Developing a Common Framework of Reference for Taiwan (CFRT)

Presentations (click on the link to access the presentation)

Speaker	Position and Institution	Presentation	Date of the original presentation
Professor Barry O’Sullivan	Head of Assessment Research and Development, British Council, UK	The Language Framework as a Driver of Change	18 May 2021
Dr. Neus Figueras	Lecturer, University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)	The Common European Framework of Reference: Description, Implications and Impact	18 May 2021
Dr. Jessica Wu	R&D Programme Director, The Language Training and Testing Centre	Localising the CEFR for English Language Education in Taiwan	18 May 2021
Dr. Nick Saville	Director, Research and Thought Leadership, Cambridge Assessment English	Systemic Alignment - using the CEFR in Taiwan	18 May 2021

Localising standards will ensure that these standards drive the curriculum, the delivery of teaching and learning and assessment in a coherent and cohesive manner that is likely to lead to greater successes.
The curriculum, delivery, and assessment should be aligned to a recognised international English language framework such as the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and ideally the CEFR should be localised for use in Taiwan, much as was achieved in Japan with the CEFR-J.
This would have beneficial long-term effects on Taiwan’s English language education as it would bring local teaching, learning and assessment into closer interaction with one another, as well as facilitating smoother interchanges with international suppliers (teacher training, classroom materials and assessments/tests).

Consider lessons learnt from the implementation of CEFR 2001: Claimed vs. Real alignment/implementation (scale labels rather than in depth)
Design a clear and transparent bilingual programme action plan that can be delivered to a realistic timescale: Read > Select > Plan > Act > Disseminate > Monitor > Document
Clearly document each step to ensure data, information and understanding of the programme continue to facilitate buy in and allow informed decisions to be made repeatedly.
Use digital resources in all steps as much as possible (time saving, accessibility)
Project leaders should integrate top-down frameworks with bottom up approaches to ensure that all stakeholders are involved.
Consider the following five questions:

Is the CEFR learning, teaching, assessment approach useful for Taiwan? How?
Adoption or adaptation? Changes, modifications to the CEFR model. Implications for the current system in Taiwan
Who is in charge? Which champions/leaders, supporters to engage?
Which resources?
Which timeline?

Rethinking our current use of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Taiwan has become imperative.
As Taiwan is moving toward becoming bilingual by 2030, a more locally appropriate framework for Taiwan, the Common Framework of Reference - Taiwan (CFRT) is needed.
It is anticipated that the CFRT would have beneficial long-term effects on Taiwan’s English language education as it brings teaching, learning and assessment into closer interaction with one another.
Creating a synergy between locality and globality is also necessary, a topic which can be further explored through collaborations between the HE sectors in Taiwan and the UK.

Put increased focus on productive language skills within the reform programme, especially a need to raise the standards of spoken language proficiency.
Schools and the community should create language-friendly learning environments where learning progression can be supported through effective feedback, and outcomes can be recognised and rewarded reliably.
The collection of data and following an evidence-based approach is necessary to support learning.
Use the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) as an established frame of reference as the basis for the Common Framework of Reference for Taiwan (CFRT), which should encompass the high-level goals of learning (communicative competence), specific curricular objectives (content) and a scale of proficiency.
A theory of action is needed to achieve the intended positive impact by design (see Saville 2009).
Teachers and the quality of their teaching remain central to the success of ensuring systemic alignment.
8 key features in an ecosystem of learning:

School learning takes place within a local community and is a social process
Learning concerns personal development - dispositions and skills that are key to current and future learning
Language learning specifically concerns the use of language to communicate personally significant meanings
Teaching goals and assessment goals are aligned to specific desirable outcomes – communicative ability
Learning and assessment tasks mirror ‘real-world’ communication and need to have situational and interactional authenticity in order to engage learners’ cognition
Evidence drawn from classroom interaction can be fed back to learners to scaffold and promote further learning
Records of achievement can be drawn from these interactions and combined with other types of assessment coherently
Progression in terms of increasing levels of proficiency is desirable