Speakers

Speaker:
Dr. Jaehak LEE

Professor & Chair, Department of Spanish

Director, Institute of Hispanic & Latin American Studies

Korea University

Topic:
National foreign language education policies and CEFR: English as L2 and the situation of other foreign languages in Korea

Abstract:
As we know, The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is the product of the political will for the emerging supranational organization. It’s not language specific and it requires a comparable level of proficiency from language to language. However, the status of English as an international lingua franca is very strong in Korea and it's the only foreign language (FL or L2) in Korea. In fact the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation named all other foreign languages such as French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. as second foreign languages while it named English as foreign language. The widely spread concept that English speakers can communicate with the rest of the world is still dominant in Korea and the so called second foreign language education in high school level has been almost disappeared in last ten years. While the foreign language education policy makers in Korea ignore the value of the foreign languages other than English, the European language educators tend to value the achievement of the CEFR. Thus this study will analyze the Korean National Curriculum of English and other European Languages and will discuss the effectiveness of the CEFR in developing national language education policy in Korea.

中文節錄： 

此次演講旨在分析韓國國家英語及其他歐洲語言課程，探討共同歐洲語言參考框架（CEFR）在韓國國家語言教育政策中的有效性。鑑於韓國將英語視為主要外語，其他如法語、德語等則被視作第二外語，近十年來高中階段的第二外語教育幾乎消失。我將探討在韓國語言教育政策制定中對英語的偏好及忽略其他外語的影響，以及CEFR在此背景下的應用和成效。

Speaker:
Dr. Van Huy NGUYEN

Vice Rector 

Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies

Topic:
THE CEFR as a national language policy in Vietnam: Contexts and challenges

Abstract:
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has long been considered a global policy in language education. It has been borrowed and adopted by different polities across the world. In this study, I tried to make sense of the decision to adopt the CEFR in Vietnam. I examined the CEFR-related documents in Vietnam in order to gain an understanding about the underwritten socio-economic and political contexts, which induced the employment of this global language education framework. These contexts include (1) recent changes in English language policy; (2) need for concrete economic and political innovations, and current efforts to reform higher education; and (3) the current tendency for administrators to look outwards for solutions to domestic issues in contemporary Vietnam. In addition, based on data gained at a higher education institution, I outlined and discussed some initial challenges related to the interpretation of the CEFR at the classroom level. 

中文節錄： 

《歐洲語言共同參考框架》（CEFR）長期以來被視為全球語言教育政策。它被世界各地的不同政體借鑒和採用。本研究旨在探討越南採用CEFR的決策過程。我通過檢視越南的CEFR相關文件，了解其背後的社會經濟和政治背景，這些背景包括：(1) 最近英語語言政策的變化；(2) 經濟和政治創新的迫切需求，以及當前高等教育改革的努力；(3) 當代越南管理者尋求外部解決方案的趨勢。此外，根據在高等教育機構獲得的數據，我概述並討論了一些在課堂層面解釋CEFR的初步挑戰。

Speaker:
Dr. Kristof SAVSKI

Assistant Professor, Linguistics Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Liberal Arts

Prince of Songkla University

Topic:
Localizing CEFR in Thailand: Challenges and opportunities in working with a global policy

Abstract:
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has had worldwide impact over the past two decades. In Thailand, its use began as part of large-scale language education policy reforms in the mid-2010s and has continued, with occasional shifts in focus, to be a key point of reference in policy discourse until today. While efforts to localize the framework have been made in Thailand, these appear to have been outweighed by references to CEFR as a global standard in language education, a perspective in which little opportunity for re-interpretation is afforded to local policy agents. In this talk, I will discuss why such re-interpretation is desirable and indeed necessary for both policymakers and practitioners who work with CEFR. In particular, I will argue we need to pay more attention to the socio-cultural aspects of CEFR, especially its descriptions of plurilingual and pluricultural competence, when using the framework in the context of English language education, in order to account for the realities of English as a global language.

中文節錄： 

歐洲共同語言參考架構（CEFR）在過去二十年間對全球產生了重大影響。在泰國，自2010年代中期起，CEFR開始成為語言教育政策改革的一部分，並持續作為政策話語中的關鍵參考點。儘管泰國曾嘗試本地化該框架，但全球標準的影響更大，當地政策制定者鮮有機會重新詮釋。在演講中，我將討論為何重新詮釋對政策制定者和實務工作者是必要的，尤其是關注CEFR的多語和多元文化能力描述，以適應英語作為全球語言的現實。

Speaker:
Dr. Yukio TONO

Special Advisor to the President
Director of the  World Language Center
Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan 

Topic:
The key to the successful implementation of the CEFR: Insights from the CEFR-J project 

Abstract:
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has become a widely recognized and influential framework for learning, teaching, and assessment of foreign languages, not only in Europe but also globally. As the CEFR continues to gain traction, its implementation is becoming increasingly complex, with various approaches emerging. In this talk, I will explore the different ways of approaching the implementation of the CEFR, including adoption, adaptation, and creation. While adoption involves simply incorporating the CEFR into existing curricula and assessments, adaptation requires a more nuanced understanding of the local context and the need to modify the framework to suit specific educational settings. Creation, on the other hand, involves developing entirely new frameworks or assessments that are tailored to specific language learning needs. Drawing on my experience as the leader of the CEFR-J project, which localized the CEFR for English education in Japan, I will discuss some key issues for the successful implementation of the CEFR. These include the importance of understanding the cultural and educational context in which the CEFR is being implemented, the need for clear communication and collaboration among stakeholders, and the importance of developing assessments and materials that are both valid and reliable. By sharing insights from the CEFR-J project, I aim to provide practical guidance for educators, policymakers, and researchers who are seeking to successfully adapt the CEFR for their own contexts.

中文節錄： 

《歐洲共同語言參考架構》(CEFR) 已成為全球學習、教學和評估外語的重要框架。隨著 CEFR 的廣泛應用，其實施方式變得越來越複雜，出現了多種方法。在這次演講中，我將探討 CEFR 的不同實施方式，包括採用、調整和創新。採用是將 CEFR 直接融入現有課程和評估中；調整則需要對當地情境有更細緻的理解，並對框架進行修改以適應特定教育環境；而創新則是開發全新的框架或評估，以滿足特定語言學習需求。作為 CEFR-J 項目負責人，我將分享在日本本地化 CEFR 用於英語教育的經驗，討論成功實施 CEFR 的關鍵問題，如理解文化和教育背景、加強利益相關者間的溝通與合作，以及開發既有效又可靠的評估和教材。希望通過分享 CEFR-J 項目的見解，為希望在自身環境中成功調整 CEFR 的教育者、政策制定者和研究者提供實用的指導。