Leonova O. M.

National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”

THE INFLUENCE OF CEF ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

One of the prerequisites for Ukraine’s joining the European Higher Education Area is achievement of the Bologna process objectives in the domain of higher education system.

The European integration processcovering more and more spheres of life includes higher education. Ukraine, endeavoring to become an equal partner in the Bologna process and to the teaching process in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEF), has made radical changes in the national system of higher education in Ukraine. That is why the reform of national education was launched in Ukraine.  Among the major issues of the reform were:

• development of new curricula,
• transition to a two-stage system of higher education,
• modular organization of educational process,
• European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)of assessment et cetera.

The reform of higher education, of course, is relevant to language educations well. Striving to improve the quality of communication between Europeans with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and overcome the barriers to successful communication among professionals working in the field of modern languages, with the obstacles arising from the different educational systems in Europe, the Council of Europe created the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR).

The Common European Framework provides the means of teaching/learning organization for those engaged in the process (teachers, materials designers, educational administrators, examination boards and so on). It gives a basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses, curricula, examinations, textbooks. It also describes what language learners have to learn in order to use a language for communication and what knowledge and skills they have to develop to be able to communicate effectively.

Following the recommendations outlined in CEFR language teachers are working hard on the accomplishment of the following tasks:

• increasing the effectiveness of language education,
• encouraging life-long learning,
• creating favorable conditions for learning foreign languages.

The effectiveness of the education reform implementation and the possibility of integration into the European Higher Education Area depend on the degree of the compliance of the national parameters of teaching and learning with internationally recognized standards outlined in CEFR.  That is why the authors of the new teaching programs take into account the basic CEFR requirements, form the aims of the program in accordance with the objectives of the CEFR, provide recommendations for assessment and give a clear description of the professional linguistic competences that can be recognized both in Ukraine and in Europe.

An important factor aimed at the improvement of the quality of language learning is the introduction of Common Reference Levels.  First of all, level of language proficiency is a guide to developing programs and modules.  In addition, it allows the teacher to identify the gaps in training, i.e. the difference between the initial and the target levels of a student taking a particular course, which is reflected in terms of internationally recognized scales of levels.

Identification of the gaps in learning is very essential for defining the content and duration of the course. This is a valuable reference for teachers and for students, because it helps to determine what is desirable in the course and what really can be achieved. Awareness of this gap is also extremely important to the management of universities, since university authorities decide how many hours should be allotted to the course. Recognition of the gaps in learning/training forms the basis for increasing the responsibility of both teachers and students. Students’ awareness of their entrance and target levels allows developing a proper curriculum for achieving the objectives of the ESP program.

Setting a clearly defined scale of levels also enables to segment the teaching/ learning process while developing the programs, working out the materials for qualification examination, developing the materials for teaching. Authors of the National Curriculum for Universities – English for Specific Purposes, developed on the basis of CEFR, provide recommendations for the development of teaching/learning materials. The program states that it is impossible to realize the goals and objectives of the program only using one textbook blindly and systematically, as no textbook can meet the needs of particular group of students in the context of ESP. Teachers should develop their own sets of resource materials and the main sources of the set are authentic materials. The inadequacy of existing training materials and a lack of authentic resources that meet the needs of students can be compensated by combining three strategies: 1) the use, adaptation and selection of materials from existing textbooks, 2) adaptation of available authentic materials and 3) creation of new teaching materials to meet the needs the students.

Thus, the levels of English language proficiency and scales of their descriptors give us an opportunity to formulate the objectives of the course and develop teaching/learning materials of high quality.

It should be noted that the introduction of Common European Levels does not deprive different universities of the possibility to develop their own levels and describe them. But the use of standard levels of language mastery in program design provides the opportunity to receive the recognition of our assessment in the European format, which undoubtedly increases the motivation for learning, and thus affects the quality of education.  Descriptors developed and confirmed by the Council of Europe Recommendations, oriented to the experts, become a successful tool for the determining of learning outcomes. Existing national assessment systems are very diverse, so using Common European Levels and Descriptive scales creates the preconditions for transparency and recognition both in national and international area. In fact, this lays the foundation for the quality education in this context. 

Scales of the Common European Levels help the developers to create tests for the assessment at various stages throughout the course. (Assessment on entry, start, progress, and final assessment in each module, end-of-course assessment aimed at the determining of the level of students’ communicative language behavior according to program requirements and descriptors of the CEL. Cambridge PET, FCE, CAE, IELTS, BEC may be used as a model by the test developers.) Properly designed and conducted tests provide reliable and valid results that are correlated with the internationally recognized CEL recommended by CEFR.

An important factor for the improving of education quality is attracting students to self-assessment, as thus they are given the opportunity to take the responsibility for their learning. That’s why students should be provided with reliable and practical tools for self-assessment. An important step in this direction is the development and implementation of the European Language Portfolio (ELP), which allows a learner to record and reflect various aspects of the language biography. ELP structure allows not only officially recognized achievements obtained in the language courses but informal experience as well to be included in the portfolio. The emphasis on self-assessment promotes autonomous learning throughout life.  It is expected that language portfolio will also have an impact on the development of programs because of growing learners’ awareness of learning goals. Portfolios will also encourage students to strive to high quality language courses.

Using a modular course design also significantly affects the improvement of education quality. Modular design gives the possibility to systematize the teaching/learning materials, to specify the content of the modules, to set clear objectives in accordance with the target proficiency level for each module. It provides a clear structure of testing for the assessment of all kinds. Introduction of modular course design in Ukraine brings the national educational system to meet the Bologna process objectives and facilitate the mobility of Ukrainian students in Europe, which in turn increases the motivation to study a foreign language, and thus affects the quality of education.

One of the key elements influencing the quality of language learning process is the introduction of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).  ECTS makes teaching and learning in higher education more transparent across Europe and facilitates the recognition of all studies. The system allows for the transfer of learning experiences between different institutions, greater student mobility and more flexible routes to gain degrees. It also aids curriculum design and quality assurance. Among the advantages of the ECTS are:

• Improving the quality and increasing the volume of students’ learning through their own deliberate distribution of workload in order to obtain high ranking points in contrast to the traditional grading system, which stimulates the activity of students only during sessions;
• Increasing the activity of students during the semester due to transparency of assessment system, students can systematically control their achievements;
• Increasing the motivation of students to deepen their working knowledge of foreign languages;
• Encouraging systematic independent work of students;
• Identification and development of students’ creative abilities, encouraging their performance and creative work;
• Improving students’ attendance of classes;
• Enhancing the validity and reliability of assessment by systematic quantitative indicators;
• Improving the quality of teaching through teacher’s self-assessment of teaching techniques and methods and the resulting adjustment of teaching techniques;
• Planning a large number of tests required by ECTS, and working out reliable criteria for assessing different kinds of learning activities;
• Improving the teaching process, rigid structuring the materials and rational use of time allotted for the discipline.

Thus, it is safe to say that the introduction of recommended levels of language proficiency, the development of level descriptors, modular course design, application of ECTS, and implementation of the language portfolio undoubtedly improve the quality of language education.

References:

 1. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment.–Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, UK, 2001. – 265p.

2. Teacher’s Guide to the Common European Framework. Pearson Longman, 2007.  –12 p.– Available at: http://www.longman.com/cef.