with
grammar, but these do not impede meaning; eg the sound effects of the movie is.
Script 19
What is friendship? Friendship is a bond that is shared between a group of people
that enjoy being together. Friends do things together and enjoy each others's
company. You can be friends with anyone, as long as you do not hate them.
Now that we are done with that, we shall now discuss about ways to make friends.
Some people make friends easily. It is due to the fact that they can easily strike up a
conversation. To me, that is the only way to make friends. Comunication. Be brave
and ask the first question, or just say 'Hi'.
As much as friends want to agree with each other on everything, they can not.
Everyone as an individual have different behaviors, preferences and opinions. It is
natural to sometimes disagree on something. This allows us to break out of a routine
every once in a while.
Friendship is very valuable bond. Life would be boring if we just keep to ourselves.
Enjoy spending time with your friends while you make new ones. However, do not
forget your old friends.
Commentary
This is an example of very strong B2. The writer expresses him or herself very
effectively and the tone is very consistent. The organisation is very clear too; the
paragraphs work well and within paragraphs the organisation is sophisticated: The
language is very good, both in terms of control of grammar: eg As much as friends
want to agree with each other on everything, they can not. and vocabulary: eg strike
up a conversation. There are one or two mistakes, but these are very much slips and
in no way impede meaning; eg Life would be boring if we just keep to ourselves
strictly speaking this should be kept.
Rating writing
Primary
Script 1
At 1:15 pm We will meet at my house. We will go to the sports centre to play tennis.
Yuo must wear sport shirt to play tennis.
Commentary
This is A2 as the text reads as simple isolated phrases as in the description of the
criteria. However, the message is clear. There is basic vocabulary: eg play tennis
and there is a limited control of grammar: eg the use of will is inappropriate.
However, it is strong as there is the sentence Yuo must wear sport shirt to play
tennis which is more complicated, despite the spelling problem.
Script 2
Dear Sarah,
you should meet me at 2.30 p.m. My father will fatch we to the destination .You need
to wear a set of sportwear only.
Just from,
Commentary
This just qualifies as A2. The sentences are not linked, but the information is
conveyed effectively and at the end of reading we know exactly what we have to do.
In terms of vocabulary and grammar there are 3 verbs used correctly: should, will
and need as well as a narrow control of other words: fatch, a set of sportwear. The
mistakes are basic, but it is clear what the writer is trying to say.
Script 3
Dear Sarah,
You can meet me at 5:30 p.m. and we can take a bus to the sports centre. You need
to wear long trouser and white shirt.
Yours
Commentary
This is solid A2 as all the information is conveyed clearly. The descriptor says that
cohesion can be achieved with simple connectors like and and this is the case here.
The grammar is simple and mostly accurate the second can is better that the first
one, which might be better as should or Lets. The vocabulary is sufficient too: eg
wear long trouser and white shirt.
Script 4
I'm glad that you will come with me. You can meet me at my house at 6 pm and my
father will get us to the sport centre. You can wear a T-shirt and a short.
Commentary
This is strong A2 because of the positive effect on the reader: I'm glad that you will
come with me, and the quality of the language used. Although the sentences arent
linked, there is some flow. In terms of grammar and vocabulary there is control: eg
You can meet me at my house. The mistakes are minor and dont obscure the
message.
Script 5
How are you? I'm fine. Today it's a good holiday job in Paris. I'm work at Salesbury
which is my company place. This place is the best when I work here. First, I have to
relaxs and finish all my documents on my table. I also a big bos in my job. The time it
starts at 9:00 a.m- 5:00 p.m. I usually came at 8:30 a.m. Every Tuesday, I had a
meeting with my clients. I think this email its enough to you.
Commentary
Although quite long compared to the other texts, this is weak A2. There is
organisation; eg First and by the end we more or less know what the writer wants to
convey. However, the control of grammar is barely sufficient and this is important at
A2; eg Today it's a good holiday job in Paris. And the tenses are consistently mixed
up. The vocabulary is better, but still only just sufficient.
Script 6
Dear Nino,
How are you? I'm working in a reastaurant. I just have to order, and clean the table.
My busy time is 8.00a.m to 12.00 p.m. Are you intresting to do? Now you just have to
meet the manager and you can work another day. Oh! My sister is crying. I have to
go now, bye.
Love,
Commentary
This is solid A2: the information, though simple, is clearly conveyed in organised
sentences: eg and. The control of grammar is sufficient: eg I'm working in a
reastaurant, and the mistakes do not seriously obscure the meaning, but we do have
to stop to work out that the person writing is trying to encourage the reader to apply
for a job.
Script 7
Dear Nino,
I do have a holiday job. I am working at that old store near your house. I am the
cashier so I just have to use cash register. I usually start at 9.00 a.m. but on
Saturdays and Sundays I start at 10.00 a.m.
Yours truly,
Commentary
This is strong A2: the letter conveys all the information accurately and the tone is
consistently informal and friendly. There is organisation: eg so and but and the
grammar is more than sufficient: eg: I am working at that old store near your house.
as is the vocabulary: eg: cash register.
Script 8
Hi Alex,
How are you? I just came back from a shopping mall. I bought some new clothes. I
bought the clothes at a shop in the shopping mall. The clothes there are very nice,
while the price is not too expensive. I bought this clothes because I am going to
attend a wedding tomorrow. Besides that, there is a party next Monday. I can wear
the clothes there.
Love
Commentary
The criteria say that B1 can write straightforward sentences on a range of familiar
subjects and this is a good illustration. The grammar is solid and theres a range of
vocabulary: eg I am going to attend a wedding tomorrow. There is some cohesion;
eg besides that, but the first 4 sentences need connectors and this pushes into the
weak range as it makes is sound a little unnatural.
Script 9
Hi Alex!
I've just bought some new clothes. I bought five red T-shirts and two jeans. I bought
the clothes from a shopping centre called Jusco. It is near Chinese New Year so I
bought them.
See you at school next week. Bye!
Commentary
This is solid B1 and the effect on the reader is positive. The information is coveyed
clearly and effectively, the tone and register are good; eg See you at school next
week. Bye! Again, the first sentences could be linked better, but the accurate
grammar I've just bought some new clothes and vocab raise the level.
Script 10
Hi Alex, how are you? I've just bought a pink shirt with a black skirt at Pink's. I've
bought these clothes to wear at Karen's birthday. Karen said the theme is casual.
Hope you write back soon! See you there!
Commentary
This is strong B1; the tome is consistently informal and appropriate and the
paragraph flows well, although there is repetition of Karen. Despite this there is
organisation and good vocabulary: eg the theme is casual as well as consistently
controlled grammar: eg I've bought these clothes to wear at Karen's birthday.
Script 11
Dear Angle:
I am glad that you are fine. I live in a quiet street. The place I live doesn't have many
cars, most of the people go to work by public bus. There are also some students
cycle to school. The place I live is a clean and peace place, because there aren't any
market near my house. The people there are also very friendly, my friends and I
always walk to the park without parents accompany.
But sometimes there are some people shouting around . If I am able to move, I would
like to move to a street near my best friend house because the place I live is very far
to my her house. I need to cycle for a long distane to her house.
Commentary
This is weak B1: the simple information is conveyed clearly. The organisation is at the
level: there are paragraphs, but the linking between sentences could be better; there
is repetition; eg The place I live. The grammar is quite accurate and the vocabulary
sufficient, but there are mistakes when more difficult structures are attempted: eg If I
am able to move, I would like to move to a street near my best friend house as well
as vocabulary slips with more demanding words: eg accompany.
Script 12
Dear Sharon,
I live in a peaceful enviroment, my house is opposite a park, and there are many
trees and flowers. It is never noisy, unless there is a party.
It is also a happy living place because there are a lot of friendly neighbours. If I were
able to move, I would like to live in a place like my house now.
I don't like noisy places, so the place I hope to move to will be near a village and a
big field behind my house.
Tell me more about where you live, and if you are able to move, where would it be, in
your next letter.
Reply soon.
Love,
Commentary
This is solid B1: the effect of the appropriate tone and good organisation on the
reader is positive and the information is conveyed in good order. The control of the
grammar is good with basic tenses used well, while some of the grammar is very
good: eg It is never noisy, unless there is a party. The range of the vocab keeps it
below the strong range, but the rest is very good.
Script 13
Dear David,
Hi, how is you and your family? I'm fine here. I live in a street called Taman Ampany.
My street isn't that busy, there aren't many cars there either. All the people in my
street are friendly and kind. There is also a field where you can exersice and play
there. Besides that, there is a coffee shop behind my house. If I'm hungry I can just
walk to the shop and buy something to eat.
If I was able to move, I would move to Taman Soony Choon, because it is closer to
my relatives. So I can visit my relatives regulary and because the enviroment there is
also quite peaceful.
I hope to be hearing from you again. Bye!
Lots of love,
Commentary
This is strong B1; all the information, though simple, is conveyed well and the effect
on the resder from the good organisation and tone is positive. There are paragraphs
and good linking between sentences: eg either or Besides that. The range of
vocabulary is more than sufficient: eg peaceful as is the grammar; eg If I'm hungry I

can just walk to the shop and buy something to eat.
Script 14
To Alex,
Hi Alex, I've just bought some new clothes that are jeans, t-shirts, and long-sleeve
shirts from the Body Glove shop near my house last week. I really needed some new
clothes for Christmas because the colour of almost all my clothes are fading. The
shop is having a 30 per cent discount now. So you better buy some clothes while the
discount lasts!
From
Commentary
This is weak B2, the information is conveyed very effectively. The tone and register
are good and the organisation is clear and there are connectors So. The vocabulary
has a good range: eg fading and the grammar is accurate; eg Ive bought some
new clothes and while the discount lasts!
Script 15
Dear Alex,
Hi Alex. Long time no see. Sorry for the late reply. The reason is because I bought
new clothes. I bought three pair of jeans which were extremely cheap! And I got them
from Carrefour, the shopping mall near my house. I had to buy those jeans because
my old ones were toe small for me.
Yours sincerely,
Commentary
This is solid B2 despite the short length, which was required by the question. The
tone is good Hi Alex. Long time no see and the ideas flow effectively. The
organisation of the text is clear; the control of the grammar is good: eg I had to buy
those jeans because my old ones were toe small for me. There are slips but these in
no way impede the flow of information.
Script 16
Dear Alex,
I just bought some new clothes yesterday. Well, a lot actually. I bought a black
colored long sleeve blouse, a black and grey skit, a big black, pointy hat, a pair of
black stockings, a pair of big black boots and a fishing net.
Now you must be wondering why everything I bought was in black right? Well, I am
attending a Hallooween party next week, and I am going to go dressed up as a witch!
Can you believe it, I bought everything at Queensway! I got to go get ready now, bye!
Love,
Commentary
This is just strong B2. The chatty informal tone is very effective and the information is
ordered very well into clear paragraphs: eg staring the second paragraph with Now
you must be wondering why everything I bought was in black right? is very skilful
cohesion as well as good grammar and vocabulary. To go dressed up as a witch,
pointy hat all mean it is strong B2 lexical accuracy and range.
Script 17
Hi Frank,
How are you? I'm fine here. I recieved your letter two days ago.
I feel sorry for you because you're living in a busy street which I don't. The street near
my house isn't busy because I live near the countryside.
As you know, all things have pros and cons. Sometimes in the street near my house,
an accident will happen. Since the street near my house is narrow, it takes a very
long time for the street to clear. Besides all the things that I've said, I feel it difficult for
me and my family to get the internet signal, for I live near the countryside.
In your letter you asked me that if I were able to move, where would I like to live?
Well, what you've asked is really happening. Me and my family are going to move
into a city next month. I think I like to live in the city better than near the countryside,
for the house there is big, and mine is small. Besides, its easier to get the internet
signal there. I'll tell you my new address. Goodbye for now. Reply soon.
Yours
Commentary
This just fulfils the B2 criteria: there is organisation into paragraphs and these are
linked effectively: eg As you know and Besides all the things that I've said. The
write coveys the information in a detailed way, the grammar is controlled; eg Since
the street near my house is narrow, it takes a very long time for the street to clear
and the vocabulary is varied: eg to get the internet signal there
Script 18
Hi, good to here from you again. I live in a very busy street too! Loads of cars pass
by my house everyday. There's a park near my house too, but it's always very
crowded! If I would be able to move, I would move to Greece. We would stay in the
countryside in a peaceful little cottage. I like the countryside very much because it's
very quiet and peaceful. I would certainly miss the electronics and gadgets I used to
play on-line games on, but I could enjoy many other things, such as horseback riding,
reading in peace, gardening and canoeing. I would enjoy what Mother Nature
created, the rivers are really clean and when I wake up I would be able to smell the
moutain breeze. We would go hiking, cycling, collecting berries and camping in the
woods. Imagine how fun would that be! If you were able to move where would you
live? Hope you write back soon!
From:
Commentary
This is solid B2. The language level is high, especially the vocabulary: eg collecting
berries, and the grammar is controlled: eg If you were able to move where would
you live?. However, what pulls it down a little is the organisation: there are obviously
no paragraphs and the sentences all seem to begin with I making it a little repetitive.
Script 19
Dear Cheryl,
How is the weather in England?
Where I live is the opposite of your area, its a quiet neighbourhood. In the
neighbourhood where I live, there are a lot of trees as the neighbours are very
environmentally friendly. It's very windy here and there is also a park where I would
usually walk my dog.
Besides that, there are some shops where I live so its also very convenient if I need
anything. There are also a lot of houses here in my area but its very serene and
peaceful. I like it here a lot.
If I could move to wherever I wanted to, I would choose the beachside. Just imagine
waking up to the sound of the sea. Maybe the countryside would also be a good
option. To get away from the city would be nice.
What do you think? Where would you like to live? Please write back.
With love,
Commentary
This is towards the strong end of B2; the organisation into paragraphs is clear and
logical and there are linkers and cohesive devices: eg Besides that. The tone is very
good: eg Just imagine waking up to the sound of the sea. The vocabulary range is
good and mostly accurate: eg convenient.

Cascade Master Trainer Notes Primary (Final)

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CEFR Familiarisation Workshop

CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary

View of language learning and the 6 levels:

Key notions (e.g. Action-oriented

Learner outcomes and how the CEFR

Early Primary Listening and the CEFR

Primary Speaking Competences and Strategies

CEFR spoken production and

CEFR Reading scales and early literacy

Analogies between L1 and L2 listening

Six-level CEFR reading scale

CEFR scales and early writing

CEFR written production scales

Primary Text level Reading and the CEFR

CEFR Reading scales

CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary

CEFR and Text level Primary Writing

Communicative Language pedagogy and the

Vocabulary and grammar scales

CEFR and assessment-oriented scales for

Language classroom arrangements and

Language knowledge scales

CEFR written production and interaction

Identifying criteria in speaking and writing

CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary

Workshop PowerPoint slides

Master Trainer Notes

Copies of participants handouts and slides

Reference copies of CEFR framework (ideally 1 per participant)

Another useful resource is an overview document of all scales:

PowerPoint equipment and/or overhead projector with capacity to play video

Whiteboard / flipchart / poster paper (optional)

Coloured pens for whiteboard / flipchart / poster paper

Coloured sticky notes / paper

Adhesive for hanging flipchart paper / poster paper: tape / pins

To introduce the CEFRs core conception of language learning

To introduce the CEFRs six level framework of language proficiency

To raise awareness of language learning pedagogy perspectives in the CEFR

To induct participants into the characteristics of input (listening and reading)

To encourage participants to reflect on how CEFR could impact on areas of

To plan and consider how to use the CEFR in the classroom

CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary

General note for all slides and handouts:

Use of the common L1 (Bahasi) as needed.

CEFR Familiarisation Cascade Training: Primary

Session 1 Introduction to the CEFR and Views

The aim of this section is to introduce the aims of the training

Slides: 1 27; Handouts: 1-7

Overview for Session 1

Introduction: Welcome, ice breaker and set

Introducing the CEFR: Global impact and

Introducing the CEFR: Background, aims

Consider the uses of CEFR as it has been

Consider the impact of CEFR in Malaysian

Introduce the aims of the programme in full

Defining the CEFR: Key concepts

Introducing the 6 levels

Criterial features at each level

Overview of range of scales