English Profile
Cambridge ESOL was involved in developing the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which has become an international benchmark for language ability. We are now closely involved in English Profile – an exciting new project which will further develop the English language aspect of the CEFR.
What is English Profile?
English Profile is a long-term, collaborative programme of research, consultation and publication, designed to enhance the learning, teaching and assessment of English worldwide.
A multi-disciplinary team is working to produce Reference Level Descriptions for English. These will provide a unique, detailed and objective analysis of what levels of achievement in language learning actually mean in terms of the grammar, vocabulary and discourse features learners can be expected to have mastered at each level.
English Profile will produce resources (including a website and a range of documents) which will be useful to learners, teachers, course designers, and anyone involved in the teaching and learning of English.
Who is involved in English Profile?
Cambridge ESOL is just one of the partners: the full list of those taking part is:
- University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics (RCEAL)
- British Council
- English UK
- University of Bedfordshire Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA)
- Council of Europe (Dr John Trim – observer)
Cambridge Learner Corpus
Much of the necessary work to set up the project and to enable research to be carried out using the Cambridge Learner Corpus (CLC) has been completed. This unique corpus, jointly owned by Cambridge ESOL and CUP, contains 27 million words of learner English and is already being analysed by researchers at RCEAL.
What will happen next?
Currently in its second year, the project is now moving into a new phase of consultation to establish a wider network of stakeholders who are interested in being involved.
A two-day consultation event was held in Cambridge in July 2007 for ministers and government agencies from around the world. A similar event for academics and other experts in the field of linguistics was held in September 2007 and other events are being planned. The results of this consultation phase will produce a framework for the further development of the project.
