Publications

Enriching 21^st century language education - The CEFR Companion volume in practice

This volume of case studies will interest all those who aim to develop language education in order to promote and support Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity, thus fostering a culture of democracy and social justice in a time in which these values are increasingly under threat. This situation calls for a new vision of language education in which the development of mediation and plurilingual/pluricultural competence are crucial.

These case studies report on experience in a wide variety of contexts with the concepts and descriptors of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment - Companion volume (CEFR Companion volume), which broadens the vision of the CEFR 2001, enriching the CEFR model in the areas of plurilingualism and mediation.

The studies report on classroom practice and awareness-raising activities from all over Europe in secondary education, higher education, heritage language education, pre-service teacher education and adult education. The authors outline their experience in the language classroom and with stakeholders in relation to mediation, appreciation of literature, plurilingualism, online interaction and phonology.

The various chapters explore the relevance and usability of the new descriptors for the implementation of an action-oriented approach to language education, presenting the challenges and opportunities they encountered in the process, and the reactions of their students and colleagues.

The series of case studies published in this volume have been selected from over 30 that were carried out in the academic year 2018-19 as a follow-up to the conference “CEFR Companion Volume: Language Education for Dynamic and Inclusive Societies – Promoting Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education,” which was held in Strasbourg in May 2018 to introduce the CEFR Companion volume, published online in provisional form in English and French in February 2018.

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CEFR Companion volume

The CEFR Companion volume broadens the scope of language education. It reflects academic and societal developments since the publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and updates the 2001 version. It owes much to the contributions of members of the language teaching profession across Europe and beyond.

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Aligning Language Education with the CEFR: A Handbook

This resource has been prepared for those who are teaching, testing and developing materials in language education, as well as stakeholders concerned with education policy matters and decision-making.

Given the huge impact of the CEFR 2001 and the interest raised by the CEFR CV 2020, the editors expect that this first edition of the Handbook will soon be put to use in alignment projects by many different stakeholders in the field of language education. Those involved in such projects are invited to share not only their experience but also their views on the usefulness of the Handbook. There are plans to organize an event in early 2024 at which case studies in the use of the Handbook will be presented. The findings of such studies and other proposals from the field will be incorporated in a revised edition of the Handbook.

Download the Handbook (pdf)

Download CEFR Alignment Editable Forms (Word)

Download CEFR Alignment Handbook - supplement March 2026 (pdf)

The pedagogical guide on mediation competence

In December 2021, the RELANG national training workshop was organised in France at the initiative of the Directorate General of School Education (Dgesco) in partnership with the ECML. This guide retraces and summarises the entire training course and is intended to help inspectors, trainers and teachers to take up the knowledge shared during this training workshop in order to facilitate its implementation in the academies.

Appréhender et s’approprier le concept de médiation

Download guide (in French)